.22LR vs .22 Hornet: Advantages, Disadvantages, Drawbacks?

G

GunXpatriot

New member
I am interested in purchasing an M6 Scout, that is, when I get my hands on one. Anyway, I was wondering if I should go with .22lr or .22 hornet. I guess an obvious advantage of the .22is being dirt cheap, but for the hornet having far more energy and also having the ability to be reloaded. What do you guys think? To be honest, I was going to go hornet because it seemed "exotic" to me and plan on starting basic reloading anyway...
 
The Hornet might be a romantic choice but the slow twist rate barrels and light bullets leave it not enough ahead of the .22LR to justify the cost and effort when the .556 X 45 or .223 is just around the corner with plentiful ammo, higher velocities and bullet selection.
 
What are you hoping to shoot with it?

22 hornet is a lot more powerful than 22lr as you know, but its a lot more expensive too.
I haven't looked too much into it but I think reloading for a 22 hornet will be around the same price as 223, and as you know 223 is alot better.
But your M6 doesn't come in 223 so that point is basically moot lol.

So really it comes down to what you want to shoot?
 
Well I don't want to bring SHTF into this, as it's against the rules, but I would intend to use it for it's true purpose, survival! I guess I may use the hornet for Coyotes, I've heard reliability with a .22 being very low for coyote unless the shot is perfect. But it's such a hard decision, since there are so many advantages / disadvantages for each. This is a bit frustrating! :mad:
 
Hm, that actually was the main reason I was going to get it in .22lr. You do make a good point. Maybe I should get one in .22lr and then down the road try to get one in .22 hornet. Anyway, thanks for your help! :)
 
I would go with the Hornet for a survival rifle, it was good enough for US pilots survival rifle, plus the added rage and power, plus the performance of a jacketed bullet. If you are lost or in back country, who are you going to run into anyway to "borrow" some 22Lr ammo? If you dont handload for it a couple boxes of Hornet is a small investment, and in back country or any time hunting, I do not keep all my ammo in one place anyway. A few rounds in my jacket pocket, a few in the pack, the 5 in the rifle, a few in a wallet style belt loop cartridge carrier. I mean you would have to dump your pack, strip and then jump off the cliff into the raging river with just your rifle to almost be out of ammo. Just like in the movies!!!
 
The .22 Hornet is a niche round these days, and because of that, ammo is scarce, and hideously expensive! But brass isn't, dies aren't, nor are the bullets and powder. Hornet brass is thin, and despite all the care you can give, expect to lose a case or two to damage when reloading, until you get the right "touch" figured out.

I have over 4 decades of handloading experience, and had heard all about it, but still damaged a couple of cases getting set up for the Hornet. A good chamfer on the case mouth helps...

The Hornet is the bottom of the .22 Centerfire range. Factory loads are still well above the.22WMR, and with handloading you can duplicate anything from .22LR level up to full factory performance.

Yes, its a pain in the butt to do, but considering you can do it over and over, vs one shot throw away the brass rimfires, I think its a great round. Plus it has nostalga, and just looks cool, like a little Tiger tank shell! :D

Considering your choice of gun (survival rifle) either caliber would work. The rimfire is cheap, lowest bulk, and a couple of slugs for the.410 would do for a deer in a survival situation.

On the other hand, the Hornet gives you a much greater easily used range, enough power to take deer (under survival rules, sport hunting rules are different), and if you handload, you can have rimfire power level shells as well.

Hornet isn't cheap, if you are looking at factory ammo only, you'd probably be happier in the long run with the rimfire. I love handloading, and for serious things I don't usually use the rimfire, even when it will do the job.
 
I suggest the 221 Fireball over the Hornet, especially if you plan to reload. I make my own Fireball cases from 223 Remington cases that are in great abundance. It cost a little bit to get the forming tools but the case is much more robust than the Hornet, easy and economical to load. Fireball ballistics are right on the heels of a 223 for a lot less powder.
 
A good chamfer on the case mouth helps...
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um... I think you meant ".. is a necessity" :D

Seriously... I've been loading the Hornet and K-Hornet for 12 years or so, and just recently crumpled one case neck. I was bumfuzzled, until I realized I hadn't chamfered the case mouth.

For a survival gun, I honestly don't know which I'd pick, but I'd lean toward the Hornet. If I was setting it up for survival, as mentioned before, I'd have two or three boxes of ammo availiable, anyway.
The Hornet is a dramaticallly better small game killer, but it is also louder. Is that going to be a factor for you? If you could choose the rifle (don't think I'd go with the Scout) I'd pick a light, very accurate semi-auto, or possibly bolt, .22 lr, I think.
Another advantage/disadvantage... the .22 lr is a "dirtier" shooting cartridge, due to the outside lubed bullet. If you aren't going to have access to cleaning equipment, you should consider it. With a bolt gun, it would be a non-issue.
Just some random thoughts..
 
I suggest the 221 Fireball over the Hornet, especially if you plan to reload. I make my own Fireball cases from 223 Remington cases that are in great abundance. It cost a little bit to get the forming tools but the case is much more robust than the Hornet, easy and economical to load. Fireball ballistics are right on the heels of a 223 for a lot less powder.
Click to expand...

The 221 Fireball is a non issue. The M6 is not offered in that caliber.

The choices are the .22lr, the .22 WRM, and the 22 Hornet. The most common by far being the .22lr. The .22 Mag offers a much greater amount of punch over the standard .22 with a cost much lower than the 22 Hornet, something to consider.

My M6 is a Springfield Armory manufactured .22lr/.410. It is minute of squirrel accurate, but the platform does take some getting used to. The length of pull is short, the trigger is weird, and it does not hang well off hand. The sights are also hard to regulate, but once you drift the rear to where you want it, and perhaps reduce the front sight a bit they work well and are very solid. I think the Springfield version is a better buy than the later CZ iterations. Do NOT take one all the way apart. I can see not earthly reason why someone would do it, but folks have much to their consternation. It is a very rugger and compact firearm with a good deal of versatility.
 
Wow, 44 AMP, that was one heck a helpful post! And trg42wraglefragle, don't be so down on yourself! Anyway, Although I know a decent bit about reloading (strictly research based), I had never thought of the obvious - Loading .22 hornet to .22lr specs.

To jhenry, I didn't know that .22 mag was offered, but I'll probably pass on it. hornetguy, you make a good point too. I've already got a Marlin 795, which is dead accurate, so I always have that option for survival. I like that you mentioned noise and the cleaning factor, which are both important.

I might just have to gather up $2000 to get both. These decisions are killing me! :o
 
.22LR vs .22 Hornet:

I have a Ruger 77-22 and a Ruger 77-22 Hornet.
I love them both. The 22LR is good for short range varmet use.
The .22 Hornet is excellent out to 150 yards on game up TO Deer.
Living in "the city" I have a Hornet load of 4.1 grains of UNIQUE,
[1850 fps] that is very close to Long Rifle velocity.
 
nice comparison

"looks like a mini tiger tank shell"

Now that is an apt comparison of which I had not thought.

I like the Hornet, I had a great uncle that had an old Savage 34 (?) so chambered, and have always wanted one. I also new two old pro hog hunters for the gov't that shot Hornets, and killed a bunch of hogs.

But, for a GP, across the board utility rifle, I would go with the M6 in .22lr.

Wait, scrap that, I would look for a Savage 24V and get a longer sight radius and a conventional trigger.
 
bamaranger, I've been looking at the 24 series, but the 24V is probably the best. Thanks for giving me more descisions to make, you're really helping. lol :D
 
I haven't bungled a single Hornet case since investing in a Forster Benchrest seating die.
Also, using Hornady 40 grain V-max bullets #22416 which are boattail bullets makes for zero case losses due to catching a case mouth during bullet seating.

This round headspaces on the rim so a rifle with excessive headspace can be a real case eater. Fortunately, this has not been an issure with my rifle.
 
If I was buying a "survival specific" rifle (I'm not and won't) and had my pick I'd take a hornet over a .22lr. Ammo availability is a NON-ISSUE for you don't need to carry boat loads of ammo or scrounge for additional ammo. Such talk is for zombie threads. One of the ammo makers (Centurian?) has hornet ammo for $22 plus/minus for 50 so it does cost more than the rimfires but when compared to other centerfires is far from expensive.

When talking performance the rimfires and the hornet don't even belong in the same discussion. For comparison sake a .22M carries as much energy at 100 yards as the standard HV .22lr ammo at the muzzle yet the hornet carries FOUR TIMES the energy at 175 yards as the .22M at 125 yards. Like I said, not even in the same ball park.

LK
 
Another thing to take into account is that you can sell Hornet brass if you aren't going to reload it. Save your brass and sell it on an internet forum and that knocks off ~$10 a box. As per previous post, some Hornet ammo can be found for ~$25 per box even after shipping.

I like the 22 mag as well. For survival, might as well have the extra punch and ammo is still affordable, especially if you sell your brass.

However, a 22lr is not a bad choice at all.

One of the ammo makers (Centurian?) has hornet ammo for $22 plus/minus for 50
Click to expand...
PRVI?
http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000261&dir=18|830|1046
 
If the M6 Scout has 1"in 14" twist instead of the 1"in16" rimfire twist, and is a .224" barrel and not a .223" barrel, it will shoot most modern 30-45 gr and some 50 gr bullets well.

If it's the older twist bore combo there are a few .223" Hornet bullets made but only in 40 and 45 grain.

Hodgdons Li'l Gun powder has really given the Hornet a boost, it will shoot bullets in the 30-40 grain bullets into small bug holes, in modern tight chambered rifles, and at 3,000 fps.

The honest Hornet designed expanding bullets are explosive at those velocities, ain't no 22 LR gonna match that. Stuff a 45-50 grain partition type hunting bullet into a Hornet case with the right powder, and you got a whitetail round. No doubt you gotta get it in the right place,but the Hornet is accurate enough to do it. Again the 22lr sucks hind tit.

A pound of powder goes a long way in the Hornet,brass life in modern chambers is good, yes it's a little trickey to load but the rewards are worth it.
It responds best with neck sizing and mild primers, ask anyone that shoots it.

Couple hundred primers and bullets of your choice,a1lb.jug of Lil'Gun, a Classic Lee Loader (hammer type), buy 4 boxes factory ammo at 25$ a box (you get 50 in a box of Hornet), now you got your brass.You got a true survival rifle.
 
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