no love for 22 hornet?

[artsmom]

I like the cartridge ballistics, I detest the paper thin case and the taper of the cartridge.

A 5.7x28 in a suitably accurate rifle would be desirable to me.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I have 5 Hornets... one 17 K Hornet, three 22 K Hornets, & one regular 22 Hornet ( since I own the reamer, I may make them all K Hornets )

the K Hornet eliminates the long taper, the "K" case headspaces on the sharp shoulder rather than the rim, this is supposed to help with both accuracy, & case life... they don't seem to grow as easily or as much, when sitting on the shoulder, rather than the rim...

one may notice only marginal velocity gains... maybe a couple 100 fps, but I'd suspect that's related to the case being unable to take any more pressure... or noticeably people are trying to stuff heavier bullets in the K Hornet...

BTW... I experimented with swapping a 223 barrel ( 1 in 9" twist ) on a Hornet rifle ( chambered in standard hornet... at least to start with ) & had no trouble stabilizing 68 grain bullets in the Hornet case... sort of a mini 22 Whisper... I've since chambered that rifle to K Hornet, & though I'm loading outside the box, seem tro get nice results with 55 grain bullets...

BTW #2... chambering for K Hornet is easy, & regular hornet ammo can be fired in the K Hornet chamber to fire form... the hardest part about stepping up to the "K" is buying dies... I think my Redding Dies were between $60.00 & $70.00

BTW #3... I'm grateful for Hornady to release the 17 Hornady Hornet, as their cases chamber in my 17 K Hornet Contender barrel, makes forming cases for that cartridge much easier than forming them from 22 Hornet

 

[Colt46]

A dying cartridge

Still, it has uses. Anybody that has one should seriously rechamber to the superior K-Hornet. Better velocity and longer case life.

 

[Geezerbiker]

I have 2 .22 K-Hornet rifles and one in .17 Hornady Hornet. They're great rounds for the reloader but not so great if you like to buy factory ammo.

Factory ammo and brass for the .17 Hornady Hornet has been hard to come by. Midway was supposed to have it back in stock this month but has pushed that back to next year...

Tony

 

[44 AMP]

Still, it has uses. Anybody that has one should seriously rechamber to the superior K-Hornet.

While true, I'm not going to. I like the Hornet, partly because of nostalgia. The classic long tapered shape appeals to me. I know its not the most efficient/effective shape, but I still like it.

My battery of varmint calibers is .22 Hornet, .221 Fireball, .222Rem, .223 Rem, & .22-250. I've got the performance range well covered with factory loaded rounds, and my handloading allows considerable expansion of that range, both up and down. SO, for me, no use for the K-Hornet.

 

[Signal-0]

I've always liked the .22 Hornet... I reload for it so shooting it is not that bad as I have quite a bit of brass.

My brother has a nice Pre-64 Winchester Super Grade in .22 Hornet, shoots sweet.

I'd like to get a T/C barrel in .22 Hornet.

 

[michaelcj]

Mine's a Winchester Mdl 43… and my favorite rifle/cartridge BY FAR!
You're right about the cost of factory ammo but I reload which, if you are already set up for it significantly reduces the cost.

My 63 year old rifle with my loads [win brass, speer 1210, small pistol primer, 12.8gr LilGun] shoots 100 yard groups that you can cover with a dime all day long… at 300yards a silver dollar will do the covering.

What's not to love.

 

[B.L.E.]

If you can get your hands on a Ruger #3 in .22 Hornet you'll never sell it!

I have the Ruger #1 in .22 Hornet, if I had to nitpick, the rifle is rather heavy for such a small caliber.

 

[reynolds357]

I am not really sure what there is about it to love.

 

[B.L.E.]

I am not really sure what there is about it to love.

Practical and fun to shoot, if you reload. Also, with its mild velocities and pressure, barrel accuracy life should be longer than with the higher velocity rounds.

 

[michaelcj]

Agree with B.L.E. completely. Plus:

I have a penchant for classic cartridges.
Very easy round to reload
Pleasant to shoot all day long
Fine varmint round out to about 300 [if you are into that]
Low noise
And… it's the round my #43 is chambered for.

Mike

 

[B.L.E.]

After years of magnum bloat in the shooting world, shooters are rediscovering the fun and practicality of the classic low power cartridges.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"Mine's a Winchester Mdl 43… and my favorite rifle/cartridge BY FAR!"

Nice...

I've been looking for either a .25-20 or a .32-20 Winchester 43 for years. They are NOT cheap.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

22 Hornet ammo has been hard to come by lately...

was just at Graf's website, & happened to click on the 22 Hornet ( I don't really need ammo right now ) & noticed they have some Federal Hornet ammo in stock...

ready... set... go...

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/22136

 

[Geezerbiker]

It's even worse for .17 Hornady hornet. I bought 3 boxes when the rifle came home from the smith a year or so ago and I haven't seen any since.

Fortunately I have 400 + .22 K-Hornet rounds so I won't be needing any for awhile.

Tony

 

[lewwetzel]

What Tuck said. My Hornet sees little action since I got a .221 Fireball; a bit quieter, though. Did manage to nail a fat groundhog DRT at 170 yards with it recently (after its requisite first-shot flyer miss).

 

[damienph]

H&R 157

Mine is an old H&R Model 157 with the full Manlicher style stock. Not a match rifle but fun for squirrels and prairie dogs inside 50 yards. I have a steel tube El Paso Weaver K2.5 on it mounted on an old Weaver rail and rings. It is a good little rifle, if it had a better trigger it would be a great little rifle.

 

[surveyor]

I almost got a 77/22... thought real hard about it...but ended up passing on it..

Now I did get intrigued by the 22 tcm..mainly in pistol first, and then the thoughts turned to the rifle..

I would like info on light subsonic rounds with pistol powder, and the range it can be loaded from the lightest to the heaviest..

Even if it is 22 hornet loads as the twist and case capacity is very similar...

I think it will be a fun little round.

The cheap to feed aspect and velocities from airgun to full loads is appealing.

So while it is not a hornet it is in a similar class..a little less case capacity than a fireball..from what I have been able to find so far. (About 0.4")

 

[JohnKSa]

I was thinking about this. I wonder if the 17HMR is going to have a significant effect on the popularity of the .22Hornet?

Admittedly, the 17HMR won't be a major player with shooters who want to be able to reload every cartridge they shoot, but that still leaves a lot of shooters who may choose 17HMR over .22Hornet.

 

[Geezerbiker]

I bought a 77/.22 Hornet that was reamed to K-Hornet and had other work done to it before I got it. It's a real tack driver and I expect one of my grandkids will be shooting it long after I'm gone.

My .17 Hornet is a custom H&R single shot. It's also a good shooting rifle and I'd shoot it more often if brass wasn't so hard to come by...

Tony