Remington 799 experience
Anyone have any experience with the Remington 799 in 22 Hornet or 222 Remington? Which would be the better caliber...currently leaning toward the 222 Remington...it will be everything the 22 Hornet and its a rimless case.
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I have a zastava (same gun, different importer) in .22 hornet, very nice, shoots well. .222 does a whole lot more than the hornet tho 0 -
I was seriously tempted to buy one of the mini-mausers when they were being imported by Charles Daly. These are largely the same rifles that Remington is now importing that you speak of, including the 799.
I evaluated them at that time, and read everything I could find about them, and this is what I know:
The actions are quite nice, and I consider the quality and metalwork to be quite good. They can be a bit rough, but a little graphite, Rem-Oil, and working the actions can make them very smooth. The sliding safety is good.
The triggers probably could use a little honing from a good gunsmith, but they are otherwise good.
I read that in one test, the barrel fouled quickly, indicating that it was pretty rough, and needed good break-in regimen.
As far as the cartridge, the .222 is far more modern than the Hornet, and considerably better ballistically. However, for ranges out to about 200 yards or so, and with a good load and bullet, the Hornet is lower recoil, lower muzzle blast, etc. The Hornet is an interesting little gem, and there is much nostalgia for it. I would like to have one for jacks and squirrels, where you do not need a .222 or .223 class performance, but you want much more than .17 HMR or .22 WMR.
Several questions that I have about the 799, but do not know the answers to would include, who makes the barrels, is it free-floated, and how is the action bedding? Perhaps someone on the forum knows the answers to these questions.0 -
You can always ream out the hornet to k-hornet dimensions ... 0 -
Good information. Does anyone know answers to Steves question about bedding and free floated barrel? 0 -
5mm:
You may be able to persuade a dealer who has one in stock to let you do the dollar bill test to see if the barrel is free-floated, or if it has a pressure point like many of the Remys. Also, you may be able to persuade a dealer to take the barreled action out of the stock to check the bedding, etc.
One of the characteristics of this action that I forgot to mention, is that it is a true micro length. This is in contrast to what many of the manufacturers do with the short action rifles. Many of them, including Savage, take a longer action, and put a block in it for the shorter cartridges. This is the cheap way to do things, rather than the best way to do things. This works fine, but you end up with a heavier, clunkier action than the true mini action. Ruger, I am not sure. Remy uses a true short action. Tikka uses a block in the T3. Sako is a true short action. Kimber of Oregon is a true short action, and I am not sure about Kimber of NY.0 -
Ruger does have a short action. It is made for the .308 length cartridges. It is, of course, a little bulky for the .223 class of cartridges. If you recall, the origional 77 was a short, .308 length action. They added the .30/06 length action later.
EDIT: Steve Crea: No, not a "controlled feed"--it has a plunger ejector.0 -
Ambrose:
Is the Ruger action a true "controlled round feed" also? Or not?0 -
If you go with the Hornet you might consider Ruger's 77/22 action. I sold mine only because I needed the $$ and still had my 82 Kimber in the same chambering. That said, my Hornet most often takes a back seat to my .222 Sako. For longer range work the .222 holds the definate edge. I've also had good luck loading the .222 down to Hornet velocity for quieter close range work. I use .45 grain Hornet bullets which make for quick identification of loads. 0 -
as to the bedding, I glass bedded mine. trigger is workable and adjustable and is all steel. I've got one in 7.62x39, should be here this week. 0
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