I may have to give up buying a Savage 25 Hornet, so am looking into buying the Ruger listed in this thread. There are some advantages to this rifle, the most obvious being that it is available. It also comes with scope rings, so will not have the extra expense. Ruger makes durable, reliable rifles. The disadvantages are the stiff trigger and I don''t know anything about the accuracy of these guns. I'll have to have the trigger adjusted or replaced. So, my questions...From people who have had experience with this rifle, what has been your experience with these 2 issues...trigger problems and accuracy? Did you have to do any accurizing work? I will use it to shoot p-dogs and I prefer rifles that can shoot dime-size groups at 100 yards.
Ruger 77 .22 VHZ Hornet Varmint Target
- Thread starter Sniper66
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They are beautiful rifles, but the chances of getting one that will shoot dime sized groups out of the box are slim IME. I had one with a Timney trigger, and reworked bolt that would shoot consistently at about .9 MOA. My Savage does about half of that.
gpb
Member
Post #4 stated
"Where were you finding a Savage in 25 Hornet? It is an intereesting cartridge but not a factory number. "
I believe the OP was referring to a Savage "Model 25" in 22 Hornet, not to a 25 Hornet as nice as that would be. If they eventually build the 17 Hornet, maybe there's hope for a 25 Hornet.
"Where were you finding a Savage in 25 Hornet? It is an intereesting cartridge but not a factory number. "
I believe the OP was referring to a Savage "Model 25" in 22 Hornet, not to a 25 Hornet as nice as that would be. If they eventually build the 17 Hornet, maybe there's hope for a 25 Hornet.
Still Shooting
Member
I will say this about the Ruger 77 rotary mag rifles:
1- The 2 piece bolt is not conducive to great accuracy, and
2- At least in my carbine, the throat was also pretty long (typical of all in that vintage - may be different now)
My Ruger 77/22H carbine was dramatically improved by taking it to Randy at CPC (Connecticut Precision Chambering). As it is now, the bolt is still 2-piece, but solidly staked with a tapered pin and no more "slop".
I also had him remove about 0.100" from the chamber end of the barrel and re-chamber to minimum dimensions. This shortens the throat, sets solid and repeatable alignment of chamber-to-bore, and means more reloads on the brass. The barrel was re-crowned to a recessed 11 deg. crown.
Randy reworked the factory trigger, and it is now about 2-1/2lbs. pull, very crisp.
While he was re-cutting the chamber, I had the rifle re-chambered to .22 K-Hornet. I gave up magazine capacity for that one, but got a little more "zip" out of the round.
At the time (2 years ago), his total bill was just under $240 for all of the work, and the turnaround time was 10 days. I challenge anyone to see from appearance that the gun has been reworked - perfect finishing, exact bluing match, etc.
1- The 2 piece bolt is not conducive to great accuracy, and
2- At least in my carbine, the throat was also pretty long (typical of all in that vintage - may be different now)
My Ruger 77/22H carbine was dramatically improved by taking it to Randy at CPC (Connecticut Precision Chambering). As it is now, the bolt is still 2-piece, but solidly staked with a tapered pin and no more "slop".
I also had him remove about 0.100" from the chamber end of the barrel and re-chamber to minimum dimensions. This shortens the throat, sets solid and repeatable alignment of chamber-to-bore, and means more reloads on the brass. The barrel was re-crowned to a recessed 11 deg. crown.
Randy reworked the factory trigger, and it is now about 2-1/2lbs. pull, very crisp.
While he was re-cutting the chamber, I had the rifle re-chambered to .22 K-Hornet. I gave up magazine capacity for that one, but got a little more "zip" out of the round.
At the time (2 years ago), his total bill was just under $240 for all of the work, and the turnaround time was 10 days. I challenge anyone to see from appearance that the gun has been reworked - perfect finishing, exact bluing match, etc.
Float Pilot
Member
I have a Ruger M77-22 Hornet. Only because I obtained it in a trade. I have done ALL SORTS of work on it to get it to shoot good groups with certain hand-loads.
I would never buy another one, nor would I recommend one to another shooter.
I would never buy another one, nor would I recommend one to another shooter.
Sniper66, Before I bought my Ruger 77/22 Hornet I had read complaints online about the Ruger Hornet's accuracy with the two piece bolt and had the same concerns that you do. I bought mine anyway because it was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. Maybe I just got lucky because mine will shoot sub MOA groups all day long with either Hornady factory loads or my handloads, right out of the box. That has been about 4 years ago and I still haven't had one single issue with it.
Hey BushPilot...Glad you have a good one. I have a good friend locally who has one, I have shot it and liked it. We were shooting gallon jugs of water at 200 yards, which are a pretty easy target. Didn't get to see how it did on groupings. I have had 3 Ruger rifles; sold one and still have the other 2. All of them shoot good, but none of them have been so called "tack drivers". Like you, if I run across a really good deal, I'll probably buy it. But, since I am in the shopping stage, I'll keep looking. Would like to buy this one, but doubt it will sell for what I am willing to pay. Take a look.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=293904320
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=293904320
That looks like a really nice rifle but it should since it's about 4X what I paid for mine new. Unfortunately, Ruger does seem to have that "hit or miss" reputation as far as accuracy with their rifles is concerned. I'm not sure how deserved it is. I've owned a good number of Ruger handguns and .22 rim fires but have always been more of a Remington shooter in the center fire rifle department. I think if I didn't have my 77/22 Hornet I'd be looking at one of the CZ's.
Furncliff
Member
Look into the cz 527 in .22 hornet.
Nuts, I was hoping someone chambered the 25 Hornet!
re: the Rugger 77/22H, PACO has had good luck with one, and a friend of mine has one that while not a one hole wonder is certainly good enough for groundhog and other smaller vermin. I have a 77/22 that is a daisy, after a rebarrel and other work. To me, most of the firearms offered today are merely "kits", they all require something to make them more to my liking. I like long barrels so the M77/22 got a brand new Winchester M52 barrel installed. What an improvemnet over the factory 22 inch barrel!
GlockNation
Member
Cooper 38 Jackson Varmint Target 22 Hornet 24
Sniper66: quit teasing us:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=293904320
It would be a Federal offense to put one scratch on that wood.
Sniper66: quit teasing us:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=293904320
It would be a Federal offense to put one scratch on that wood.
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