19 calhoon

Great round! I have had one for almost a year. I have shot PD's, gophers and yotes with it. Very explosive on gophers.
 
where is 19caljeff when you need him? there was a guy n here a couple months back that was really into 19 cal rifles. maybe he will show back up.
 
I have the .19 Calhoon on the CZ action from James Calhoon. Undoubtedly, one of my favorite rounds. The accuracy is fantastic! -We're talking breaking M&M's at 100 yards! As for game, I've dropped fox and chucks with it, and it is devastating. Calhoon's factory rounds are extremely accurate to boot. So if you don't reload, you are still covered. I'm getting around 3300 fps with the 32g DBl HP bullet. And around 3600 fps with the 27g DBl HP. The report is very mild too.
I believe .19 Cal Jeff will tell you pretty much the same. Now there is a .19 Caliber Badger which from all the reports I've read, even out shines the little .19 Calhoon! You won't go wrong with any of the .19's.

H&C
 
Is james calhoon the only person making a .19 bullet? If so, that makes me slightly cautious about it, if they go out of business, no more bullets...

Is the 19 louder than a 22hornet?
 
P&G,
The .19 Calhoon is a fabulous round. If you are serious about it I would check into the .19 Badger. It has the .19 calhoon beat in every department, especially accuracy,. Easy to load, "factory" rounds are extremely accurate.
As far as I know Calhoon is the only maker of .19 bullets. I own a .19-223, a .19 Calhoon, and a .19 Badger. I bought 1000 bullets of each weight. That is about 5000 bullets. Keep me going for awhile. Get any one of the three calibers and I know you will like it. But, the best in my opinion is the Badger.
Take care,
Jeff
 
The .19 Calhoon in my opinion is not as loud as a .22 Hornet. As far as bullets go, Calhoon is the only one making them. I've been reading where folks are swaging .204 bullets down to .19 caliber using Corbin swaging dies. So it's pretty much a given that there will always be a source for .19 caliber bullets.
 
thanks for the opinions guys! One of my primary concerns is the sound volume of the report, if th 19 is as accurate and fast as published with a sound level less than a 22 hornet, thats pretty good news! Im slightly hesitant as I dont reload and while I can see getting into down the road, for now I just dont have the time to learn. My only point of hesitation at this point I guess is if they suddenly go out of business, I'll have a very expensive rifle I cant do much with...

is the badger much louder than the regular 19 calhoon hornet?

I am currently shooting a 17hmr and for both recoil and report, this is very comfortable for me, trying to find a centerfire that can reach to 250 ish flat without getting into a booming round that has waaay more power than I realistically ever would need for a prarie dog at that distance, the 19 seems perfect if Im understanding it properly. I was checking out 223 but it just seems overkill for my needs and is definitely too loud for my comfort. 22 hornet seems to have more stopping power but doesnt seem to me to be a significant world of difference stepping up from 17hmr. Am I right to think the 19calhoon is the perfect medium between the two? Im just worried about support for the round few years down the road.
 
P&G,
You have a valid reason for being hesitant. Noone knows what the future holds. You can always get the rifle rebarreled if Calhoon goes belly-up. The Badger has about the same noise level as the .221 Fireball. I hunt with it in fairly populated areas and have not one complaint. I have killed nice sized groundhogs out to about 350 yds. Buy a couple hundred rounds of loaded ammo from Calhoon and you will have plenty.
Good Luck,
Jeff
 
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hi jeff-

thanks for the feedback. Do you notice much difference in report between the badger and hornet?

do you ever shoot at public ranges in PA? Im not far away in NJ.
 
Ive been comparing (on paper) the 19 calhoon to 221 fireball, they seem to be very similar in almost all respects outside of bullet caliber. Any of you 19 shooters have any practical experience shooting a 221 to compare in use? I imagine they must exhibit a bit of a difference in the field.
 
Precious and grace,

I looked in my Lee modern reloading manual the 22 hornet[19 cahoun's parent case] burns 14 gr of accurate 1680 powder and the 221 fireball burns 20.5 of 1680 both using 40 grain bullets.That might give you a ballpark idea of the sound levels.The 17 hmr burns 4.5 according to varmint al's site.
I have a cz 527 221 fireball and it is a great little rifle,although i'm not in any way trying to pull you away from the 19 calhoun.I read some of Calhouns site and am impressed again,[it's on my favorites list] all the 20 caliber stuff has shadowed the 19 cal in the last couple of years.I read the site 3-4 years ago and thought about making my cz a 19 fireball,it shoots so great it would be all but impossible for me to rebarrel my 221 fb..
I started reloading about 1 1/2 yrs. ago and would highly recommend it to everyone.Just go and get a basic reloading kit with manual $80 and start browsing through it and looking at the press, scale,priming tools,get a caliper also."You don't have to throw yourself into it 100% the day you get it". In no time at all you'll see how easy and fun it is to handload ammo,I just loaded 300 rounds in an evening -while listening to the radio.
CZ rifle >Handloading >19 cal.What more could a guy want?Get your keys-shoes --go get it..ME

P.S. Lapua is going to make brass for the 20 cal. vartarg "basically 221 fireball",great brass compared to remington brass,it will neck down to 19 easily enough.
 
P&G,
The .19 Badger is much closer to the .221 Fireball. The Badger uses the .30 carbine case. Calhoon preferred the carbine brass to the Fireball because of availability and strength. In my opinion, and I have both of them, the Badger is far and away a better round. No comparison. Accurate, flat shooting, smooth feeding,(no rim), noise is louder than the .19 Calhoon, but not by much.
I do not shoot at any public ranges around here (SE PA). Too many idiots out there. I do my shooting at a private club. E-mail me and perhaps you can shoot as my guest.
Take care,
Jeff
 
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