I am trying to decide whether to get the 22 hornet or the 22-250 for my Thompson Center Encore. I will be using it to improve my handgun skills and plinking. I may use it for some small game hunting up to 75 yards. Which would you choose? The 22-250 may be too hot for my purpose.

Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Greg

Greg, I had a Contender in .223 thet was a lot of fun. Although I never lerned to shoot it as well as I wanted I did manage to take a coyote at well over 150 yards, maybe as much as 175. Anyway, it dropped him in his tracks. I used Hornady SX bullets and they worked quite well. The .223 was cheaper to load for and it was enough gun for what I wanted to do. It's hard to tell you what to get as you may be fond of the low muzzle blast and recoil of the hornet. On the other hand the .22-250 is far superior for longer shots and bigger varmints.

Hey Greg, I agree with BigNate's suggestion of considering the 223Rem - a great cartridge!

I had 22Hornets of verious types for 35 years and found them to be finicky to the extreme. One day they would shoot fine. The next day using the exact same Loads would have groups at double the size. I got rid of mine prior to "Hodgdon's Lil'Gun" Powder coming on the market and I do hear good things about it making them shoot more consistently.

One nice thing about the 223Rem is you can "down-load" it to 22Hornet levels with 1x.xgr of 2400, Blue Dot, etc. and then crank it back up when wanted.

Nothing at all wrong with the 22-250Rem. It is a great cartridge too. But at the 75yd distance you mentioned, the 223Rem would be my choice along with a good old 22LR.

The hornet is finicky but once you have found a good combo there a great round and I really like mine, does not scare everthing away when your spotlighting, mine is a cz with Leupold Vari X11 3-9x50.

For the distances you are talking about, you will be burning way more powder than necessary in a .22-250. The hornet is a neat little orund, bu the .223 has it beat for cost & performance.

Having had a 16" .223 barrel for my contender, as well as a 10" 218 mashburn bee, I'd opt for the smaller case. The .223 to me was way too loud for such a short barrel.

For your application, I'd look at the 22 hornet, 22 k-hornet, 221 Fireball, and 218 bee. I was able to consistantly hit the head of a turkey silouette @ 150 yds with the 218 mashburn, and that was with a load that was only moderately accurate. With a 221 Fireball, you can match 22 hornet rifle performance.

why not a 22 magnum?

Hell, get 'em both...they don't cost that much...

The .223 idea is a good one. I could reduce my loads as required. Do you think I could reduce it enough to squirrel hunt? Do you think I could get .22 LR or .22 magnum velocity safely with accuracy?

Thanks for your input

[ 06-12-2002, 10:33: Message edited by: tundrarules ]

I would get the .223 myself. I would also skip the factory barrels and get a custom barrel from Fox Ridge Outffiters (T/C's Custom Shop)
http://www.foxridgeoutfitters.com/customshop/index.html

I would also suggest a standard taper barrel 25-26", at .650" bore diameter the standard barrels are plenty heavy with a .224 bore. The heavy barrels are not fun to walk around with. I got rid of a .300win for that very reason. The custom shop barrels start at $250 so they are not that much more, and they shoot a heck of a lot better.

Although I've never shot a Thompson in .223, I've found the muzzle blast my Winchester M 70 with a 22" barrel in .223 is not fun at all to shoot if your going to shoot a hundred or so rounds in an afternoon. Although it shoots .5moa with just about any bullet using BallC2 or Win 748 powders, I much prefer the Ruger M77/VHZ in the Hornet, especially if the shots are going to be 100 to 150 yrds. With the Hornady 35gr Vmax and Lil'gun powder, the Hornet litteraly vaporizes the gophers.

Based on all the info you guys have given me, I think I will get a .22LR barrel for my Encore. The 22-250 is way more than I need and the .22 Hornet is not that accurate from what I can gather. I want to be able to practice with my Encore with a economical cartridge and be able to squirrel hunt for the challenge. Thanks for all your input. You guys make this site the best in our hobby.

Hey Greg, Your decision to get a 22LR barrel is an excellent one. During the "Off Season", I carry a 22LR pistol or rifle more than all the others combined. And by default they get shot more.

No noise problems when using Rem SubSonics and they have enough power to anchor Fox size critters on the spot with a shoulder shot and dog size critters with a head shot.

I've been carrying a 20" 223Rem some, but I agree with the other folks it would be a bit "loud" with normal SAFE MAX Loads when chambered in a shorter Encore barrel.

quote:

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Originally posted by tundrarules:
[1]Do you think I could reduce it(the 223Rem) enough to squirrel hunt? [2]Do you think I could get .22 LR or .22 magnum velocity safely [3]with accuracy?

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1: Yes, but it would still be much louder than a good old 22LR and more expensive to shoot.

2: Yes, but there are "tricks" to getting there using Powders not typically used in this cartridge. A close watch for "Pressure Signs" would be important. Using "Pistol Primers" as one Safe-Guard helps. Getting the reduced load of Powder "positioned" the same from shot-to-shot is necessary, etc.

3: Maybe. But, it would take some trial and error which eats up time. With the 22LR you can go buy a box of every 22LR brand/style your Gun Shop has, shoot them to see which one your barrel shoots the best and be ready to go hunting in one range session. And, you can always get another barrel later if you want to try a centerfire.

As a side note, some states require "Rimfire or Shotgun ONLY" for Squirrels.

Nearly forgot, if you are serious about shooting Squirrels at 75yds, get a variable power scope (with a good bit of power) and make sure it has an Adjustable Objective. Once you are sighted in at 25yds, the bullet will drop 5"-8" depending on the particular bullet.

For example, the Rem SubSonics are 7" low out of my M880 @ 100yds when I'm dead on at 25yds. Each 22LR style is a bit different.

The .223 Rem. is the "varmint workhorse" . . . able to load fast and light (32 gr. Berger) or heavier if needed (70 gr bullets with a 1:9 rifling). Never hurts to tweek it out to Ackley Improved . . . but then I'm biased.

I think maybe the 22-250 is too much load for a shorter barrel. And it's inclined to erode throats.

[ 06-13-2002, 19:31: Message edited by: Genghis ]