Have nearly wrung out a 22 Hornet/410 M6 scout by Springfeild by way of CZ. Pretty impressive. The 1-13" twist shoots bullets to .7" long pretty well which includes the 45 X and 55 Hornady. I almost thought the 45 grain X bullet was the choice for small game and bigger game in a pinch in a survival situation; but on media testing the low speeds and marginal stabalization combine to create a wobble in dense media that results in one side of the X closing and ensuring no expansion. Insteadyou get a nasty and unpredictable tumble. The best and most accurate load is with 50 grain Sierra Semi-spitzers and enough IMR 4227 to hit 2300ft/sec. 1" groups at 50 yards with the open sights and fair performance in news print.

I wish the twist was a bit tighter as 55 grain Trophy Bonded bullets almost work but aren't stable in media either.

410 slugs are pretty useless but #6 works on small game to just past 20 yards.

I bought this gun as a canoe companion up here in the NWT. Anybody use the 22 Hornet on biggish game? I can't help thinking in a tough spot it would take down a caribou pretty handily.

I knew a man (dead, now) that deer hunted exclusively with a .22 Hornet. However, he limited himself to neck shots at modest ranges. If the shot didn't present itself, he didn't take it. In the time that I knew him, however, he was very successful. Never knew him to miss=or need more than one shot.

More time in with the M6: in cold weather the 45 X bullets won't stabalize even on targets. I have slowed down the 50 Sierra Spitzers to 2077 with 11.0 H4198 and accuracy is a bit worse but the explosive effect is a bit less and penetration better. 12.0 Lil Gun and 35 Hornady VMAX and 10.7 grains H4227 and 40 Sierra's shoot into the same group as the 50 Sierras. This is important for a gun with no vertical adjustments outside of filing the front sight.

On grouse the 50 Sierra is accurate enough for head & neck shots to 50 yards (I have the CZ M6) and not too terribly explosive on body shots from 50-100 yards. If I can't get a proper rest for a head shot the 410 with 7.5 shot works well to 25 yards. The 2.5 " shell patterns more consistently than the 3"

Win slugs shoot 5-6" groups at 25 yards and Rem slugs shoot about twice as well but hit the target about 5" lower! Would like to try the heavier Federal or Brenneke Slug but haven't found any. Liberty Bullets cast a 140 grainer and Doug Slug's swages 80-125 grainers but I don't want to make the expense of loading shotgun.

Any African hunters have any experience with the 22 Hornet on small big game? An outfit in SA makes a Barnes style X bullet in 35 grains that ought to be the ticket. Pricey though.

North of 60:
Take my word for it, the little 22 Hornet will kill a deer just as dead as a 458 Win Mag will!
You don't need to limit yourself to head-shots or neck-shots either!
I've seen a lot of them drop right in their tracks when shot squarely in the ribs with a 45 grain spire point or Winchesters 46 grain Hollow Point! I would limit myself to 125 yards as "my" max!
Good Luck; Chuck

Thanks Chuck... I screwed up big time had the 50 Sierras shooting about 4" low so I filed the front sight and now shooting 8" high. Darn it!!!!

Looking through my gun parts I noticed that a weaver top mount for a Marlin will fit the scope base holes and profile. I ground it down to fit the Ashley weaver ghost ring and I now have adjustable sights on my CZ M6 scout.

The shotgun always shot way low but hits point of aim by using the top of the peep as a rear sight.

Did some penetration testing on water jugs and paper. The 410 slugs are very frangible and give good explosive effect on the jugs but mediocre penetration.

Win factory loads in 22 Hornet also give impressive blow up and penetrate a little better than the slugs but lose nearly all their mass, as does the 45 Spire at factory speeds.

The 50 Sierra Semipointed at 2100 at the muzzle does not impressively explode a water jug but it penetrates very well in fact right through the 2 liter water jug and 8" of paper that I had set up at 25 yards.

Energy is down to 490 ft-pounds at the muzzle but I wonder if this bullet performance gives me:

1) less meat loss on small game
2) better penetration on larger game in an emergency.

I still figure that with a 1-10" twist and 60 grain bullets at 2000ft/sec this would be a more useful hunting for food rig.

I've never used anything heavier than 50 grain bullets! So, I can't really say much about the 60 grainer in the Hornet! If you can get 2000 fps out of it, I don't see why it wouldn't work with pretty good authority! Try it, you won't know until you do!
Let me know how it works out for you.
Chuck

Way back an eon ago when I was in the Air Force the F-105 jocks carried the M6 in their seat survival pack. Same .22 Hornet but with a little FMJ spire point and .410 bore shotgun but with aluminum cased 3" shells in maybe #6 shot? (don't really remember)
Anyway the "story" goes one of the pilots was shot down over N VN and did use the .22 Hornet on some VC who were tracking him down. Apparently it worked pretty well, even as an FMJ. True or not? I can't verify.

I have shot the original M6's way back when and they were a neat little survival rig. It appears yours is serving you well too.

FN in MT

I got 63 grain Sierras to 1900 ft/sec but they are not quite stable. The 1-10" twist is the way to go IMO.

Finally found and bought 5 boxes of the 1/4 oz Federal Slugs in Yellowknife. They shoot a nice 4" group at 25 yards which doesn't sound like much but is much better than the Win group. By using the top of the peep sight like a rear sight the little gun shoots to point of aim at 25 yards with the slugs and by using the peep normally I have the Hornet shooting dead on at 50. Federal slug penetration is about 20% better than the 1/5 oz slugs and they fragment less readilly. This is getting into the range where a short range caribou might be tempting. With the 22 Hornet on top firing a 50 grain Sierra at 2100 penetrating about 8-9" of newsprint and the 110 grain slug penetrating 6-7" I might just have big game capability in a survival situation.