I just acquired a ruger 22 hornet and am curious if anyone out there has rebarreled one to 17 Ackley Hornet, or even rechambered to 22 K-Hornet. I guess I'm just wondering if those two rounds would feed in the rotary magazine OK, or if it would be possible to modify the feed lips so that they would.

No sense in trying it if there would be feeding problems in my opinion.

Thanks for any info.

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Shoot straight, shoot often.
Matt

I've built 5 Ruger 77/22 22K-Hornets. No mag mods are needed,for the bullets that interest me(33 and 35Gr V-Max).

They make for a dynamite handling,slick little rifle,in my humble opinion............

Big Stick,[
What kind of gains did you see with the
K-Hornet? Did you use the same barrel, or replace it and if so how long? Just curious here. Also be interested in what kind of velocity you receive from it.

Thanks,

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Shoot straight, shoot often.
Matt

In my not so humble opinion,the Ruger 77/22 punched to K-Hornet,is amongst the best kept secrets in the Industry. I raved about the conversion long enough on other Boards,that other Gents felt compelled to complete the transformation as well. All shared similar results.

The rifles are of totally different persona and capabilities,after the Improvement. Accuracy is greatly enhanced. I opted to bob my barrels back to 20",to compact the package and enhance balance.

I shoot 14.0grs of Win296,behind a 33gr moly V-Max,in R/P brass. That combo yields 3450fps and is actually quite amazing in capabilities.

That makes for a fabulous little rifle...........

Big Stick, have you had any of the other modifications done to your K-Hornets. I have a Hornet I'd like to have punched out to the "K", but I'm not sure what, if anything, else to have done. I'd appreciate your input.

I didn't have anything at all done to mine except the reaming. Good accuracy, and much better brass life. However I did have to do just a bit of filing on the inside of the magazine, the new shoulder location was hanging up just enough to keep it from feeding. Other than that, I'm immensely happy with mine. Regards, Chad

I opted to lop the issued chamber off,recut the new K-Chamber,bob the barrel to 20" and recess crown. Those were the only modifications done,upon my rifles.

Between friends and I here,we have at least a dozen Ruger 77/22 K-Hornets. Some are the factory barrels punched out,some are high end aftermarket tubes.

All shoot very well,with .5MOA being about the most shoddy of the lot. A couple of The Boys installed the thin washer between the two bolt halves,to aid in lockup. I did not and am ecstatic with my rifles in their prsent configuration.

We all shoot the itty-bitty V-Max(33's or 35's,depending upon who got their order in to Lock Stock and Barrel,in time for the 33's) and 296,in R/P cases. The results as mentioned,are uniformly superb.

I've read numerous glowing reports of Hogdon's Lil'Gun propellant. A pard just got 8lbs and I'll be trying it soon.

Without a doubt,it is an amazing accuracy transformation. There is much improved case life and a substantial speed increase.

Dies are cheap and plentiful,the cartridge is a hoot and everybody should have at least one.................

I bought my Ruger 77 K-Hornet from an older gentleman who had spent a lot on it but just didn't shoot it anymore. It's a cracker-jack. Both barrel and trigger were replaced, and I don't know what else was done, but whatever he did, it worked!

Stonecreek mentions the trigger. I omitted that.

I used Dayton Traister's on a couple and stoned a couple. The trigger certainly warrants attention..............

Big Stick:
Can you please elaborate on the "thin washer" procedure on the bolt? Is this a custom made proposition or offered for sale somewhere?

Thanks in Advance,
Ben H

http://www.centerfirecentral.com/rugerbolt.html

I hope the link worked. It should answer your questions.............

Big Stick,
If you don't mind telling, who did the work? I am interested in doing the above mentioned proceedure, but do not have a KHornet reamer and would like to find someone who does. I would imagine lopping off the chamber, threading, chambering and recrowning should be a somewhat modest conversion. Do you have a recommendation for a gunsmith that does the above (and would he like to do mine ). Email me with more info if you would.

Thanks

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Shoot straight, shoot often.
Matt

Thanks to all of you for all the input. I'm sold! It's going to happen as soon as I can find a 'smith to do it. Any suggestions?

Fellas, CPC does a very nice job on the K conversion on Rugers and the price is reasonable. I had Randy do one for me and it turned a POS into a fun little rifle. How does a 40 grain bullet at 3200 fps sound?

www.ct-precision.com

Dan C

Great posts guys! Good question and super responses. I'll only second the notion that a K Hornet is one superb little cartridge. Some of my FONDEST shooting memories revolve around this little dandy. It's like hunting with a switch, but ballistically it comes close to a .222. Mine was on a Winchester M-43. The only trouble I ever encountered was with some cases splitting now and then when I was fire forming, but I used a lot of military hornet ammo for my brass and some of it may have been bad.
I doubt anyone ever shot a K Hornet who didn't fall in love with it.

Sorry for the late question but... What dies do you all use? I have read in other posts that special forming and seating dies are necessary for the Hornet. I have RCBS Hornet dies and a Ruger 77VHZ. So far its a POS.

I am wondering, should I go ahead and do the re-chamber and buy dies or just and go buy a .223 and get it over with...

Thanks
Brett

Brett,
You're not giving us much to work with here, what about your VHZ? Is it just like out of the box, or have you done any work to it?
Mine shot "patterns" when I first got it.
I floated the barrel, glass bedded the action and first 2" of barrel, and replaced the trigger & sear with a SpecTech adjustable trigger and Volquartsen target sear (from Brownell's). This work turned the POS into a reasonable "roughly MOA" shooter. I've also shimmed the bolt, which has done nothing for accuracy (I could only fit a .002" shim between the bolt halves, yours might be different).
I think I've tested every Hornet powder know to man, and I've gotten far superior results with Hodgdon's Lil'Gun. I'm still testing, but I still keep coming back to Lil'Gun.
I've also tested almost every flavor primer out there, and my Ruger likes Federal #100 small pistol primers best. Primers alone can make a significant difference in accuracy!
I use RCBS Competition dies. I have no complaints with them. My pathetic shooting technique has far more affect on accuracy then the dies!
I use Winchester cases, because the brass is thicker than Remington. The cases last longer, the bullets seat straighter, and there's more material there for neck turning. I don't see any advantage to thinner brass because you can fit another 0.1 or 0.2 grains of powder in there
I sort my cases by weight, and group them into lots of +/- 0.1 grain. The Hornet case is very small, and small variations in internal volume can be seen on the paper 100 yards away. An electronic scale is perfect for weighing cases & bullets!
I tried sorting by rim thickness, but it didn't make any measurable difference in accuracy with my Ruger.
Bullets... My Ruger likes Hornady 40 grain V-Maxes, and hates 35 grain V-Maxes. My Ruger hated every 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip it ever saw. It loves Berger 22/40 MEF's. It also likes Starke 40 grain HPFB varmint bullets. I've found the Sierra 35 grain Hornet bullets fly apart at velocities over 3000 fps. The Ruger's 1 in 14" twist is faster than the conventional Hornet's 1 in 16" twist. Mine likes the bullets seated 0.020" off the lands. They don't fit in the magazine this long, but you only need one to do the job on a groundhog or crow.
So... Before you think about dies, there are many other players in the mix. You can have a very accurate, fun shooting Hornet with your Ruger, it just takes a little more work than with some other rifles. Mine shoots 3/4" all day, with the proper feeding and if I do my part. Think about getting some wind flags, too!
The Hornet is so much fun to shoot, all this powder & primer & bullet testing is a very reasonable reason to shoot more and often!
Regards George.

Punch it to K-Hornet,with zero headspace,then headspace the shoulder. R/P brass allows more speed,should you want it(it does interest me).

I use Redding dies,no case-forming or additional dies are required. I often form cases with bulk R/P 45's and 1680,simply because I have a goodly supply of both.

I assure you the Ruger barrel,is "up to snuff",it is the shitty chamber,causing most accuracy woes. The ability to then headspace the shoulder,certainly is an accuracy aid too.

I've seen 1.5MOA tweaked/tuned VHZ's,go to .5MOA(and better)rifles after the K-Hornet rechambering. My best one,rewarded me with a .301" C/C 3 shot group at 150yds.

You haven't lived until you have the 77 K-Hornet and start slapping Vermin with those dainty little V-Max.

I'm not guessing. We have quite a herd of VHZ's floating around here and all responded in the manner mentioned.............

[This message has been edited by Big Stick (edited 04-07-2002).]

Dear George and Stick:

Thanks for the lengthy replys! My 77/22 VHZ is not yet modified. I have played around a bit with diffrent powders and primers and have seen a slight improvement. I have been following the Hornet threads and am toying with the idea of
*re-chambering to K-Hornet with with less free bore
*bedding the action
*floating the barrel
*buying new K-Hornet dies
*weighing cases
*weighing bullets
*turning necks
*trying various bullet types
*on and on and on.

OR

*just buying a rifle chambered in a cartridge that's not so fussy.

What to do...

I have just picked up a Ruger 77/22 K Hornet on trade that I would like to sell if anyone is interested.

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Howard
Moses Lake WA
hhomes@homesley.com

Howard, you have mail

I agree with what George and Big Stick have both said. My Ruger has been made into a K, pillar bedded, free-floated and trigger tuned. Hornady 35 gr V-MAX bullets and Hodgdon Lil Gun powder have accounted for an unbelievable amount of prarie dogs, with spectacular results. Those V-MAX's really scatter �m to the four winds.

Good Shooting,
Ben H