222; Hornet and 223 - differences?

I love my BSA .222 over my .223 for varmints...but the .223 with a heavy barrel outperforms the .222 for paper punching. Both literally identical as I load them both with 55 FMJs, but slight edge in FPS with the .223. The lighter .222 is much easier to carry in the fields also.
 
I have a k hornet and the advantages are more to do with brass life and accuracy than just velocity.
The hornet or k hornet is easy on powder but hard to find the right powder for. The .222 or .223 are a lot less fussy and easier to buy for/load for, esp the .223.
I have a .223 as well and there's just no comparison in performance. The hornet isa souped up .22 magnum and the .223 just leaves it for dead.
The hornet has it's place, but I would'nt buy one if I did'nt have a .223 first!
 
TReX300 said:
Actually it makes more difference than you think. My uncle has a .223" Hornet and it doesn't shoot worth a crap with .224" bullets.
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I didn't say it wouldn't make a difference. I said you could go on and on describing the differences. Like these three pages of posts already. :rolleyes:
 
Thank you to everyone that responded. All responses were very informative and taught me exactly what I wanted to know.

The reason why I wanted to know, is because I have a friend with a .22 Hornet built on a Lee Enfield action - it looks like a miniture .303 and this is what he managed to find out about the rifle:

When NATO switched to the 7.62 after WWII, Brittain apparently declared the use of the .303 unlawful for civil use. This left the factory in Lithgow, Australia with a huge stockpile of .303 barrels(not yet drilled), actions and stocks. To get rid of these parts, Lithgow then adapted it for different calibers, hence the .22 Hornet looking like a Lee Enfield.

I'm not sure if they adapted it for other calibers too and it will be interesting to know if there are more of these rifles out there.
 
The .303 is not unlawful in the UK, and never was. It is still used at classic rifle matches and general target shooting. I know several people who have them(in .303).
More likely there was such an abundance of them after the war that there was no use for them new in .303. Theres lots bored out to .410 in the UK(or sleeved to take .22 lr)
 
You can actually still find .22 Hornet caliber rifles in both the .223 and .224 diameter bores. And there are still manufacturers that make the original .223 diameter bullets for those that held onto their old rifles, or for those who find the old rifles at gun shops, gun shows, etc. I would like to get an old M4 or M6 Survival Rifle that they used during WWII.
 
what I'd really like to find is a .22 hornet barrel for my savage 219-I have the 30/30 but I understand they came in 20 guage and 22 hornet barrels as well-the original ''combo''
 
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