Well, I have decided on the .22 Hornet

Bull's-Eye

Bull's-Eye

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This is going to be my first and probably only centerfire rifle. The reason I went with this round is because I, for some reason, have a soft spot for smaller rounds. I really like this one because it is small, not too potent but can still hold its own when gopher hunter and is not to loud. And I hear it is the, or one of the, cheapest to reload and is just a fun little round to shoot. I have heard that alot of people like to shoot this more than a .223 or .22-250.

Once I get the $$$ I think I am set on the Ruger #1. Not like this will be anytime soon but it gives me something to look foward to.

Any comments on this round good or bad?
 
The Hornet is a fantastic choice, and a lot of fun to shoot. It's like a 22 rimfire magnum magnum. Not terribly loud - noticably more than a 22, but noticably less than a 223 or bigger. It's probably closer to rimfire levels sound-wise. I shoot a lot more Hornet rounds every year than 204's, 22-250's or even rimfires.

cheap to load for, but a 223 is probably cheaper, as you can find the brass for free.

I wouldn't personally get a single shot, I'd go for the ruger 77/22 Hornet, the Savage 40 or a CZ. Heck there was a Kimber up in the EE a while back that seemed to be priced quite reasonably (for a Kimber)
 
The Hornet in a No.1 is a great choice in my oppinion. You're right it's a fun little round to shoot, and out of a No.1 it's like shooting a 22 rf, well maybe not, but awful close. Some will tell you that it doesn't lend itself to reloading like other cartridges might because of the "fragile" brass. Get yourself a set of Lee collet dies and reload with those, you won't find any problems, especially out of the No.1. You won't be dissapointed with your choice, good luck and happy shooting.
 
Thanks guy's. It sounds like I am not the only .22 hornet fan out there. As for the .204, well I don't know if its for me. I think I will stick to a cartridge that has been around since the 1920's or since its comercial debut in 1932.

Sorry to get a little into the history. I actually only own 2 guns now. A 10/22, 10/22 Magnum and sometime soon a .22 hornet. I know it doesn't seem like much of a jump in range since i have a .22 magnum but that is ok with me. I acutally want something with a little more umph but I don't want to wake the dead while shooting it.

I read an article in Rifle Magazine awhile back, May of 2005 I think, that showed that with modern powders and v-max round, the hornet is an honest 300 yard gun and is capable of doing what the .223 used to be able to do before the introduction of the same technology. A 300 yard range limit sound just fine to me.
 
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Personally I love your rifle and cartridge choice. The #1 is a great rifle (I have two of them) and the Hornet is a really nice cartridge in my opinion. It's also a bonus that you can get in the neighbourhood of 700 rounds of reloading from one pound of powder! Make sure to try out the .35 grain V-Max bullet and Hodgdon Lil Gun powder

Chuck
 
Have a Ruger #3 ,22 inch brl. single shot in 22 K hornet..........as a regular Hornet It would do about 2900 fps with a 40gr v max and win 296 powder...

Handloaded, it grouped under an inch/100yds/3 shots....... thinking that this was pretty great, I had it reamed to K Hornet about 8 years ago.....And with the 40 gr v Max and 14 gr W 296 I get 3250..3268..3246 fps and at 0.60inch/100yds.........

loaded down to regular Hornet velocities it will stay just under the inch too..

very cheap to shoot.... and you can watch the impact on target/varmint as there's virtually no recoil.......and would guess that in a #1 Ruger it would be even more of a great caliber..

Have not shot anything past 200 yds with it.......but would guess on a calm day that small varmints out to 300 might be in trouble ........

.....if you decide to get one I doubt you'll regret it..



hs4570..............your mileage may vary
 
My dad was out in a gopher patch one day. I dont remember why, but here was a conservation officer who showed up. He was not in trouble and were shooting the breeze so to say.

A gopher stands up out of a hole while the CO was talking to him. Just a second he says. boom whack, gopher does sommersaults. CO says Wow, what the hell is that thing.:eek:

Needless to say, I bet that CO has one now.
 
i have a brno ZKW 465 in 22 k-hornet, it is a great little gun. gophers, skunks, and coyotes are what it gets pointed at and the 40 grain vmax is deadly.
 
700 rounds from a pound of powder sounds awsome. I was noticing how much you actually save reloading this round. The factory loads are actually pretty expensive for this particular caliber.

Each time I read the reply's to this post I get more and more excited. Man I can't wait.

Thanks for the replys everyone.
 
The hornet is a fun little round but it can be difficult to get accurate loads for it--problem lies in that it headspaces on the rim--not enough shoulder to reliably headspace on--and in some lots of brass the rim thickness vaies quite a bit. If the chamber is a little on the loose side it can be a problem--one of the Ruger #3's that I had simply could not be made to shoot better than 2-3" at 100 yards--I worked with that one for a couple of years before I gave up.

If you get it reamed out to K-hornet it headspaces on the shoulder and usually improves accuracy, consistency and case life. There is a little increase in preformance but that is minor compared to the other benefits.

The # 1 should be a fun platform for the Hornet.

44Bore
 
I just picked up a Brno rifle to go with my Contender pistol. What a hoot to shoot. My first 20 rds of factory ammo produced a 1.5" 20 rd group at 100 yards. Probably a realistic 1 MOA shooter if sloppy shots discounted.

I'm going K-hornet on both, it's a relatively inexpensive improvement and I stumbled across the "K" reloading dies.

There's been a few good used guns come and go on the exchanges lately. Sako, Kimber and Brno's. Williamsarms has/had an older Brno.

New: Cz's, Browning Micro, Ruger (apparently hit or miss accuracy) and Savage's are moderately priced.
 
I have two .22 KHornet rifles, a Ruger #3 and a Danl Fraser. This is a great round. It's not too loud being noticably quieter than the .223 or .22-250. The Hornet and K Hornet are my picks hands down for gopher shooting and just fun plinking.
Reloading them is cheap too. A hot load uses 12.5 grains of powder.
 
44Bore said:
The hornet is a fun little round but it can be difficult to get accurate loads for it--problem lies in that it headspaces on the rim--not enough shoulder to reliably headspace on--and in some lots of brass the rim thickness vaies quite a bit. If the chamber is a little on the loose side it can be a problem--one of the Ruger #3's that I had simply could not be made to shoot better than 2-3" at 100 yards--I worked with that one for a couple of years before I gave up.

If you get it reamed out to K-hornet it headspaces on the shoulder and usually improves accuracy, consistency and case life. There is a little increase in preformance but that is minor compared to the other benefits.

The # 1 should be a fun platform for the Hornet.

44Bore
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Neck-only sizing can alleviate most of these problems, as will using lil-gun powder. Lil-gun produces MUCH lower pressures than 110 or 296, yet out performs them at the same time. I have Hornet brass going on 10 loads that I have not yet had to trim.

My 77/22 Hornet shoots honest 5/8" (5-shot) groups at 100 yards consistently, and can reach out past 200 yards on gophers. 300 is certainly a stretch with the 35 grain VMAX bullets, but I could see it with 40's. Problem is, 40's are too long to function through the magazine.

Besides, I have bigger centerfires that will always be better suited to the 300+ yard shots. 22lr within 70-100 yards, Hornet out to 225 or so, 222 to 350, and the 204 or 243 beyond that.
 
I know 44Bore has given his thoughts on the accuracy of the .22 hornet in the Ruger #1. Is there anyone else that can comment on this rifles groups.
 
MiG25 said:
i have a brno ZKW 465 in 22 k-hornet, it is a great little gun. gophers, skunks, and coyotes are what it gets pointed at and the 40 grain vmax is deadly.
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Jason I wish you wouldn't have said that, I've know where there's one in great shape and had just gotten over covetting it!:redface:

How will I be able to further expand my Brno fleet when I haven't paid off the first two!:runaway: :p

I have read that the brass life can be short when they are loaded up to max, is this true guys?

Noel
 
Depends on the brass and the chamber, as well as loading pressures. My Hornet is a Kimber (of Oregon), and it was a fussy rifle. Eventually I found a load it likes though, and it shoots quite well, and is a joy to handle and even look at. Maybe someday I'll even find a second mag for it. - dan
 
My cousin has one and it pops the gophers higher than my .22 Mag. That's why I'm looking to get a .204 or .223. He has a Bruno and found it is only really accurate when he molys the bullets & bbl. But I've shot it and it's a decent little gopher gun. Bit of a pain to reload being so small but nne the less it shoots well.
 
I had a SAKO 22 Hornet for a while. It was the fussiest rifle I ever loaded for. Never did get it to shoot really well. Factory ammo was terrible.

Traded it away and never cared to get another one.

Ted
 
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