i have a m70, vintage 1938ish... 22 hornet.... couple weeks ago i tried some of the hornady vmax 50's in it... and it had promise... changed the scope, and tried again... 3" groups at 100 yds....so today i bought 45 gr sierra's that are marked "hornet" and are .224... there were also some maeked .223.... i'm hoping these will shoot better....

The 50 grain V-max is likely a bit too long for the twist in your old M70 Hornet (probably a 1-16" rate). Any shorter bullet, even a conventional 50 spitzer, will likely shoot better. The bullets made specifically for the Hornet have a pretty short ogive simply because the magazine is very limiting of LOA in most Hornets. Being short, they usually exhibit good accuracy -- but with that goes a mediocre ballistic coefficient. You might try the Sierra 45 grain spitzer for a little better downrange performance. However we're talking about a few feet difference in range for the same drop, so simply shoot the bullet that gives you acceptable accuracy.

Hey Jim, It might be designed for the 0.223" Bullets, but the 0.224" ones could shoot just as well. You never know until you actually try them.

I had a number of Win M43 rifles for 35 years and they were designed for the 0.223" Bullet. Some shot the 0.223" the best, some the 0.224" the best and some shot both as well as the other one.

For sure though, none shot as well as a 223Rem with Starting Loads - for me. Just no day-to-day consistency. However, all my wrestling with 22Hornets was before the 35gr Bullets and Lil' Gun Powder.

Best of luck with your rifle.

Jim, I have had success with the 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip

Hot Core--You're shooting a .22 centerfire? Know not deer hunting---do they have a gnat problem there?

Hey Carpetman, Absolutely " LOVE " the 22cal cartridges. Used the 22Hornet (wrestled with) for 35 years and messed with some 22-250s. Finally swapped off my last 22Hornet for a 223Rem 20" S&S M7 - it is great! Less report than the 22-250s, accurate well beyond where I'll attempt shots, and Kills Varmints very well(coyotes, stray pets in livestock, G-Hogs, Foxes, Crows during the season(didn't have a season on them years ago) and general plinking.

Might be useful for Gnats. I'll have to ask "my hero" 1/2.