223, versus 224 diameter bullets
- Thread starter Deerdr
- Start date
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- High River, Alberta
That's the most common use for the .223" bullets. Or any other 22 cartridge that might have been chambered in a 22 rimfire barrel.
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
They will load and fire same as .224 bullets, with MAYBE a slight difference in accuracy, and maybe no difference.
Yes, those were intended for early Hornet rifles. Another odd one is the old and obsolete 22 Jet. It was intended to use .222 bullets.
I had some of these .222 bullets to use up, and loaded them for a modern Hornet rifle. Had to remove the expander button from the sizing die for that batch so the bullet would be gripped snugly upon seating. They shot fine.
Yes, those were intended for early Hornet rifles. Another odd one is the old and obsolete 22 Jet. It was intended to use .222 bullets.
I had some of these .222 bullets to use up, and loaded them for a modern Hornet rifle. Had to remove the expander button from the sizing die for that batch so the bullet would be gripped snugly upon seating. They shot fine.
I have used lots of both. In my early hornet the 223 shot better, in my kimber the 224 does. I like the Hornady 45 gr versions, and always buy them when I get the chance. - dan
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
When the 22-250 was still a wildcat, my old man had a buddy that built one. The only .22 slugs available at the time were manufactured for Hornet use (mid to late 60's). Every Hornet bullet he tried just turned to a grey smoke 20 ft from the end of the barrel. It didn't take long for manufacturers to try to appease the blossoming hi sped .22 crowd with better constructed bullets but if your old ones were of the early Hornet era, don't be surprised if they never reach the target.
Oh, you could still do that later on... My brother and I respectively bought 22-250 and 220 Swift rifles in the early 70's to try out the varminting thing. Shooting gophers at long range with our 30-06's was kind of fun but kind of expensive and tiring after about a hundred rounds, and Jack O'Connor said varmint rifles were the way to go. We wanted as much speed as possible of course, so we bought the little 45 grain bullets.
First trip out to the field after developing loads at 100 yards (back then never thought to try them at 300 or more, just change zero when finally shooting gophers) was interesting. I told my brother he was shooting tracers or something because I could see a smoke trail through my scope. He said "BS" so I fired a couple of shots while he watched. We were pretty young and dumb back then, but it didn't take us all that long to figure out the bullets were coming apart at those speeds as soon as they left the barrel. It was a long Sunday after the long drive home from Alberta, pulling several hundred loaded rounds with an inertia bullet puller.
After we paid more attention to the bullets we had bought simply because they were the right caliber and weight, we found out they were intended for the .22 Hornet, K-Hornet, etc. I think the bullet manufacturers mark their bullets intended for the Hornet as such now, but I'm not sure.
