I've always had a yen for a .22 Hornet and my first choice would be the Ruger 77/22 Standard. I have heard some disturbing chatter about their supposed inaccuracy. I love my Ruger 77 in .256 Roberts. Opinions on the Ruger .22 Hornet would be greatly appreciated.

I've never had a ruger bolt, and they are not on the list to get either, but thats just my preference. Before I bought the ruger I'd take a hard look at those little cz 527's. Everybody I know that has one says that they are just plain tackdrivers. I know my 452 will hold its own on the 100 yard line against the centerfires. It shoots 5 shot groups under a half inch, I don't think that I could ask for a better shooter.

Had the exact rifle your talking about. Once I learnt what it liked, it shot very well. Downside is your limited to OAL by the box magazine, but I had my 35gr vmax seated so they just fit. That and a max load of W296, WW brass and winchester small rifle primers. Used to go into about 0.8" at 100 metres off a bipod with a very slight breeze.

Since you have access to lil gun, I would be loading with that straight away. But yes the gun loved the little 35gr vmax.

Get a trigger job done on it straight away too as the triggers on them arent great.

Ah, yes - Ruger haters to the fore!!!!! :D

Just happens my little 77/22 in .22 Hornet is a subMOA shooter using the 35 gr Hornady V-Max, 13.0 gr Hodgdon Li'l Gun powder, CCI BR4 primer and W-W brass. COAL adjusted to feed through the rotary magazine.

Dang - ain't it great when a piece of junk defies the trends? :D :D :D

I don't hate them, but the Ruger Hornet definitely takes third place in Hornet rifles. There are decent Rugers, to be sure, but CZ is a lot better. Best? No contest: the Browning Micro. A joy to carry, extremely accurate and with a magazine that can handle long bullets seated out.

The perfect Hornet.

I won't get into the Ruger/other gun debate so there. I've only owned one hornet and back in the late 60's with the available powders inch groups were the best I could get. Got a friend whom had a K-hornet that was a little easier to load for.

I shoot a CZ 527 in the new 204 Ruger and really like the rifle. It's available in the hornet also. Best I can say is if you want one get it. I under stand some of the new powders and bullets available really make the old hornet shine.

Hornet rifles are like cuts of steak: some are a bit better but they're all good.

It's absolutely true that today's Hornet is a whole new little stinger compared to even ten years ago.

I really like my 77/22 Hornet, I put a spring and sear kit in it and that helped, I floated the barrel and the really helped. Mine shoots Hornady V-Max and Winchester 46gr Hollow Points very very good.

I had the stainless version. As I said had,,Shot it out of the box then tried a new trigger, bedded the action, floated the barrel, shot lke a shotgun, tried the advice of shimming the two piece bolt and still would not group. Traded it for a Ruger #3 and am very happy with this hornet. Good luck with yours, I had bad luck with mine.

If you are a handloader you might take a look at the 221 Fireball. The case is really robust and easy to load. LilGun and RE#7 are excellent powders and bullet selection is greater than the Hornet. When I bought my Fireball I was wanting a dinky case 22 and the Hornet was in the running. I went to Gander Mountain and lined up cartridges of all the candidates, Hornet, Bee, and Fireball (I also looked at the 222 but it was a bigger case than I intended to buy). I went with the Fireball in a Rem 700 LVSF and changed out the synthetic stock for a laminate stock and am very happy with it. I don't think there is a bad choice but my personal leaning would be toward the CZ or a Ruger #1 if I went Hornet route.

IIRC, Mykal contributed the 221 fireball to the cartridge board project

on the matter of the ruger m77/22 hornet accuracies you have to remember that it is built on the 22 lr frame. it shares the same 2 piece bolt design that can cause flier issues in your groups. lots of folks report getting acceptable groups after have bolt worlk done by Randy @ CPC. he tightens the bolthalves and really helps the groups. if yours shoots fine then leave it alone but if you have problems it many times can be the culpret. my .02 anyway. me personaly i would want the CZ (i have 4 ruger rifles) with the set trigger or a ruger No 1 in the .22 hornet.

Here is an old article that reviews and compares the Ruger to a Cooper.
http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/dec96hornet.html

IIRC, Mykal contributed the 221 fireball to the cartridge board project

So he's the one who help loosen the grip on my wallet to pick up the Fireball! Good deal, I really like it.

I don't have the hornet, mine is a .22 Mag... mine shoots 1/2" groups @ 100 yards with HSM 40 gr JHP. I have only switched my spring and sear out with one from Timney.

Thanks for the opinions, everyone. I will without doubt go with a Ruger, either in .22 hornet (sentimental appeal) or am also tossing around the idea of a .204 in that new Ruger Hawkeye. I am a real ruger fan, always have been.

Thanks for remembering me, jb12string. That cartridge project was a stroke of genius, and I was happy to participate. Flashhole: regarding the .221 - had one, loved it, sold it, regret selling it (a common story). It's a dynamite little round, very accurate. I remember I loaded with lil gun and got great results. --Mykal

Here is an old article that reviews and compares the Ruger to a Cooper.
http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/dec96hornet.html

KenK: Thanks for the refrence. Very interesting and helpful.