Picked up this gun for bird hunting because we run into more and more coyotes and they just seem to stand beyond shotgun distance. The dogs have even pointed them bedded down on windy days. Looking for recommendations on what commercial Hornet ammo would be best for prairie yotes at 50-100 yds.

Very nice

Really nice! Out of commercial ammo, I'd say something like Nosler Varmagedon and Win Varmint-X should work pretty well. I think my local outdoor sports store https://gritroutdoors.com/ had those on sale at one point, hence why I have a few boxes. Dunno if I would buy 'em full price since those can be pretty high on CPR.

"Best" is quite difficult to define. But I've had very good results with standard Winchester 46 gr. HP and 45 gr. SP cartridges, as well as the standard SP loaded by RWS. The little Hornady 35 gr. V-Max is a wonderful ground squirrel and crow killer, and will work very well with side-on chest shots for coyotes, but might not punch through a coyotes shoulder if you hit the bone.

when spotting geese for the nexts hunt we would see yotes 100-150 ysa in the field to far for a shotgun i found the ideal solution a v bernadelli cape gun with a 5,6x50rmsg over a 12 ga ducks were fair game in the pm and yotes decreased in numbers

That 5.6x50R is a great little cartridge. Both Norma and RWS load that one pretty hot. Knew handloaders in Germany that were pushing 3600 with 50 grains. Very popular for roe deer although I think the 22 Savage Hi Power detroys less meat.

Most any of the 45gr factory loads should work for you.

I've shot many coyotes with the Hornet, and I try to limit my head-on-facing-me shots to about 100yds, and if broadside, I'll stretch to about 150.

It kills coyotes with about any factory load or hand load at 50 to a 100 yards, even deer with proper bullet placement in the Heart lung area..Your good to go..

very popular cartridge in Africa for the small antelopes, warthogs (head shots), and monkeys

JonP, If you are having difficulty finding factory ammo, PM your address and I"ll send you a partial box of Hornady 45 SP Match / 45 Vmax Varmint express.

Should you want to find an inexpensive .22 Hornet with the option of low cost conversions to more powerful cartridges, my recommendation would be the Savage 219. It was my first centerfire .22 rifle which I acquired from a friend around 1958. It has greater potential for more powerful cartridges: I had mine converted to .219 Zipper at a later date. The barrel is grooved for scope rings, making fitting a scope a simple task.

I wish I still had that rifle. It would be just the thing for my grandson to learn to use.

Those 219s show up now and then on GI, mostly in 30-30 but they were also in 25-20 (hard to find). Id love to have a 25-20 for rebore to a 25-35. Ive had a number ofthem thru the years but today they sell for $400 to $600, thats ridiculas IMO. Most are pretty beat up..

My Hornet adventures started in the early 80s with a Ruger No3 in hornet. Came with a couple boxes of loaded Ammo and after scoping it, shot perfect keyholes at 30 yds. The original owner had loaded some 55 gr fmjs. Wouldn’t stabilize at all. That little rifle shot 45gr bullets into tiny groups.
My latest indiscretion came in the form of a New England handi rifle in 22 Hornet. Shoots boringly consistent 3/4” groups out to 75 yds or maybe a little further. I think the twist in



this one is a bit quicker than 16”but haven’t really checked that out.

quote:

Originally posted by Les Staley:
My Hornet adventures started in the early 80s with a Ruger No3 in hornet. Came with a couple boxes of loaded Ammo and after scoping it, shot perfect keyholes at 30 yds. The original owner had loaded some 55 gr fmjs. Wouldn’t stabilize at all. That little rifle shot 45gr bullets into tiny groups.
My latest indiscretion came in the form of a New England handi rifle in 22 Hornet. Shoots boringly consistent 3/4” groups out to 75 yds or maybe a little further. I think the twist in



this one is a bit quicker than 16”but haven’t really checked that out.

I idly wonder if the Handy Rifle was ever made in 25-20...

bragging here! mine is pre ware mod. 70. very much fun!

Years ago when I did a lot of bird hunting I carried a scopes 6” 29 It was a lot easier than schlepping a rifle around.

Later I discovered I could just put a slug in my shotgun and do quite well out to about 125 yards. It just took a little practice.

Anyone have a source for 22 Hornet ammunition or brass? Seems like no one has any of either in stock...

I just got several boxes from SG Ammo out of Stillwater, Ok. They show that they have PPU 45 grain in stock at $45.95 per 50 round box. Fast delivery. If I can't find it locally, I get it from them.

My first hornet was a LUXs single shot bolt action from Germany. My brother found it in pawn shop in Madison. I was 12 at the time.

It was very lite weight at around 4lbs the trouble was it only locked on the bolt handle.

Soon it developed head space problems. Fixed that with a new bolt handle and cold forging the action back into shape.

I now load a 45 gain cast at 1100fps with a couple grains of red dot. It is still useable but I do not shoot it much. But did use it to take a small buck one year.

My second was a savage 340 that I modified to be a short handy trap line gun. Slimed the for-end down as much as possible.

Cut the pistol grip off made it a straight, cut the biggest hole in the butt possible while keeping it strong.

Cut the barrel to 16.250 inches made a handy truck trap line gun.

Sold it to my brother in-law in a weak moment.

When I got it home from the gun dealer I found out it as glued into the stock.

Dripped fiber glass mold release along the action and barrel after a couple of days. I was able to pop it out.

Interesting round but now I much prefer the bigger 224 center fires.

Id go for a Sako Riihimaki, clip fed Hornet punched out to an IMP Hornet..but in my case Id opt for a 222 rem