Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots #1 22 Hornet?

LGS has a beautiful [really nice wood] like new 22 Hornet for 1700 bucks, are these little rifles bringing that much green?

We shall see. It's worth what someone is willing to pay. If I had a really nice one, I'd start off in that neighborhood. My Browning Low Wall cost me less than $700, but online the asking prices are $1200-$1500, last time I looked. I paid $1495 for a NIB Low Wall Hunter, gladly, and expect to get my use and my money out of it eventually.

Falling block Hornets, even Number 3s, bring a premium.

1B or 1A?

Some gun shops have been asking crazy prices for No. 1's since the discontinuance scare a couple of years ago.

10-4 Pappy, Thanks.

SOTG, it has no sights and looks to have never had a scope mounted or been fired, not a mark on it that I could find, really nice walnut too, red pad gun with box.

Gunner,

If its a No.1A, I can see it being priced that high...not saying it is worth that much necessarily.

They didn't make a bunch of 1A's, 355 is the number that always gets thrown around.

In my humble opinion, $1200-$1250 "should" be more in line, but you never know.

Todd

Yup, and there are also some great bargains to be had as well on new and used ones. Of course, the ones that draw me are usually the ones priced way up there, except my last one, thankfully.

The SS walnut .250s and .257s and the SS .308 RSIs are particular torments to me.

Thanks Men, it's a consignment gun and Bud at the LGS has no wiggle room, I'll have Bud give me a call if the owner drops the price any, it sure is a little sweetheart.

Pappy, I found a Ruger #1 in 416 Rigby at the same shop several years ago, it was stainless with the hideous laminated stocks, I called Ruger to see if they'd sell me a nice set of walnut stocks for it, No Dice, I thought stainless and walnut would look nice.

I must agree with BSG and Pappy. It's a 1B so I can't see any where near $1700. But, you know, I'm Scottish and thrifty cheap.

Thanks SOTG, I'll let it sit and see if it'll fall to 1200 out the door.

Ya, unless it has an $800 dollar scope sitting on top, that guy is high! Literally AND figuratively...

Just my .02 of course...

Todd

Have not looked in a week, but there was a NIB #1B on GB with a min bid of $1995. It was there for quite a while with no bids.
I had one and wished I had not sold it, but would not pay more than $1300 max for one.

At that price you can find a Browning Low Wall I had a Ruger No.1 in Hornet that shot sub 1” at 100 yards and was perfectly happy with it until I found a Browning in 22 Hornet. The Ruger was easy to sell. Think I got $1300 out of it. The Browning shoots a bit better and is not as picky about bullet choices

Gunner, I think $1200-1300 should get it.

Gunner, if you're losing sleep over this thing, figure out the most you can imagine paying for it, add $100, and have the shop forward your offer to the owner. Ya never know! The market is pretty soft now.

Thanks for all the additional info Men, I appreciate the opinions and experiences, I'll keep a hard eye on this one and see what happens regarding price, it may sound retarded, but,I have a cherry clean old steel tube Weaver 4-12x40 AO scope that I think would look and function perfect on this rifle, we shall see.

You did not state whether it was a 1B - which are fairly common or one of the 700+ 1As that are hard to locate. If it is a #1A with nice wood, these would bring a premium. The #1A with the light barrel and sights just looks good and is more what a Hornet should look like. I never did understand why Bill Ruger made the 1B his standard rifle instead of the #1S - the 1S has sights, the short forearm and looks much more like the rifles he "copied" when he created the #1.

John

TexasJohn,

Yes, in the above post, 'no sights' are what I took for being a #1B, it is a really nce rifle nonetheless.

I agree with the slimmer #1 with sights for the Hornet.

Gunner500: I bought a BEAUTIFUL N.I.B. Ruger #1-B in caliber 22 Hornet for a pittance (just under $400.00!) at the Portland, Oregon gun show back in early 1997.
I mean this little Rifle was just beautifully stocked and I had BIG plans for it going along with me on Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog Safaris.
I mounted a Leupold 6x18 variable scope on it and began load development for it.
That "load development" lasted SEVERAL years!
I just could NOT get it to shoot better than 1 1/2" groups (5 shots at 100 yards) no matter what I tried!
And average groups (5 shots at 100 yards) were most often larger.
I toyed with it and tried numerous bullets and powders and primers and on and on for a long time.
No real luck UNTIL those many years later when a handloader on this forum suggested I use "nickel plated brass" and "H 110 powder along with the 35 grain V-Max"!
That Rifle finally perked up and the first two groups I fired with it (according to my loading log notes) measured .778" and 1.067" respectively!
I was SO happy.
That summer that beautiful Rifle got to go along on its first Varmint Safari and it did rather well.
By CONTRAST in 1996 I had purchased an almost identical Rifle in caliber 218 Bee - this Rifle shot very well from day one and has been along on several Colony Varmint Hunts.
This 218 Bee also has a Leupold 6x18 variable scope on it and is one of my favorite Varmint and small game Rifles.
If that Ruger #1-B Rifle in 22 Hornet did not have such beautiful wood on it I would have sold it LONG ago.
IF... you are buying that 22 Hornet Rifle for an accurate shooter then I can only half heartedly recommend that!
They are handsome and cool looking guns but the Hornet is NOT known for stellar accuracy or ease of load development (in my extensive experience and that of my close shooting buds).
I would recommend the 218 Bee over the 22 Hornet - in short.
But the 218 Bee would also be somewhat hard to find (rare!).
IF... you are buying that 22 Hornet for an investment then I am not really sure on the future appreciation of it?
I think you are at risk (at $1,700.00!) of loosing some monies on that "investment"
Maybe as much as $400.00 to $500.00?
Again I am less sure of this latest contention of mine.
I often buy duplicates of Rifles in calibers I am pleased with - at this time "I" would NOT buy that 22 Hornet for $1,700.00.
If you do buy it I hope you will be happy with it and pleased with its accuracy if you shoot it.
Good luck.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Better check on .218 brass price and availability before you get too excited about one. Last time I checked, it was rare and expensive.

Mule Deer's Number 1 Hornet is a peach, as is my Browning. Both of us seat the bullets way out. Off the top of my head, my loads with 40gr Vmaxes have an OAL of 1.9-something or other. Factory loads from Hornady and Winchester were disappointing in mine.