.224 in a .223 Hornet

A

Accipere

Inactive
This might be a bit of an old chestnut to some, but I have gone through the archives and can't find a thread that satisfactorily answers this question.
I have a 1959 Brno (now CZ) .22 Hornet - a set-triggered creature of rare beauty and craftsmanship from the days when humans still made rifles. It's the dog's bollocks for hares and goats. I bought it about 15 years ago, mint. It had been stored unfired since new.
Its bore is .223 and I have always been scrupulous in avoiding using .224 bullets. However, over the years the choice of .223 Hornet projectiles has diminished while the range for .224 has grown.
Is it possible to shoot the larger-diameter bullets in a .223 Hornet barrel with any expectation of accuracy, and . . . by doing so do I risk damaging or placing undue wear on the bore?
Thanks in anticipation.
 
I strongly doubt that any harm would be done.

Accuracy? Well, we have the .223 Remington, and we know of half-MOA with these .224 bullets. Same for the .222...
 
accipere, i shoot both of the 224 and 223 from my savage 340. i am unsure which bore i have but both bullet sizes give about the same accuracy.
 
Accuracy? Well, we have the .223 Remington, and we know of half-MOA with these .224 bullets. Same for the .222...
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Those cartridges are made to shoot .224" diameter bullets Art. Just like the 220Swift and the 221Fireball and the 219Zipper all have .224" bores. Hand loaders are in the know about these things.:)

I can't imagine .001" making much difference. They might actually be more accurate because of the tighter fit.
 
I don't guess I've seen anything but .224 bullets for some forty years or more, I lose track. But, hey, it's easy enough to be gentle on a newby-style question. Provide clues, let him feel good for figuring it out for himself. It's the Cowboy Way. :D

In the FWIW department, back in the late 1940s/early 1950s, somebody was producing .228 bullets. This occasionally made things a trifle exciting in a .220 Swift with max loads. Primers wandering around, AWOL from their assigned position. :)
 
According to the 49th edition of the Lyman manual .22 Hornet rifles produced pre-WWII have the .223 groove diameter, your 1959 model should be OK with .224 bullets. Slugging can confirm this.
 
Lots of older Hornets had .223" barrels and there used to be bullets made to fit. I don't think a thou will make much difference in a relatively modern rifle like your Brno.

The .228" bullets were really meant for .22 Savage High Power.
 
Thanks, Accipere. I guess it would be more accurate to say that because of little demand, stores don't stock them with any sort of regularity. It's good that they're available for the Hornet lover, even if they're not commonly an on-the-shelf item...

In the way-long-ago, I began reflexively associating ".22 Hornet" with "Pennsylvania". Numerous articles in Outdoor Life et al about shooting woodchucks with the Hornet, Lyle Kilbourn's K-Hornet or the .218 Bee. It was a "Don't disturb the neighbors" thing.
 
My good friend and fellow chuck exterminator has a Savage340 in 22Hornet. It is a groundhog killing machine! 70 some last season!:eek: It don't explode 'em like the 'ol 22-250 however!
 
224/223

Accipere, I have a Brno zkk 601 in 223 and it regularly shoots half inch groups at 100yards when using 224 bulllets. You shouldn't have any problem with one thou difference. Primers or measuring case head expansion are good ways to indicate high pressure.
 
Accipere I love the 22 Hornet and not only thanks for the thread, but for the phrase which I will be using: "... the dog's bollocks ..."!

Not sure what it means so I'll just apply it to everything from bullets to food.
 
I see that both Sierra and Hornaday still make .223 bullets in 40 and 45gr in various bullet types.

I'm not sure you can get those in New Zealand?

I used my brother in laws 340 for many years before finally getting Handi Rifle in .22 Hornet.
 
G'day and welcome to TFL.
You have already linked the Sierra site so no need for me to do it. They might be the best people to ask as they would be able to test them.

If .224 were safe and accurate in a .223 barrel why would companies like Sierra and Hornaday bother making .223 projectiles?
 
If .224 were safe and accurate in a .223 barrel why would companies like Sierra and Hornaday bother making .223 projectiles?
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Because people will buy them. Safe, quite probably, .001 difference even in a jacket bullet isn't likely to put you instantly into the realm of dangerous pressures.

Accuracy, onthe other hand could be a different matter, and depends on the individual rifle. One of the older .223" bore rifles might not shoot .224" bullets well, another might.

And quite likely they have been making the .223" bullets since they began (when Hornets were all .223), and just never stopped. As long as there is enough demand to justify production, why stop?
 
As long as there is enough demand to justify production, why stop?
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Exactly. If they are making money off them, they're gonna keep making them. Even if people are buying them by mistake, they're still buying them.
 
The 22 Hornet was originally based on the 22 WCF, a black powder cartridge, and the original rifles had a .223 bore. When they developed the 22 Hornet in 1930, they rechambered 22 rimfire barrels, which had the .223 diameter barrel, to accept the Hornet. They also made the change to smokeless powder with the Hornet. When they began to build a rifle from the ground up, instead of rechambering a rimfire barrel, they began using a .224 bore. Not sure why they did that. Sierra does still make .223 diameter bullets.
 
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