hornet

sniperman

hi folks,anyone using a hornet (small centerfire)for rabbits/foxes,are they better than a hmr,by better i mean longer range kills/flatter shooting etc,thanks all...oh and is it hard to get ammo

4200fps

sniperman wrote: »

hi folks,anyone using a hornet (small centerfire)for rabbits/foxes,are they better than a hmr,by better i mean longer range kills/flatter shooting etc,thanks all...oh and is it hard to get ammo

I put it simple as I can. The 22 Hornet has greater energy, flatter trajectory down range, ammunition seems to be widely available for the hornet but if you intend to use polymer tipped bullets on rabbits they will be in bits. Now nothing wrong with the 17HMR or the 22Hornet both do same job but where you will see the difference is in price to feed. I think the hornet is a euro a round?
Also to give you an idea out in the field, the 22hornet would be good up to 200ish yards where the 17HMR wouldn't be as effective when its bullet exceeds 150ish yards, but both excellent calibers

sniperman

4200fps wrote: »

I put it simple as I can. The 22 Hornet has greater energy, flatter trajectory down range, ammunition seems to be widely available for the hornet but if you intend to use polymer tipped bullets on rabbits they will be in bits. Now nothing wrong with the 17HMR or the 22Hornet both do same job but where you will see the difference is in price to feed. I think the hornet is a euro a round?
Also to give you an idea out in the field, the 22hornet would be good up to 200ish yards where the 17HMR wouldn't be as effective when its bullet exceeds 150ish yards, but both excellent calibers

thanks for reply,is it legal to reload for the hornet here?

4200fps

sniperman wrote: »

thanks for reply,is it legal to reload for the hornet here?

Ill eagle is a sick bird
yip its illegal

landyman

Have an anchutz .22 hornet great rifle for foxes rabbit crows on the ground great all round vermin gun can be picked up cheap s/h round not expensive about 60 cent a round got 80 rounds the weekend for 50 Euro

Padd2

Changed from a hmr to hornett waiting for my application to come back there the bomb great caliber ! Gone for cz !! Must choose scope now !! If u choose a hornet you wind be disappointed ! Great for foxes ! Let us know how u got !!

J. Ramone

Just changed from HMR to hornet and I'm very happy so far.

I ran the numbers on hmr and hornet on the hornady website ballistic calculator. The hornet is very marginally better than hmr for drop and wind drift, they are so close there is nothing in it.

I like the hornet as a general vermin rifle to take for a walk as it is perfect for any vermin you will encounter.

The hornet doesn't seem any louder than the unmoderated hmr, maybe its a duller bang which is easy to put up with. Its like a shotgun to my ear.

On the basis of how few shots I take with the HMR I decided I might as well have the hornet. I picked up a second hand 527 and I love it, much nicer to pick up than the marlin I traded in. The dealer told me the hornet is on something of a comeback.

meathstevie

Had a lovely little Anschutz for a few years, sold it to finance the .308. Kicking myself for doing that now, fantastic fox and rabbit rifle and it dispatched some much larger beyond curing livestock with a short range head shot as well. Compared to other foxing center fires it doesn't really require a mod either since it's rather nice and quiet anyway. On a dull night in fields with good hedges it's the height of discretion.

minktrapper

No talk of the 17 Hornet here.

Bushwack

Yea great little cal,sorry I got shut of mine.Head shots at rabbits if you like eating them.

kelslat

Great little calibre I hope, because my .22 hornet is being rebarrelled to .17 hornet. I would say minktrapper we seem to be the only ones interested in the .17 hornet.

hathcock

The hornet is the most uneconomical of all the centrefires,obsolete almost everywhere but Ireland.Get a 223,twice the performance for the same money.

kelslat

hathcock wrote: »

The hornet is the most uneconomical of all the centrefires,obsolete almost everywhere but Ireland.Get a 223,twice the performance for the same money.

It is uneconomical alright, its slower than a lot of the new calibres but it knocked a lot of foxes in it day and it still does.

meathstevie

It mightn't be the most economical compared to .223 but it would be my preference for fox and rabbit rifle any day of the week given it's virtually non existent recoil and probably being as quiet as a .223 with a mod. By the way if you step up to deer stalking later on the 6.5x55 has a very comparable trajectory over the first couple of hundred meter so little adjustment required.

meathstevie

It mightn't be the most economical compared to .223 but it would be my preference for fox and rabbit rifle any day of the week given it's virtually non existent recoil and probably being as quiet as a .223 with a mod. By the way if you step up to deer stalking later on the 6.5x55 has a very comparable trajectory over the first couple of hundred meter so little adjustment required.

4200fps

You could have 2 rifles same caliber or two different, the one that shoots most accurately will always be more economical than one that misses the target.I'd go for a 223 over a hornet any day but all down to what we shoot. I dont dislike the hornet at all, it has perks over the 223 too, less noise, ideal for culling rabbits if its for human consumption and has unnoticeable recoil. The 17HMR is another good caliber for same purpose but its downfall over the hornet is huge bullet drop beyond 150 yards but cheaper to feed and better resale on secondhand market vs 22 Hornet. Thats my view on it anyway. The Hornet delivers much greater energy than the 17HMR but its all down to ones style of shooting and needs

meathstevie

4200fps wrote: »

You could have 2 rifles same caliber or two different, the one that shoots most accurately will always be more economical than one that misses the target.I'd go for a 223 over a hornet any day but all down to what we shoot. I dont dislike the hornet at all, it has perks over the 223 too, less noise, ideal for culling rabbits if its for human consumption and has unnoticeable recoil. The 17HMR is another good caliber for same purpose but its downfall over the hornet is huge bullet drop beyond 150 yards but cheaper to feed and better resale on secondhand market vs 22 Hornet. Thats my view on it anyway. The Hornet delivers much greater energy than the 17HMR but its all down to ones style of shooting and needs

Amen to that, different suitable tools for a similar job and personal preference will be the decider.

cavan shooter

Just picked myself up lovely tack driver of a 22 hornet, I got rid of the Ruger all weather I had because it was awkward and heavy. Anyways had my eye on a H&R SB2 for a while in 22 hornet and managed to pick one up for a whopping €100. A days scrubbing and rubbing and now I have a tidy rifle that has since I picked it up shot 4 foxes two lamped two called in. Price of ammo I both 3 packs of remington 45 grain €114 works out at about €38 for 50 or do the maths €19 for 25. Now comparing like for like I believe hollow points by remington or Hornady are around the €30. American eagles are €16 if you can get them and if your rifle likes theem and then there is FMJ's at around the same price. Now not getting into a discussion on whether you should be using an FMJ on foxes...but...

The 17 HMR is great on rabbits and close in foxes and when i parted ways with the old ruger hornet, I lamped with a guy who had one and we could easily drop the fox with a 17 HMR out to 100 yards if the conditions where good, but we would always always find him a few yards on. Now going back to the 45 grain hornet, out to 200 yards (and no more )when i hit a fox he is where he was shot no need to go looking (i chest shoot)

The 22 hornet is like marmite. You love the round or hate the round, its not a 204, 223 or 243 but it has its uses and to be honest there is value out there if you look hard enough.

hrcbob

cavan shooter wrote: »

Just picked myself up lovely tack driver of a 22 hornet, I got rid of the Ruger all weather I had because it was awkward and heavy. Anyways had my eye on a H&R SB2 for a while in 22 hornet and managed to pick one up for a whopping €100. A days scrubbing and rubbing and now I have a tidy rifle that has since I picked it up shot 4 foxes two lamped two called in. Price of ammo I both 3 packs of remington 45 grain €114 works out at about €38 for 50 or do the maths €19 for 25. Now comparing like for like I believe hollow points by remington or Hornady are around the €30. American eagles are €16 if you can get them and if your rifle likes theem and then there is FMJ's at around the same price. Now not getting into a discussion on whether you should be using an FMJ on foxes...but...

The 17 HMR is great on rabbits and close in foxes and when i parted ways with the old ruger hornet, I lamped with a guy who had one and we could easily drop the fox with a 17 HMR out to 100 yards if the conditions where good, but we would always always find him a few yards on. Now going back to the 45 grain hornet, out to 200 yards (and no more )when i hit a fox he is where he was shot no need to go looking (i chest shoot)

The 22 hornet is like marmite. You love the round or hate the round, its not a 204, 223 or 243 but it has its uses and to be honest there is value out there if you look hard enough.

I thought long and hard about getting a hornet before i finally decided to buy my hmr..
As said there is plenty of good value hornets out there for handy money, I looked at a nice clean cz with a cheap scope that was to be picked up for 200 quid at the time,.
The deciding factor for me at the end of it all was ammo prices and the fact that the hmr was getting such rave reviews.

dogcityroller

The hornet is a lovely caliber to shoot. Very little recoil and very accurate. If it was me though , I would go for a 223 for foxes as they have the widest range of bullets and are really nice to reload for. ( I live in the north)