22 Hornet?

beltfed

beltfed

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I’ve come across a CZ527 in .22 Hornet and if I’m honest, I’m a bit smitten.
As much as I fancy this cool little retro cartridge, I’d need to set up and load for it, adding to the pile of dies and case holders I already have.
The practical boring side of me is saying ‘don’t bother with it and just stick with loading .223’, which the 527 comes chambered in as well.

So who has a .22 hornet? Worth loading for? What’s it do that .223 can’t?

Cheers!
 
I have one because I can. I was thinking of cheap reloading, although I have not started yet. I too was interested in this cartridge simply because it was old and neat to own. I think what this one can do that 223 can't is maybe save te fur a bit if that's what you're shooting for.
 
beltfed said:
So who has a .22 hornet? Worth loading for? What’s it do that .223 can’t?

Cheers!
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Many years ago I graduated to the .22Hornet from a Mod 572 Remington in .22RF. A Savage 340 with a 4x Bushnell. Horn 45 gr SPSX over Win 680. I killed hundreds of groundhogs with that rifle. At a time when every one else was rushing out to buy .223 because surplus ammo was cheap. For me the Hornet was quieter, burned less powder and killed just as well at the ranges we were shooting locally.
I traded that gun away eventually but still have 2 Hornets, a Ruger 1B and a semi-custom Ruger #3. With Lil Gun and Hornady 35 gr Vmax the #3 with put 5 under an inch at 100 yd. And it will shoot considerably flatter than my traditional 680 load. It's still a great little varmint cartridge which shines when handloaded.
 
I have a contender in22 hornet,love. Very accurate. You can duplicate any load from 22 long,22 long rifle,22wmr. I use jacketed and cast. Always wanted a rifle,but seen a pistol barrel on a gun show table. Found out it was 22 hornet. About 1 hour after being home it was scooped and ready for the range. Would like to have CZ rifle or Contender rifle to match.
 
I don't have a 22 Hornet but I do have a CZ 527v in 17 Hornet. :) Haven't started loading for it yet as I acquired a bunch of factory ammo. No it won't do anything a 223 will do but the Hornet is a fun round and the CZ makes it even better.
 
I've had several Hornets over the decades and assassinated several dozen gophers with one in the seventies with cast bullets. While it is high in cool factor, brass and ammo is scarce and expensive compared to the .223 and brass life is short due to stretching. You would be happier with the .223 in the long run as long as you use good quality brass and save the bulk brass for AR blasting.
 
I have a Savage Model 25. Frugal to handload and highly accurate, consistently sub-MOA off the bench. It's a real nice range toy. Great for off hand shooting practice.

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22 Hornet Savage Model 25 with Nikon ProStaff 2-7x32mm

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Love the Hornet, have only one now a Ruger #3. Just gave a Browning to my son. Great small game, gopher, and I've used it as a coyote calling gun. Cost me les than a 17HMR to shoot with better results. I have 2 223s that never get shot. It is not a 1 gun does all, but it is a pleasure to use.
 
I had one. It got used in farmer's fields where the noise of my 243 would have made people nervous.

I recall standing in a field with it and a box of 50 shells. I shot a ground hog about 50 yards away. Another popped up to see what happened... and so it went, until that ammo was gone.

That is what you can do with a Hornet that a 223 won't.
 
Its a very fun caliber to shoot . Fly's ext. in High River has lots of 22 hornet ammo all the time . No recoil and accurate . Quiet , cheap to re-load . Its like a 22. cal on rocket fuel. with V-max bullets , things just blow up .
 
I have had a couple Hornets, and like my current hornet a lot. It is an Anschutz 1533. Accurate, quiet, and efficient. Have used it on critters the size of ground squirrels and magpies up to coyote and beaver. Perfect if you don't stretch the range too far or shoot in high wind. My preferred loads are with the Sierra 45 RN or Hornady Vmax 33 gr and Lil gun or W296. Rem 6-1/2 primers are designed for the Hornet.
 
I have a couple of 22 Hornets as well. One is built on a small Martini action with a 1 inch barrel. It shoot one hole groups out to 50 yards. (one cm). The other is a Winchester model 43, bolt action that is almost as accurate. It is death on Rocky Mountain Jack Rabbits out to 150 yards. The 22 wrm is fine to 100 but definitely drops off pretty quickly from there. The Hornet, as mentioned is much quieter than the 223, which is important when hunting rabbits.

Crows are very difficult to shoot in quantity. They have incredible sight and hearing. This summer we were inundated by Crows. Hundreds of them. They came for the water. Our summer was bone dry and the year round creek attracted all sorts of birds and animals that we hadn't even known were in the area. To many Crows are devastating to the songbird population, so they needed to be whittled down.

The 223 was to loud and they quickly associated the noise and would leave for a few days, especially if one of the dead ones was left dangling in a visible tree. The 22 wrm just didn't quite have the range. Once they were alerted, they definitely had an established safe distance that they would gather and squawk at. The 22 Hornet was the perfect choice for them.

As for brass stretching, the 22 Hornet is one I don't anneal. I also don't size the cases unless it's absolutely necessary. I find that cast lead bullets of around 40 grains.225 fit snug enough into necks that all I have to do is replace the primers, add the right amount of powder and seat the bullets. Yes, they will move if I'm to aggressive. No, this won't work with jacketed bullets.

The Martini doesn't care and I don't have any issues to chamber a round. The Winchester on the other hand feeds from a magazine, so care must be taken when stripping a cartridge from the mag to the chamber.

There seems to be a lot of Hornet cases and factory loads at gun shows lately. I'm lucky in that our local shop carries it regularly. Still, it isn't cheap. It's about half again as much as 22wrm.
 
slug said:
While it is high in cool factor, brass and ammo is scarce and expensive compared to the .223 and brass life is short due to stretching. .
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I have been reloading for the Hornet for the last 30 years or so and have never had a case head separation due to case stretching. It's certainly not the norm for me anyway. I tend to only size the case partially with a full length die though. I don't find Hornet brass anymore expensive than other calibres.
 
I have a Hornet and a 223. I load the Hornet way down with a 65 grain bullet...it's essentially a reloadable 22 mag for me and very quiet.
 
Go for it!
I was in search of a 527 for over a year before I got one, then I sent it out to be re chambered to a 22-K hornet. Put a bit of a shoulder on the case
I shoot 40 grain v-max and lil' gun powder for cheap low noise fun. It's very accurate as well

Is a 222 or a 223 better? Probably... But I have both them and still got the hornet
Also be sure to try small pistol primers with the lil gun

And for some reason you don't end up liking the round, sell it. Shouldnt be hard, Lots of intrest in this old cartridge
 
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