Do all the mod 43 hornets use 223 diam bullets or is there a s/n break where they went to 224 diam.

Ron

Ron: since no one has the Model 43 manufacturing data, lost apparently in a fire at Winchester, it'll be tough to tell. Most Hornet experts, which I am not, refer to the 223 bore pre WWII and the 224, post war. I have a Hornet, which I know is 223, and I use .224 bullets anyway. If you need to know, slug the barrel.

Jerry

About all I could find was prod from 1949-1957 with like 61,000 made, Mine is #21242a so I am leaning towards 223. Thanks for the reply Jerry.

Ron

Hey Ron, I had a few of the M43s and they were all cut for the 0.223" Bullet. However, just as Jerry said, the 0.224" Bullets did just as well.

They are like every other rifle, you just have to try them and see what shoots the best. By the way, if it shoots great one weekend, or a couple in a row, and then doubles the group size for no apparent reason, that was normal in mine.

I had mine "before" Hodgdon Lil'Gun and the 35gr Bullets. Maybe they would have been more consistent, then again maybe not.

Best of luck to you.

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Eden:
Ron: since no one has the Model 43 manufacturing data, lost apparently in a fire at Winchester, it'll be tough to tell. Most Hornet experts, which I am not, refer to the 223 bore pre WWII and the 224, post war. I have a Hornet, which I know is 223, and I use .224 bullets anyway. If you need to know, slug the barrel.

Jerry

Exactamundo. Bullet size has made no difference in the older Hornets I've owned. 43s were made from 1949-57.

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Eden:
Ron: since no one has the Model 43 manufacturing data, lost apparently in a fire at Winchester, it'll be tough to tell. Most Hornet experts, which I am not, refer to the 223 bore pre WWII and the 224, post war. I have a Hornet, which I know is 223, and I use .224 bullets anyway. If you need to know, slug the barrel.

Jerry

Jerry and I have (civilly) been taking opposite sides of a discussion in another thread, but we are in total harmony on this subject. The .223" vs. .224" issue is a non-starter. Use whichever bullet seems to shoot best, regardless of what someone may say is your bore size. Some .22 Centerfires may have bores as tight as .222", but most all of them shoot .224 bullets just fine.