22 hornet

[Star1pup]

My CZ 527 American .22 Hornet should be in this week.  Also bought .22 Hornet dies so should be ready to rock & roll.

[the lone gunman]

you can get a savage model 40 single shoit for around $400 or so. they are definately shooters. i have one that averages 1/4 inch with handloads, sub 3/4 inch with winchester factory fodder.

I second that , my savage #40 was $424.00.  Excellent trigger right from the box, free floated barrel, extra sling swivel for a bipod,  very nice fit and finish, and now you have $200.00 left for a scope.   And belive me, you can shoot the heads off crows all day long.

[kevthebassman]

There's four pages debating the suitability of the 243 for deer and here you are using the 22 hornet with great success! I'm surprised the flamers haven't turned you to ashes by now. Papere and my uncles took many deer with the 22lr during the depression and the family survived quite nicely. As always, there can be no substitute for a well placed round. Have fun, Guy

I knew some old boys who didn't pay much mind to hunting regulations who used a .22 Hornet with great success for spotlighting and killing deer at night along the back roads.  They never went hungry, to be sure.

[Star1pup]

The CZ is now in my safe.  Just need a bit of decent Ohio weather to get to the range and try it.

[sburd]

You can down load(light loads)for the 223,but it won't be as effective as a full charged case. Without at least 70% volume (fill) the velocity gets erratic,and accuracy goes down hill. Both are great cartridges,it depends on what you want to do,with the gun. The Hornet is a great little gun,and a pound of powder goes a long way. If you shoot allot at 200yds. or less,the Hornet won't disappoint you.

Not true in my experience.  I make up light bullet loads for my 223s using Blue Dot and they rival or best my standard loads.  Another nice thing is I can't shoot them fast enough to get the barrel hot.  A pound of Blue Dot will give me over 500 rounds so it helps keep cost down.  It also sounds about like my Hornets, much quieter using this powder.

[dw06]

You can down load(light loads)for the 223,but it won't be as effective as a full charged case. Without at least 70% volume (fill) the velocity gets erratic,and accuracy goes down hill. Both are great cartridges,it depends on what you want to do,with the gun. The Hornet is a great little gun,and a pound of powder goes a long way. If you shoot allot at 200yds. or less,the Hornet won't disappoint you.

Not true in my experience.  I make up light bullet loads for my 223s using Blue Dot and they rival or best my standard loads.  Another nice thing is I can't shoot them fast enough to get the barrel hot.  A pound of Blue Dot will give me over 500 rounds so it helps keep cost down.  It also sounds about like my Hornets, much quieter using this powder.

After using blue dot loads for over a year in three differant 223s, have to agree with sburd 100%.They work, and are not erratic at all.As for accuracy, mine all have loads using blue dot that are covered with a dime at 100 yards,plenty accurate I'd say. Nothing wrong with the hornet as I've used them for years, just that they can be fussy. Downloading my 223s end up where? The same as the hornet!!

[woodchukhntr]

dw06,

What BD loads are you using in the .223?

[dw06]

dw06,

What BD loads are you using in the .223?

PM sent

[303Guy]

.... Nothing wrong with the hornet as I've used them for years, just that they can be fussy. Downloading my 223s end up where? The same as the hornet!!

The hornet is finicky but is also the most fun cartridge to reload and shoot! 

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

       I have heard and read this finicky bit on the Hornet however never having any experience with it nor knowing anyone who uses it I don't understand why this should. Add to that the fact that I have just been offered a BSA Hunter in 22 Hornet for a really good price so I am looking for more information on the Hornet.

[MSP Ret]

dw06, would you mind sharing that BD .223 load with me as well? Thanks buddy....<><....

[fatercat]

i don't what kind of rifle he has. i bought my ruger, brass. bullets, lil'gun powder, rem 6 1/2 rifle primers, 13 grns, 45 gn bullets, and started shooting 1" or less. i don't see much finikie about that. how old is your rifle?

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

      The BSA Hunter in 22 Hornet that I have been offered was made around 1957 or there abouts. Looking through the bore it shows some wear as the rifling is not as crisp as it would have been nearly 50 years ago. The BSA Hunter was the first commercial action of their own design BSA made and has a full length Mauser type extractor and it's a true short action built to fit the round.

[kevthebassman]

Hi All,

      The BSA Hunter in 22 Hornet that I have been offered was made around 1957 or there abouts. Looking through the bore it shows some wear as the rifling is not as crisp as it would have been nearly 50 years ago. The BSA Hunter was the first commercial action of their own design BSA made and has a full length Mauser type extractor and it's a true short action built to fit the round.

If nothing else, have it cut and re-crowned and that may improve it.  If it doesn't work out, you're only out the cost of the rifle + $50.

[fatercat]

go get it and let us know how it does.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

      The BSA Hunter in 22 Hornet that I have been offered was made around 1957 or there abouts. Looking through the bore it shows some wear as the rifling is not as crisp as it would have been nearly 50 years ago. The BSA Hunter was the first commercial action of their own design BSA made and has a full length Mauser type extractor and it's a true short action built to fit the round.

If nothing else, have it cut and re-crowned and that may improve it.  If it doesn't work out, you're only out the cost of the rifle + $50.

Ha Ha sorry but you wish. Re-crowning here in the UK would more likely cost $150-$250. Now the rifle has been offered for £50 ($98 US). However first I have to get a variation on my licence to purchase it, funnily enough I have been considering changing my Baikal MH18 in 222 Rem, I originally was looking for a BSA Hunter in 222 Rem but could not find a reasonable one then fell over this Baikal at a gunshow for £90 so brought it as I had an open slot now of course I have found one and possibly two Hunters but so far have only seen one of them in person.

[kevthebassman]

Ah, sorry.  Didn't take into account the piss-poor gun laws y'all have to contend with, and a lack of gunsmiths that probably comes along with it.  That's a shame too, because a re-crown can really do wonders for a rifle, but $250 to re-crown a $100 rifle doesn't make sense.

[Brithunter]

Gunsmiths are not a problem within 200 miles of here there are four high quality Gunsmiths who are also first rate rifle smiths that I know of, there are probably more than I have not dealt with. For shotguns locally and I mean within 25 miles then we probably have more like half a dozen as Game and Pigeon shooting is big round here. The overheads like Electric, gas and of course petrol are high. petrol is currently around $10 US per gallon.

So far I have not been able to get hold of Lewis who had the BSA Hunter in .222 Rem on commission sale, he might be away or his shop may have been flooded as Evesham Vale where he lives in was hit quite badly in the floods. I will try again on Monday as although it will cost a little more it's supposedly in excellent condition and Lewis is a man of his word. It was he who re-barreled my Schoenauer Model 1903 and got it re-blacked and proofed. I doubt Lewis still has it as he told me about it about 18 months ago now but I was not in the position to follow up on it at that time.

Now the Hornet locally needs some cosmetic restoration like the stock cleaning off and freshening up the finish and the chequering re-cut.  What puzzles me about this particular rifle is that the foresight is completely missing and I cannot see where it was fitted but I have not measured the barrel length as yet even though it does not look short.

[Star1pup]

Perhaps the hornet was drilled and tapped for a scope and was not made with iron sights.  That's the case with my CZ.

[Brithunter]

Well I had another loom at the Hornet rifle yesterday and in better light I can see where the fore sight ramp has been removed, they were soldered on, the action is dovetailed to take the Parker-Hale roll off mounts and the early ones didn't have a recoil stud hole and this is an early example with a three digit serial number. Unfortunately some previous owner has drilled there own recoil stud holes whic need tidying up and deburing which is why I don't think a gunsmith did them.

I will be phoning the licensing department today (Monday) to run this past them but have agreed on principle to buy it. We will take the wood off so I can get to work cleaning it and freshing the finish up and cleaning the chequering. The metal work will have to await the variation on my licence. Will still be following up on the 222 Rem Hunter as well as it's suposedly in much better condition.

This is what the top of the action should look like as factory standard, this is one of my Majestic Featherweights and is a long action and as you can see had a sporting aperture sight by Parker Hale fitted. The actions were factory drilled to take them:-



The rings were know to slip on the dovetails on some rifles so the recoil stud hole was added to the rear bridge and the P-H mounts and rings have a stud which locates in them.

[Chuck White]

The majority of people will underestimate the performance of the 22 Hornet.

I've seen lots of deer shot with a hornet, with a 45 or 46 grain bullet and usually they drop right there, with a bullet placed in the middle of the boiler room.

The Hornet is good on deer, out to 150 yards or so!

[woodchukhntr]

The majority of people will underestimate the performance of the 22 Hornet.

I've seen lots of deer shot with a hornet, with a 45 or 46 grain bullet and usually they drop right there, with a bullet placed in the middle of the boiler room.

The Hornet is good on deer, out to 150 yards or so!

Only if there is nothing else to use and you are starving, or poaching.  Although legal, it is not a good deer cartridge unless the deer you are hunting are fawns.  You owe the animals better than that.  A shot cannot always be placed it the boiler room, since deer tend to move at the most inopportune times.

The .22 Hornet is a great cartridge within it's limitations.  If one thinks it is a good deer cartridge, one would probably think that the .30-30 is a great grizzly cartridge!  You only have to get them in the eye!  On the other hand, Karamojo Bell shot thousands of elephants with a 7mm Mauser.  I wonder if he had a backup shooter with something more appropriate?

[Chuck White]

Only if there is nothing else to use and you are starving, or poaching.

I really don't think you've ever tried a Hornet!  Otherwise you'd know what it's capable of!

Although legal, it is not a good deer cartridge unless the deer you are hunting are fawns.

It really don't matter much what the deer's size is!

A shot cannot always be placed it the boiler room, since deer tend to move at the most inopportune times.

If you don't have the shot you want, DON'T pull the trigger!

On the other side of the coin, I don't think that it takes a 30-06 or larger to kill a whitetail.

[Brithunter]

On the other hand, Karamojo Bell shot thousands of elephants with a 7mm Mauser.  I wonder if he had a backup shooter with something more appropriate?

   Nope Bell used small bore  (as the British called them, .45 was a medium bore) because he had to carry all the ammunition for an extended safari. Not sport he was hunting Ivory as a business and they walked out shot the Elephants and buried the Ivory until they had enough for every one to be loaded with it on the walk back to town. Bell started using a 303 then swithced to the 7mm mauser before finishing using the 6.5x53R.