Stung by a Hornet!

[Olympus]

This weekend we had a 2-day antlerless whitetail deer season. I didn't a chance to hunt yesterday, but I went this morning. I have always wanted to try out my CZ 527 in 22 Hornet on a whitetail and figured this would be a prime opportunity. I hunted over a clover food plot with the longest possible shot being 80-90 yards and figured I could try a neck or head shot. Wind conditions were ridiculous this morning and my ladder stand was blowing and swaying and bucking like crazy. A pair of does walked out and started grazing and I took aim at the largest one. I tried to hold on the neck, but the stand was moving so much that I couldn't get a steady hold. I ended up deciding to take a shot behind the shoulder as it was the only area I could keep the scope held in the kill zone.

I took the shot and she ran off with her tail down, which usually indicates a hit. She ran out of the food plot and into the woods. I gave her about 15 minutes and climbed down. Found her laying about 50 yards within the woods! Success with the Hornet! I hung her from a limb and field dressed her to see what the inside looked like. The Hornet round completely jellied both lungs. Entrance hole was big enough to put 2 fingers through and the exit hole was only big enough for 1 finger. I took the deer back to my shop and started the skinning process. I invited my neighbor over so he could see the results for himself. Once the skin was off, he and I both were blown away! The opposite side behind the shoulder and front half of the ribs were thickly congealed with blood everywhere. It was nasty! We simply could not believe that much devastation came from the little Hornet round.

I have to say that the Hornet should probably not be anyone's first choice for a whitetail caliber, but it certain works and would make a good first caliber for a youth or female shooter provided that they stick their shots behind the shoulder. The ammo that I used was Hornady 45gr Soft Point Match like this: https://www.luckygunner.com/22-hornet-45-grain-sp-match-hornady-50-rounds. And before anyone asks or comments, the 22 Hornet is legal in my state for whitetail hunting.

 

[FL-NC]

Interesting. I have heard other stories like this from "old timers" on the 22 hornet. Too bad there aren't many choices out there as far as rifles in that caliber nowadays. FWIW, I have had more bang-flops on deer with 223 than any other caliber I have used, such as 7.62 x 39, 308, 30-30, 243, 300 B-O, etc. The smaller diameter rounds are often underestimated.

 

[darkcloud]

They always said when I was a kid the 22 Hornet was the ideal poaching round. Accurate, deadly at close range and the sound of the sot didn't carry far. You have an EXCELLENT rifle and round combo.

 

[WestKentucky]

That’s why I like .256 win mag so much. That tiny little JHP hits and there’s a massive shredded void of congealed nastiness. I have not made a “bad” shot with it, but my nephew did. Deer still bled out internally and do so quickly. We found it 120ish yards away in a thicket. I keep looking at hornet barrels for my contender. One of these days...

 

[22250Rem]

Congrats on your deer!...... While I've always considered the Hornet to be on the light side for deer; there's no denying that with proper shot placement it will work. Never used my Hornet on anything bigger than woodchucks but after studying a lot of woodchuck kills it's obvious that it packs more punch than it's generally given credit for. Couldn't help but look at some of those wound channels and wonder "what if ?" I had used this on something bigger.

 

[Olympus]

For dedicated antlerless seasons, I think I’ll be using the Hornet again. I don’t know if I’d want to be staring down the scope at a trophy buck, but for a freezer queen I would not feel at a disadvantage. I should have taken pictures of the damage.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Olympus congrats on your harvest with the 22 Hornet. It's legal in my state too but I personally don't use anything smaller than a .223. I do have to ask this though, why do you feel comfortable using it on a freezer filling doe but not a trophy buck. A buck isn't magically harder to kill than a doe.

 

[Olympus]

Olympus congrats on your harvest with the 22 Hornet. It's legal in my state too but I personally don't use anything smaller than a .223. I do have to ask this though, why do you feel comfortable using it on a freezer filling doe but not a trophy buck. A buck isn't magically harder to kill than a doe.

Not any harder to kill, just not nearly as prevalent as does. So I prefer not to take any chances.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

That's my point, you are ok with taking a chance on a prevalent doe but not a buck? If it's legal in your state and you are comfortable with your chosen weapon then by all means go hunting. I just don't understand why it's ok to "take a chance" on one animal but not another, based upon the sex of the animal. Aren't we as hunters supposed to do everything possible for a clean ethical harvest.

I'm 100% positive that a 22 Hornet will kill deer, but for you to say a doe it's ok but a buck it's not worth a chance then maybe you need to rethink your rifle choice.

 

[Olympus]

That's my point, you are ok with taking a chance on a prevalent doe but not a buck? If it's legal in your state and you are comfortable with your chosen weapon then by all means go hunting. I just don't understand why it's ok to "take a chance" on one animal but not another, based upon the sex of the animal. Aren't we as hunters supposed to do everything possible for a clean ethical harvest.

I'm 100% positive that a 22 Hornet will kill deer, but for you to say a doe it's ok but a buck it's not worth a chance then maybe you need to rethink your rifle choice.

No, I’m fine with my rifle choice. As I’ve already said, it wouldn’t be my first choice but I’m fine with it for doe season. If something happened and the shot did not go as planned, losing a doe would be a lot easier to handle than losing a trophy buck of a lifetime. I don’t plan on losing any deer, but that can happen even with a 300 Win Mag.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Op’s experience pretty much mirrors my experience with the .22Hornet.
Though I too usually use something bigger, on opening day of 2016, I got three does with 3-shots from my newly aquired Marlin 1894CL in .218Bee.
Two head shots, one heart shot. But, longest shot was 75 feet!

Over the years, I’ve killed over 40deer with the Hornet. I can only remember loosing one. I pulled that shot. I can’t say the same for the .243.

 

[22250Rem]

I could legally use my 22 Hornet on deer as long as it's in a rifle zone. I know lots of deer have been harvested with one. But I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it when I have several other more suitable choices like .30-30, 6.5x55, 7mm-08, etc..... Perhaps it's because I'm set in my ways of thinking that a 22 Hornet is primarily a small game and varmint cartridge, ( that's what it was originally designed as ); especially a short to mid-range woodchuck round. That's the prevalent school of thought that I've heard pretty much my whole life. So even though I could use it on deer, I'd be sitting in the woods with my 22 Hornet wondering why all my deer rifles are sitting home in the safe gathering dust.

 

[Olympus]

I could legally use my 22 Hornet on deer as long as it's in a rifle zone. I know lots of deer have been harvested with one. But I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it when I have several other more suitable choices like .30-30, 6.5x55, 7mm-08, etc..... Perhaps it's because I'm set in my ways of thinking that a 22 Hornet is primarily a small game and varmint cartridge, ( that's what it was originally designed as ); especially a short to mid-range woodchuck round. That's the prevalent school of thought that I've heard pretty much my whole life. So even though I could use it on deer, I'd be sitting in the woods with my 22 Hornet wondering why all my deer rifles are sitting home in the safe gathering dust.

I think the term “deer rifle” means different things to different people. Is the Hornet primarily a varmint caliber? Sure, but that doesn’t mean it can’t fulfill other roles as we’ve clearly seen. The same can be said for 223, 22-250, and 243. All primarily varmint calibers that serve double duty as “deer rifles” without too many problems. I’ve killed a lot of deer and there’s nothing magical about them. They’re not hard to kill. You don’t need a 300 Win Mag to kill one. You don’t need half as much gun as what most people consider their ideal deer caliber.

I like to let all my rifles get a little deer hunting love!

 

[CSA 357]

Love the 22 hornet I traded mine off hope I can find another one soon

 

[Panfisher]

I hunted many times with my Ruger 77/22 H. Its a shooter. Killed 2 deer with it, oNE was a follow up of a wounded deer and put one through its . Second was a shot at about 40 yards as it looked at me, right I the white patch. Dropped like a stone but was very unimpressed with the damage done, but it worked just fine. Passed up lots of shots that weren't exactly what I wanted and to honest at those time I didn't really want a deer either. I too like to give all my centerfire rifle a "shot" at a deer if possible.