Recently, I’ve been exploring cartridges that few people know about or would ever consider trying. While most folks stick to tried-and-true calibers, they miss out on new, innovative cartridges. One of those cartridges is the 22 Creedmoor round. The history of this cartridge goes back a decade. Derrick Ratliff, founder of Horizon Firearms and the original pioneer of the 22 Creedmoor, built Horizon’s first 22 Creedmoor rifle in 2014. In 2016, Horizon began offering branded ammunition until 2023, when Hornady began loading the ammo and selling exclusively through Horizon Firearms.

TESTED: Horizon Vandal Dark II 22 Creedmoor

The 22 Creedmoor is a necked-down 6.5 Creedmoor case with a .224-inch diameter bullet. With the smaller bullet, it is lighter and faster with a flatter trajectory. It is designed for the 1:8 twist rate and, more specifically, for long-range bolt-action rifles vs. the AR-style platform. Horizon Firearms sent me their Vandal Dark II rifle chambered in 22 Creedmoor to get some hands-on experience, and I’m in love with the gun. The 80-grain ELD match bullet chronographs between 3,000 and 3,300 feet per second out of this rifle.

The primary purpose of the Vandal Dark II is to hunt predators, whether using thermal optics at night or hunting in the daytime. While the gun comes outfitted with an iota SIM brake, I immediately mounted the Lazarus 6 suppressor from Dead Air to make it the ultimate nighttime thermal hunting rifle. There are thousands of rifles designed for hunting, but this rifle has many features that make it a step above the rest.

The Build

The Vandal Dark II is just one design from Horizon’s Core rifle series. These Core rifles are created using iota Outdoors and Stiller products. Stiller is the action manufacturer owned by Kaspar Outdoors, and iota Outdoors is Kaspar Outdoors’ stock manufacturer. The Vandal Dark II has a Horizon-branded Stiller action, a textured Carbon Fiber iota EKO stock, and the rest of the parts manufactured in-house by Horizon Firearms.

Barrel

The 22 Creedmoor cartridge performs best in 18-inch barrels, so the Vandal Dark II features a fluted 18-inch 416R stainless steel barrel that reduces weight while maintaining performance. Its 1:8 twist rate effectively stabilizes the round, improving accuracy downrange. The 8-Flute Spiral is a signature design for Horizon Firearms, contributing to the gun’s lightweight design. The thread pitch is 5/8 x 24, making attaching a 30-caliber suppressor or compatible muzzle device simple. The point of impact slightly shifted after installing the Lazarus 6 suppressor, but the accuracy was unaffected.

Action

This was my first experience with a Stiller action, and it did not disappoint. The bolt features flutes to further reduce weight. The action is smooth and requires little pressure to pull the bolt back, push it forward, or throw the bolt knob downward. My top concern with a bolt-action rifle is always how smooth the action is and how easy it is to manipulate the bolt. This is usually the deciding feature for me.

Horizon Firearms Vandal Dark II 22 Creedmoor

Stock, Sling, and Bipod

A significant contributing factor to the overall weight of the Vandal Dark II is the texture-painted iota EKO stock. The rifle weighs a total of 7 pounds and 5 ounces. The coloring of the stock itself is a mix of blues and black to make it a good, camouflaged rifle when hunting in the dark. The texture-paint feels what I can best describe as soft grit sandpaper, so it’s not aggressive, doesn’t snag on clothing, but isn’t smooth to the touch. It’s the right texture for hunting in any humidity or wet environment and keeps the gun from sliding around on your back while slung. On the front of the stock is an ARCA rail, Picatinny rail, and QD mount for attaching accessories such as a bipod or sling. The stock comes outfitted with two anchor points to attach a two-point sling.

I attached the Featherlight Rifle sling from Butler Creek using the included swivels. The sling swivels match up with the two anchor points built into the stock. This lightweight sling features comfortable textured foam padding that grips the shoulder well, ensuring your rifle doesn’t slip off easily. You can easily adjust the length to fit your gun and your body height. One hidden feature many people overlook is the two loops next to the Butler Creek logo that can hold two spare rounds of ammunition.

Using the built-in Picatinny rail on the stock, I attached the Accu-Tac PC-4 bipod. Accu-Tac manufactures its bipods in the USA, specifically catering to the competition, tactical, and hunting markets. The PC-4 has four individual leg positions and five notch height options. It also has the ability to pan as well as cant, which can each be locked and secured individually with the adjustable lever. This bipod uses a QD 1913 Picatinny rail mount, making it easy to attach quickly yet securely. The leg positions can be deployed at 45 degrees or 90 degrees. To adjust the leg position, you must pull the spring-loaded leg downward and rotate the leg to your desired position.

Optic Mounting

The Vandal Dark II has a 0 MOA Pic rail long enough to mount as large a scope as you desire. For daytime hunting, I prefer a simple MOA reticle with basic holdovers. The EOTech Vudu 1-8 second focal plane riflescope features the HC3 reticle with four sub-tension hash marks. It’s available in red or green illumination and uses the popular CR2032 battery to power the lighting. It weighs 20.8 ounces, comes with an optional throw lever, and has a 30mm tube diameter.

The ultimate thermal riflescope I mounted on the Vandal Dark II is the Thermion 2 LRF XL50 from Pulsar. It has a 1024×768 sensor with a magnification of 1.75-40x. You can set the thermal up to you as it will save selected brightness and contrast settings in the scope’s memory. There are eight different thermal color palettes, 10 reticle shapes in nine color modes, and an integrated ballistic calculator for long-range shooting.

You can set up 10 shooting profiles to zero it to 10 different rifles. It has a tube diameter of 30mm. It can record videos and photos with a 64 GB internal memory. The Thermion 2 LRF XL50 is powered by two rechargeable batteries: one built-in and the other replaceable. A single charge guarantees up to 10 hours of continuous operating time. My go-to scope mounts are from Warne Scope Mounts, which I used with the EOTECH and Pulsar thermal riflescopes. I mainly use the precision cantilever MSR mount.

Spiral fluted barrel on the Vandal Dark II

Performance

The ammunition I tested with the Vandal Dark II was the Hornady 80-grain ELD Match 22 Creedmoor. On average, this ammunition achieved a velocity of 3,015 feet per second, with a standard deviation of 14.1 feet per second and an extreme spread of 38.7 feet per second. I fired a 0.849-inch shot group with the stock rifle at 100 yards. After mounting the Lazarus 6 suppressor, I recorded a 1.195-inch group from a cold barrel, and these were the very first rounds through this brand-new suppressor. I shot a second group through the suppressor immediately after and had a 0.816-inch shot group, still at 100 yards. The ELD Match bullets from Hornady are incredibly accurate and engineered for longer-range shooting. With the appropriate riflescope, this rifle, combined with high-quality ammunition, will perform exceptionally well at distances of 600 to 800 yards.

Dead Air Lazarus 6 Suppressor

The Lazarus 6 suppressor from Dead Air is specifically designed for the 6mm Creedmoor and performs effectively with .223/5.56. This suppressor is 3D printed and utilizes the Triskelion baffle system for enhanced strength and better thermal management. The Triskelion Gas Management System (GMS) emits a lower-frequency wavelength, producing a pleasant tone with excellent acoustic performance and extremely low back pressures. It is HUB compatible with both the Dead Air KeyMo and Xeno systems. It includes a flash hider front cap but is compatible with all R-series front caps.

The overall length is just 5.89 inches with Xeno (weighing 16.5 ounces) and 6.4 inches with KeyMo (weighing 18.4 ounces), making it ideal for hunting. I felt very comfortable shooting the Vandal Dark II without hearing protection while using the Lazarus 6 suppressor. I usually hunt suppressed, which frees me from worrying about wearing hearing protection, allowing me to listen more intently for animal sounds.

Final Thoughts

If you haven’t heard of Horizon Firearms, you’re missing out. They manufacture remarkably accurate shooting rifles; I’ve hit a target at a mile using one of their rifles chambered in 7 PRC. The 22 Creedmoor round is one I look forward to shooting more. I recommend checking out the Vandal Dark II rifle if you’re looking to eliminate predators on your land. The partnership with Hornady ensures quality ammunition, and with the right riflescope, you can shoot long-range targets with exceptional accuracy.