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I think it would be a hoot to have a DR in a .22 cal. A hornet would be a lot of fun for hunting squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, etc. There have been two hornets I have noticed in the past year or two. One was a best quality SLE by Francotte that Westley Richards had on their website. I lifted the photos, as I am wont to do: You might notice that this Francotte has an articulated front trigger. You sure want that with the awesome recoil of that caliber! Also the reinforced action. What a nice piece of work! The price on that little hornet wasn't small: US$29k. Even so, it didn't take long to sell. Wish I could have bought it. The other was a dandy SLE by Luccini that Griffin & Howe had. For some reason I didn't get the pics. It was priced about the same, and didn't linger long either. Whew! that's a lot of $$$ for one of those little cuties! A .22 Savage HP would be a little more fire and noise. I've never owned a rifle in that caliber and don't know its strengths. At Vintagers last September FAMARS had a nice boxlock DR in .22 LR. It was a beauty and just tiny. Not a tiny price, though: US$25k. Galazan offers it's interpretation of the Fox in a .22LR. I have seen one and would like it too. Big $$$ though. I'm currently gathering the loading tools to shoot my .280 Flanged Nitro Express. I think it will be a great deer gun. I'll report when I make progress on the loads. As stated before, my .300 Win Mag by Josef Winkler is quite a shooter and very useful (as seen above). It is regulated for the 220 grain RN bullets, so it means business. It shoots 1 1/4" groups (4 shots) at 100 yds. I have used it to hunt elk, and I have taken deer and the two bears above. In the past I have mentioned my Francotte SLE in 9x57R. It's a wonderful DR. I shot it in the stalking rifle event at Vintagers several years ago. For some reason I haven't taken it afield to hunt. I'll have to do that. Then the 9.3x74R. What a great caliber! I remember the thread a year or so ago in which many members stated this is the most versatile DR caliber of all. Really it's a medium caliber, not a small bore. It's hard not to like a 9.3. Everybody wants the big dinosaur boomers, but I can say that once you get hooked on the small calibers you won't turn back. I confess that I did kill a deer with my .500 Nitro this past fall, but I just wanted to bloody the rifle. For North American hunting the .500NE is just a novelty. Yeah, this is a great thread. You didn't have to tacky it up with those bears! Off to Las Vegas in 2 days. Maybe return with another small to medium DR! I'll be looking. Regards, Curl |