22 hornet ?

[.45]

Did anyone ever make a lever action 22 hornet? If not, why? Are there problems with cartridge dimensions that make it unsuitable for a lever action?

I know I am dreaming but I would be first in line for a Marlin 1894 in 22 hornet.
Could you make the hornet work in a 1894?

This is kind of sounding like a good project if it could be done.

[gamekeeper]

I have often thought the Ruger 96 would make a good .22 Hornet carbine.
Ruger have the Mags and Barrels it should not prove too difficult to build.
I think .22 Hornet bullets and tube magazines would be a problem.

[Kansas Ed]

The Hornet is too long to work through my 94 Marlin, but what would you want with the Hornet anyway, when there's the Bee?

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.a ... =130931560

Pretty much the same ballistics as the Hornet.

I would think that the best mode of action would be to pick up a cheap Marlin 94, and have someone rebarrel it to the Bee...that way you could get what you want without the safety.

Ed

[Travis Morgan]

I have often thought the Ruger 96 would make a good .22 Hornet carbine.
Ruger have the Mags and Barrels it should not prove too difficult to build.
I think .22 Hornet bullets and tube magazines would be a problem.

People bring this up everytime I mention the idea, but they just haven't bothered to look for suitable bullets. Round nosed, flat point, and hollow point bullets are all available in the correct diameter.

[gamekeeper]

I have often thought the Ruger 96 would make a good .22 Hornet carbine.
Ruger have the Mags and Barrels it should not prove too difficult to build.
I think .22 Hornet bullets and tube magazines would be a problem.

People bring this up everytime I mention the idea, but they just haven't bothered to look for suitable bullets. Round nosed, flat point, and hollow point bullets are all available in the correct diameter.

Suitable bullets would be harder to find in the UK, likewise the .218 Bee. If I lived in the States I would take advantage of all the choices you have. It's not impossible to find the right stuff over here but it can be a.p.i.t.a. trying to find consistent suppliers.

I still think the Ruger 96 would be a winner, if only they would make it.

[6pt-sika]

I have a lever action thats chambered for the 22 Hornet !

Of course it's a single shot !

My Hornet is a Ruger #1B single shot !

[blackhawk44]

From my experience, I would worry about the necks bending or collapsing from the long THIN brass in a tube magazine. Bee cases are a lot tougher.

[Travis Morgan]

I don't think there'd be any danger of bending the case necks, and I think that if you were careful in your bullet selection, the .22 Hornet would be a very desireable chambering in a levergun. Hell, I want one! I'd like to see Henry come out with one.

[SmokeEater2]

I think a levergun in .22 Hornet is a neat idea though I'm not sure what the gain over a .218 Bee would be? The Bee is about as much fun as any rifle I own and the Browning I have is smooth as silk (Thanks Doc Cable!) I'm looking forward to the Coyote season this year. The song dogs are gonna' hate that Bee.

[.45]

what would you want with the Hornet anyway, when there's the Bee?

Ed

Would like to have a Bee and a Zipper someday, just really like the Hornet and would like to have it in a lever.

[mescalero1]

I had a H&R single shot in .22 Hornet at 1 time, punched it out to K Hornet.
Wow!
What a difference.
Lent it to my friend Kieth, that was the last I saw of that gun

[Travis Morgan]

what would you want with the Hornet anyway, when there's the Bee?

Ed

Hornets are cooler than bees. Bees make honey, and Hornets are just badass!

[Blaine]

Pretty much the same ballistics as the Hornet.

I believe the Bee easily dominates the Hornet in FPS and FPE...... It's really closer to a .223 than the Hornet....Maybe not the K Hornet.

[AJMD429]

I have often thought the Ruger 96 would make a good .22 Hornet carbine.
Ruger have the Mags and Barrels it should not prove too difficult to build.
I think .22 Hornet bullets and tube magazines would be a problem.

If more people 'appreciated' the Ruger 96's I'll bet they would have made them in a whole HOST of chamberings; think of .32-20, .25-20, .357 Mag, .41 Mag, .45 Colt, pretty much any short case. Woulda been cool. Maybe years from now when the patent wears off, Rossi will come out with them!

[mescalero1]

Now there's some critical thinking, what a hoot, I would buy a Hornet or a .25-20

[DixieBoy]

I love the .22 Hornet too. First reason for me is sentimental. My Dad had only rifles and shotguns when we were kids. No pistols. The 12 guage and his .30-30 were considered too much punch when I was little, at least to handle them properly.

So, once Dad thought I was ready to try out something bigger than his .22 Long Rifles, it was an old Savage .22 Hornet which was my introduction to centerfire rifles. I loved that bolt gun, but Dad traded it away, not knowing how much I wanted it. Oh well.

From a purely practical standpoint, the Hornet is a really nice easy-on-the-shoulder round to introduce a younger shooter, or your girlfriend, to the world of centerfire rifles. They're also nice and quiet (compared to almost all of the other .22 centerfires), but still reasonable in the accuracy department out to 150 yards, maybe a bit more. Really good pest rifles, and less influenced by the wind than the .17 rimfires.

Hey, I like 'em all, but the .22 Hornet fills alot of niches, and I'll bet it doesn't go away soon. I know that I'd buy a Ruger 96 in .22 Hornet in a flat second. - DixieBoy

[Kansas Ed]

Pretty much the same ballistics as the Hornet.

I believe the Bee easily dominates the Hornet in FPS and FPE...... It's really closer to a .223 than the Hornet....Maybe not the K Hornet.

I personally wouldn't consider 70 fps "easy domination". Which is still almost 500 fps off of .223 velocities. I have a Hornet, and I must say that its one of the most enjoyable calibers I shoot, but I still don't believe in it's viability as a repeating levergun cartridge, when the Bee is stacked along side of it, but only from a functionality standpoint, not a ballistics difference.

Ed

[6pt-sika]

IF you use a Hornet or a Bee as it was "originally" intended all this velocity etc BS goes out the door and they both do what they were supposed !

Been there done that with both of them already !

Where folks screw up with the Hornet is when they try to hotrod it ! Oh yeah the guns will take it , but the brass won't !

If a standard Hornet or Bee isn't enough then get something else instead of trying to cram a couple more grains of powder in either case !

Personally I'm kinda partial to the Hornet , the 222 REM and the Swift !

Yeah all three are older then I am !

Go figure

[Blaine]

Pretty much the same ballistics as the Hornet.

I believe the Bee easily dominates the Hornet in FPS and FPE...... It's really closer to a .223 than the Hornet....Maybe not the K Hornet.

I personally wouldn't consider 70 fps "easy domination". Which is still almost 500 fps off of .223 velocities. I have a Hornet, and I must say that its one of the most enjoyable calibers I shoot, but I still don't believe in it's viability as a repeating levergun cartridge, when the Bee is stacked along side of it, but only from a functionality standpoint, not a ballistics difference.

Ed

Perhaps poor choice of words....... The Bee will shine using the lighter pointy-red tipped boolits, but loading them one or two at a time... It had an edge with flat nose boolits, with the same boolits the word dominate might be accurate. But, yeah... There ain't much different, is there?

[AJMD429]

I had a H&R single shot in .22 Hornet at 1 time, punched it out to K Hornet.
Wow!
What a difference.

I stumbled back onto this thread doing a search for something else, but. . .

How much improvement was there with the "K" hornet conversion, and how difficult was it to do? Any difference in brass case life?

Also, on the 'tubular magazine' thing, I realize there are blunt bullets one can use, but they are still smaller than the primer's diameter, which would make me nervous, if I had a .22 Hornet levergun that recoiled much (which I doubt any would do).

[Booger Bill]

Going more by what I have read than actual experiance, I have read of bad accuracy with the hornet in rugers etc. They claim better accuracy in .22 K-hornet, .218 bee,s etc. About in 1970 I bought a 1st year winchester model 70 in hornet. Anyway it was advertised as that. I took it out and it was altered to K-hornet! Since I bought it cheap I kept it and bought the dies. Shame on me, I really havent worked with it all that much, but was happy with my results of maybe shooting 100 to 200 various rounds and loads through it. It is # 80xx and if I recall, it had a 1935 date barrel under the stock. I think probley the factory used a left over barrel from its predisesser, the model 54. I would like a lever in .256 win mag. I had a ruger hawkeye many years ago in 256 and also had a martini built for it. Now I have a barrel for my TC in it, but admitidly, havent shot it in ages. I would like to find one of those old marlin model 62 levers in it. My ultimate dream would have a original winchester 92 or even a browning 92 converted to .256. AND I HAVE seen a beautifull one converted!

[Rusty]

I've been thinking about this since this thread first appeared and thus far the best solution I've been able to come with would be a BLR in .223.

[adirondakjack]

What ya want, and what would work very well, is a .224 Kay-Chuck. A slightly shorter version of the Hornet, designed for use in revolvers, it features a modified shoulder that beats the old issue of very sticky extraction and case set-back in revolvers in .22 Hornet (which might play hob in an 1894 in .22 Jet as well) The COAL would be fine in a Marlin. Ya'd need a barrel made up, and let's say ya started with a Marlin in .357, the bolt face "ears" would have to be built up to allow for cartridge guidance of the smaller case head, and the carrier might need a little build-up on the top, narrowing the inner aspect of the "ears" as well. I don't think bullet shape would be a problem owing to the case shape, as nose to tail the primers would not likely be touched by the bullet nose.

Of course re-working a Ruger .44 with a rotary mag would be cool too (and not impossible.)