Am wanting to pick up a 22 hornet single shot for ground squirrel shooting here in Idaho. Am looking at either a Ruger 1B or Browning 1885. Thoughts either way? Found an example of each for around $1800 used. Seems like a lot but maybe not ( the browning has glass, the ruger not).

The Browning is a Low Wall example?

$1800 is quite high for a Ruger in .22 Hornet, IMO, unless it has spectacular wood and pixie dust on it $1800 is kinda high for the Browning, depending on what kind of scope it has.

I have a #1 in .218 Bee, but for a Hornet I'd suggest the Browning as the better choice.

Browning is a low wall. Both are through Cabela's gun library, so overpriced. Don't know if they'll deal on a remote purchase or not.

well, at least you can find pictures of them, to see the wood

There's been a couple of .257 Weatherby Rugers on GB, but the butthead wouldn't even answer me when I asked for pics.

I have a worked over No. 3 22 K-Hornet that is my favorite ground squirrel shooter. Of the two you listed, I think my preference would be the low wall.

I don't have a Hornet but I have a No. 1 in .223 and an 1885 Browning in .223.

I like them both but the Browning is more accurate and lighter by a pound and a half. The only thing I don't like about the 1885 is the finish. It is really glossy. I also should add that the Browning is, as you know, cocked and ready to shoot as soon as you load it. If you carry it loaded you have to let the hammer down and that is sometimes difficult if you're wearing gloves and have a scope reducing the clearance to the hammer lever. You get used to it but the Ruger is better in that regard.

According to Brian Pearce, the mechanism of the Low Wall makes it next to impossible to have a whoopsie while lowering the hammer. I have one in Hornet and it is a little awkward, but not really an issue. Nicest rifle I've ever owned, but don't think I'd go $1800 for one without really good glass on it.

Concur with most of what's been said above. The Browning is the better rifle in terms of quality, but the glossy finish is out-of-place. I stripped mine and refinished with oil. $1,800 is a bargain if it has Talley rings and German glass, otherwise not so much.

I'm also a fan of the Browning over the Ruger. Most if not all I have owned or used will shoot tighter groups. I only use them for Prairie Dog and they don't complain about the shine.

The advantage I see Ruger having on a varmint rifle is the availability of a set trigger
I have both brands and like both.

Make them an offer

TIB

Found you a nice Ruger #1 in 22 Hornet.
Seems like a great deal!
PM sent.

Good luck, Dennis

Tominboise: I have the Ruger #1-B's in both 22 Hornet and in 218 Bee.
I bought them both new way back when.
If pressed today I would go with the 218 Bee Ruger #1-B.
My Ruger #1-B in 22 Hornet was a rather "difficult" Rifle to get to shoot even fairly.
If that Ruger #1 did not have such beautiful wood I would have sold it already.
After MUCH load work I finally got the Hornet to shoot in the .900" range!
Whereas the Ruger #1-B in 218 Bee shot very well right from the get go.
Bot of those #1-B's have Leupold 6x18 variable scopes on them.
Over the years I have had MUCH difficulty with several brands of Rifles in 22 Hornet in obtaining acceptable (average) accuracy.
Those brands include Anschutz, Winchesters, Rugers and Savages.
I would go with the Ruger #1-B in 218 Bee for Ground Squirrel Hunting - mine has done very well on these Varmints in the past.
Best of luck to you with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Browning for sure.

I had a #1B in 22 hornet
Accuracy was poor.
Have not had the Browning.

Mule Deer has a Number 1 that apparently shoots about like my Browning, that is to say very well. He uses pointy 40gr plastic tip bullets over LilGun, whereas so far I'm "stuck" with H110 and SP primers. Both of us seat them way out there. The single shots let you get close to the rifling, unlike a lot of the bolt guns.

My rifle also likes the 30gr Varmint Grenades, again over H110 with F100M primers, and looks promising as a turkey and squirrel rifle using Speer 46gr FPs over 7gr of 2400 to approximate .22 mag velocity.

15 years ago, Ross Seyfried wrote a pair of articles about Hornets for Rifle and Handloader that were tremendously helpful to me by pointing out how persnickety they could be and that most pistol powders (LilGun excepted) did better when sparked with SP primers. Most published data uses SR primers, which probably explains the mediocre results a lot of people get, including a lot of gunwriters.

Yeah, my No. 1B Hornet has shot really well from the get-go, as did a Ruger No. 3 I had for a while. No drama at all with 40-grain bullets and Li'l Gun. In fact I've owned a total of 5 Hornets, two K-Hornets that were a CZ 527 and my present Brno, and a T/C Contender Carbine barrel. The worst any of them shot was the T/C barrel, and it started putting five a little under an inch right away.

I also had a super-accurate 1885 Low Wall in .243 for a number of years, so accurate it was pretty amazing on PD's out to 500 yards even with the skinny octagon barrel. Have also shot a friend's 1885 .22 Hornet, which was very accurate but no more so that the two Rugers.

The biggest difference I see between the Ruger and the Browning is the trigger. The Ruger's often isn't bad out of the box, and is easy to work over for a clean pull, but the Browning's pull usually isn't all that great, and the mechanism is more complex and difficult to fix.

I need to work some more with my #1 .218 Bee. Lil Gun will run 40's 3200+ fps, and so far it seems accurate. There's a 12x fixed Loopey here to replace the funny Burris that's on it, now.

Now, finding Bee brass is a bit sketchy

I would choose the Bee, but I have 400 rounds of new brass plus whatever remains out of the other 100. I haven't ruined any, but I might have lost a few as I use a lever gun. Not loaded too hotly, it lasts well.

As to rifle choices, I have had several Brownings and a Winchester that all shot really well. I have owned No. 1s, but I have hell scoping them because of eye relief. Last one I had, a Vari-X III 3.5-10 only worked to about 5-6 power, then became too far forward. Aggravating! A 3X Leupold worked great, but on a longer range caliber, just not enough glass.

Best wishes,

Jack

Tom,

I've not been around these parts in several months, I just looked in out of boredom...

Be that as it may... I have had both.. And currently own a 1-A in .22 Horn. which is unbelievably accurate. One of my Browning Low Walls has been converted to "K" Hornet. And that is hands down a favorite... I had a 1-B in .22 Horn, but I really doubt that velocity advantage in the 26" vs the 22" is any more than minimal. My biggest beef with the 1-B is the weight. It is waay heavier than it needs to be.

In fact, I also have a 1-B in .218 Bee, that I cut back to 23 5/8" barrel. I like it much better.

Winchester recently made a run of Lo-Walls in .22 Hornet, but the wood is VERY "plain jane". I have two of those, as well... But the Hornet is slated to be bored to .25/20 and the .223 to 6.5x47 on the .222 Mag case. (I paid $839 for both of them over the counter..." Am considering buy another to have bored to 6.5 Creedmore. The logic on that move is a bit skewed, as I also have Browning LW's in .243 Win and .260 Rem...

My point is; You can basically have anything you want, if you are willing to make it. Of course, sometimes those bastards at Ruger make it right after you get yours back from the 'smith... (But that's another story... )

Bottom line is: I'd take the LW over the 1-B all day long... Triggers can be fixed...

Nice to see you post again! hope all is well.

Mine is a Winny low wall Hornet and it do shoot! I had a Lee Shaver trigger job ($35.00) and it made a whale of a difference. Win. have fair wood and wood finish compared to the Brow. but again it does shoot gophers by the bucketfull, recommend you DBC the barrel right away.-Muddy

I only have one Browning 1885, but I have (3) Ruger #1s.

The 1885 requires the hammer to be cocked.
The 1885 requires the case to be partially manually extracted.
A big scope eyepiece gets a little in the way of cocking the 1885.

That means that from a prone position with an ammo belt cheek rest, the Ruger #1 can be fired fast like a semi auto, and the Browning 1885 cannot.

Both are beautifully machined.
Both are more accurate than I expected.
Both are a joy to own.

Then there are fools like me that are waiting for my Lyman Ideal Sharps in 22 Hornet to arrive and hope that it was the right choice.

My only complaint of the Browning is like Clarkm said, the Browning partially extracts the empty case, on a scoped rifle it would be nice to have the empty tossed away from the chamber.
Browning claims the trigger can be turned from 3.5 to 5 pounds, there is a smaller range than that on mine starting at #5, I do have an article writing how easily the Browning trigger can be adjusted with a 7mm set screw

You guys are not being helpful. Now I'm looking at 1885's and #1's for a small caliber gun and we don't even have ground squirrels here in OK...

carry on, please.

I can hook you up with a Ruger in Hornet or 223

If my Browning 1885 is nicer than my Ruger #1V, it is splitting hairs at near perfection.

The 1885 with open hammer is not going to shoot as fast as the #1V, especially with the scope in the way of the thumb reaching for the hammer or the barely extracted case.

If there is little chance of ever needing a follow up shot, get the 1885, by a hair.

I've got the same. I need to take it to Lee, as he is local to me. Wood is definitely plain on mine. What bullets are you shooting in yours?

Cheesy, Glad to hear from ya. I shoot mostly tipped 40 gr. Varmageddon's or V-max/N. BT's and always 13 gr. LG and CCI 450's, MD's load. I go to MT every year around Memorial day for a week's goph. shooting (about a thousand rnds in the hornet + several in other guns). When my ship comes in I'll get it barreled to a 17-Hornet of some sort for more speed and less recoil. I doubt that it would shoot much better though. Again get Lee's trigger job and DBC the barrel!-Muddy