.22 Hornet

[Whiterook]

Anyone here like the .22 Hornet? I'm very interested in the cartridge even thought it is pretty much obsolete. Seems like a decent coyote round. CZ makes some very attractive rifles in this caliber. Just wondering who here, if anyone, shoots this tiny little guy?

[Shawn.L]

my son absolutely loves it for small game.

they sell it at Dick's, so it cant really be obsolete, pricey though.

[knight0334]

I got one in a NEF/H&R flavored rifle. I love the little cartridge.. Not as much blast, extremely cheap to reload, effective within its usable ranges.

[Huggy]

I've got a blonde stocked H&R that the old man picked up years ago. What he didn't spend on the rifle, I sure as hell spent on ammo for it.
Last time I had it out, I could cover a 5 shot group with a dime at 100 yds. Not the best, but probably my best.
Nice little round, but I've been thinking about trading the rifle for something I'll use more often.

[mauser]

I have two of them, Thompson Contender 10" and 21".



Accurate, cheap to reload and don't underestimate the power.
Muzzle velocity of 2500+ FPS with a 55 gr. bullet and 3000+ FPS with a 35 gr. bullet is easy to achieve.

[Whiterook]

Thanks guys, I don't reload(yet) but it does seem easy to reload. Can't take much powder and bullets must be easy to fine?

I was surprised at how tiny the cartridge actually is.

[Bama Man]

I have a Savage 23D, manufactured in 1932 in .22 Hornet.
It is an easy reload, and super cheap to reload, as it takes VERY little powder.
Shoots very well also, but, with my Savage, I have to stay at 45 grains or smaller due to the barrel twist rate. 55 grainers keyhole with mine.
It is a great round for groundhogs and other such varmints.
I load 10.5 grains of Hodgon H4895 with both the 40 or the 45 grain bullets.
Keep in mind that this is an EASY cartridge to exceed pressure with when reloading, max load recomended is 11.5 grains, with a pressure of 32,000psi, so, though it's little, it packs a wallup.

[Posit]

Had one, traded it off. Kept pinching my fingers in the press trying to hold the little bitty ball in the little bitty case.

That said, its a good cartridge for what it is.

[mauser]

I load 10.5 grains of Hodgon H4895 with both the 40 or the 45 grain bullets.
Keep in mind that this is an EASY cartridge to exceed pressure with when reloading, max load recomended is 11.5 grains, with a pressure of 32,000psi, so, though it's little, it packs a wallup.

Try Hodgdon Lil'Gun for higher muzzle velocity, slightly lower pressure and about safest load you could build.
With all bullets listed (with one exception, Barnes XFB) in the Hodgdon manual the maximum load is 13.0 grains. That's a compressed load, some Hornet cases won't even hold that much powder so it's virtually impossible to use too much powder. (Keep in mind that 13.0 is the maximum load, recommended starting loads range from 11.0 to 12.0 grains.)
Some of the velocities and pressures listed are as follows:

35 GR. HDY V-MAX 2842fps 24,000 CUP
40 GR. SPR SP 2826fps 28,400 CUP
45 GR. HDY SP 2787fps 31,600 CUP
50 GR. SIE SP 2713fps 35,300 CUP
55 GR. HDY SP 2652fps 42,900 CUP

53 GR. BAR XFB starting load 11.0gr. 2310fps 32,800 CUP
53 GR. BAR XFB maximum load 12.0gr. 2509fps 39,000 CUP

The source of my information can be found here:
http://www.hodgdon.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html