I have 2 Hornets, a Ruger 77/22 with 20" barrel and a CZ 527 with a 23.6". I have shot the Ruger far more than the CZ, but both are good rifles. You might also want to consider the Browning A-bolt micro medallion, from everything I have read it is a very good rifle as well.
The pros for the Hornet are its' increased performance in the field. I went to it after being unsatisfied with the performance of my 22lr on gophers, in terms of range, wind drift and energy. I found with the 22lr my max range was about 60yards, and then only in absolutley calm wind, and often when I did connect with gophers, they simply ran down the hole to linger. When I first tried my Ruger Hornet with Remington and Winchester factory HP's I found that I could easily hit out to 125-150 yards, and it was easy to dope the wind, as it shot much more consistently than my 22. The results on gophers are devastating. It is very rare that one survives the inital impact of the bullet. You should be able to get factory ammo for it at TNT in Regina, or you can travel to Saskatoon and pick it up at Wholesalesports at a reasonable price. If you handload then you will really get the maximum performance from this round, especially when using bullets like the 40gr Nos BT or Hornady 40 Gr V-Max. I have used these and Rem bulk 50 gr HP, and they extend the range to 175 to 200 yards. The two best powders I have used are Hogdgon Lil Gun and IMR 4227. A pound of powder will give you about 500 rounds, and if you buy bullets in bulk pack you can save quite a bit. By reloading I can cut the cost to about 1/3 the price of factory ammo, and have a much more accurate load as well. This is nearly on par with 17 HMR ammo as far as cost goes, but of course you have to factor in the time for loading ammo as well.
As far as rifles go, the Ruger has a two piece bolt that may need to be shimmed before you acheive the best accuracy. I did that with mine, using a very thin stainless steel washer. I also free floated the barrel. The trigger could be better, but there are after market triggers and sears available, the one on my rifle isn't all that bad, so I haven't changed it. It currently has a Bushnell Sportsman 4-12x scope, which is about as much power as you need for this cartridge. I tried a Tasco 6-24x Varmint, but the optics were low quality, and gave lots of mirage on hot prarie days. I also found the objective lens hard to adjust quickly, so I switched back to the Bushnell.
The CZ is also a good rifle, and features a very crisp single set trigger. I have not noticed that this gives it much of an increase in accuracy over the Ruger. The magazine lips are quite sharp, and tend to score the brass. I polished them a little with a Dremel tool, and this "de-fanged" them somewhat. The accuracy of this rifle so far has been a little erratic, but I haven't had a chance to shoot it as much as the Ruger. It does group very well with the Remington HP load, but I haven't hit on a good handload yet.
As far as handloading goes, I use Lee Collet neck size only dies, and found them to be ok. They can give some problems if the two piece die seizes together, but being careful, and cleaning and lubing the two halves can eliminate that problem. I find Winchester brass better than the Remington stuff. Remington factory loads have sometimes blown the primer pockets on the initial firing. As well I have had one case head separtion with the Rem stuff, but it is easy to remove the front part of the casing from the chamber with a .38 caliber bore brush.
I plan to get the Ruger re-chambered to 22 K-Hornet over the winter. The very sloping design of the Hornet, and the fact that it headspaces on the rim can cause some innaccuracy. The K-Hornet eliminates this problem, and allows the round to headspace on the shoulder, to allow greater consistancy ( as well as incresing powder capacity by about 1 gr). Just keep in mind that the 22 Hornet is not a 223, and you won't be disappointed.
That's OK with me.
