It's a varmints nightmare!

[tperson]

Sledgehammer - I've got a hornet that's been rechambered into a K-hornet. Many moons ago my gunsmith buddy said that every hornet should be sold with a broken shell extractor if you reload. The sharp should of the K-hornet gets you a little bit more velocity plus better brass life. Regardless...that caliber is a riot to shoot! Quiet-ish, deadly accurate under 200yds, and (with 40gr V-Max bullets) **** on small critters. 

[DT Fan]

I have my Dad's pre-64 70 hornet. Haven't loaded any shells for it myself, have just shot his. Things have changed quite a bit since Dad was reloading! These new lighter bullets would be great! Have to look into that when I get set back to load, hopefully this winter.

[russ_alabama]

2 hours ago, tperson said:

Now this is a topic I can get excited about! First pic is the 6mm ARC that my son and I built this late winter in preparation for a western Nebraska prairie dog trip in early June. The ARC is a ‘new’ cartridge from Hornady (2020) and is pretty bada$$ at 600+yds. Haven’t had a chance to stretch it’s legs that far, but it shot well during the prairie dog massacre. Second pic is from the hunting trip we took this summer (3 dads and 3 sons). Longest confirmed kill rimfire shot (22LR) was 184yds and the longest confirmed centerfire shot was 436 yds (pic below). Had a hoot! We had different guns for different ranges…started with 22’s for less than 100yds, 22 Mag and 22 K-Hornet for opportunities less than ~225yds, and bigger  calibers for stuff beyond that. The last pic is from a couple of weeks ago when a buddy’s buddy had the 50BMG out and was plinking. Surprisingly, the recoil isn’t what catches you off guard, the muzzle blast is…almost enough to knock your hat off!

that son of yours sure has a good dad!   

[Sledgehammer]

I’ve got enough hornet rounds for a pretty good nest full 😁 I have heard of the “K” Hornet but never done anything with one. 

[acem]

What's the advantage of 22 hornet vs 233?

It seems the ammo is the same price and 223 is flatter shooting?

What am I missing?

I have a bolt action 223. Not all 223 are automatics.

[ray54]

If you load your own less powder used in a Hornet, not as much noise if you have neighbors.

[Sledgehammer]

2 hours ago, acem said:

What's the advantage of 22 hornet vs 233?

It seems the ammo is the same price and 223 is flatter shooting?

What am I missing?

I have a bolt action 223. Not all 223 are automatics.

It is different. Not an equal comparison in my mind. Both .22 caliber.  The hornet doesn’t have the range of a .223 and doesn’t tumble as badly.
 

You have to remember that the .223 was designed as a replacement for the 30-06 in military use under the premonition that if you injure one person it will take two more to haul the person off and take 3 from the battle.  There are many modern .223’s that are accurate and great but ballistically the .223 is garbage compared to many other rounds out there both modern and of the same vintage.  

[Diesel Doctor]

Doesn't the Hornet shoot a .223 bullet compared to the .224 for most .22 caliber rifles.

Plinking with the .50 BMG. Love it!

[DT Fan]

13 minutes ago, Diesel Doctor said:

Doesn't the Hornet shoot a .223 bullet compared to the .224 for most .22 caliber rifles.

Plinking with the .50 BMG. Love it!

Doc., some did but not all. Pretty sure mine takes .224's.

Went on 'patrol' this morning. Bagged a highly dangerous chipmunk! Casing stuck in the chamber so I was finished.

[tperson]

11 hours ago, ray54 said:

If you load your own less powder used in a Hornet, not as much noise if you have neighbors.

BINGO! No need for a sledge when a small ballpein will do the job with less attention. 

[tperson]

1 hour ago, DT Fan said:

Doc., some did but not all. Pretty sure mine takes .224's.

yup, mine too. 

[stronger800]

I’ve yet to shoot at a groundhog with the .17, but I’m hoping too.  Seems like it should work, as long as it’s a good shot 

[Sledgehammer]

A heavier soft tip will work better on larger game loaded in the hornet…..

😁

[DT Fan]

1 hour ago, stronger800 said:

I’ve yet to shoot at a groundhog with the .17, but I’m hoping too.  Seems like it should work, as long as it’s a good shot 

I'd like to shoot a groundhog with a variety of calibers, just hope it's not here!

[nepoweshiekfarmalls]

Just now, DT Fan said:

I'd like to shoot a groundhog with a variety of calibers, just hope it's not here!

I have one you can shoot at!

[iowaboy1965]

7 minutes ago, nepoweshiekfarmalls said:

I have one you can shoot at!

X2

[tperson]

Sledge – If you’re reloading the hornet I’m sure you already know this, but watch for case-head separation. It’ll start as a small crack right above the web. What bullets are you loading? Being a Nebraska native, I gravitate towards Hornady (made in Grand Island) and have been very happy/impressed with the 40gr V-Max I mentioned earlier. Also if you’re reloading, you might play with the idea of rechambering into a K-hornet. The work cost me ~$100 15 years ago, might be as much as $150 if you can find someone that already has a reamer. The brass is easy enough to fireform into a K-hornet…anneal the case, down load the round, and go plinking. They go into the rifle hornet, and come out K-hornet.

I’ll venture a little off topic here, but since we’re discussing reloading…the 6 ARC is new enough that ammo or brass is hard to find…like crazy hard to find reasonably priced stuff. I ended up buying some 6.5 grendel starline brass, and forming it into 6 arc. Kind of a fun adventure that I’d never experienced before. Anneal, lube, size, trim, debur, chamfer, tumble…viola, 6mm ARC brass that says 6.5mm Grendel on it. The whole process really taught me the importance and process of annealing; how hot to get it and how far down the neck to go…took a few practice rounds to stop dimpling the shoulder.

The whole rifle build/reloading/shooting experience was a great opportunity for my son and I…he got to see just how cool his dad used to be. I’d say “ok, we need to go get the stuff to reload XYZ caliber” and he’d respond with a blank look…we’d go to the basement and grab a press, powder measure, trimmer, brass, powder, primers, bullets, etc., etc. He was amazed that all of this ‘junk’ had a purpose and it ALL pertained to shooting.

[MacAR]

21 hours ago, Sledgehammer said:

I’ve got enough hornet rounds for a pretty good nest full

If you have a desire to add to the nest, I think I have most of a box of 40 grain Sierra HP Hornet bullets. I'll double check this evening when I get back home, but if I still have them they're yours for the asking. Wasn't too impressed with their performance in my .222 so they've just sat on the shelf along with the 50 grain SP's that I normally use. 

Mac

[Sledgehammer]

26 minutes ago, tperson said:

Sledge – If you’re reloading the hornet I’m sure you already know this, but watch for case-head separation. It’ll start as a small crack right above the web. What bullets are you loading? Being a Nebraska native, I gravitate towards Hornady (made in Grand Island) and have been very happy/impressed with the 40gr V-Max I mentioned earlier. Also if you’re reloading, you might play with the idea of rechambering into a K-hornet. The work cost me ~$100 15 years ago, might be as much as $150 if you can find someone that already has a reamer. The brass is easy enough to fireform into a K-hornet…anneal the case, down load the round, and go plinking. They go into the rifle hornet, and come out K-hornet.

I’ll venture a little off topic here, but since we’re discussing reloading…the 6 ARC is new enough that ammo or brass is hard to find…like crazy hard to find reasonably priced stuff. I ended up buying some 6.5 grendel starline brass, and forming it into 6 arc. Kind of a fun adventure that I’d never experienced before. Anneal, lube, size, trim, debur, chamfer, tumble…viola, 6mm ARC brass that says 6.5mm Grendel on it. The whole process really taught me the importance and process of annealing; how hot to get it and how far down the neck to go…took a few practice rounds to stop dimpling the shoulder.

The whole rifle build/reloading/shooting experience was a great opportunity for my son and I…he got to see just how cool his dad used to be. I’d say “ok, we need to go get the stuff to reload XYZ caliber” and he’d respond with a blank look…we’d go to the basement and grab a press, powder measure, trimmer, brass, powder, primers, bullets, etc., etc. He was amazed that all of this ‘junk’ had a purpose and it ALL pertained to shooting.

Thanks for the heads up. I purchased a fair amount of ammo years ago with the gun and am working through factory ammo but have everything to do quite a few reloads. I have 35gr Hornady V-Max for these but normally gravitate towards Sierra if I have my pick in .224 diameter stuff. 
 

I think have some 6mm Rem brass with no gun anymore if that could help your 6ARC loading?  

8 minutes ago, MacAR said:

If you have a desire to add to the nest, I think I have most of a box of 40 grain Sierra HP Hornet bullets. I'll double check this evening when I get back home, but if I still have them they're yours for the asking. Wasn't too impressed with their performance in my .222 so they've just sat on the shelf along with the 50 grain SP's that I normally use. 

Mac

Thanks Mac. I appreciate the offer. Right now I plan to stick with what I have. I find a load that works and normally stay with it. This gun likes the 35gr a lot. Larger .224’s like the .223/556 or 22-250 see 55gr bullets here. 

[MacAR]

23 minutes ago, Sledgehammer said:

Thanks Mac. I appreciate the offer. Right now I plan to stick with what I have. I find a load that works and normally stay with it. This gun likes the 35gr a lot. Larger .224’s like the .223/556 or 22-250 see 55gr bullets here. 

No problem, if you change your mind or want to experiment just let me know. They were given to me and I thought I might pass them along to someone who'd use them. My .222 likes a 50 gr. Sierra over 22.2 gr of H322; makes nice little bug hole groups at 100 yards and whacks groundhogs with authority out to about 225. I'm a little cautious about stretching it any farther, especially when there's a stupid-accurate Weatherby .243 setting right next to it for the long stuff. 

Mac

[Sledgehammer]

8 hours ago, DT Fan said:

I'd like to shoot a groundhog with a variety of calibers, just hope it's not here!

Funny you say that. I have kept track of most every caliber I have ever shot/dispatched groundhogs with including handgun/long gun.  Just by memory but I will give it a shot.

an axe

rifles-.22, .22mag, .22hornet, .17 centerfire, .223, 22-250, 30 carbine, .38 special, .357, .243, 30-30

pistols- .22, 22mag, .380, 9mm, 38 special

Spent a lot of hours in my youth getting rid of groundhogs around the barns.  Shot one through a barn wall on purpose once. Skipped a .22 mag off a concrete pad into one once at a little distance on purpose because I could only see a small portion of its head and was using iron sights.   Shot them anywhere from about 2 feet away to roughly 265yds. Even got 4 in a single shot once. Can you tell I like to shoot groundhogs? 😂

[smfarms]

Shot a ground hog years ago with a .375 Winchester. About 35 yards or so. Not much left. .300 Weatherby dose a number on them too. 

[BoilerRed]

10 hours ago, Diesel Doctor said:

Doesn't the Hornet shoot a .223 bullet compared to the .224 for most .22 caliber rifles.

Plinking with the .50 BMG. Love it!

Just like the go fast guys say, ain't no replacement for displacement.  😆🤣

[mikem]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:32 PM, russ_alabama said:

I may need to set up a porcelain throne shooting site.  

Sounds like multi-tasking, to me.🤫

Mike

[DT Fan]

Last Thursday I was at the local farm store, they are getting more ammo in all the time. Picked up another hundred .22 birdshot and a hundred .22 mags. Mags are loaded with 30 grain spear tnt hollow pts. Pretty similar to the premiums I've been shooting. Bo says they are loaded with Sierra's. They are really proud of this ammo these days.