More On My Fun Gun !

[Cedric 132]

I have just about settled on a .22 Hornet.

At the moment I have two x .22lr and a .17hmr. A couple of days ago the hmr was driving me up the wall trying to check the zero in a gusting breeze. I find it amazing that a bullet that travels 100 yards in a fraction of a second can be pushed off course by two inches by a light breeze.

 

On the understanding that the Hornet " bucks the breeze" better than the .17 hmr it sounds good to me.

 

Is it feasable to replace my hmr with the Hornet? Used mostly for rabbits and corvids at reasonable ranges (up to about 130 yards).

 

I raised the subjet with my FEO today and he was very positive, promising an 'open' ticket for the centrefire but requested that I get rid of the hmr and go for a one for one replacement option.

 

Any opinions on drawbacks with a Hornet ?

[maktayla 50]

Hi Cedric,

I haven't had any experience with the .22 Hornet at all. Not sure what a head shot would do to a rabbit. Would imagine a hell of a lot more than a .17HMR due to an extra 500ft/lbs (I think) approx of muzzle energy. Yet again, should imagine you would still be able to eat it, providing it was a head shot

Are you planning on eating the bunnies?

Crows: It don't matter. Shoot them with whatever you can. As long as you kill em

 

Are you fed up with the HMR? If you are, then go for the one to one variation. Its free and you get a less restrictive condition,(Open) on your ticket. Did your FEO request, or suggest, you get rid of the HMR?

 

Sorry I am not much help with the Hornet. Some may say go for a .222 or .223? I don't know. Its not a calibre Ive read much about and I've often wondered where it fits in between the HMR/WMR ,for example, and the .222

No doubt someone will answer this and you will have a few replies to this post. After all the Hornet has been around for a few years. Is it going as strong? I don't know.

I aint heard much about the .17 Hornet yet. Does that suffer the same problems as the .17HMR, I wonder..

[mattydski 560]

I have just about settled on a .22 Hornet.

At the moment I have two x .22lr and a .17hmr. A couple of days ago the hmr was driving me up the wall trying to check the zero in a gusting breeze. I find it amazing that a bullet that travels 100 yards in a fraction of a second can be pushed off course by two inches by a light breeze.

 

On the understanding that the Hornet " bucks the breeze" better than the .17 hmr it sounds good to me.

 

Is it feasable to replace my hmr with the Hornet? Used mostly for rabbits and corvids at reasonable ranges (up to about 130 yards).

 

I raised the subjet with my FEO today and he was very positive, promising an 'open' ticket for the centrefire but requested that I get rid of the hmr and go for a one for one replacement option.

 

Any opinions on drawbacks with a Hornet ?

In order to get the best out of a Hornet you need to handload in my opinion. I dont have on at the moment, as it was prized out of my cold, dead fingers by a mate, who had a need for it on his estate.

Everyone who uses one that i know reloads 35gr vmax loads, with 12-13gr lil gun powder. All of the hornets i have seen, owned, witnessed, have shot under 1/2MOA at 100yds. Funnily enough most of them were CZ 527's.

 

I have never had good experience with factory ammo. gave up and reloaded.

 

In experienced, confident hands, a 200 yard fox is completely ethical.. The 35gr vmax pil hits home with authority.

 

It was my 'rifle to go' when i left the house and deer weren't on the menu. Still miss it.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Could not agree more mate, I miss mine as well, and you must reload or dont bother, unless you can afford factory 35 grain vmax, I preferred the Sierra 45 grain varminter, not quite as fast, but flatter at long range and retained its energy better, deadly on foxes, and it did not make as much mess on a rabbit, with a head shot it just passed through, and they are cheaper than vmax by a good bit, as I have said before if you are reloading a hornet, Lee case flare die and factory crimp die are essential for super accurate ammo,would I have another? Yes, but I would always have the nagging doubt in my head that says you should have got a .222 in case a muntjac rears his little head, and that to me is the only downside of a hornet, you cant shoot deer with it.

[walshy0988 28]

I had a ruger m77/22 hornet it was a good tool but in the end it was always left in cabinet so I sold it, i shot hornady roundss and it grouped well walshy

[Cedric 132]

No muntjak round here, only sheep, sheep and more sheep !

 

I was planning on reloading, intersesting what you say CC about the 45 grain varmiter causing less meat damage. Is there a downside in that they are not as frangible as v-max and more prone to ricochets.

 

I don't know much about reloading but wondered if it was feasable to play about and produce a reduced, milder load for closer range rabbits? Mind you , I have the .22 subs for that.

[celticrusader 78]

Apparently my feo said no cf is truly better than a rimfire for rabbiting unless headshot shooting which is restricting tbh as they dont always sit still long.

But I have no experience with these hornets so I can't pass judgement on this.

I dont know the difference between them and a .223 how they perform but if they're between hmr and .223 or closer to a .223 then it seems too much for them...tell me if I'm wrong.

I do see people use .243 on rabbits but just coz you can doesn't mean its what you should use it for.

[charlie caller 3,654]

You can load a hornet up to around 800 ftlbs ish a bit more if you want to single load 40 grain vmax, or even 50 grain, a .223 produces around 1300ftlbs, the 45 grain Sierras are not quite as frangible as vmax, but expand well on foxes, I never had a ricochet mate, that seems to be a common thing with Sierra bullets, for instance the grain blitz I use on foxes and deer in the .243 are meant to be a varmint bullet, but work brilliantly on deer, I shot a CWD last year at around 140 yards, the bullet acted like a nice deer bullet, went straight through, left a nice exit wound with plenty of blood(not that it was needed it dropped like a stone) but they still expand well on charlie, and its like flicking a light switch off, every one I have shot with this Sierra bullet has dropped on the spot.

[shropshire dan 467]

Apparently my feo said no cf is truly better than a rimfire for rabbiting unless headshot shooting which is restricting tbh as they dont always sit still long.

But I have no experience with these hornets so I can't pass judgement on this.

I dont know the difference between them and a .223 how they perform but if they're between hmr and .223 or closer to a .223 then it seems too much for them...tell me if I'm wrong.

I do see people use .243 on rabbits but just coz you can doesn't mean its what you should use it for.

No CF rifle will kill a rabbit with a body shot anymore than a HMR will.