rate of twist in Ruger 77/22 Hornet

davmon8

I am trying to find the rate of twist in my newer Ruger 77/22 Hornet. Many of the heavier weight bullets I am trying to reload require the rate of twist to be 1 in 14" or less. Can anyone tell me the rate of twist in this gun? Thanks for the help.

tsr1965

davmon8,

I am afraid that you have that backwards. 1 in 14 is the standard twist in the hornet, as it was designed for 40-50 grain bullets.

You can easily find out the twist, with the use of a cleaning rod, tight fitting patch and jag, piece of tape, and a ruler. The 77/22 H is listed as having the 1 in 14 twist rate.

Browning, and CZ use a 1 in 10 twist rate.

With the rifle you have, you are severely restricted by magazine length, as to what bullet you can use. For instance, I like a 40 grain ballistic tip in mine. I actually have to trim the case back, so the bullet can be crimped, as otherwise the case mouth would go past the ogive on the bullet.

YMMV

Best

davmon8

OK, thanks! I thought I had seen the Ruger listed as 1 in 14 but couldn't find that info again. I did load some 45 grain hp bullets and they worked fine in the clip. I made sure the length was at what the reloading manual said it should be. I did buy some heavier Nosler bullets, but their manual suggested no more than 40 grain for the 22 H. So far I've only shot 4 shells through it after bore sighting and need to get serious sighting it in now. I thought I wouldn't get too serious sighting it in using heavier bullets until I followed Nosler's suggested rate of twist. Thanks again!

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by davmon8
I am trying to find the rate of twist in my newer Ruger 77/22 Hornet. Many of the heavier weight bullets I am trying to reload require the rate of twist to be 1 in 14" or less. Can anyone tell me the rate of twist in this gun? Thanks for the help.


Well, oddly enough, the information you seek appears to be absent from the Ruger website, and its also not in the rifle manual (I just checked).

*BUT*

According to page 128 of the current Ruger product CATALOG, the current STANDARD version of the Ruger 77/22 Hornet with blued steel and walnut stock has a 1:16 twist barrel.

The (IMO ugly) Green Mountain laminate stock/stainless version of this gun is listed as having a 1:14 twist stock.

See for yourself: (To save time, its page 65 of the .pdf file):
https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/Ruger_Firearms.pdf


Now, I don't know if Ruger actually puts this rifle out with two separate twist rates, *OR* if there is an error in the catalog, but IMO, its worth a call to Ruger to confirm this, if you're so interested. If you have the serial number, they can tell you definitively what the twist rate is in your particular gun.

charliemeyer007

Your barrel needs to break in. Can take several box of ammo and multiple cleanings to settle in IMHO. I don't think heavier than 50 gr bullets are good choices for a Hornet. Not enough case capacity for a slower burning powder.

5mmgunguy

Mine is 1 in 14. The patch and cleaning rod is the best to find out.

Oakie

This is my favorite gun that I own. I came up with a killer recipe for her. I use 9.0 grains of 2400 powder with a hornady V-max 40 grain bullet. my groups are 1/2 inch at 100 yards!!!!! It took a while to break in the barrel and figure out how to reload without crushing the necks of the cases. They have the thinnest case wall of any center fire cartridge. Keep working on different loads and enjoy. The hornet is a great cartridge and a lot of fun once you get her dialed in. Consult Rocky Raab on the forums as he is an expert in reloading and helped me out enjoying this fine gun. Oakie.