Got my new Hornet yesterday

[njc110381]

Hey guys. I picked up my new (second hand) CZ527 .22 Hornet yesterday. It's a nice gun, although maybe a bit long. I may have to get it chopped.

 

Anyway, I took it out and set it up earlier. I could only zero at 50 yards because there is a footpath on the decent bit of my permission so I didn't have a safe backstop. I went out to the quiet end of the ground and climbed up on a stack of silage bales to get some angle on the ground. I haven't got the reloading kit through yet so I bought two boxes of S&B 45grn SP to try. It shoots half inch groups at 50 with that so it's good enough until I can start fine tuning with my own loads.

 

I fitted the gun with the SAK off of my HMR just to try. It sounds just like the HMR when fired which was a pleasant surprise. The only down side is that the baffles lost their sharp edges in 10 rounds! Hopefully now it's got to the thicker metal it wont burn out so fast from now on! If I can get 1000 rounds out of it I'll be happy. It's much lighter than a fullbore mod and only costs £30 to replace.

 

I'm surprised more people don't shoot this calibre. It's far better than the HMR because you can take a shot at a Fox if needed, and homeloads are cheaper to produce than HMR ammo is to buy. It's not that loud at all and for my needs is much better than the boomer of a .223 that I used to use. OK it can't push out as far as the bigger .22s, but it's a much calmer round to fire at close stuff. I don't see why so many people put the little Hornet down and say "you may as well just get a .223". They're a totally different beast. It's a HMR for Foxes too IMO, and I think it's great!

[Andrew]

Congratulations on a great rifle! As I have posted numerous times, I am a CZ527 American fanatic. My best friend shoots one, my son shoots one, and I dumped my Anschutz to get mine. When you do decide to reload for it (and I think you should by all means)may I offer some suggestions for some Hornet specific tools?

 

Lee Collet Die.

Lee Factory Crimp Die, .22 Hornet.

Lee Universal Neck expanding tool.

Lee Lock Stud and Trimmer for 22 Hornet

 

For powder, there is only one that ranks the highest: Hodgdon's Lil Gun. With any weight bullet up to 46 grains, 13.0 grains will work and deliver top accuracy at low operating pressures and good velocity. Low pressures means less barrel wear and longer case life. We use Federal pistol Primers but any small rifle primer will do.

 

I neck size the cases, trim with each reloading, gently flare the necks. Prime, charge and seat bullets, then use a gentle crimp. The three 527 Hornets I mentioned get loaded exactly like this every time and they will shoot half minute for three shots on demand.

 

Note this three shot 100M group. I have my reloading room wall-papered with groups in this class fired from the two CZ's here at the house.

 

 

CZ's are the top Hornet on the market if you ask me. You did well!~Andrew

[casts_by_fly]

NJ,

 

How much do CZ's in hornet actions go for used? One of these days I want to get one as a donor action, but I don't know if it is cheaper to get one here or in the US.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[MarinePMI]

NJC,

 

Welcome to the Hornet club!

 

As Andrew mentioned, the CZ's shoot!

[njc110381]

Andrew, thanks for the long reply. Funnily enough that is exactly the kit and method that has been suggested to me before. It's what I've bought and I'm waiting for it to arrive. Obviously I'm on the right track, you've just confirmed that for me!

 

I read that the CZ was a good buy. Something to do with how they manufacture their barrels makes the chamber very good compared to other makers?

 

I took it out and shot five Rabbits last night. I had a ricochet from it which was slightly concerning but I put that down to the factory S&B 45grn loads running very slowly (around 2200 I think)? When I get the 35grn V-Max and load them to 2800ish I think they should blow up better. If not I'll get it rebarrelled in .17AH!

 

The gun cost me £350 used. It's fairly tidy but well used. Nothing seems worn on it though so there's no reason it shouldn't keep going for many thousands more rounds. At the speeds they run at I doubt they burn barrels!

[Andrew]

NJC: I have been told that the rifling and chamber are hammer forged in one process and that is one of the reasons for the accuracy. Whatever is it, the accuracy level is consistent from gun to gun. I have never heard of an inaccurate CZ527 Hornet; at least with well made handloads.

 

Glad you got the right kit coming. You'll find that you won't be able to seat any bullet close to the lands of the rifling and without magazine modification, the exceptionally long bullets like the 40 grain V-Max are too long for the magazine. With the crimp, it makes no difference.

 

The longest bullet I am able to fit in the magazine is the (excellent) Midway 34 grain Dog Town bullet; and then it's just .010" or so short of touching the front of the magazine. The Dog Town bullet is very long for its weight and very aerodynamic. If you seat any other bullet to fit the magazine you will do fine. The 40 grain Sierra and Speer "Hornet" soft points have a very high ballistic coefficient at Hornet speeds and expand well at 2800 fps. I picked up a quantity of Winchester 46 grain HP bullets and with 12.8 grains of Lil Gun they are traveling at 2860 fps. Unfortunately, they are a little too well built for prairiedogs and I get ricochets. I prefer the light, thin skinned varmint bullets for prairiedogs as they tend to blow up with either a hit or miss. My 35 VM grain loads are kissing 3000 fps, by the way.

 

Rabbits come unhinged with a good varmint bullet fired from the Hornet. Propriety keeps me from posting a few pics game turned inside out by various Hornet bullets. The S&B stuff is reputed to be slow. I have never shot factory ammo in my Hornet so I can't say but it makes sense. There are have been a lot of Hornets (guns) made in the past which were marginal for the pressures the cartridge generates. S&B brass is suspect as to reloadability, from what I hear. I have heard good things about Priviti-Partisan Hornet brass.

 

Marine PMI is the third 527 owner I spoke of by the way. It was watching him toss what was left of salt-shaker sized gophers into the air at 200 yards that prompted me to find one each for my son and I. As he said, "Welcome to the Club!"~Andrew

[njc110381]

I've got some S&B brass coming. If it doesn't shoot I'll chuck it and get some PPU because it's not expensive is it.

 

I'm surprised I've had so much interest in this post on here. The Hornet isn't exactly a lazer flat long range round and I didn't think many people would shoot it. If I can get the ricochets down a bit I'm going to use it instead of the HMR because I like the extra power it carries for the Foxes

[MarinePMI]

NJC,

 

I think its a sign of the times. Smaller cartridges are more suited to the hunting these days due to the encrouchment of the urban sprawl and the increasing desire of using the proper tool for a specific job. The Hornet is a testament to a well intentioned, good design of cartridge, for a specific task. The advent of Lil'Gun and CZ's barrel making/accuracy definitely brought it back from the fringes of obscurity and breathed new life into it. In some respects, I think the Hornet was ahead of its time...but then again, it was also considered ahead of its time when introduced.

 

Andrew was the one who got me interested in Hornets, but warned me that they tended to be inaccurate little buggers. Imagine the surprise we both had, as I started ringing out the (then) new CZ 527 Hornet. I still remember those 200yd shots and Andrew going "Uh...sure...yeah" when I told him I was taking the shot. Then his quiet swearing as I connected on consecutive shots in high winds. IIRC, it was some thing like "Son of bi#$%...that was lucky", then the second shot, followed by "Son of Bi#$%, that thing shoots!"

 

LOL! Good times...

[Andrew]

Your memory is too dammed good, Marine.

 

I don't know about the Hornet not shooting flat. I guess it depends on how far you shoot. For what it is, it does respectably well. Remember that PMI and I are shooting 8" tall and 3" wide (prairiedogs) animals and ones half that size for ground squirrels. I sight in 1.5" high at 100 yards and at 200 I'm holding on the spine of a "dog" laying flat on top of his hole. That is one small target compared to a fox or one of those cockerspaniel-sized rabbits you folk grow over on your side of the pond.

 

The challenging part comes in delivery. The last time Marine graced my home we spent some time on a sage covered slope littered with largely hidden prairiedog holes. Contrary to the photos you see, prairiedogs are wary critters that will often give you just an eyeball and a brow over the rim of their holes. Once you locate the bark, you need to pull off a difficult shot. Marine and I were head shooting them from 60 to 140 yards. This a target about the size of a walnut, at best. The CZ Hornet delivered if we did the part. We killed about everything we shot at.

 

I (we) look forward to your experiences with the CZ. It's a great rifle, a slick and underrated little cartridge, and you're going to have fun. ~Andrew