.22 Hornet.

[Cedric 132]

I finally got my Hornet yesterday and got out with it today, a CZ 527, It's a lot lighter than my CZ455 .17hmr and a totally different beast !

 

It goes off with a fair 'blat', bit more than the hmr but not too bad. Which raises a question. Is the increased noise from more powerful calibres caused by the extra powder and blast or does the level of the sonic crack increase with speed and/or bullet diameter?

 

Just to try it I used the Vomz scope that came with it. Russian made, fixed power 4x32 with a military stye reticule. It was surprisingly good, looks as tough as old boots, short and light. I'll fit a better scope tonight and sell that one anyhow.

 

I got a variety of ammo to try, Hornady 35g V-max, Remington 45g and a box of undetermined origin, cases are marked 'Kynoch' but may be reloads. The Hornady did very well (only at 50 yards though) with the Remington not so good.

 

As I'm planning on reloading I checked the empties later and found that the Hornady brass was a good 10g heavier than the Remington, is this normal?

[charlie caller 3,654]

Welcome to the world of the .22 hornet, what moderator have you got on it? my hornet was quieter, or certainly had less of a harsh crack to it than my mates hmr, although to be fair, I had a PES small cf moderator on mine he had a SAK on his so perhaps that is the factor? The only factory ammo I found to be any good were the 35 grain vmax, Winchester were ok, but not really anything to write home about, enter reloading now we are talking, flare the case, and factory crimp, and we have got an out of the box CZ 527 producing cloverleaf groups at 100 yards, and shooting apples off sticks out to 200 yards with ease, so the moral of this tale is RELOAD if you want anything more than meagre performance from a hornet, with factory ammo (excluding vmax) Hornady brass is thicker therefore has a slightly smaller case capacity than Remington, I found best reload performance came from Hornady brass, although I only tried Winchester, and I think some RWS, I cannot stress the importance of case flare and crimping operations too much with the hornet, and get some Sierra 40 or 45 grain hornet bullets to reload you will love the results foxes out to 200 yards drop on the spot, enjoy.

Edited August 12, 2014 by charlie caller

[devon flighter 421]

cracking round ! have you tried reloading the 35g vmax? i put them through an OLD brno (think the rifling is a different rate) and they cloverleaf ,spot on with the flare/crimp ,what powder do you use ? i put lill gun with a remmy small PISTOL primer(tried small rifle but not as tight with the groups )and rws and hornady brass, as you say charlie to 200yds is spot on ! enjoy you hornet its not overly popular probably because of the age of the round but VERY under rated !

[SportingShooter 0]

The Kynoch rounds may be worth keeping

 

Very old company and may be worth more to a collector than just blatting them downrange

[shootlodge 143]

Get Dave mercer (DM80) mods to knock you a mod up, they are very effective on the Hornet. Probably the best, the hornet should be sweet with one on, 40/45 gr rounds its a gem ! Good all-rounder for 70+yds rabbit/fox upto 300yd s once you know your capabilities..sweet as a nut, & very forgiving to reload.

[walshie 2,804]

My mate uses one all the time with a PES mod. Impressive performance. Quite tempted to get one myself.

[Cedric 132]

It came with a SAK mod, let out a pretty loud blast, fitted my Swift Precision Nightingale and that moderated it much better. I don't know if it's worth the hastle of trying different mods, it can become obsesive !

 

Sporting Shooter - the Kynoch rounds look quite old, the tips have gone dull, not the copper jacket, the point. 45 left if anyone collects them, fired 5 off !

 

When the wind drops below 80mph I'll get out again at longer ranges .

 

I'm quite looking forward to reloading, love to fiddle with things.

 

On closer inspection I've found a couple of things wrong, the main trigger pull has gritty creep (I can sort that OK) but someone has been at the internals. The trigger housing screw is burred from using too small a driver and one of the trigger adjustment screws is damaged at the end where the driver fits in, it's tiny and a challenge to fix, probably can't even buy a spare.

[3175darren 1,093]

I love mine,I am still shooting my 35 grn stuff off so havn't reloaded for it yet, but what a bloody good little gun,I noticed Henry kranks have some 40 grn hollow points in and also some blitz kings,so I might have a trip into the shop next time I am down,has your not got the set trigger facility,??

[Cedric 132]

Yeah Darren, set trigger, same as my CZ453 hmr. I don't care for it on the hmr, when set it's too far forward for my short fingers and i tend to push it sideways plus I like to feel a bit of tension before I squeeze.

 

I had a play with the trigger settings today, much improved ! I only had to use a combination of the adjusting screws, no polishing required, and now it's about perfect, guess at about 2+ lbs and crisp.

 

Battling the winds today I fired it side by side with the hmr - considerable difference. Could only get a target out to 50 yards but the 35g V-max were all touching.

[chocky14u 4]

Hey guys found this on the tube from THLR.... shows what one can do if your brave enough!!!

 

http://youtu.be/aHVvPxgGR3A?list=UUmKvQfvjqbUakUotekAyxew

[3175darren 1,093]

Hey guys found this on the tube from THLR.... shows what one can do if your brave enough!!!

 

http://youtu.be/aHVvPxgGR3A?list=UUmKvQfvjqbUakUotekAyxew

Yep the boy can shoot,it does go to show what they can do though,

[Cedric 132]

I'm afraid I find it a bit sad ! But whatever floats your boat. I bet he has an app. to check the petrol consumption on his car !

[chocky14u 4]

I'm afraid I find it a bit sad ! But whatever floats your boat. I bet he has an app. to check the petrol consumption on his car !

Check out his other vid's especially the stalking ones....there is a purpose to what he is doing...plus its his job, long range tuition.

although I agree checking apps can be a pain ITA.

[Alsone 789]

Apps just replace tables and remove the maths.

 

When you're shooting at long range it's not as simple as point as shoot with a bit of guessed (eye estimated) holdover if you want to be truly accurate.

 

You need to start using the turrets and that means calculating MOA for bullet drop and wind drift accurately and identifying the corrsponding number of "clicks" to be dialled in..... and at very long range, spin drift, coreolis and even ammo temp variation, although for live shooting the latter point lies beyond any responsible distance.

[celticrusader 78]

Agreed but gives you an ever more increased respect for our boys over seas who do shoot at increased distances at live quarry...The Enemy!