77/22H, K-Hornet, and Connecticut Precision?

[BoilerUP]

Have the opportunity to get a safe queen 77/22H from my father.

I know these rifles have internet-legend poor accuracy. This particular rifle was last shot about 10 years ago by myself with Hornady factory V-Max ammo; all I remember was it provided consistent hits on soda-sized cans 50-100yd with a 4x Nikon scope.

I want to get the rifle and see how it will shoot at 100yd with a variety of factory ammo; if accuracy is "good enough" I'll leave well enough alone and start reloading for it. If it isn't isn't satisfactory, I'm thinking about shipping it to CPC for their accurizing & trigger package, and possibly conversion to K-Hornet.

I've got 22LR and 223, so I'm thinking the Hornet will provide a <200yd coyote gun that is cheap to feed and and has low recoil/report for my son's first centerfire in a few years.

Curious to know the experiences of others with this rifle and CPC's work...and if K-Hornet conversion is really that beneficial.

 

[GooseGestapo]

It depends on the level of accuracy you're expecting.

I've got a Ruger 77/22Hornet. It's the stainless heavy barrel with laminated stock.

With some tweaking of the trigger and stock bedding as well as load developement I've got it doing what I "need" it to do. It is about a 1.5moa rifle with the selected loads.

I had a .22 K-Hornet. It wasn't a pleasant experience as the chamber had been poorly cut. It also wasn't re-marked as a K-Hornet so I bought it not knowing it had been altered. It destroyed brass due to being "hogged" out on the base end of the case and was not reamed straight with the axis of the bore. I ended up dumping to a local gunsmith who ended up setting back the barrel and re-cutting the chamber to a .218 Bee. I couldn't have afforded to pay for the work at the time, hence selling the gun at a reduced value. (A Ruger #3 back in the early '80's).

CPC's work has a good reputation over on the www.rimfirecentral.com web site. However, I'd try shooting/loading the Ruger before making a decision. I considered sending mine to them, but decided it really wasn't worth the likely marginal improvement. My gun is adequate "as is".
A co-worker had a Ruger 77/22 "carbine" back in the early '90's that was excellent. With the Nosler 40gr Ballistic Tip and a healthy dose of H110 It was ~1" at 100yds. It was what prompted me to get my first 77/22, also the carbine. Mine wasn't too good however. It had an excessively large chamber and a "screwy" barrel that wouldn't repond to any efforts to improve it. (Barrel had a very rough interior finish. Ruger wouldn't however replace it (except for a considerable sum of money.....). I don't actually remember why I bought/traded for the current one, except that I really, really like the Hornet...... Im presently considering a sale of the Ruger to a friend so I can buy a T/C Contender"Carbine" .22Hornet barrel for my Contender.......They typically are very good barrels. Can't say the same for the Ruger's.

 

[kludge]

Even if accurate I think the reaming it out to K-Hornet would be beneficial, since you will eventually reload anyway. Case life is extended and velociy improves by ~100fps.

 

[dagger dog]

The K-Hornet conversion is not as viable today as it was with the older powders and bullets of the day.

With the new Hornet specific bullets of 30-35 grs from Barnes,Berger and Hornady, along with Hodgdons Lil'Gun powder among others, most Hornet shooter are getting 3000 fps and great accuracy, with out punishing the brass, I have some brass with 5-6 loadings and still going strong, even the 40 grain plastic tip bullets pushed to 2800 and up will take coyote size animals out to 150 yrds.

Save your bucks for the trigger job and some pillarglass bedding of the stock !

 

[BoilerUP]

dd, IIRC you're into the Hornet, right? You have any experience with the 77/22H?

If the thing shoots well enough (1-1.5" 5 shot groups @ 100yd) in stock form, I'll probably about install a new trigger sear/spring and call it a day.

 

[dagger dog]

My dream gun Hornet is the heavy barreled Target 77/22 H.

Right now I shoot a Savage Mdl.40 Varmint Hunter single shot bolt.

From what I have read on the Ruger it will usually respond well to neck sizing your brass.

Vern Humphrey uses a small washer dropped over the case while it's in the shell holder on the ram, that way it only partially sizes the neck. We both use the Lee Collet.

 

[ATCDoktor]

I have a Ruger 77/22 22 hornet and its been converted to K hornet by CPC.

Prior to having it convereted it was a 1.5 MOA gun.

After having CPC do its work it's still a 1.5 MOA gun (with fire formed K hornet cases) regardless of powder type/charge and bullet style.

That said, with a fire a forming load of 11.5 grains of WW296/H110 and a sierra 45 grain "hornet" bullet it will shoot .5 MOA.

That's the only load I have been able to get it to shoot exceptional groups with, that same load in a fire formed K Hornet case runs 1.5" groups at 100 yards.

 

[Float Pilot]

A few months ago I posted a thread about improving my M77/22 Hornet.
I glass bedded the barrel and action, installed a shim in the two piece bolt to make it tighter and did a trigger job on it. Then I played with various hand-loads until a couple really started to shine.

Look at this old thread and see how much better the groups are on page two.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=571884

 

[loadedround]

I'd like to tell my experiences with the Ruger HB 77-22 in 22 Hornet vs the same rifle converted to 22K-Hornet. Several years ago I purchased a new Ruger HB rifle in 22 Hornet. Outside of the original box of factory ammo supplied with the rifle, all my ammo has been reloads. I used several different powders starting with 2400 and finally ending up with AA1680 and getting slightly over 3/4'' groups at 100 yds with the Hornady 45 gr bullet; however, I was only getting 2-3 loadings with new cases before a complete head seperation occured. The rifles headspace was in spec per my gunsmith. However he suggested converting to the 22K-Hornet and I had him do do it. My cases now last 4-5 loadings and now I'm getting slightly under 1/2'' groups with the same bullet and Lil Gun powder. This was one of the one of the best moves I have ever made.

 

[hinton03]

I had a completely different experience with my 77/22H. My first loads shot great; although the Lil Gun shot better than the 4227.

 

[gatesbox]

I'll simply add that I experienced great turn around time from CPC. I had a barrel threaded to my 10/22 receiver. I'll let you know more when I get it to the range!

 

[gatesbox]

Ok just a quick endorsement of CPC.. Turn around time was just over a week including shipping and this was during Thanksgiving week. Payed with a USPS mone order. Barrel, receiver and bolt came back nicely packaged....better than the tube I sent them in.... Work looks great and has been shooting better than I can....I know this is a different rifle than what you are considering having worked on, but I am very happy with Randy's work.

 

[BoilerUP]

Anybody know who makes a walnut or laminate replacement stock for a 77/22H?

 

[Still Shooting]

CPC Work on Ruger 77/22H Carbine

I had a 77/22H carbine I had bought and was disappointed in, as I couldn't get better than 2+ moa, the trigger was creepy and heavy, the bolt slop was about 1/8", etc. I was going down through Connecticut in September 2010 and decided to drop the barreled action with Randy at CPC. We discussed options, and ended up with the following work being done:

- Tighten up the bolt
- Set back the barrel and ream a minimum chamber; I decided to go with a K-Hornet conversion
- Recrown to 11 deg.
- "Clean up" the trigger

I asked Randy to mail the barreled action back to me when he had done the work, and we agreed on a price of $238 including return shipping. It arrived at my post office 10 days later. No play in the bolt, a nice tight K-Hornet chamber (sizing die slides right down the fired case!), a recessed 11 deg. crown, and a crisp, 2lb-5oz trigger pull. I challenge anyone to look at that rifle and show me any sign of work being done. It is beautiful. And it now shoots sub-moa.

I'll recommend CPC and Randy anytime.

 

[Maple_City_Woodsman]

'Internet legend' aside - If you do your reading, the 77/22H can indeed be made to shoot well, just like any other rifle if you do enough for it.

The stocks are commonly not bedded properly from the factory... The barrels commonly have chambers or throats that are cut out of spec... The bolts commonly have faces that are not true.

If you spend a bit of money to get those things checked out or corrected, then the 77/22H would probably shoot very well. It's a shame Ruger won't correct these things at the factory level, because the platform itself is awesome - Easily the best handling 22 Hornet on the market today.