Lethal Shot Placement With .22 Hornet?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I will run out of 'dead basic' questions ~ eventually! Honest I will. Only I wasn't born genetically imprinted with this knowledge, ye know? I'd sure as hell rather humbly come to you experianced guys than just try the 'shoot it and see' approach too. Bear with me, please

 

So, ok ..... .22 Hornet. 45 grain Hollow Points. Target Charlie. Hearts and Minds? Or do we really have to get inside their heads? And, if we have a choice in the matter of where to place the shot; Does distance make any practical differance to desirability of one over the other, in terms of lethal result?

 

Eg. At fifty yards, a head shot would be taken because it wouldn't be difficult. At 100 yards, the head might present a less easy target. At 175 yards? That head's going to take some seeing, let alone hitting the brain! I'd sooner try to take out the vital chest area than risk blowing off a jaw. Would such be effective? (Err ..... a chest shot. Not blowing his chin off!)

 

In a word; People are always telling me, " Hornet? Oh yes! Good for a fox out to 180 yards! " But I just never thought to question; With what shot placement?

 

* For the Record *: I'm, as yet, totally disgusted with my own performance against paper with this - completely new to me - rifle. Obviously it will NOT be aimed at live quarry till I have it reacting to me as I'd want it to do. And even then I'll confine myself to my own limitations on range. I'm not out to over stretch my own or my rifles capabilities. I just need to despatch some pests, cleanly.

 

Only, if I suddenly spend a day and fifty rounds on getting it sorted and that night's perfect for a walk? That'd be no time to sit here asking this sort of question!

 

Speak to me. Please

[Guest Frank]

Practice more.

Brain at close range if confident, otherwise, heart and lung.

 

Practice, practice, practice and more practice, on paper targets only.

 

You should be grouping 3 shots, into a 1 inch circle, at a 100yds, everytime.

 

Frank.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Frank

[Yokel Matt 918]

Boiler room it mate. No chance of blowing the jaw off then and as long as you can you can group the size of a cox's apple (minimum) you'll take him down.

[kiwi 4]

might pay to check that topper out d/s, trigger job and different ammo will help the way it groups, my own experience with that type of rifle is they do not shoot that well compared to say a brno fox 22h, i had a play with a 223 model,like yours and the groups were not that flash even at fifty meters

[Guest JohnGalway]

Practice more.

Brain at close range if confident, otherwise, heart and lung.

 

Practice, practice, practice and more practice, on paper targets only.

 

You should be grouping 3 shots, into a 1 inch circle, at a 100yds, everytime.

 

Frank.

 

What Frank said.

 

I would go exclusively for heart/lung shots. Only ever head shot two foxes, that was with a .22lr so that's the way I had to go about it. Remember how easy it is for a head to move, cocks his head sideways, or catches the scent of something in the air. Oops you've just missed

 

You'll find, regardless of what people say most foxes shot by night will be shot under 100 yards.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Cheers, lads

 

Well, I just got word that I'm on my own. The reinforcements I hoped for got bushwhacked by fate and won't be coming I'll take the rifle out later ~ and rub her down with an oily rag, preperatory to putting her away untill I can get back to Dave with that Mod. Let him have a look at it. I'll consider all else in due course only, as usual, I've just hit the ground running again and am too distracted to start fiddling with lethal weapons.

 

Kiwi; How do ye mean, mate? " Trigger job " ? Has it been your experiance too that this rifle has a crush proof trigger Me, I like a light trigger. I find it's one less thing to worry about as my mind tells me " NOW! ". With this damn trigger, my mind tells me 'Now' and then I struggle and struggle till my mind's screaming, " F*ck it! Give Up! Ye well off target now. Start again! " It's like trying to draw a three inch nail out of timber with ye finger in a f*ckin ring pull!

 

Is there anything I can have done about that then? A " Trigger Job "? If so, she's going in for one ASAP! Truth to tell, I had exactly the same trouble with my old Lightening. Couldn't shoot for shit till I let the trigger down to it's finest. Even then I'd have liked it lighter. 'Hair' suits me fine. If I touch it, I do so because I wish it to drop that hammer. As it is, I struggle like hell and it's 100% definately ruining my aim. That's a Fact. Not an excuse.

 

Well, there ye have it, lads. I'm asking a constant stream of questions and am holding off and complaining. Would any of ye have me do it any other way? I'm simply not willing to inflict myself on living quarry untill I'm satisfied that my depressing that trigger 'guarantees' a swift end to the proceedings. I carry a rifle now, sure. But it doesn't mean I'll act like a 'Cowboy'

[Guest Macnas]

I had an old .22 that had a trigger like that, but I got used to it.

 

If anything, it teaches you to hold the damn thing steady.

[kiwi 4]

there's no need to put up with a shit trigger as it affects shot placement, a gunsmith will lighten it to how you like it.

[SNAP SHOT 194]

DITCH hows things,

firstly give the rifle a good cleaning out with bore solvent, a good clean with a touch of oil on a patch, then put dry patches through the gun to clean out the excess oil, the gun is second hand, who knows how well it was cleaned, could be a slight ammount of copper in the barrel, this will effect accuracy something terrible,

so a good clean to start, don't worry about the trigger yet as you've only just got the rifle, practice is the key, and only then if you still find you can't achieve good results at 100 yards, say right an get the trigger lightened, i'd say 2 pounds is a nice force. not light yet in no way heavy and safe. get someone to watch you, as you fire of a shot as you might flinch a bit when fireing he weapon. if you can group anywhere between a inch to inch and a half, you'll have no prob's out to 180 to 200. heart and lungs mate. always go for the engine room. but give yourself at least two months practice before you go an get a trigger job done. get used to the rifle. if no sucess after about three four weeks and groups still same change ammo type, and try a few shots you'll be very surprised what ammo will do............... :thumbs-up:

any probs give me a shout.

[Guest Macnas]

Kiwi

 

Really? That's me told then.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Bore Solvent? OK. On my shopping list. I should say I did notice a small shadow towards the breach end of the bore. I'll see if a proper clean can shift that. I only gave it a dry wipe through, see? Need to get my hands on some of that stuff that comes on rolls - or just find a clean scrap of something round here. I have half a gallon of WD40 in liquid state. I'll wipe a rag of that through to keep things sweet in there till I get the solvent and do a proper job.

 

That trigger; Believe me. It needs loosening. I've had several guns before. I have a clue about generallities and my own styles and preferances. It's like Old said elsewhere; We each have our own 'Eye'. I won't bore ye all with just how I rifle shoot. But that damn trigger's from hell. I'll get it loosened, Then I'll be able to shoot naturally and will know if it's me or the ammo or the Mod or the day of the week that's to blame if I shoot like a c***. Right now, that f*cking trigger's fighting me all the way. B*stard's stronger than I am too. It wins every time.

[OldTrapCollector 377]

Need to get my hands on some of that stuff that comes on rolls

 

I will bring you a load of flannellette as well as the oil, rods, brushes and pull throughs when I visit you next

 

OTC

[kiwi 4]

going by ya posts i have read of yours d/s and the fact you are not exactly a rifle virgin i asked my mate about his 223 and he said it improved 100% after a trigger job and finding the right ammo,he was ready to throw it in the river, the rifles are built to a price and do have the trigger from hell.

save your ammo and get the job done, then spend some time working on your groups,i'm sure they will improve overnight.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Cheers, both.

 

What I'm thinking is, Old, that I'll need no end of consumables. So things like that I can grab now and anything ye can fetch me will be extra stock. Any way ye look at it; I'll use the stuff in the end. Only I'd like to get this gun cleaned and oiled Now. As Snaps said above; A slightly dirty bore could be f*cking me right up. Ans a bottle of solvent's bound to be less than another fifty rounds ~ Thank F*ck!

 

Kiwi; Consider that trigger job the most important thing in my rifling life, mate. I just won't bother firing it again till it's sorted. I know what it's doing to me. I know what a hell of a differance it'll make. I can't wait! It'll be like a completely differant gun. I know because I've done it before. Lighten the trigger and, for me, the sun comes out

 

Clean bore. Light trigger. F*ck me, Then I'll start zeroing for some groupings!

[SNAP SHOT 194]

ditch, your on your way to fun,fun,fun, get a good gun oil, an give it a clean, a gunny should lighten the trigger in an hour or so, 2 pounds is a nice weight, but as i said who knows how the gun was cleaned. so a good cleaning is vital.