Single-phase hexagonal Zircaloy 2 was subjected to near plane strain deformation. The deformed structure had two types of grains: (i) deforming and (ii) non-deforming. Typically grains of the second type were larger and remained nearly equiaxed even after 50% deformation. They also had low grain average misorientation and were estimated to be elastically harder. Residual stress developments were mostly concentrated in the near basal orientations – orientations approximately corresponding to the non-deforming grains.