I have been coveting a 22 Hornet for a while and the pickings are slim. I just can't warm up to the CZ with the magazine extended down level with the trigger guard. Otherwise it would be a no brainer. That essentially leaves the Ruger 77. I gave up on Rugers back in the '90s when I went thru a string of several inaccurate ones and never went back. For those of you who have one or did, how accurate were they.
Thanks

I think Ruger's a great company.

They still believe in customer service.

They have innovative products, both futuristic and old-fashioned.

They also bought barrel hammer forging equipment and brought barrel making back in house after the issues in the 90's. I had some inaccurate ones back before 2005 also. The ones I've had or shot recently are all accurate (capable of sub MOA with factory ammo).

22 Hornet doesn't have a reputation for superior accuracy, though...

I've had my Ruger77 Sporter Hornet since the early 90's.

It was a solid 2" shooter with factory ammo.

By reloading (IMR4227), the groups dropped to 1 1/2".

Then, I changed the trigger spring and sear with a Timney kit, started to use LilGun powder and later switched to a small pistol primer.

Now, this rifle is sub-MOA, with no other mods to it.

A friend bought the same rifle in early 2000, and we did the same mods and loads, with the same results.

Sweet little rifles.

From what experience I and others I know have had with the hornet, I would covet another 22PPK, .222, or just a .223.
I really enjoyed a single shot Ruger #1 in 22 jet that Kobe barreled for me. roger

Mine shoots around 3/4" with 34gr. Hornady and 13 gr. of Lil'Gun

I have has several Rugers over time, including a .22 Hornet. It was very accurate. I do remember a while back Ruger went through a period where their 77/22's were not good, but they rectified that. Sorry I can't tell you which ones to avoid; you could be safe and buy new.

The most accurate .22 Hornets would be Anshutz followed by the CZ. I have shot both, and the CZ is the best bet for the dollar.

I had a ruger #3 in 22 hornet until recently. It shot 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 100 yards with most anything. I could get to 1 inch with handloads. I am looking at a 77 also.

Brno ZKW 22 Hornet

Magnum: I bought a Ruger 77/22H that shot 2" groups with everything I shot in it. Factory, handloads, small primer, large primer, etc. The bolt is 2 pieces and there was a lot of slop between the forward and aft halves of the bolt. I found a shim kit on the web with different thickness shims. Tried the thinnest shim and groups are now around an inch or slightly less.
Really like the aesthetics of the rifle, especially the flush magazine. CZ's are more accurate but I can't get past the protruding magazine.
Regarding handloads I use the John Barsness load of 13 grains of Lilgun and Nosler 40 gr. Ballistic Tip. I neck size only to avoid lubing the cases due to volume loading. Be advised the 13 grains does not fit in all cases due to the wide range of case weights:
WW 49.6 grains
Hornady 47.0
PPU 55.0
Rem 45.2

quote:

Originally posted by Magnum Hunter1:
I have been coveting a 22 Hornet for a while and the pickings are slim. I just can't warm up to the CZ with the magazine extended down level with the trigger guard. Otherwise it would be a no brainer. That essentially leaves the Ruger 77. I gave up on Rugers back in the '90s when I went thru a string of several inaccurate ones and never went back. For those of you who have one or did, how accurate were they.
Thanks

I also gave up on Ruger because of multiple 22h rifles that were inaccurate. I had a #1B and some heavy and sporter barrel 77s, all inaccurate.
I’ll never buy another.
I had a browning A bolt that I sold, it was accurate. And I had a Kimber of Oregon that I sold. It was accurate.
Now I have a heavy barrel and sporter Anschutz 1730, both are tack drivers. Bad news is I don’t think they are made anymore. But they show up on Gunbroker and other sites.
You will be money ahead and likely have an accurate rifle if you hold out for an anschutz or Kimber of Oregon.

I too, had hesitation getting a Ruger Hornet but after shimming the bolt, having the trigger worked on and reloading with Lilgun I am very happy I did. It certainly is capable of 3/4" groups (or slightly better.) The CZ may need less work, but I do not like the magazine protrusion.

I like Rugers. Last year I bought a Ruger 77/17 HMR. Very accurate, nice rifle. I have several Ruger #1's, all accurate.

What about the Zastava 22 Hornets? They were in Interarms, Charles Daly, and Rem 799's?

Hi
I have CZ 527 in 204Ruger and hate the look of the mag but it shoots so well I put up with it.You can have the mag modified to be flush CZ actually does it in 223 don't know about hornet. Bill

Back in the early '70's I was living in Germany and bought a little Weirauch falling block action rifle in .22 Hornet to play with at the local gun club. It shot very satisfactory groups with RWS factory ammunition.

However, when I returned home, the groups with Remington and Winchester factory ammunition and reloads were far from satisfactory. When I started reloading the RWS brass which accompanied the rifle from Germany, the accuracy returned. A little checking revealed that the RWS brass was far more uniform.

My take on the situation is that in Germany the .22 Hornet is used as a target rifle cartridge in hunting rifle type competition, where a center fire rifle is required. For that reason, the ammunition is loaded to target rifle standards, whereas in this country the Hornet is regarded as a short range varmint cartridge, with much lower accuracy requirements.

I have not shot a Hornet with American factory ammunition in years, so I can't comment on the present standards, but I recommend the European brass to anyone seeking to get the most from his Hornet.

Can anyone tell me where to get the shim for my sloppy two piece bolt? Is it hard to install? Thanks

To OP, I have a 77 Hornet. Love the handiness of the rifle but accuracy is great then bad. I may need to bed it? Would like to try the bolt fix first. I think I heard that the newer ones may have addressed the two piece bolt problem but haven't seen one. I would check on that. Very nice little rifle if it would shoot good all the time. Good Luck

quote:

I just can't warm up to the CZ with the magazine extended down level with the trigger guard. Otherwise it would be a no brainer.

how about having a good smith modify the magazine so that it fits flush? You'd lose a few rounds capacity but could still keep a regular magazine on hand if you have to defend yourself from a herd of attacking ground squirrels. I have seen pictures of someones CZ modified this way, it improved looks, and I assume handling, quite a bit.

A Winchester Model 54 in 22 Hornet might be a good alternative.

I like Rugers, especially the Internationals and the African models, but Ruger must have two rooms for their bean counters, the idiots in one room and the smart guys in the other..

The Ruger Hornet catches my eye, I like the look and feel, it however is put together like a cheap foreign 22 L,R., that damn barrel doesn't even screw in, it slips in and it has other issues also. Many of them wouldn't shoot worth a flip, I had two and neither one would shoot 2 inches. Jack Belk would thread the barrel into the action and do a bunch of other stuff to one and make it a righteous rifle..but at additional cost.

I would opt for a used pre 64 Win. mod 43 bolt action they came in HOrnet, Bee and 25-20; better yet a Brno as picture in an above post, a Ruger no 1 conversion would be best; or a Ruger no. 3 with some handy work done on it..or my all time favorite the old cute little L-series Sako with flush clip in manlicher stock persuasion, they are beautiful and came in 22 Hornet, 222 Rem. and 218 Bee.

bigvarmint: www.triggershims.com

Thank You Bobmn, That's what I think I'm looking for. I like the rifles, have a 20" and a 22" lam. Both shoot good one day and not so another. Really like the guns, just need them to shoot good all the time. I haven't shot them for a few years and would like to get back to them. They are great when they do their part.

Have you tried removing the pressure point near the forearm to get get a free floated barrel? You can shim under the receiver to temporarily free float the barrel to see if there is any improvement. If it looks promising free float and glass bed the action. Or maybe you just have the early piece of sh*t Wilson barrel Ruger used on their early rifles. If that is the case a new barrel is your only option.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I would opt for a used pre 64 Win. mod 53 bolt action they came in HOrnet, Bee and 25-20;

Ray mis-typed he wanted to say model 43.
I had my problems with Ruger in the 80's or 90's (forget now) but learned my lesson with their quality & customer service, never again.

My first Rugar 77 was a 22LR then followed by a tang saftey 220 Swift then I inhearted a Rugar tang saftey 77 243 from my dad. I still have them too.

When I got tired of looking for 22lr & 22mag rim fire ammo I bought a Rugar 22 hornet back in 2015. Load it slow to 22LR speed and it is minute of squirrel at 80 yards.

Best of all I can set down and load up a bunch of ammo and stop wasteing my time looking for rim fire ammo. Ya I have been told that the rim fire ammo is coming back but I can reload the hornet for the same price and I enjoy the reloading.

Contact Roy Bertalotto at RVB Precision.

He has been shortening thr CZ magazines to fit flush for years.

See CZ magazine mod

George

from the RVP website:
We then modify the magazine release to clear the bottom plate of the magazine.
WE NO LONGER OFFER THIS SERVICE ON THE CZ IN 22 HORNET, or any Hornet Based cartridge or any rimmed cartridge!…CZ has changed these magazine to include lots of plastic parts that do not lend themselves to this procedure and feeding problems result. Rimmed cartridges simply do not lend themselves to a shortened magazine……We can modify the trigger guard on a 22 Hornet rifle for $65 including shipping back to you. The modified trigger guard still works with a standard, long 22 Hornet magazine.

Bummer.

George

thanks for the heads up..Im fond of the Win. mod. 43, and you can make a Ackley hornet with a hand reamer or probably a finger nail file for that matter!

I likw the IMP Hornet, brass last longer and headspace with a std. hornets sloped case has been a problem in the past with certain guns the mod. 43 being one, so if your 43 gets headspace punch it out and its fixed..Its a neat little gun, but they sure have gotten expensive..A L series early clip model Manlicher Brno Hornet is the ultimate Hornet or 222 for that matter...

Hello Magnum: I must be the exception to the rule, as I really like The CZ, and the magazine situation does not bother me at all. In fact I rather like their set up. I always go for the rifle that shoots the best, and The CZ is right there with the best of them. I own and shoot, a Model 43 Winchester, which is the most accurate Hornet I have. I also have 2 Savages, a Model 23 Delux and a Model 19 H. 13 grains of Lil Gun and a 35 V-Max is the load most Hornets prefer, except my 19-H, which prefers the 30 grain Varmint Grenade with Lil Gun. Don't be shy of The CZ, especially with the trigger they offer!

quote:

Originally posted by Magnum Hunter1:
I have been coveting a 22 Hornet for a while and the pickings are slim. I just can't warm up to the CZ with the magazine extended down level with the trigger guard. Otherwise it would be a no brainer. That essentially leaves the Ruger 77. I gave up on Rugers back in the '90s when I went thru a string of several inaccurate ones and never went back. For those of you who have one or did, how accurate were they.
Thanks

Same here.....IMO Ruger lost it back then and I keep hearing about their great service department.....well guess what......I've never had to use the service department at Winchester!!!!!

There are no Rugers in this house and never will be! Same for Savage and Weatherby.....

That bulge on the CZ isn't all that bad when you get right down to it.

I have been happy with all my Ruger rifles.

Or, you can listen to the many resident curmudgeons that whine about a bad experience 20+ years ago.