22 Hornet?

Crosswind

Crosswind

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Hello,

I've only got a .22LR rifle so don't know much about rifles in general.

Just wanted to know how 22 Hornet, in terms of pricing and availability in Canada, compares to more common hunting and target cartridges.
Also, are there any special rules/regulations that limit this cartridge for hunting purposes?

Appreciate any replies and thanks!
 
OK up to coyotes but you won't be taking it deer hunting. Availability is poor. If you want to upgrade from your .22lr I'd go with a 223. Lotsof available options, cheap and fun to shoot. Can bang gongs out past 600 yards. If you want to hunt big game as well, don't go to big off the start. Lots of good options, 270, 30-06, 308, etc. Look into a 243 as well. OK for coyotes and OK for deer but not the best option for either. I'm not super experienced in the field yet, but I have done a $hit load of research. I started with a .22lr, then moved into a 243. I quickly became addicted to hunting coyotes, And took a whitetail before selling it and picking up a 223 and 30-06. I went with a 308 for strictly targets. Be careful cause once you start buying guns its like crack!
 
used to have one, It is a good coyote and ground hawg round. rifle selection is fairly limited. ruger and cooper both chamber rifles in 22 hornet.
 
My dad has a nice winchester hi-wall heavy barreled 22K hornet with a 20?x Lyman scope nice accuret little gun but it is lacing in the power department.

You can pick up a new Savage 17 hornet
 
I have a CZ 22 Hornet. It will do for coyotes. No kick, little report and you can reload. However I use my .223 for coyotes, harder hitting, longer effective range and reloadable. My hornet is for gophers and target shooting.
 
One problem with 22 Hornet is the first time you buy ammo you will cringe. It's pretty expensive. To reload it is pretty neat as it makes a pound of powder go a long way. I have one in an old Brno with double set triggers that is pretty nice to shoot.
 
In my opinion, a .22 Hornet is little more than a glorified gopher gun. As said, ammo is expensive and lacks availability. Better off going to .223 for target and long range pests and varmints. 223 is not a hunting rifle, just small critters and target.
 
The Hornet is something of a niche rifle cartridge, in that it allows a varmint hunter to safely shoot a centerfire rifle in populated rural areas without disturbing those who prefer to sleep in on Sunday morning. I've only owned a couple of Hornet rifles, but in general I found the cartridge a challenging one to get to shoot well. Factory ammo is terrible in this respect, and good handloads seldom gave me much better than 1.25 MOA. Light weight, thin skinned bullets are a must for good terminal performance, and the short shanks of these light weight bullets probably have something to do with the accuracy limitations. The Hornet necks are easy to damage when handloading, so extreme care must be taken when resizing, trimming, and seating bullets. IMHO, a .222 or a .223 will do anything the Hornet will do when down loaded, and have a much greater potential for accuracy and performance. If you begin with new brass, its important to full length resize (this thin brass is easily dented in handling) and uniform the neck length right out of the bag. Given the target size of the game that should be shot with a hornet, and the accuracy limitations you might experience, 150-175 yards is about the limit and 200 is pushing it. That's about the same as the range of a .22 WRM, despite the Hornet having nearly 30% more velocity.
 
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Reaming out a Hornet chamber to K-Hornet makes it a little less of a PITA to live with...but it kinda loses some of its charm, too.
 
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