22 Hornet Rifle questions

[tominboise]

I am wanting to pick up a 22 hornet rifle for the local ground squirrel population (slots in between a 22lr rifle and my 221 Fireball). I have sort of narrowed my choices down to;

CZ527 - has a good reputation and is probably the cheapest
Ruger No 3 single shot
Anschutz 1430-1434 bolt gun
Browning 1885 single shot
Also considering the Ruger 77/22

Any thoughts on any of these? I will be loading primarily dogtown 35gr HP's or Vmax/BT 40gr. I usually am shooting using the pickup hood or mirror as a rest. Primary requirements are accuracy without drama and a decent trigger.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I had a Ruger # 3, nice gun, but I could never get it to shoot well. I traded it to a real rifleman for an H Farmall, and he said I"ll make that rifle shoot! Well, he couldn't and soon traded it off. I would love a Browning 1885.

I have a Savage 25 single shot, and it shoots well, also a Model 23-D savage Hornet, accurate but has a generous chamber, and is a little hard on brass.

[Tatume]

I've been looking at the Ruger Model 77/22.

[GBertolet]

I had a #3 Ruger in Hornet. I also could not get it to shoot. I rebarreled it to .357 magnum. I still have the barrel, dies, bullets, and brass left.

[Shawlerbrook]

I like Rugers but it seems like their 22 Hornets are not shooters. Personally, I would love the CZ. I have Contender 10” and a 16” carbine and they put the bullets in one ragged hole.

[richhodg66]

I shoot two for small game hunting, a Savage 219 and a Stevens 322. Both are good shooters with the cast loads I use.

Me personally, I'd look for something like that, I like the older stuff better than modern production most of the time.

[Herb in Pa]

I would either go with the Annie or the CZ. Buddy has a CZ that he K'd and I've got an Annie. No problems with either one.

[Minerat]

I have a CZ in 17 HH, so I'm partial to the CZ. My varminter has a factory trigger that when you push it forward it acts as a set triger, that is also adjustable. From the factory it shot sub moa groups from a rest.

I need to say that it was with factory jacketed and reloaded jacketed. I have not has time to work with case in it yet to be able to brag on it with booilts.

[Uncle Grinch]

Had. Hornet in the Ruger 77/22 and it shot ok. Had it rechambered to improved Hornet and it didn’t make much difference. Sold it and my next will be a CZ.

[blackriver]

I have the 77/22. Great gun, accurate and dependable. I have the same model in 17,22, and 22 mag.

[marlin39a]

I have one of the first Ruger 77/22, with the heavy barrel. Super accurate. I shoot Hornady 40 gr V-Max over Hodgdon Lil Gun powder.

[1Hawkeye]

The cz's are nice I had an american and an fs in hornet. Using win brass, rem 7 1/2 primers, lil gun powder and either vmax or sierra's they would hold 1/2" 100 yard groups till ya got bored. Also if you can find one a savage 40 is also a great single shot.

[Tatume]

I've been looking at the Ruger Model 77/22.

Hmmm. Now I'm looking at the CZ 527 American. Very interesting.

[douglasskid]

Looking for a left hand 22 hornet. Had a Savage ,left hand bolt head made, screwed on a 22 hornet barrel, but could not get it to feed.

[dtknowles]

I have a Ruger #3 in .22 Hornet. I got rid of the barrel band, glass bedded the forearm hanger, reshaped, refinished the forearm, free floated the barrel, and lapped the muzzle to fix the crown. It will shoot under an MOA with 35gr. V-max Hornady factory ammo and some of my reloads. It shoots plain base cast bullets under 3 moa at 100 yards. If you want something that will shoot under an MOA stock you will need to look at something else. I still have not fixed the poorly fit plastic butt plate.

Tim

[M-Tecs]

I love my 17 HMR's and I love my .223. I jumped into Hornets is a big way for something between my 17's and .223's. I have 4 of them. It will soon be none. Primary application is prairie dog shooting. That being said lack of accuracy was never an issue.

Try as I might I can't warm up to the Hornets. My CZ 527 will be rebarreled to .221 Fireball. The rest will be sold.

The Hornet due to the thin brass is a pain to load. Same for case life. With neck only or very minimal body sizing the case life issue can be somewhat resolved. I get neck splits on new factory ammo and if I don't neck anneal I get occasional neck splits with new Winchester brass. I shouldn't have to anneal virgin brass before I fire it. I my case all 4 of my Hornet chambers are different. Some people love the Hornet I am just not one of them.

It's way louder than the 17 HMR and almost as loud as the .223. That really surprised me since I am using less than half the powder. Shooters ears can be very subjective. I am basing my comment on how the prairie dogs respond to the shot. One of my buddies shoots a .221 Fireball and have used both I much prefer the Fireball.

For between a 22LR and .221 Fireball the 17 HMR is my choice in a CZ.

[Hawks Feather]

I had a Ruger #3 and try as I would, I could never get the accuracy that I thought it should have. I had it for a couple of years and sold it for more than I paid for it. I have a Ruger 77/22 and it was fairly accurate. I sent it to Randy at CPC and had him work the trigger, action, and chamber it for K-Hornet. It is much improved and I plan to spend some time with it this summer working on loads. Like you, I was looking for something between my .22 LR and .221 Fireball and the hornet fills that for me.

[Greg S]

I've got a 1700 series Annie that has alittle life left in the barrel. If I was to do it again or get another, I'd go with the CZ. I've heard nothing but good about their hornets.

[MOA]

Your best bet IMHO would be a heavy barreled Ruger 77/22. The only issue is finding one with a heavy barrel without going through the time and expense of putting a heavy barrel on it.

[GBertolet]

dtknowles, does your #3 look something like this?