I am looking at a .22 Hornet based round to economically shoot rabbits, which are salable, not blown to bits. Obviously I am looking at the small powder charge of the Hornet case over more popular rounds such as the 223 Remington, which is cheaper to shoot in my neck of the woods, but is overkill in power, destruction, and powder cost. Has anyone got any suggestions, bearing in mind the cost of such a project. I don't fancy the .17 HMR.
Long Range Rabbit Rifle.
- Thread starter WarpToad
- Start date
Hi dminn1, A full metal jacket will be no good in my neck of the woods because of the danger of ricochet. I need an economical 200yd. round, using head shots only, so I can sell the dead rabbit to a game dealer.
Regards,
WarpToad.
Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
What about a 22mag rimfire?
Hi mmcu, I have looked at the website you suggested and fancy the 30 gr. DBL HP, designed for the .22 Hornet. I could at the moment purchase a rifle in this caliber very cheaply. The only problem I will have is obtaining the said projectiles. I might have to become a registered firearms dealer to achieve this, so I can import them.
Rock On,
WarpToad
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
223
12-14g of Blue Dot
40g tough bullet, sierra hp, speer spire point
22 mag will hold up to 200 yards if you are an expert and have target knobs calibrated for distances with zero room for error.
12-14g of Blue Dot
40g tough bullet, sierra hp, speer spire point
22 mag will hold up to 200 yards if you are an expert and have target knobs calibrated for distances with zero room for error.
Hi All,
I don't fancy a .22 mag rimfire, you can't reload it just like the .17 HMR. The other thing is that I don't know if I can obtain Blue Dot powder, or any of the other suggested bullets because of the restrictions on exports from the USA.
I maybe restricted to Vhitavuori powder for reloading. I am thinking what is really needed for this game is a stronger case than the .22 Hornet but with similar powder capacity and slightly increased performance, for both the sake of economy and a 200yd. range.
Depart123
The 17 hornet would be just the ticket for what you are doing...with no danger of ricochet.
Hi Meangrean, Your right, but you fork out say £800 at least for a .17 Hornet and they don't want to buy it back if you want to sell. You may have guessed where I live now. But there are many reasonably priced .22 Hornets for sale, and that round is better against the wind, although maybe a KHornet would be even better. But saying that a cambering reamer would cost you £250.
Rock On,
WarpToad
Depart123
Ah, Gotcha. Well, there are many different soft points that can be used. Of course I don't know what bullets are available to you, but I have had great luck with Hodgdon Lil'gun and pistol primers for reloads. It's been 15 years since I had one, so don't remember exact loads.
You said you may be restricted to VV powders, I don't use those, but will tell you that the hornet responds well to slower shotgun and pistol powders and pistol primers.
Edit: It looks like in VV powders N110 is similar in burn rate to Hodgdon Lil'gun.
Hi All,
Has I said I still fancy the Hornet, because I don't like throwing that much brass away in a bin after one shot with a .17HMR. Also I have heard that the .17HMR is bad against the wind.
At the moment most of my rabbit shooting is done with a Brno 2E circa 1990 rimfire, using Eley subs. I have steel mounts and a Leupold VXIII Varmint Scope. The scopes worth considerably more than the rifle.
However I need a rifle with a flatter trajectory for shooting in the dark. I have a N550 digital scope but I have difficulty estimating range, the night vision monocular's I bought are crap. So I thought a .22 Hornet rifle, which at the moment I can purchase very cheaply would be the ticket. The 30grn. low ricochet bullets mentioned previously would be ideal if I could obtain them. At the moment I am pushed for time and haven't started full time market gunning yet, that will come when I retire. It's a pity the Hornet case is so fragile. What is needed is a case that can be reloaded a greater number of times, and with the potential of another 25 yds. range.
JSH
Gold $$ Contributor
Warptoad, don't take me wrong.
You were interested in a 22 hornet based round.
You don't like the idea of the 17 because of cost etc.
Even a K hornet is going to cost$$ if done properly. You may or may not see an improvement of brass life. A bit of speed to be gained, maybe.
With no 17 hornet, I take it you are not open to any wildcats then?
You then mention head shots only so as to have an edible carcass.
Ok, I think we may have lost somthing some where in translation;-).
IMHO, the hornet loses a bit of edge past 150, some will argue this.
Not good at judging range so your looking for a flat shooter out to 200 ish.
As mentioned above 222 or 223, done deal. A good rifle of either caliber is capable of what you are after and fairly easy to come by. 221 is an option, but brass can be hard to come by. Same goes for the 17 fireball.
Head shots only, you use the most accurate load/bullet combo and aim for the eye or a bit below.
You were interested in a 22 hornet based round.
You don't like the idea of the 17 because of cost etc.
Even a K hornet is going to cost$$ if done properly. You may or may not see an improvement of brass life. A bit of speed to be gained, maybe.
With no 17 hornet, I take it you are not open to any wildcats then?
You then mention head shots only so as to have an edible carcass.
Ok, I think we may have lost somthing some where in translation;-).
IMHO, the hornet loses a bit of edge past 150, some will argue this.
Not good at judging range so your looking for a flat shooter out to 200 ish.
As mentioned above 222 or 223, done deal. A good rifle of either caliber is capable of what you are after and fairly easy to come by. 221 is an option, but brass can be hard to come by. Same goes for the 17 fireball.
Head shots only, you use the most accurate load/bullet combo and aim for the eye or a bit below.
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
The hornet seems like the best option, given your interests and limits. Really. Yes, the brass is fragile, but a few hundred last a long time. And a 40 grain bullet like the vmax or even a standard Sierra Hornet bullet would suffice, and limit "bounce". No real need for going to a 32 grain bullet, unless you feel you have to. With distance and front of body shots, you won't lose that much meat, and most rabbits are found in hedgy, peat like areas so a hornet bullet will end up in the dirt. VV powders can be used. Brass is available, primers common and hornet chambered rifles plentiful fron BRNO and CZ. And if you blow them up, reduce the load a bit and get in to 125 yards.
Or go with a 221 FB and load it down a bit, same bullet. Again CZ makes the rifles, bullets are common, powders from VV would work. No need to get all crazy here to shoot meat rabbits.
Or go with a 221 FB and load it down a bit, same bullet. Again CZ makes the rifles, bullets are common, powders from VV would work. No need to get all crazy here to shoot meat rabbits.
stacy
2 TIMOTHY 2 VERSE 15
THIS WOULD BE MY CHOICE 4 SURE !!!!!!!!
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