17 Hornet or 17 Rem?

12borejimbo

Well-Known Member
Iv got a .22lr and a .22-250 and about to buy a 6.5x55 (when I find one). I am looking for something in the middle for varminting and general longer range shooting where a .22 is not enough. The .22-250 is great but doesnt half burn powder though, I do reload for it and can make loads for 48p using Varget, federal 210m primers and 50g vmax heads.
Was thinking of a 17 hornet or a 17 Rem?
Anyone been in the same position as me?
Had a 17 HMR and sold it, didnt buy another one, too much for a bunny, not enough fox gun.
Get involved lads, what do you rekon?
 
20-25g heads on a .17 calibre hornet may be good way to go but no one appears to have the rifles in stock yet.
.22 hornet would split the distance between .22rf & .22-250 nicely I would have thought.
I have a .17 rem on a contender frame.
Martin
 
.22 Hornet will tick all the boxes you are concerned about if you stick to head shots on rabbits.
Reloadable too.

Sorry but the .17 is too small and the bullets are too light to be sensible.

The .17hmr case neck is too small for the primer compound to be put in so they had to put it in before case forming, then form the case cold.
Result... cases cracking,letting dampness in,misfires and potential 2nd round firing when the first is stuck in the barrel.


:stir:


fraser
 
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Had a .17 rem fireball very accurate,and flat shooting,3400fps with 18g powder charge,very efficient ,killed all foxes to 160y with 25g heads,but turns rabbits insides to liquid.
Would have another .17 when funds allow.
 
I use both 22 hornet and 17 Rem both are very good cals 22 hornet as said head shots upto 200yds and with my 17 rem firing 25vmax good still day max 400yds as they are light and effected by wind.
 
I'd go with a normal old .22 hornet, just can't see the point of the .17, you give up nearly half the bullet weight and only gain 300fps.
The .22 hornet will drop a fox at 200 yards, kils rabbtst stone dead to any sensible range and is easy and cheap to load for.

Neil. :)
 
Do the maths.
Lets say the 22.250 uses double the powder of a .17 (in whatever configuration)
Lets say £300 for a second hand .17 (in whatever configuration)
£300 is an awful lot of powder! without even considering another scope, bipod, sling etc etc etc
 
I'd go with a normal old .22 hornet, just can't see the point of the .17, you give up nearly half the bullet weight and only gain 300fps.
The .22 hornet will drop a fox at 200 yards, kils rabbtst stone dead to any sensible range and is easy and cheap to load for.

Neil. :)
What speeds neil are you pushing your 22 hornet loads at m8 and what bullets.
cheers
dave
 
What speeds neil are you pushing your 22 hornet loads at m8 and what bullets.
cheers
dave

Hornet 6 I think you better do some more homework re your "300 fps gain" its more like 1300 fps...and the 17 rem is blisteringly fast and the hornet? A plodder!
 
Ballistic Comparison Summary Results
# Name Muzzle
Velocity
(Avg. f.p.s.)
Muzzle
Energy
(Avg. ft-lbs.)
Bullet
Weight
(Avg. gr.)
Data
Points
Case
Capacity
(Avg. grs. H2O)
1. .20 Tactical 38721201363630.2
2. .22 Hornet 26376474216314.9
3. .17 Remington 3991877254329.1
Average Muzzle Velocity Comparison

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3872
green6x4.gif
2637
green6x4.gif
3991
green6x4.gif
blank.gif
blank.gif
blank.gif
20 Tac
22 Hnt
17 Rem
Average Muzzle Energy Comparison

blank.gif
1201
red6x4.gif
647
red6x4.gif
877
red6x4.gif
blank.gif
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20 Tac
22 Hnt
17 Rem


 
.17 & .22 hornet use small amounts of powder but are slower and less energy than the .17Rem !

The rem is the logical choice out of the two ! But i prefer the .17 Fireball
 
the 17 rem is more then 300 fps over the hornet. and well the 25 grain vmax may be lighter then bullets you can get for the 22 hornet. the 25 vmax has a much better bc then any hornet bullet. it is also better in the wind then the hornet.

out of the rem and the 17 hornet i would pick the rem. yes it uses more powder. but it will do everything the 17 hornet will. also there doesn't seam to be a shortage of brass for 17 rem. unlike the 17 hornet and 17 fireball.

as with most 17 centrefire rifles. you have to be happy with what comes up for sale or its a case of getting one built.

i had a shilen barrelled 17 fireball on a tikka m595 action but it wouldn't feed from mag so I sold it. if it would feed i wouldn't have sold it because it was dead accurate and light.

got a shilen barrelled 17 Remington to replace it with from a mate . again on a tikka m595 action both action and barrel was blued. and has a lovely and light McMillan stock on it.
had it for a fair bit now and haven't even put it through its paces this year due to grass not being cut on shoot.

and I have been doing a good bit of fishing lately instead of shooting.:doh:

040.jpg
 
In 2003 I went to madco to get a 20 cal barrel to make a 20 k hornet. Alas he wasn't making them yet and I have since sold the brno fox hornet I had. the standard and k hornet are great rounds and I have shot goats, hares and plenty of focus with the 3 I have owned. the last being a weihrauch. The 17 OS a flat shooter. I would lean towards the 17 or 22 hornets. or whynot a 204 ruger. If you really want to be cool get a 19 calhoon.
 
Figures quoted for the .22 Hornet are often for the slower heavier 45 grain bullet.
The Hornady v-max 35 grain bullet will clock something like 3100 fps mv and around 730 ft/lbs.
Nice to have the choice... and you can pick up a good Hornet s/h for a good price.

fraser
 
.22 Hornet will tick all the boxes you are concerned about if you stick to head shots on rabbits.
Reloadable too.

Sorry but the .17 is too small and the bullets are too light to be sensible.

The .17hmr case neck is too small for the primer compound to be put in so they had to put it in before case forming, then form the case cold.
Result... cases cracking,letting dampness in,misfires and potential 2nd round firing when the first is stuck in the barrel.


:stir:


fraser

No. No. (And for heavens' sake!) No. That is not an accurate description of bottle-necked rimfire priming and forming. The straight cases are annealed, then primed, then formed. When done correctly, they are quite annealed when the final forming is done. Your description is like saying that one day Hornady suddenly woke up and realized that the 17 caliber hole wasn't big enough to prime the case through so they were then forced to form the case without annealing after priming. As if the previous 7 years were just a lucky happenstance that the cases didn't split.

If anything, Hornady is skipping the final post-drawing annealing and going straight to priming to save money. If not that, then they have some serious problem with their brass mix.

As to the original question: A 17 Ackley Hornet. Hornady's brass is problematic. Cases have been splitting on the first firing. (gee! Sound familiar??) ~Muir
 
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.22 Hornet will tick all the boxes you are concerned about if you stick to head shots on rabbits.
Reloadable too.

Sorry but the .17 is too small and the bullets are too light to be sensible.

The .17hmr case neck is too small for the primer compound to be put in so they had to put it in before case forming, then form the case cold.
Result... cases cracking,letting dampness in,misfires and potential 2nd round firing when the first is stuck in the barrel.


:stir:


fraser

actually its not impossible but they were too lazy and tight to develop another dedicated .17 priming machine when the 22WMR priming machine will do the case pre necking!
 
What speeds neil are you pushing your 22 hornet loads at m8 and what bullets.
cheers
dave


OP, I have just gone through the same thoughts
have .22, .17HMR, .22WMR, *, .243 .270

Wanted something to fill the gap where the star is and will be picking up my newly screwcut .222rem this afternoon

cheap to feed (granted not as cheap as maybe a .17rem/hornet) but I dont see the .22Hornet as a big enough step up from the rimfires to get closer to the .243 (which eats powder like your 22-250 and I dont like using just for foxes in urban areas)

hornet is not a round I would want to be pushing to 200yds.
the .222 is.

and the best thing is the bling boys all want .223 so there are loads around for pennies!
 
Hornet 6 I think you better do some more homework re your "300 fps gain" its more like 1300 fps...and the 17 rem is blisteringly fast and the hornet? A plodder!

I never mentioned a 17 rem, and 17 hornet will not clock 4400fps, which to gain 1300fps over my 22 hornet it would need to.

Neil. :)
 
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