Opinions on Ruger 77/22 Hornet?

[lakota]

I am thinking of getting a Ruger 22 Hornet. The one I am looking at is the all weather laminated stock model. It seems these guns have a dubious record for accuracy. My buddy has this model and it is an absolute tack driver. He has had several other Ruger hornets however that were pure duds in the accuracy department. I want to make sure before I buy, that his current hornet isnt a fluke, and that I can expect the kind of accuracy that he is getting. Any opinions?

Thanks,

Scott.

[BlkHawk73]

Well, of course there's no guarantee.  A big part is matching the preferred load to the gun.  Each gunwill have a load it will shoot great and others that won't shoot so well.   Trial & error.

[dave375hh]

The stainless Laminated 77/22H all seem to shoot accepibly well. The majority of the reported problems were with the sporter wt. Blued models. The difference was that when this rifle was introduced the blued barrels were out-sourced, while the stainless were made in-house on new hammer-forging machines. These rifles do suffer from Rugers ignorantly long throats as do almost all of the CF M77's. These long throats are very bad on Hornet accuracy because the small case is more influnced by variations than a larger case or caliber. The smaller the case , the more it will benefit from match style case prep and powder wt uniformity.  For years people have said"it's just a hornet". When they should have been weighing cases, guaging rim thickness, uniforming case necks, etc, etc.

My own 77/22H was about to depart for the gunsmith to have the bbl set back and rechambered to K-hornet, when my son spoke up and said he liked it as is!? I turned to him and said "here it's yours". End of problem.

[contendernut]

My heavy barrel hornet shoots right at an inch with bulk Remingtons and W680.

[oso45-70]

Lakota,

I have the Ruger hornet in the light weight, Wood stock that i use for close in coyote calling and nothing gets away when i shoot them. Off the bench i can expect less than one inch at 100yds. I use a lot of the 39 gr Calhoon bullets when calling. One reason for using these bullets is there is no rickochetts where as the lead nosed bullets has a tendency bounce and could do unwanted results. I don't think you could do much better as far as short range shooting like150 yds and under. I love mine........Joe........

[lakota]

I found a 77/22 Hornet VHZ, (the gray all weather version) at a show today. I got it for $450. It came with a 4x16 Tasco and 225 rounds of brass.(Pretty fair deal I thought! :grin: )  The Weather is pretty crappy here today, but hopefully I can try it tommorow or Monday afternoon. I will use my buddy's dies to craft some loads until I get my own.

Those of you that load this cartridge, do you guys get better accuracy with neck sized brass or full length sized brass?

Thanks,

Scott.

[oso45-70]

Lakota.

I full lenth size my hornets, Now on the improved hornet I neck size and seem to get better case life. I have found that i get better accuracy and case life by using Lil Gun powder 12 to 12 1/2 grains. I think you will like your hornet. They are about the most fun you can have with your pants on. If you have sod poodles where you are they are a lot of fun as long as you can keep your shots at a reasonable distance. Good luck and enjoy your hornet.............Joe...........

[Alaninga]

it wanted to shoot accuratly,,but groups would not stay in one location,,,2 or 3 in a 1/2" group,,then the group center of the next 2 or 3 shots would be an inch or two away. Probably bedding problems.
Then I shot a CZ 527,,looked at the bolt design,,seemed like much less 'flop' of the front bolt section of the Ruger 77/22 hornet bolt.
CZ barrels are more accurate in my experience. I've sold the Ruger,,and have purchased maybe 5 or 6 CZs since in various calibers--all extremely accurate with no tinkering necessary....and with bolt lugs up front where God wants 'em!
Alan in GA.
ps> I wanted to like the Ruger,,I really did,,but I think the bolt design should have mirrored the 77Mark II, not the 'half and half' bolt with mid bolt lugs.

[Jerry Lester]

I found a 77/22 Hornet VHZ, (the gray all weather version) at a show today. I got it for $450. It came with a 4x16 Tasco and 225 rounds of brass.(Pretty fair deal I thought! :grin: )  The Weather is pretty crappy here today, but hopefully I can try it tommorow or Monday afternoon. I will use my buddy's dies to craft some loads until I get my own.

Those of you that load this cartridge, do you guys get better accuracy with neck sized brass or full length sized brass?

Thanks,

Scott.

I've had several Ruger hornets in both variations, and loaded for quite a few others that belong to friends, and family.

The first thing I can tell you is that generally, the Rugers prefer heavier bullets. I've had the very best consistantly accurate loads using 50g bullets. Sierra 50g semi-points, or Sierra 50g Blitz, driven by a maximum load of IMR 4227 have shot well in nearly every Ruger I've loaded for. I also found that 50g Nosler Balistic Tips are extremely accurate, but I had to very carefully pull the polymer tips out of them by using a padded vise, and gently heating the edge of the jacket near the tip with a soldering iron. That was extra work, but allowed them to feed from the clip, and is devestating on groundhogs up to 200+ yards.

I partial size with a full length die to only reduce about .200 of the neck length. This lines everything up better in the chambers. I also found that CCI BR-4 primers are consistantly the most accurate in these rifles. I used to weigh every single charge too, but since I bought my Redding 10x pistol measure(unbelievably accurate!!), I now drop straight from it. You'll also do better if you'll debur the flash holes in your cases, and you'll need to trim every time you load, as well as make sure your champher is uniform. I recently started using the LEE factory crim die, and it seems to help some too.

The heavy barrel laminated Rugers will generally shoot pretty good out of the box, but most times the standard version will need some work to keep shots in a consistant group. Now, before I even try to load for a standard Ruger Hornet, I completely float the barrel, and bed the recoil lug(not much on this rifle), the area under the bolt, and the tang. This actually works wonders on these rifles, and a good trigger job is in order too.

My current night time calling rifle is a standard Ruger Hornet topped with a 6x Weaver. It's sighted in with Sierra 50g SMPs(2400 fps) at 150 yards. It will keep 10 shots under 1" at 100 yards with this load, as well as several others.

I wish Ruger would have done a little better job designing these rifles, but if you're willing to put a little TLC in one, they can be very good guns, and plenty accurate enough for the ranges a Hornet is usefull in.

[lakota]

So far am very happy with this rifle. I borrowed some hand loads from my buddy-12.9 grains Lil' Gun driving a 35 grain V-Max bullet and got a 5 shot group just a shade over .50" at 100 yards. Even the factory ammo I got with the gun grouped around an inch at 100 yards. I cant wait to get my dies so I can start experimenting.

Scott.

[lakota]

Oh I forgot to mention that this gun had a spring kit and sear installed on it, and has a very nice trigger pull. I dont have a scale , but it is very light, especially compared the the 77 MK II .223 I used to have.