A .22 Hornet in a revolver????

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Interesting idea. But, in the Super Redhawk?
It weighs 66 oz. That’s over 4 lbs!
I’ve seen .22 Hornet rifles that barely weigh more than that.
I wonder what the intended purpose is? Range toy? Anything else?

If only S&W had chosen a better centerfire .22 cartridge than the Jet, maybe something like the .224 Harvey Kay-Chuk, to pair with the K-frame target model. That would’ve been a winner.
Here’s a quote from John Taffin:

“Harvey’s Kay-Chuk Smith & Wesson K-22 pre-dated the .22 Jet and .256 Winchester and his trimmed and fire-formed .22 Hornet cases resulted in the highest velocity possible in a revolver at the time. Had Smith & Wesson chambered their Model 53 .22 Jet sixguns for the K-Chuk instead of the ill-fated Jet, it might still be in production.”

Here’s a previous thread on that topic:
https://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-r...8-224-kay-chuc.html?highlight=Harvey+kay-chuk

I wonder if you could get a gunsmith to make one of these up for less money than Ruger wants for their new product?
I’ve seen used ones built on model 17s and 48s for much less money.

I do agree with this:
“ Somebody please buy one and let us know how it shoots.” ;)

But, if you very much want a handgun in .22 Hornet, another option is a used T/C Contender. Albeit, this is a single shot pistol, but does that really matter? It was available with a 10" barrel, either light weight octagonal or heavy bull barrel, plus an 8" octagonal barrel in the early days. Even with a scope, like the T/C Lobo scope in their proprietary scope mount, I think it weighs in around 3 lbs. They were widely considered to be the most accurate of all the T/C Contender chamberings.
Better yet, these are a "Best Buy" on the used market, often selling for about $600.
 

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This is kind of surprising. .22 Hornet is not exactly a plentiful round on the online ammo offerings. You would likely have to reload to get the most out of a revolver chambered for it. Certainly, if there is a revolver strong enough to take the pressure, it would be the massive Redhawk.
 
I used to have a thing for .22 Hornet. I had a 15” Encore barrel and have shot the Freedom Arms .22 Hornet. I don’t remember barrel length but I’m thinking 8-10”. They are no louder than my 77/22 Hornet. But accuracy was not great from either. However it was with REM and WIN factory ammo. My friends father who is a handloader wanted the Encore barrel more than me.
 
A good friend has a K22 converted to Hornet. It will not accept standard ammo. Bullets must be seated deeper
It is loud!
 
The Taurus Raging Hornets sell for $1200-$1500 on gunbroker and those are actual completed auctions. Over that they don't catch bids. Many of those are used. The .218 Bee chambering also moves around that price. I'd expect those prices to fall with the Ruger priced where it is.
 
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Seems they could market any number of other more attractive offerings.

I shot my 10" TC Hornet ONCE without hearing protection. Felt like someone stuck a sharpened pencil in my ear.
 
Well, one thing is reasonably certain, the gunsmiths will have barrels and cylinders to rebore and make into something more useful. It might be an expensive place to start but nothing custom, if it’s truly well done, is ever cheap.

I recently saw what I was told was a new production Redhawk in .357. That would have possibilities too, if it’s not one of those 8-shot wonders that folks seem to like nowadays.
 
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I had one of the Raging Hornets for a number of years. Mostly just a novelty, too heavy to enjoy carrying and without the accuracy of a 22 Hornet rifle (for me anyway). Always planned to shoot a turkey with it, but never did. I find the S&W 53 a much more practical, and fun, revolver. I doubt that this will be Ruger's most popular product.

Jeff
SWCA #1457
 
A 22 Hornet revolver doesn't really appeal to me. I always found the hornet to be the least accurate of the 22 centerfires. Plus I'm thinking it would loud and not very efficient unless handloaded with a faster pistol powder.
 
6string said:
But, if you very much want a handgun in .22 Hornet, another option is a used T/C Contender. Albeit, this is a single shot pistol, but does that really matter? It was available with a 10" barrel, either light weight octagonal or heavy bull barrel, plus an 8" octagonal barrel in the early days. Even with a scope, like the T/C Lobo scope in their proprietary scope mount, I think it weighs in around 3 lbs. They were widely considered to be the most accurate of all the T/C Contender chamberings.
Better yet, these are a "Best Buy" on the used market, often selling for about $600.
Click to expand...

I have 22 hornet barrels in 10" and 16 1/2" for contenders. My 357 max outshoots them but not by much. The Hornet is one I always wonder why anyone would need a repeater.
 
6string said:
But, if you very much want a handgun in .22 Hornet, another option is a used T/C Contender. Albeit, this is a single shot pistol, but does that really matter? It was available with a 10" barrel, either light weight octagonal or heavy bull barrel, plus an 8" octagonal barrel in the early days. Even with a scope, like the T/C Lobo scope in their proprietary scope mount, I think it weighs in around 3 lbs. They were widely considered to be the most accurate of all the T/C Contender chamberings.
Better yet, these are a "Best Buy" on the used market, often selling for about $600.
Click to expand...
Local Pawn Shop has a Uberti single shot rolling block pistol in 22 Hornet. A beautiful weapon, and I am tempted, but I haven't seen .22 hornet ammo in a long, long time. (and the ammo was expensive then)
 
Have a Contender in .22 Hornet with an original Puma 'scope; delightful specialty pistol. And a Jet, which is actually a pretty good field pistol around here (I load the first two with .22LR, other four are Jets) so I am ready for anything from rats to magpies to coyotes. Am intrigued by the Redhawk but it seems way too heavy for practical, everyday carry around the ranch. But I would recommend that we all buy one, because they'll prolly be discontinued pretty soon, and thereby escalate in price dramatically.
 
One of the LA handgun clubs got Tauras to introduce the Raging Hornet. for a competition class at 100 yards. They discovered that the thin neck walls varied by up to .002" on the best brass, and that alone caused inaccuracy problems that couldn't be over come with out creating other problems. John Nosler to the rescue: Nosler Brass came out with brass that is a consistent .011 thick! I bought a box of 100 "Ready to Load" brass, and measured them: All 100 were exactly .011 thick and less than .0005 variation. All 100 weighed within the same 1/10 grain on my digital RCBS scale All 100 were at the same OAL, within .001". When I deburred the Flash holes and trued the primer pockets, I had a couple of very tiny brass filings.

The only place I have ever found Nosler Brass in 22 Hornet and 221 Fireball is Midway.

Ivan

In my 10" Bull T/C barrel in Hornet, the Nosler brass cut groups in half of the best I ever had with WW & Hornady brass that I trimmed, trued & weight selected.
 
Ivan the Butcher said:
One of the LA handgun clubs got Tauras to introduce the Raging Hornet. for a competition class at 100 yards. They discovered that the thin neck walls varied by up to .002" on the best brass, and that alone caused inaccuracy problems that couldn't be over come with out creating other problems. John Nosler to the rescue: Nosler Brass came out with brass that is a consistent .011 thick! I bought a box of 100 "Ready to Load" brass, and measured them: All 100 were exactly .011 thick and less than .0005 variation. All 100 weighed within the same 1/10 grain on my digital RCBS scale All 100 were at the same OAL, within .001". When I deburred the Flash holes and trued the primer pockets, I had a couple of very tiny brass filings.

The only place I have ever found Nosler Brass in 22 Hornet and 221 Fireball is Midway.

Ivan

In my 10" Bull T/C barrel in Hornet, the Nosler brass cut groups in half of the best I ever had with WW & Hornady brass that I trimmed, trued & weight selected.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Contender, with it’s single shot barrel, is well designed to take advantage of precision brass. I wonder if a revolver is? Ruger has a long established problem with precision cylinder machining. Not many folks know it, but Ruger cuts their cylinders from long pieces of round stock steel from a secondary supplier. The variance in steel hardness is all over the map. Within a single cylinder blank hardness can vary considerably. This has a negative impact on machinability They can’t even make a cylinder these days with consistent enough throat diameters to acceptly shoot .45 Colt. How’s that gonna play out with .22 Hornet?
Traditionally, Hornet brass runs 0.010” neck thickness to a couple thousandths less. Nosler brass, if it’s consistent at 0.011” would be a big improvement! But I wonder if it will make a difference if cylinder throats and chambers are inconsistent?

By the way, the list price on that Nosler .22 Hornet brass is $275 for a bag of 250 pcs. Over a buck a piece. Of course, everyone is out of stock. Expect to pay that full price IF you can find any!
 
Hairtrigger said:
A good friend has a K22 converted to Hornet. It will not accept standard ammo. Bullets must be seated deeper
It is loud!
Click to expand...


That would be a very odd move. You would need to replace the barrel. The whole point of the K22 was to boost the Hornet without needing to replace the barrel.
 
6string said:
Yes, the Contender, with it’s single shot barrel, is well designed to take advantage of precision brass. I wonder if a revolver is?

If a third world manufacturer like Tauras can do it, I'm sure Rugar could, if they wanted to!

By the way, the list price on that Nosler .22 Hornet brass is $275 for a bag of 250 pcs. Over a buck a piece. Of course, everyone is out of stock. Expect to pay that full price IF you can find any!
Click to expand...

The 100 round boxes are ready to load. The 250 round bags, need to be sized, and Trimmed to length. Then they are all the same weight. (at least on the bag of Hornet and the bag of Fireball brass I bought.)

I'm a pretty avid Hornet shooter and find that 350 brass is a lifetime supply.

Ivan
 
Ruger's offering seems like an overweight dog and I predict poor sales. I wonder if they are going to exhibit the same problems with cases backing out that happen with the Model 53 if the brass and chambers are not kept completely oil and case lube free ?
 
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