.22 Hornet.

[247sniper]

Did some load development last night with my .22 Hornet, man i love that rifle!

 

Loaded some round up,

 

5 x 12.0 grains

5 x 12.2

5 x 12.4

5 x 12. 6

5 x 12.8

5 x 13.0

5 x 13.2,

 

40 grain V-Max with Lil-gun powder seated 20 thou of the lands, the 12.8 grins to 13.2 grains all printed groups like this !

 

5 Shot group.

 

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i374/247sniper/22%20Hornet/A69B461A-F19C-4C55-BB94-30302FC411AB-163-000000A9AAC1459B.jpg

 

(The flyer was me )

 

Far better BC bullets far superiour over the little 35 grain V-Max's, they will be far flatter shoting and much much better in the wind. Ballisticly it looks good for 300 yards.

 

Im going to try the 12.8 - 13.2 again tonight at longer ranger as last night was only 100 yards and Im going to chrono the loads, should be around the 3000ftps mark.

 

 

Will report later folks.

 

 

 

Steve.

[247sniper]

Ok guys, here we go.

 

13 and 13.2 grain loads shot the best, identical groups in fact.

 

I chronoed the chosen load of 13.2 grain which i have no chosen as my pet load.

 

On my chrono,

 

(Chrono sat 10 yards away from muzzle)

 

Shot No

 

1) = 2949ftps

2) = 2996ftps

3) = 2956ftps

4) = 2969ftps

5) = 2989ftps

 

5 shot average = 2971 ftps this gives a true MUZZLE velocity of 3019 ftps

 

Extream spread = 47 ftps.

 

I finished of by playing around shooting some clays set out at difffernt ranges, it was blowing a bloody gail but dialed out the wind very well.

 

These 40's real do transform the little hornet, totally out shoot the 35 grain V-max for fun.

 

They maintain velocity and energy far better and offer far better down range performance to.

 

Will get out on the bunnies these next few days and see how they perform.

 

Hope this has been of some interest to some folk.

 

ATB

 

 

Steve.

[Andrew]

I shoot Hornet all the time and 300 yards is a long shot for a Hornet. You had best be intimate with your rifle and the ballistics of the load... and have plenty of field practice. Great cartridge.~Andrew

[247sniper]

Hiya Steve,

 

I have never had a hornet, shot one or known anyone thats ever had one either but I am always keen to learn about different calibres.

 

What range do you zero your hornet at if your shooting out to 300yds with it, I assume you must be dialling in targets because I have just had my beloved Tikka .222rem rebarreled in 20practical because when zero'd at 160yds the bullet was falling like a brick at 220yds ?

 

From all the hype I am hoping the 20 practical with the high BC 40 grain bullets will give me a very flat shooting round out to 250yds.

 

The longest rabbit I took with the .222rem was a rabbit at 325yds and I can recall giving it 18" holdover on a windless day, I started to feel that the longer shots with the .222rem were more luck than skill when using holdover.

 

Hi Ronny,

 

I zero my Hornet at 100 yards and dial for the ranged distance, measure and dial for the wind to mostly. Using hold over.....hhhhmmmm its guesstamaiting really, you really need to dial to be precise.

 

Your going to enjoy the .20 Practical fella, ket us know how you get on with it.

 

Steve.

[247sniper]

I shoot Hornet all the time and 300 yards is a long shot for a Hornet. You had best be intimate with your rifle and the ballistics of the load... and have plenty of field practice. Great cartridge.~Andrew

 

Andrew,

 

yes 300 hundred yards is a long shot for a Hornet, but perfectly doable in the right conditions with the right bullet and a person who know the rifle and what he is doing. I regaully take rabbits out at 200-220 yards in all weather conditions with the little 35 grain V-max's and they are shite really compared to the 40's.

 

The 40 V-max really transforms the Hornet, only 8.5 inches drop at 250 yards and 15 inches at 300 yards. the 35' were 14 inches at 250 yards and 28 inches at 300!

 

200 yard 10mph full value wind drift with the 35's was 14.4 inches and with the 40's with there far greater BC its only 6.5 inch !

 

See what Im saying and MV at 200 yards with the 35's is 1423ftps with 184 ftlb's and the 40's have 2132 ftps and 404 ftlb of energy!

 

For long range stuff ill use my .204 but on the right days the little hornet will be able to reach out there!

 

Ill get some video footage of some upto 300 yards clay shoooting with the hornet when I have time.

 

Cheers guys,

 

Steve.

[Andrew]

Andrew,

 

yes 300 hundred yards is a long shot for a Hornet, but perfectly doable in the right conditions with the right bullet and a person who know the rifle and what he is doing. I regaully take rabbits out at 200-220 yards in all weather conditions with the little 35 grain V-max's and they are shite really compared to the 40's.

 

The 40 V-max really transforms the Hornet, only 8.5 inches drop at 250 yards and 15 inches at 300 yards. the 35' were 14 inches at 250 yards and 28 inches at 300!

 

200 yard 10mph full value wind drift with the 35's was 14.4 inches and with the 40's with there far greater BC its only 6.5 inch !

 

See what Im saying and MV at 200 yards with the 35's is 1423ftps with 184 ftlb's and the 40's have 2132 ftps and 404 ftlb of energy!

 

For long range stuff ill use my .204 but on the right days the little hornet will be able to reach out there!

 

Ill get some video footage of some upto 300 yards clay shoooting with the hornet when I have time.

 

Cheers guys,

 

Steve.

 

I shoot prairiedogs all summer long with my Hornet. I generally shoot about 1000 rounds a year at ranges from 25 to 300 yards. I shoot a 34 grain HP that has a much higher BC than the 35 grain VM and they work fine @ 3140 fps. The 40's are too long for my CZ so I reserve them for my .223 and such, tho I did shoot them in in old Anschutz.~Andrew

[247sniper]

I shoot prairiedogs all summer long with my Hornet. I generally shoot about 1000 rounds a year at ranges from 25 to 300 yards. I shoot a 34 grain HP that has a much higher BC than the 35 grain VM and they work fine @ 3140 fps. The 40's are too long for my CZ so I reserve them for my .223 and such, tho I did shoot them in in old Anschutz.~Andrew

 

 

They will be the 34 Grain Dog town bullet Andrew yes?

 

Like I said there are better Calibres for the longer range stuff but the 40's really do transform the Hornet, Looking forward to some further testing.

 

Steve.

[Andrew]

They will be the 34 Grain Dog town bullet Andrew yes?

 

Like I said there are better Calibres for the longer range stuff but the 40's really do transform the Hornet, Looking forward to some further testing.

 

Steve.

 

They are indeed. Frankly, the Hornady edge them a tiny bit for accuracy, but these still group around half MOA. Half inch from my CZ is the norm. I get better long range performance with these bullets at about half the price of Hornady. Additionally, the bullet dimensions seem to be made for the CZ magazine. You get all the parallel sided length of the bullet seated into the neck at the correct length for the magazine feeding. At 100-200 yards anything works, but these bullets shine over the next 100 yards.

 

Of course, the wind is your enemy but if you can get a handle on that, the bullet will do the job.~Andrew