What about a .22 Hornet?

[big6x6]

Any of you out there have a .22 Hornet? I'm thinking of getting one in the next month or so. So what do ya'll have? I've narrowed mine down to either a Remington 799, CZ 527 American, Browning A-Bolt Micro Hunter, Savage 40, or Ruger 77/22 Hornet! :lol:

Really probably leaning toward the Remington 799....what ya'll think?

 

[choc-dog]

22 hornet

I would skip the Ruger and the Remington and concentrate on the Savage, CZ and the Browning. I have handled the Savage and its a beautiful rifle but a single shot. The metal on the Savage 40 was a bright blue and the laminated free floated stock with a heavy barrel pinned to a super sized Savage mark II 93 action. Some of the test reports I have read on the Savage have been excellent...sub 3/4 at 1oo yards. There just has not been that many Savage model 40's out there so far.

CZ has created quite a following in a short time. If you are looking for a
walking rifle the CZ and Browning are on the short list as they offer sporter weight barrels of 22inches. This is more than enough barrel even if you handload hogdons lit"gun powder. Browning does use their super short action for the 22 hornet....such a nice fit for the little round.

The Ruger is a hit or miss..it will shoot or it won't and if it won't you will take a $$bath to swap to something else. I personally like the Ruger scaled to fit action in 22 hornet...but Ruger has not figured out "it's the barrel stupid." Ruger has finally instituted some changes now that Savage and Tikka have eaten their lunch.

The 22 hornet is served best by handloading. The hodgdon little gun powder offers highest velocity. With such a small case the secret is to use small pistol primers instead of small rifle.

I like the 22 Hornet there is always something nostalgic about the little round but the 221 fireball and 223 offer more for less.

Greg

 

[Rifleman]

I am with choc dog, the Rugers alot of times have crap barrels. The only other thing is that darn ammo is so high. Other then that Hornets are a hoot. Spent a day shootin black birds with one several years back, it was a H&R heavy barrel if I recall. Had a hoot but it was an expensive shootin day.

 

[big6x6]

After much reading and research I am certainly going to eliminate the Ruger from my list. Too many users having accuracy issues for me.. I don't really care for the Savage all that much because it's basically a pretty ugly action. Still deciding though..

choc dog.. the .221 is DEFINITELY on my list but I all ready have 3 .223s...

 

[choc-dog]

22 hornet vs. 221 fireball

The Savage is a working gun..not much frills but a very straight button rifled barrel. I like you have a soft spot for the 22 hornet and almost ordered one. Then the 204 Ruger bug bit me and I never looked back,
except I bought a Ruger #1-V. Took several hundred rounds to work thru the bedding and LOOONNG throat issues. It's a shooter now.

I am not Browning fan, man or any thing else. The A-bolt is uglier than the Savage. Thats just me. You still have the Browning,CZ and possibly Cooper to consider. The CZ's are a very traditional or European looking rifle. If CZ would just fix that reversable safety issue. It's un-american.
I like the CZ's but I am left handed in a right handed world. Which is why I shoot single shots such as Ruger #1's and T/C Encore's. Actually for non-PD shooting I think the Cooper and the T/C pro hunter has the best barrel contour right now. Not to heavy and not to light. As I remember the T/C pro hunter centerfire barrel mikes at .690.

The CZ's will work for you.

My brothers wife just bought him a Cooper .204 for Christmas. I bought it for her from some gunshop near Grouse. Good Deal @ $1,100.00. Cooper is supposed to have a 8 month waiting list and worth every second of it.

A Cooper in 221 fireball or 22 K-Hornet...how lucky can you get. Cooper does chamber the 22 K Hornet.


Greg

 

[Dean Walther]

Big6x6: For some reason I've always liked the hornet myself. Ditto everone else on the ruger, had one, dumped it. Ditto choc-dog, small pistol match primers. Currantly have a 24" custom shop barrel for an encore, shoots in the fives and sixes. Use it for a walk-around PD gun as well as varmints. Don't overlook H-110 or 4227 as a powder choice either. Good luck. Dean

 

[choc-dog]

22 hornet

Chuck,

Which one did you decide to buy.

choc-dog

 

[bigbore442001]

I love the 22 Hornet. I have two TC Contender barrels in that caliber. One is 10" and the other is 16".

I actually killed a small feral hog in Florida with the 10" 22 Hornet. The pig was about 60 pounds and I put one right in the heart at 25 yards. Dropped it deader than a stone.

I am very pleased with my Hornets. They are accurate and a reloader's dream. They do not eat up much powder which is a plus in my book.

 

[clint]

have a friend how that has shoot 20 -25 deer with his hornet but he picks his shots dllung or head neck clint

 

[big6x6]

Re: 22 hornet

Chuck,

Which one did you decide to buy.

choc-dog

Well I have not decided yet... :shock:

I AM going to get one within the next month or so.. But here's what I'm thinking:

1.The .221 Fireball is in the picture as well.

2. Buy a Cooper 38 in .221 Fireball or .22 Hornet/K-Hornet and be done with it.

3. Buy both a Hornet AND a Fireball! : ) If I do THIS..The .221 will either be a Remington LV SF/Classic or a CZ. The Hornet will still either be the Remington 799, CZ, or A-Bolt Micro Hunter.

I've been doing a lot of research on all that crap lately...same guy(Jon Sundra) did a test of the Remington 799 and Howa 1500 Carbon Supreme both in .223...they shot about the same accuracy wise which was less than an inch for both at 100yds with some factory loads..Howas shoot so that's a plus for the 799. Also..after thinking on it..I've never seen an A-Bolt that wasn't a good shooter... Decisions, decisions... :?

I did make ONE decision over the weekend..I ordered the Nikon Monarch 4-12X40AO for ONE of the above rifles! Too good of a deal to pass up!

 

[Grouse]

Buy an Encore Chuck. If you dont like the hornet barrel i will take it off your hands. :wink:

 

[RogerDailey]

Of that list, I'd probably go with the CZ; I've just had good results with CZ's. I like the Hornet; just remember it is a Hornet and not a 221, 222....
My favorite Hornet bullet is the 40 grain Hornady V-max. A case full of I-3031 makes a real good small game load (about 1200-1300 fps). 4227, 2400 and 110 are all useable. My favorite full speed Hornet powder is AA1680; good velocity and accuracy. Some Hornets give the best accuracy when small pistol primers are used instead of small rifle primers. Hornets can be a little fussy on OAL; experiment in .005" increments and find the sweet spot. A standard Hornet headspaces on the rim; pay attention to rim thickness and squareness. A k-hornet headspaces on the shoulder and can take care of headspace fussiness (word?).

 

[choc-dog]

I'am with Roger

I would have to agree with Roger ....CZ if on a budget. I picked up my brothers Cooper last Friday. Wonderful wood and overall a perfect "10".

Those Coopers are worth every penny. When you consider what you get
for several hundred more...it's a no brainer.

P.S. I would not believe anything Jon Sundra wrote. :twisted: John Barsness ..yes

Greg

 

[choc-dog]

221 fireball

The 221 fireball gives you the option of handloading reduced loads to 22 hornet levels.

Greg

 

[big6x6]

Re: 221 fireball

The 221 fireball gives you the option of handloading reduced loads to 22 hornet levels.

Greg

Yeah..without even TRYING too!

I'll tell you what though...I looked at a Savage 40 .22 Hornet today. It actually looked better than I THOUGHT it would. It had a really great blue job(isn't this gun make in Canada?) and Savages laminate stocks always look good. The barrel was of really a strange design...not a constant taper but was really almost two diameters..that REALLY tapered down about 2/3 of the way down the stock. I wish the barrel were 22 inches instead of 24 inches. Lets face it..a .22 Hornet does NOT need 24 inches of barrel. But overall I liked it and for $350.00 you probably can't beat it...

 

[choc-dog]

Savage model 40

I read some personnal reports on the Savage forum that the Model 40 was not fussy and shot under .75

$350.00 is a excellent buy ..enough money left over for a 221 fireball as well. That action is rated not to exceed 40,000 cup. Perfect for the hornet case.

 

[Doohan]

.221 Fireball and a pinch of Lil'gun makes me REAL happy!

Buy the .221 in a 700 classic!!!! BEAUTIFUL gun and they shoot great!

 

[big6x6]

Buy the .221 in a 700 classic!!!!

Yeah! Looking for a deal on that one like YOU got!! If not it will more than likely be a 700 LV SF in .221...