Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Thoughts on Ruger 77 22 Hornet

I have an opportunity to buy an unfired stainless/brown laminate for a fair price. I've read that the Rugers were hard to get shooting accurately.

Anyone here own one? Would it be worth buying for a fox/coyote rifle?

Yep!

Send it to Randy at CPC. You won't regret it.

What does he do to it?

I have a Browning.. I love the Hornet, haven't shot it much for several years.. I think you will enjoy it...

Whatever you want done!
Actually, he does what should have been done at the factory.
Set back barrels, re-cut chambers, K the chamber, cut tube and re-crown, tighten up sloppy bolts, set correct headspace....

http://ct-precision.com/

Buy it, shoot it and figure out if it needs help. Might not. Friend of mine had one that made him nutz. Wouldn't shoot he said. Looked it over, the trigger was horrible. Ordered an aftermarket replacement, installed it and it runs MOA +/- a small fraction with factory ammo.

Jeeze, if it needs that much done from new, I'll just get a Savage!

The Ruger is WAY better, and Randy is the source of any problem resolution.

I had a couple Ruger 22h rifles, they were poor in the accuracy department. Bought a Ruger 17h six months ago, same story, poor accuracy. Had it re barreled, trigger job, shimmed the bolt glass bedded, and floated the barrel. It’s reasonably accurate now, after a whole lot of expense.
I had a Browning A bolt 22h, and it was far more accurate than the Rugers.
Currently own two Anschutz 22h rifles, a sporter, and a heavy barrel. Both are very accurate.
In my case, I’d have been lots of money ahead if I hadn’t bought the Rugers and poured lots of extra money in them. I should have bought accurate guns in the first place.

Got same gun worked over by cpc, k-hornet. Dayton-traister trigger. Was picky but just sensitive to seating depth. Little incremental differences in powder charges show also. Its a fun little rifle for sure

Good info here. I've got a few things to think about.

I have one... punched K-Hornet and threaded for a suppressor... very fun to shoot and accurate...

If you want an off-the-shelf rifle almost guaranteed to be a great shooter you could pick up a CZ527 in 22H. I've got one, the American version, in 22 Hornet and it is a fantastic little rifle. Supremely accurate, fantastic set trigger, compact size for easy carrying in the field, etc. No gunsmithing required!

I might just go this way. For about the same money, without having to do an extra $200 for barrel work.

I have the exact rifle you mentioned and have owned it for almost 20yrs. I’ve killed about every critter imaginable with it. It’s my most used rifle and it is a blast to shoot! It’s definitely been a shooter. I’d love to be buried with it in my hands but that wouldn’t be fair to my son! Lol. 40gr vmax bullet with a good dose of lil’ gun powder and a small pistol primer and you are going to have some fun!

Had a Ruger years ago. Accuracy wise it was a POS. Bought a CZ 427 Hornet. Accuracy problem solved.

While I have the CZ 527 in Hornet and it is the cat's a$s on crows and groundhogs with Lil Gun out to about 200 yards, I also have another one in .221 Fireball and it is the darling that I pull from the safe most often. The .221 simply rocks.

For foxes and coyotes I think I would step up to the Fireball.

I owned 2. Both were problem guns. Accuracy was not particularly a problem. The chambers were at the absolute max SAAMI limit and the available ammo was at the absolute minimum. The cases expanded / stretched so much at the web that I got some case head separations with factory ammo and could never get a 2nd reload out of any case.

I'd consider buying it only if I had a gunsmith lined up ready to set the barrel back and cut a new chamber right from the outset. If you're ok with that, go for it, otherwise, I'd skip.

Tom

I have one purchased used. Aftermarket trigger on it. It shoots fine, but my CZ shoots better.

I've got a question, and I don't mean to throw shade on the 22 Hornet. I just don't know the answer, and I'd like to ask people that obviously enjoy the chambering.

Why would I want a 22 Hornet? I reload. I have several rifles already chambered in 223 Remington. If I never bought a 22 Hornet, what would I be missing?

Probably not much but I’ll tell you what I like....

Cheap to load, kids LOVE to shoot them because there is low recoil and report. Also I can fill my pocket with enough ammo to last a day of walking around plinking whatever might come my way. It’s a dandy sub 200yard rifle.

I guess you have to be a rifle loony.
As mentioned above I’ve owned a lot of 22h guns and still own two.
They’re low recoil, thus you can watch the effect on a prairie dog. They’re cheap to load. I just enjoy shooting them, like many other cartridges.

It’s a neat little round! Very cheap to reload for ... a can of powder goes a long way with the Hornet. No fur damage. In fact, it can be hard to tell where the hit was a lot of times. Not as loud as other chamberings so it’s more enjoyable to shoot for me. Mine is accurate so to me it’s like shooting a hopped up 22 that I get more distance out of. It’s been the perfect farm ranch chambering for me over the years. Great for critters that are a nuisance or become a problem around the home and outbuildings. Not saying other chamberings can’t be used in the same situation but the Hornet just fits the bill perfectly to me! I’d give up a lot before my Hornet. Lol

Thanks all for the comeback. I can't say as this rings my bell, but it definitely puts things in a better perspective.

Nope, go CZ 527, not Savage. Trust me on this.

I picked up one years ago to use as a walking varminter. It was the older blued/walnut sporter version. I loved the weight and feel of that little rifle. I mounted a Burris 6x Mini on it, and it was the perfect little rifle. I put in a Rifle Basix sear, and go the trigger just right, probably 2-3#.

As much as I tried, and with every component I could think of, I could never get it to shoot consistently. I tried a half dozen powders, probably a dozen bullets, several different primers, all to no avail. With it's best load, which ended up being 40 grain Ballistic Tips over Lil'Gun IIRC, it had a habit of shooting TWO respectable groups, two to three inches apart. As in I would fire five rounds, and I would have two separate groups, two shots in a 3/4"=1" group, and three more shots in the same size group, but two to three inches away from the first group. There was just no consistency.

I ended up selling it out of pure frustration.

Save your money and headache and just buy a CZ, or if you can find one, an old Browning Micro Medallion. My buddy has a Browning Low Wall 1885 chambered for the Hornet, and it shoots lights out.

Buy a Fireball.

I've owned the Ruger Sporter in Hornet for almost 30 years, and my hunting buddy has had the same rifle for about 25 years.

Only thing we have done is install a Timney Spring and Sear kit. The original trigger pulls were about 5-6lbs, and they are now about 2lbs. This helped accuracy noticeably. Both shoot sub-MOA.

I use a Lee Collet Die to neck size, a small pistol primer (in most loads), and Lilgun powder.

Small powder charge changes, such as .2grs (point 2), have a rather large effect on accuracy, as does primer choice, or for that matter, most any other reloading criteria.

Probably more than most other cartridges, the Hornet seems to respond to detailed reloading procedures better, perhaps because it is such a small case.

Have fun with it.

Agree. I hand reamed to K-Hornet with rented tool. Worked out well. The new CZ bolt handle allows lower scope mounting, which has been a challenge with these guns.

Here's a link to that project and a lot of .22 Hornet, K-Hornet info. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11390994/1

Photobucket sucks and this was before my swap to IMGUR. So, I'll post a couple of photos.

The lowest mount was with this rail and low Weaver rings. I thinned the mag spring per instructions from James Calhoon. Works better.

Google James Calhoon. He's THE guru on these guns and a great guy to talk to.

DF

The pictures I had originally posted here are on the link, so I deleted them. The only ones not on that link are these of the wood.

DF

I've got both rifles. As mentioned, it took bedding and trigger work to get Ruger where I wanted it. The CZ was good to go out of the box and was lighter and handier to carry for a .22 Hornet than the Ruger in the varmint model. About the loose bolt complaints, the hornet is of course a rimmed cartridge and with out a cartridge chambered there is slop in the two piece bolt. Chambner a cartridge and you will notice the thickness of the rim tightens up all the sloppy bolt movement. The recoil lug is behind the magazine and is a little different to bed in three locations. Agree with Dirtfarmer, CZ is the way to go in a .22 Hornet these days.

Ditto on the CZ over the Savage. Savage was the cheapest made gun I ever seen in a Hornet.

I've got the Ruger 22 Hornet in green lam stock.

I call it my Green Hornet.

I installed a Timney sear/spring kit and use Lil' gun powder for loading it.

Plus 45 grain bullets.

Groups hover just under 1" at 100 yards.

Virgil B.

Probably nothing. The hornet is a cool old rimmed cartridge, that with new powders is very accurate and fun to shoot. Mine uses 13grs of lil Gun so it's inexpensive to shoot. You can load down your .223 to Hornet levels, I suppose, but why. The modern Hornet is very versatile little cartridge. Besides "what's need have to do with it"

Spoken like a true Loony...

DF