Has anyone here ever loaded for the .22 hornet? I am interested in how you liked it (or not), what kind of problems that you encountered, recommendations for bullets, etc. I have been thinking of investing in one but a good friend of mine said he has seen 3 of them that the owners loaded for and did not like them at all. He said all 3 guys sold theirs. I really like the looks of the Ruger 77/22 Hornet. Also has anyone tried it in the Thompson Encore?

Just an opinion, but either the 222 or 223 will do anything the Hornet will do and more if required and both seem to be more accurate on average.

LouisB

Free internet advice is worth every bit that you pay for it!

There are just some guns that are fun to shoot! Or more correctly, there are just some calibers that are fun to shoot!

One of my favorite little calibers is the old .22 Hornet. I have enjoyed shooting this little bugger since I first started reloading for it. And that was over 35 years, and three rifles ago!

My first Hornet was a Winchester 54 with an old Weaver scope on top of it. I honestly can't remember what I loaded in that rifle, but it was a .223-inch bullet of 45 grains. I kinda think it was a Hornady, and I'm pretty sure the powder was 2400.

My second Hornet was a Ruger #3 with Leupold optics, and I used the Sierra 45 grain in .224-inch on top of IMR-4227.

My last Hornet is a Ruger 77/22H. I took the scope off the #3 when I sold it and put it on this rifle. And I kept with IMR-4227 powder, but I changed to the Sierra .224-inch, 50 grain Blitz bullet

This was without a doubt the easiest cartridge that I have ever worked-up a load for! I was using 11.5 grains of IMR-4227 with the 45 grain bullet in the #3, and just for the hell of it I decided to see what the same load would do in the 77/22H with the 50 grain bullet.

I was totally satisified with the results. No other loads were tried...no other loads were needed!

I was gettting velocities in the 2,615 to 2,625 fps range, and that little 50 grain bullet was holding right in there at a tad under 1 inch for 5 shots at 100 yards. Hey, what more could I ask for from a little cartridge and a really lightweight rifle?

I toyed for awhile with the idea of re-boring it to the K-Hornet...but I thought for sure that God had spoken to me in my sleep one night, and had advised me that if I fool with His Hornet I would be damned to hell for eternity!

Needless to say, I didn't!

Hey Wyojoe:
I like that handle It shows a great deal of character. My wife and I shoot three center fire 22 's. They are the 22 Hornet, The 222 Remington and the 22-250. The wife owns the 22 hornet in a No. 3 Ruger. we generally shoot 50 gr. Sierra boat-tails. we use said 4198 IMR powder I believe it somewhere around seven grains. We do not use any of the guns for hunting they are strictly used for planking and target shooting. We use a#225415 50 gr. cast bullet with gas check in all three. when we pour lead for the .22's, we normally pour a thousand or more because we can go through two to 400 a weekend. We have a lot of fun with these guns and I can tell you one thing about the hornet, my wife would trade it for nothing.

well that's all I can tell you for now but if you want more info on loads and speeds, drop me an e-mail and I will try to get them to you.
Grijim

I had an H&R Topper in .22 Hornet.

For about three weeks, which tells you how I feel about the matter.

Shortly, thereafter I picked up a Savage 23 in .25-20 WCF. Did everything the Hornet was supposed to, is much more forgiving to load for, and shoots cast bullets very well.

I have only two regrets. The first one is that I did not pick up one of the Kimbers when they made and short run in .25-20 and the second is that I did not lay in a couple of thousand of the Speer 60 grain spire points when they were discontinued.

Have a 21" contender barrel in 22 hornet.

Shoot 40 gr Nosler BTs and IMR4227.

It shoots much better than I can.

I load for the hornet, I have a cz 527 I looked att he ruger but was told it was not a shooter other owners of these rifles have also found they need to do a lot of work to get the rugers to shoot. My little cz on the other hand is just a gem and is my "spotlighting head shot gun". I use the sierra 45 gr .224 bullet in front of 11 grains of w296 in rem case and rem 7 1/2 primer seated to 1.71" OAL.

Hey WyoJoe, I agree with TCLouis - get a 223Rem and "download" to 22Hornet levels if that is what you want. I use a reduced Load of "2400" and a 45gr bullet in my 223Rem to duplicate my old Hornets. Doing so has the benefit of the Load remaining accurate, instead of drifting like "some" Hornets are bad about doing.

I wrestled with them for 30 years, but my experience is quite different than Steve's. My first one was a M43 Winchester and it was also a 0.223" bore. Used a lot of old WW-680 and H4227 in it with 45gr Sierras.

I hear(but didn't get to try) that Hodgdon Lil'Gun is a great powder for Hornets. And you should use the weakest Pistol Primer you can locate. The SAAMI MAX for the Hornet is below the level for Pistol Primers, so Safety is not an issue.

The biggest problem is getting a Chamber that is a close match with the Die set. I'd expect them to be closer today than they used to be, but case life "used to be" a real problem.

That is why I'd recommend you just go with a 223Rem and download it. Plus you can load it on up anytime you so desire.

If you're gonna get a Hornet, do yourself a favor, buy something other than the 77/22. Yeah, they look cool, but mine (and about a half dozen other that I know of) didn't shoot for shit. I say didn't 'cause I got rid of it. Most disappointing rifle I have ever owned.

Looks like a controversial cartridige,
I have a TCR 87 in 22 hornet and its a keeper, extremely accurate and extremely forgiving in load development. I use 4227 and 45 grain noslers. Comments above about chamber differences and matching the dies to it concerned me also, but using lee collet dies answered the mail in that department. For 150 yard varmits that's quiet enough to not get you booted off the farm, you can't beat it. I'm gonna try some of those new 40 grain ballistic tips.

Graycg Opines...

I'm on my third Hornet. The first was a Ruger #3 and the second was a N.E.F. single shot. Neither was very impressive. My third is a CZ 527 and I am very pleased with it.

I think the secret to getting good accuracy in the Hornet is all in the quality control of the reloading process. I use a Lee Collet die to next size and a Forster Bench Rest Die to seat. Because of the very gradual case taper, it is very important not to over size the cases that have been fire-formed to your rifles chamber. The Forster traps the bullet and assures that it seats consentric to the bore.

All I shoot out of my rifle are Hornady's 35 grain V-Max in front of 13.1 grains of Lil Gun, ignited by WSR standard primers. I get an honest to goodness 3,000 FPS at the muzzle and my best five shot 100 yard group so far is .386".

Most people who suggest down loading a .223 to Hornet velocity, probably have not done so. I have tried and yes you can get them to go that slow (2400 FPS). Unfortunatly, accuracy is not as good as the .223 or the Hornet and was completely unacceptable.

I have a heavy barreled .223 that out shoots the Hornet in both accuarcy and speed. It also out weighs the Hornet by four pound and burns roughly three times as much powder.

Everyone I talked to who owned the skinny barreled Ruger Hornets have been unhappy with accuracy. The heavy barreled Rugers have a much better quality barrel than those of the standard weight. Everyone I have talked with have been pleased with the heavy bbl.s accuracy, after the rifles are bedded and an after factory adjustable trigger is installed.

The CZ come with a single set trigger and are priced comparatively to the Rugers. I did bed my CZ prior to shooting it, so I can not give you a first hand account of the accuarcy of an un-alter rifle. CZs are readily avalible, which is something that can not be said about the Ruger. I prefer the CZ over the Ruger, but in the end you pay your money and take your chances.

wyojoe i have two hornets one in the NEF handi rifle and one in the Ruger 77/22 hornet.i like them both. i use ww680 in most loadings 45 gr bullets and 50 gr bullets.haved used ww296 allso.
any way they are the ones i take the grand kids out to shoot with.they are a fun gun to shoot would not trade them for anything.as far as the people who have complained about them i would bet they are trying to load them to high its a small case and things can happen fast.stay with the middle of the road loads and i think you may like them.

Here's my 2cts. worth. I had a Ruger standard barrel Hornet and like some others said it was a waste of wood and metal. I tried everything from freefloating to glassing. I traded it for a heavy barrel 77/22. It wasn't much better. I sent it to a fellow in CT,I think and they made it a K-Hornet, recrowned the barrel and gave it a 2 1/4# trigger. I piller bedded the action and freefloated the barrel and it's now one of the best shooters I've owned. It likes the 35 gr. Vmax and 13.5 grns. of LilGun and a CCI small rifle primer. It runs 3100 fps in mine and will keep 5 shots in 1/2 to 3/4 " on a calm day. I'm glad I didn't give up on her but it was a long road!

WyoJoe, there is some good information here regarding the Hornet - most of which I had to learn the hard way.
I have owned 4 hornets and still have two - a TC Contender carbine and a new CZ 527 American. I also own a .222 and a .22-250, but the Hornet is the one that carry most of the time. I would advise you to steer clear of the NEF Handi rifles as I had problems with trigger pull and case head separation. The ejector/extractor did not fully support the case head and cases would bulge and sometimes stick and would not eject. A fiend just purchased a NEF in .223 and is experiencing the same problem. I looked a the Rugers ( and I am a fan of Ruger ) but everyone told me that you would need to spend a lot of additional money to get it to shoot as Woolybooger can attest. The CZ 527 at around $450 dollars seemed to be a good purchase. So far I am very happy with mine. The only complaint I have is that I cannot seat the bullets to within .005 inches of the lands and still have them fit in the magazine - too long. It essentially is a single shot rifle for me.
I have tried a number of powders over the years and settled on WW680 early on as the best for me - but as you know it is discontinued. AA1680 is showing good promise, as does WW296. Lil Gun gave great results also, but was a very dirty powder. Some people here swear by it, but for me it was about like shooting black powder.
I have been fortunate that none of Hornets were fussy about the bullets they like. I settled on 40 grain Nosler BT for the TC Carbine and have decided upon Hornaday V-Max's for the CZ 527. You should see the way they disintegrate crows!
The Hornet has been a very fun cartridge for me and has proven to be a great choice for distances out to about 200 yards which covers about 90 % of the shooting I do. Don't try to squeeze 3000 fps out of, if you need that kind of speed get a .222 or a .223 as others have advised. The Hornet is very economical to shoot, and a great gun for beginners.
Have fun.

I have to echo the sentiments on the CZ527. I have one in American. Very nice, very accurate. Any where between .5" and 1" depending on the bullet. It was posts similar to these that helped my decision to buy the CZ. No regrets. I have only tried 2 different bullets, so there is a bit of work to do. Good luck.

Ian

My Hornet is an elderly Savage 320.

I love loading the little sucker because the difference over factory ammo is just phenomenal.

I use 11.8 gr of Win 296 (and weigh every charge) behind either a 40-gr Hornady V-Max or a 40-gr Sierra BlitzKing (?? I think) seated to just feed in the magazine. That's a genuine MOA or less performer in my rifle.

I have a .223 but just can't see the point of loading backwards -- I bought it because it's a step above the Hornet. Downloading is like buying a sportscar and then putting the cheapest lowest-octane crappy petrol you can find in it.

Bruce

I absolutely love the .22 Hornet!

I have one of the "lightweight" Rugers....My first experience with that rifle was pure horror. Best I could get was 6" groups at 50 yards. This was with all loading techniques I know about altering just to try and see "what if". I sent it back to Ruger. They put a new barrel on it and it got a liitle better...4" at 50 yards. I still wasn't satisfied! But I was determined to get that rifle to shoot! Sent it back to Ruger again and told them in the letter accompaning the rifle to not even bother sending it back to me until it was fixed. About three weeks later, it came back with another new barrel and a new stock...one of the best looking pieces of wood I have ever seen on any Ruger, including No. 1's and the Magnum rifles!!! And the trigger was worked over a bit too. It isn't perfect, but alot better than the "standard" Ruger trigger.

After fiddling around with various loads off and on for a couple months, I setteled on the 40 gr. VMAX. Accuracy was OK, but not great. But I accepted it for the time being, as I didn't have the time to mess with it. Then Hornady came out with the 35 gr. VMAX.......WOW....What a honey of a rifle it turned out to be!! I loaded that little bullet up and down, and the rifle didn't care what powder or charge I put under the bullet, it shot it great. I settled on 11.5 grs of IMR 4227 with a CCI BR-4 primer and am getting about 2850 fps and about .25" at 50 yards. I have never shot it at 100 yds.

I take it out religiously with me to shoot chizzlers...small gopher about 6" tall standing up and about 2-3 inches wide. Anything inside of 100 yards, I don't even think about what I am doing. 100-200 yards, I put a little thought into where I hold and 60-70% of the time I hit the little buggars! I certainly will not complain about that kind of performance! And those little VMAX's are explosive! Verry happy with the performance of this little combo!

I have a No. 1 that I have yet to scope and shoot. Just trying to get the funds together to start playing with it, too!!

If it says .22 Hornet on the side of it, I am already in love with it!!

WyoJoe,
I have owned 2. The first was a CZ Bruno Single shot piece of S---! Talk about a bad experince. Whew! Fortunately i ran across a Browning Medalion rigged w/ a 4-12x vari II. Spent a while shooting different combinations of powder/bullets to find out what it liked. It loves the Lil'gun @ 12.8 gr, cci brenchrest primers, winchester brass with either the hornady 35 gr V-max or the 40 gr Serria Blitzking. Don't be discouraged with how finicky this cartridge can be. A you can see a lot of people recommend the CZ 527. The Browning has been a great little rifle with an adjustable trigger. I actually trimmed the spring a little to get it down to a crisp +- 2.5lbs. Do a search and you will see numerous posts recommending steering clear of the 77/22. Takes a lot of work to get the 77/22to perform. Once you find the right recipe, you will keep it handy.

WyoJoe, I know for sure mbkddd has a past history of heavy acid use and also that his wife would never let him play with guns - even the one he was born with.

Loading a 223 down to the Hornet velocity does not make it a Hornet. The Hornet is a lighter and a perfect carry and shoot gun. As far as the Ruger 77/22's are concerned they will not shoot. If anybody got one that does shoot they should consider themselves lucky. They can be made to shoot but it will cost some big bucks. The Hornet in addition to being a good varmint round is definately a fun gun to shoot, everybody should have one.

I have an old savage single shot rifle in 22 hornet. that was owned by my grandfather. I can not get it to group worth a dam, the trigger is absolutely worthless, the ammunition is expensive for what you get, but I wouldn�t trade it for the world because it belonged to my grandfather. I also have a 222 that belonged to the other grandfather. I feel so lucky

I think, if all my guns came up missing, house burned� and I had to start over, I would get a good 22lr and then jump to the 223, skipping the 22 hornet, 22 jet and 22�..