.22 Hornet Vs .221 Fireball you can only have 1

[horsemen61]

Ok guys Food for thought here


Imagine if you will that you are offered identical rifles say a cz 527 but you can only have one for the rest of your life this cartridge or that cartridge what do you choose

.22hornet or .221 Fireball?

please expound on the merits of your choice

 

[adcoch1]

221 fireball. Mainly because I can make brass from 223 or 222. Can't do that for the hornet. Plus the download to hornet and lower speeds is doable in the 221 case. And you can outrun the hornet by a bit with a 221 as well.
Now, if you find a 221fb in a cz527 and don't buy it, you are REQUIRED to tell me about it since I've been hunting for one for years...

 

[Olympus]

To me, the 221 Fireball was too close ballistically to the 223. Sure the 223 is longer and uses more powder, but you're essentially getting the same performance with the 221 Fireball.

The 22 Hornet fills the niche between the 22 Mag and the 223 nicely. I own the 22 Hornet in the CZ 527 American and that dang gun is wicked accurate. I even took a big whitetail doe with the 22 Hornet about 3 years ago with a 45gr softpoint. Did a number inside the chest cavity. For me, I'll pick the 22 Hornet over the 221 Fireball any day of the week. Not to say the 221 Fireball isn't cool, because it is, it just doesn't do anything I can't already do with the 223s that I already own.

 

[horsemen61]

221 fireball. Mainly because I can make brass from 223 or 222. Can't do that for the hornet. Plus the download to hornet and lower speeds is doable in the 221 case. And you can outrun the hornet by a bit with a 221 as well.
Now, if you find a 221fb in a cz527 and don't buy it, you are REQUIRED to tell me about it since I've been hunting for one for years...

This is a fun hypothetical situation About 2 cartridges not about having said rifles and I feel the same way!

 

[adcoch1]

The Hornet is a beautiful little cartridge, and I really want one too, but I am a fireball fanboy you might say. After all, it is the 300 blackout's grandpa!

 

[Legionnaire]

Between the two, I’d probably go 22 Hornet because it’s more centered between the 22 WMR and the 223. But being a handloader and having read the June/July 2014 Handloader article entitled “Beating the Rimfire Shortage,” I’ll stick with my .223 and download it to 22 WMR or 22 Hornet velocities if wanted/needed.

 

[tactikel]

Fireball! Easier to handload, up or down, wider selection of usable bullets, durable brass.

 

[jmorris]

I have a .22 hornet and a bunch of .223’s.

If I had a bunch of .223’s it would be the Hornet, if the next step up I had was much bigger I might go with the fireball.

FWIW the Hornet is a bit more difficult to get great results with than others but if your even thinking about the fireball, your already going to be reloading.

.221 FB is rare enough it is not one folks are buying to Jack up the price on for resale and is currently in stock. One of the few calibers on sale these days, 20% off only makes it $1.64 a round.

 

[MacAR]

I'd take the hornet myself. Main reason being I have a .222 already, so it would fill the gap,between it and my 17HMR quite nicely. The other reason is noise. Hornets aren't that loud compared to the Deuce or Fireball. And sometimes, you need to be as quiet as possible. Around livestock, for instance. You touch off a Deuce or a 243 around a bunch of cattle and they're liable to leave the country. Its a sure bet you've lost your shooting rights to that farm if you do! The hornet isn't that bad, or at least the one I had wasn't. About like a 22WMR to my ears, and the sound didn't carry as far. And, the hornet will shoot as far as needed around these parts, where shots seldom go over 250. Perhaps an added bonus for hand loaders, the hornet takes about 1/2 the powder the Fireball or 222 does, but it is a somewhat difficult cartridge to load with its thin case necks.

Mac

 

[Varminterror]

221 Fireball. Because I could easily rebarrel to 223 without manipulating the bolt face. Is that cheating?

The firearm I picture when I consider 22 Hornet is very different than the firearm I picture when I consider 221 Fireball. But more often, I have use for the type of firearm which I’d associate with the Fireball than the Hornet.

I do enjoy the Taurus Raging Hornet though.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

.22 K Hornet, and you're too late because I already have two.

 

[cfullgraf]

I'm no help here, I have both a 22 Hornet and a 221 Rem Fireball rifles. The 221 cases are more durable than 22 Hornet cases and if one reloads, the 221 can be down loaded to 22 Hornet levels.

My 22 Hornet rifle is a 21" T/C Contender carbine. It is a dandy small varmint rifle.

If the OP settles on a 221 Rem Fireball rifle, I'd get a set of case forming dies. They might never get used but the supply of new cases gets spotty at times and there are always threats that production of cases will end.

 

[troy fairweather]

100% 221fb.

 

[George P]

Make that 221 a 22Rem BR and now you're talking!

 

[GooseGestapo]

Neither.
My preference is the .218Bee.
I’ve owned a half dozen.22Hornets. Each rifle had its own issues. Fortunately, the one I still have, I’ve managed to work out most of its issues.
Never owned a .221 FireBall, but really wanted a REM M700 VTR I saw once. Couldn’t swing the price at the time.
My .218Bee I acquired in 2017 is a Marlin 1894CL. Only thing I’ve done to it is lighten the trigger and shoot it. It obviously hadn’t been shot but maybe a box or two when I got it. The more I’ve shot it, the better it shoots. It wears a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7x. It looks like it grew there. Accuracy is 1.25MOA, but I’ve shot better groups with it recently. (5 shots, not just lucky 3’s).

I’ve got three .224” molds suitable for it but haven’t pursued them as I bought first 100 Armscor 40gr RNHP’s , then bought 1,000! Cost little more than 1,000 gas checks. They are intended for the .22 TCM but are perfect for the l/a Bee.
Opening day of 2017, I shot three does. All were at 17 to 40yds. One head shot, two heart lung. Only one ran any distance but still didn’t make it out of sight. All bullets exited after wreaking havoc in the lungs or opening up the cranial cavity.

I’ve shot more deer with a Hornet than any other cartridge except the .30/06 and .257Roberts. 40+. With reasonable shot placement it just works... even with a .22mag equivalent of a 50-55gr bullet over 6.2gr of #2400 for ~2,000fps. I can’t recall losing one.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Between the two, I’d probably go 22 Hornet because it’s more centered between the 22 WMR and the 223.

This.

I like the Hornet, it's an efficient little round that fills a niche with more reach and oomph than rimfire but much less report than .223 & larger. Granted, I suppress everything, but it's still a smaller report.

 

[d2wing]

Hornet as I have a .223. It's like a reloadable .22 Mag.