Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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SqHunter
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Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by SqHunter »

Has anyone tried the new Hornady .22mag critical defense ammo out of a rifle?

I am looking for something heavier for Rams out of a Henry frontier. I think between the wife and I we rang five rams and two pigs at the match this past weekend using Hornady .30 gr V-Max loads. In the past the rifle did not shoot Federal .50 grainers well so I was hoping these new Hornady .45 grain loads would work.

Appreciate your thoughts.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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We've had several people post results using those in the past on this forum over the past couple of years. They didn't shoot well for me out of a rifle, but they have worked well for others. The ammo that shoots best out of my Marlin 57M and also what shoots best for another shooter in his Henry is the Federal 40-grain FMJ (part number 737). Although I have rung a few rams in the past with then, he took down all 10 rams at our pistol cartridge match this past Saturday with that ammo. You definitely shouldn't expect any of the 30-grain 22 Mag ammo to reliably take down the pistol cartridge rams. I have even seen that stuff leave pigs standing.

Here's a search for "critical defense" in this cowboy lever action forum: Query link
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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Jason wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:15 am We've had several people post results using those in the past on this forum over the past couple of years. They didn't shoot well for me out of a rifle, but they have worked well for others. The ammo that shoots best out of my Marlin 57M and also what shoots best for another shooter in his Henry is the Federal 40-grain FMJ (part number 737). Although I have rung a few rams in the past with then, he took down all 10 rams at our pistol cartridge match this past Saturday with that ammo. You definitely shouldn't expect any of the 30-grain 22 Mag ammo to reliably take down the pistol cartridge rams. I have even seen that stuff leave pigs standing.

Here's a search for "critical defense" in this cowboy lever action forum: Query link
You got a federal load to shoot well? That is amazing, I had given up on the brand completely. Thanks for sending the link too. It was entertaining reading.

It sure made me wish I was a reloader though, and had a .357 instead of the old man gun.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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It sure made me wish I was a reloader though, and had a .357 instead of the old man gun.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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SqHunter wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:49 am You got a federal load to shoot well? That is amazing, I had given up on the brand completely. Thanks for sending the link too. It was entertaining reading.
Yep, and it shot very well. That Marlin 57M shoots most loads except for the 45gr Armscor, 50gr Federal (in its native form) and the 45gr Hornady FTX (in its native form). The Federal 737 shot better than anything else. In my ammo testing with a scope on the rifle using benchrest front and rear rests, it could put five of them into an inch or less (center-to-center) at 100 meters with no wind. It shot similarly well in the rifle of the other shooter I was mentioning, who is user "southpaw" on this forum. It also has a bit more velocity than other 40gr FMJ ammo and seems to be a bit more effective on rams. No 22 Mag ammo is going to take down pistol cartridge rams 100% of the time in all conditions, though.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by steelymcbean »

I have tried 40 gr. federal fmj, 30 gr. vmax 50 gr. federal. and every other 22 mag there is. They all are marginal on rams. You will always ring rams with a 22 magnum.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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Jason wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 2:23 pm No 22 Mag ammo is going to take down pistol cartridge rams 100% of the time in all conditions, though.
I was afraid this was the hard truth.

This is our 2nd attempt at setting up a PC rifle. Gonna be hard to talk the wife into trying a third.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by edgehit »

I’ve shot a lot of rams with Hornady 45’s and Federal 50’s. Never rang one at home or at Whittington. The 45’s have been acceptably accurate, federal 50’s are full choke pattern.

Great round. Shoots flat. Gets there, like right now. Doesn’t drift in the wind. Little recoil. Shortest lock time so follow thru isn’t as critical as smallbore rifle. Everyone should own one

Only place the mag hasn’t worked was at a pneumatic resettable range and rams were tilting forward a bit. No whining. Just shot the match and brought ‘Mo gun next time.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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edgehit wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:44 pm I’ve shot a lot of rams with Hornady 45’s and Federal 50’s. Never rang one at home or at Whittington. The 45’s have been acceptably accurate, federal 50’s are full choke pattern.

Great round. Shoots flat. Gets there, like right now. Doesn’t drift in the wind. Little recoil. Shortest lock time so follow thru isn’t as critical as smallbore rifle. Everyone should own one

Only place the mag hasn’t worked was at a pneumatic resettable range and rams were tilting forward a bit. No whining. Just shot the match and brought ‘Mo gun next time.
This is good news, thank you. We are likely to have to shoot what we have for this season, so your experience gives hope.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

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Work on cleaning all the other banks first as that would put you in AAA class without dropping a single ram!
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by DJA »

Don't let those itty-bitty 30gr v-max's taint your wife's impression of what 22 Mag can do. Yeah, they are fast out of the barrel but dump a lot of velocity by by the time 100m comes up and only pack a 30gr punch. At 100m, Hornady 30gr V-max only has about 75% the momentum compared to just about any 40 grain load. The Federal 50 grainers carry about 10% more momentum at 100m over typical 40 grainers, but that's only useful if they shoot well in your gun. For me, I find the 45gr Critical Defense to be a good compromise. It shoots very well out of my 9422m, and pops the rams hard enough to fall, at least at our range.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by JohnHenry »

I use the Hornady Critical Defense 45g bullet in my Marlin 57M on rams and have never failed to knock one over when I hit it at various shooting ranges. The bullet is a special hollow point that really smacks the animal. As far as accuracy, with iron sights I can get groups less than 2" at 100 meters.
Not sure, but I think John Mullins uses this Hornady bullet in his .22 Mag, and we know how he shoots.
I would not be afraid of this bullet for the rams. It works.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by dscak1 »

You are correct Jim, John does use the 45 grain Hornady Critical Defense in his 22 mag and has had very good results with it.
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by SqHunter »

Interesting adventure today. I found seven boxes of the hornadys at a gun show for 18 bucks a box. :shock: I thought, no way, so I went around looking for a new rifle instead. I found a vey nice and clean 1892 Winchester in .25-20 with 24 in octagonal barrel that I thought would be great for this sport. I had it firmly in my hand and was turning to the vendor, when my sneaky wife reached around and stole the carefully concealed sales tag. Yikes :oops: Normally she likes well aged and crusty old things, but not for that much money ;)

I came home with the ammo instead. For better or worse we are stuck with the .22 mag this year. :((
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Re: Hornady 45gr .22 mag

Post by edgehit »

I don’t think you had a bad choice between the ammo or the ‘92. I will add that you must be an informed shopper when purchasing old lever guns. They’re really cool, but so much can go wrong over 100 years...

Buying old rifles for this game is another thread... I’ll start it
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