Anyonw own a 22 Hornet? Which rifle do you own(make)? How is the accuracy? Do you reload for it?

I own a .22 Hornet , well now a .22 K Hornet , I reload for both . This is a CZ 527 , and I am very happy with the rifle . I had trouble with accuracy in the Hornet case , groups averaged over an 1" at 100 m , I rechambered to the K Hornet with great surprise I got more than I bargained for . The groups shrunk to under .5" with the very first load I tried , The performance is also greatly increases . It wont help if I post data on the site , as I cant use imported powders ( they are not available here ) . I only have one powder to work with . My current load is 13 gr S265 (Local Powder) behind a 35 gr V-MAX , at 3150 fps , .354" at 100 m

Regards
Rudie

Is accuracy poor in the normal 22 Hornet in general?

Gidday There Ranger Dave, I own a Krico Hornet which I have had for 20 years and love it for its lack of recoil, low noise level for shooting around farmhouses and is a great calibre for Kids learning to shoot. They can be finicky to find a good load for, at the moment my most accurate load is 35g Hornady V Max,WIN680 powder (old stock)WIN cases and WIN small rifle primers. Consistantly under .75" @ 100Y and am confident to shoot it out to 200Y in the right conditions. With powders the old WIN680 is very close to Accurates 1680 ideal for smaller bullets,30-40g, where I'd like to try HODGDON LilGUN for the 40-50g bullets because of the reports I've heard. All the Best, Mick.

I ahve a cz 527 and it shoots great, I have leupold 3-9x50 Vari X11 and I load 11 grains of win 296 behind the sierra 45 grain .224 projectile. I use rem cases & rem 7 1/2 primer seated to an OAL of 1.71.

I use it for spotlighting from my ute. It has not had anything done to it at all and if I do my part it performs perfectly.

How many shots per case can you guys get from the 22 Hornet?

Well , I wont say that the little Hornet has poor accuracy on general. It just takes more playing around with components than any other calibre I know. Try some small pistol primers , as this made a great improvement on accuracy in my Hornet. Well the rest of the components you will have to go the tried & tested way.

Regards
Rudie

I bought 500 cases to begin with and have not quite got through all of them for there first fireing, I am through about 450. Interestingly they have needed trimming on there first fireing. I hope to get 4-5 firings per case. I agree with what rudie said about being fussy. Mine will only shoot with rem primers.

I own 2 Hornets, a Ruger 77/22VHZ and a CZ 527.
The Ruger, after glass bedding & trigger work, shoots pretty much under 1" at 100 yards. I've got a Weaver V-24 on it.
The CZ, well, I haven't had a chance to go to the range with it yet.
After a lot of experimenting, here's what I've come up with as far as an accurate load:
I use Winchester brass, it's thicker and more durable than Remington brass.
I've found small pistol primers to be more accurate than small rifle primers in all cases. I'm currently using Federal small pistol primers (the regular ones, not the Match primers).
After testing IMR4227, H4227, H110, AA1680, and W296, I've found Hodgdon's Lil'Gun to give the most consistant, best accuracy of any powder. By far, the greatest improvement to accuracy was switching to Lil'Gun. The Hornet case will hold about 13.2 grains. You can't fit enough Lil'Gun into a Hornet case to worry about the pressures.
I've gotten best accuracy using Berger 22/40 MEF's, and Hornady 40-grain V-Maxes have also been quite good. I'm shooting Moly-coated bullets now, with no difference in accuracy but many more rounds between cleaning.
I use RCBS Competition dies, and seat the bullets .020" off the lands. They're too long to fit in the Ruger magazine, and I'm working on the CZ magazine so it will accept longer cartridges.
I suppose I get 5-10 reloads per case, less if I turn the necks.
One other thing, I weigh the cases and group them into lots of +/- 0.1 grains. The Hornet case is very small, and a little bit of volume difference has a measurable effect on accuracy. Electronic scales are great for weighing a lot of cases quickly.
The Hornet is really a lot of fun to shoot and develop loads for. It can be frustrating some times, but it's my favorite rifle to take shooting.
Regards, George.

What Mr. Capriola said, except I didn't have to do anything at all to my Ruger.

I have a TC Contender in .22 Hornet that is a sweet little package. I originally purchased a box of Norma ammo and saved the cases for reloading. I settled on a load of WW 680 and Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tips, always being careful to keep things on the mild side. I have reloaded those cases in excess of forty times, only loosing a few to loose primer pockets. I know this may sound like total BS, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of life for Norma brass? Thanks.

Ruger m77/22vhz also. didn't do anything other than polish the sear.

Shoots Hornady v max factory loads inside of .750" @ 100yds. I don't even consider reloading at this time ,I just put the brass away for later.

I own a Ruger 77/22 VHZ as well. Mine has been generally accurate and easy toi work with. I have 2 loads that have served me well. First I 40gr. Vmax over 11.9 grains of Win296 Winchester cases and sm pistol primers. this gives consistant 200 yard groups of 1.6"(as long is the wind is low)and velocity of 2915 fps for avg.. The other load I use a lot for squirrels is a 50 grain HornandaySP over 10.3 grains of AA1680 velocity is right at 1900 and 50 yard (good tree squirrel range) groups of .4" over 5 shots. I have not found the rifle or cartridge to be fussy at all.

Mine is in Encore rifle topped with Leupold 2-7 V -I, a joy to shoot and walk around with. It can be very accurate if I pay attention to it's diet. Early on I learned that it likes Remington factory 40 grain loads best. The Sierra 40 grn. Hornet bullet (in .224 not .223) is the most like the one in the factory load, over 13 grns of 'Lil Gun, Winchester cases and CCI small pistol primers. The Sierra bullet is relatiely short so I can't set it our to the lands but that doesn't seem to matter. What makes the biggest difference is that the cases must be pre-fired. Virgin brass produces patterns rather than groups.

I rarely see anyone who owns the BRNO ZBK-110. Mine is the Deluxe model (European-style humped stock), in .22 Hornet. It's topped with a Ruko 3-9X40 scope. With the excellent handloads I get from my favorite gunshow ammo vendor (35 gr V-Max) I can put three shots inside 3/4" at 100 yards consistently. Winchester softpoints are far less accurate, though okay for small game hunting. My only gripe is that this rifle has a horrendous trigger pull from the factory, so had to be stoned&polished. It is a break-open single-shot, similar to the H&R though striker fired with no hammer. I like it.

Seadog, I have a BRNO ZKW 465, it has double set triggers so no trouble in that department, and it is a joy to shoot. I usually load Nosler or Hornady 40 gr ballistic tips with 13 gr of Lil' Gun. Last week I tried the Hornady 45 grain "Hornet" bullet, 13.2 gr Lil' Gun, Winchester brass, CCI SR primers this gave me 2802 fps and 1" at 100 yards and 21/2" at 200 yards, that was the fault of a flyer, honest. I think this is going to be my new hunting load as the energy retention figures look impressive.

John

I have a Ruger No 3 Single Shot in 22 K Hornet. Using small rifle primers, Hornady 40 grain V max bullets and W 1680, I chronyed it at 2969 fps. It is a mild load in my rifle and shoots under 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Until using the above it was a 1 1/2 to 2 inch rifle.

Hi RD. My hornet is a Kimber 82. Still looking for the magic load. The best so far is Win brass, 11.5 gr of IMR 4227, 40 gr Nosler BT. Still not as tight as I want it. I'm loading some Lil Gun right now, and I'll let you know. I think the Hornet is a fussy little beast, but it sure is fun to shoot. - Dan

I'm looking for a non kicking target/varmit rifle. The lightest kicking CF rifle I own is the 30-30, next 30-06.
I don't fire the 30-30 much anymore. The 30-06 wears me down after a while.
222, 223, 243, 22-250 and the hornet is what I'm looking at.

Ranger give the hornet a go you will like it. I have a Hornet & a 22/250 and that pretty well covers my small game needs. I also have Brno Model 2 .22lr.

I have a Ruger .22 Hornet VHZ and it shoots under 1" with 40 gr. V-Max, 13.0 grs Lil-Gun and R-P brass with Federal sm. pistol primers. I clocked the loads at 2950 and hovering around 3/4". If I were you I would either get a CZ 527 or check out the new NEF .22 Hornet that comes without sights and is a heavier barrel than the original they made in Hornet.

Just converted my Anschutz1432 22 Hornet in 22K-Hornet, +/- .5" groups preconversion. On Saturday I hope to test it. And I hope to have the same accuracy or better.
I always reload my cartridges.
bye

I don't own one yet, but I will. I will most likely turn it into a K Hornet too.