Let me know your thoughts on a 22 Hornet, just wanting a light rifle to carry in the woods of East Texas. I have hunted the area for years and it seems like the deer always pop out when I'm out small game hunting with my 22 LR and when I'm hunting deer with my 30-06 or 30-30 the small game are abundant. I feel like the hornet would give me the best of both worlds. I usually toted around my double barrel 12 gauge with bird shot in one barrel and buckshot in the other, but it's a heavy gun and I wouldn't want to attempt a shot with buckshot over 25 yards. I've been researching 22 H and pistol caliber carbines for this task as well as other 22 centerfires.

love the hornet, fun little round. It will kill deer with good shot placement at limited range, as far as small game head shots are best not to damage good meat. Have a Ruger 77-22H that has served well for rabbit, raccoon, yote, bobcat, hog and deer. reloading for it can improve on performance Hodgdon Lil'gun powder and smal pistol primers are the way to go for higher velocity and good accuracy.

A 357Mag carbine is a better choice IMO for the bigger stuff(hogs and deer), like with the Hornet though head shots on smaller game if planning on eating it. For deer 125 yards and in I like the 357 as well as an rifle I own for deer and hogs, it just gets the job done.

I also have a M77-22H. Sweet little rifle but the trigger pull on mine approached 7lbs. As it is not adjustable I changed out the sear and trigger spring with a Vorquortsen (sp) target sear and spring and also shimmed the two piece bolt. Made all the difference in the world. Trigger pull is now just over 2lbs and there is no slop in the bolt.

Shot my first deer with an old Winchester .22 Hornet that I borrowed from my father-in-law. Winchester 45 grain soft point at around 70 yards put a smallish doe straight down. Shortly afterwards I found a nice Ruger 77/22 Hornet that I used for turkeys and varmints off and on over a lot of years. Geezer has it now and is modding it for his use, I know he's going to have a lot of fun with it.

A better choice than the 77-22H IMO is a CZ 527, sweet little rifle with single set trigger.

Check the safety recalls on the CZ. There have been problems with the rifle discharging when the safety is moved to fire position, much like some of the reported problems with older Remington 700's. Might not be that particular model but worth a check.

The only recall I can find is for the CZ 455 with the single selective trigger.

Cz455 w/ SST Recall (22lr and 17hmr models affected) Not the 527

May be trading in to a Ruger hornet soon. I figure it will be a fun sucker for pigs.

most people that use 22 hornet for deer are road hunters

I think the 22-250 has better ammo options IMO

Glad to hear that model is not included in the recall. If you plan on reloading for 22 Hornet you have a treasure hunt ahead of you. Components are very difficult to find, especially brass. I finally found brass on Etsy from a guy who was selling them for jewelery making. Commercial ammo is hard to find as well. Winchester has stopped making it for at least a while. Remington and PPU are making ammo but they are few and far between. Rather than a 22 Hornet have you thought about .223 in a bolt action rifle. There are several out there.

+1. I think 22 hornet much like my beloved 250-3000 are a thing of the past. I'd definitely go with a .223 in something light and short. Put you some nice clear open sights on it, and you should be good to go.

Stay away from the hornet is my 2 cents. Sold mine way back as reloading it is for the birds. Thin brass splits after only a few shots. A bolt 223 is what you want instead.

Thompson contender in pistol version, 10 or 14 inch.

carry alone or with your big game rifle.

Much fun to shoot.

MO

Wonder how many here hunt small game for the table with their recommended 223 or 22-250?

the demise of the Hornet has been predicted for a long time and will be talked about for a long time to come. It is a good little round that serves the purpose the OP talked about. Another round I like for his stated uses is the 25-20. While neither are the best for either large or small game for the table the fact is both the 22 Hornet and 25-20 have been getting the job done since the 1800's made the transition from black powder to smokeless and will continue into the future.

I was in the new Cabelas in Waco this morning and they had mucho 22 Hornet ammo. Also they had so much 17 HMR that I considered buying a rifle in that caliber. No 22 LR at all. And they had plenty IMR 4350 and 4064.

I guess my question is, why is a .22 hornet a better small game round than the .223? Don't both use a .22 cal projectile?

That's the point

been using the hornet forever. i dont have any issues reloading, no split cases, i cant even count how many times i have reloaded the same case, upwards of 15 or 20 times. 13 gr of powder goes a long way with the hornet. i dont even lube the case maybe one every now and then just to get some lube in the die. it makes 4/5 the power of a 222 with half the powder. bout 30 cents a round to reload.
ive killed truck loads of deer and hogs with it. for me hornet bullets work the best as i can get close to the lands and still fit the magazine, and actually get the best groups. they are not the most accurate with fctory loads, hand loads tighten them up nicely. 3 shots in the .2s and 5 shots in the .75 area for me. im currently shootin a ruger

Thanks for the great replies, being a bargain hunter and a "tight wad" along with patience, I have been window shopping for a 22 H or similar for quite a while. I may just order an H&R Handirifle in 22 H (single shot). With my luck I will probably buy it and then stumble upon dozens of wild hogs and wished I would have spent more money on a Mini 14 or Mini 30 that cost twice as much but the ammo is cheaper. A 22 WMR would work fine, but it cuts deer out of the equation and larger boars. Thanks for taking time to reply

That's some impressive work

You mentioned 25-20, that would be a good choice too

i had the h&r , while it worked great i wont recomend it, save some coin or put a descent bolt action on layaway , the ruger or cz. the savage bolt is less than desirable

Both do use 22cal projectiles but at the higher velocities of the 223 and 22-250 plus many others compared to the Hornet meat destruction on small game is a lot more unless loaded down to Hornet velocities. I agree the faster 22cals are better for larger game than the Hornet with good bullets for the task but the Hornet will work when kept within its limitations.