17 Hornet experiences

[simonl]

I'm contemplating getting a 17 Hornet. Keen to hear people's experiences of

• Which model you have & its accuracy with factory loads
• Reloading experiences: Better accuracy? Difficult to find a good load?
• Effectiveness on birds/rabbit/foxes at what ranges
• Realistic range
• Fussy about cleaning?
• Barrel Life
• Any other lessons learned

Would you recommend it?
Many thanks.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Can't help other than to say barrel life need only be a concern if you intend worrying about it from the grave!

Assuming you don't store it fouled & wet.

 

[bluesako]

as a 17 rem shooter i,d compere it with a 17 rem as for maintaining it treat it like any c/f rifle bs

 

[Andy-shooter]

I have a CZ 527 varmint in .17 Hornet. I can’t really fault it in any way.

A) accuracy is excellent. Way less than MOA with factory (Hornady 20grain) ammo, slightly better and very much more cost effective with reloads

B) reloading... the components are a bit fiddly but the 9 grains of powder per loads makes it possible to load incredibly cheaply. Powder does need to be measured accurately though, the tiny case can spike pressure easily with a small over-load.

C) effect on quarry... explosive. It’ll turn pigeons and crows inside out. Take the head clean off a rabbit and certainly put down a Fox a reasonable range

D) realistic range... depends how good/careful a shot you are and if it’s windy. The round shoots very flatly so with a 150yd zero it’s point and shoot out to at least 200, but wind will blow the little pill around. There is unlikely to be a shortage of terminal energy for smallish (rabbit sized) critters at any range you can hit them. Personally I’d keep foxes under 150yds though just to be sure.

 

[Zetter]

I'm contemplating getting a 17 Hornet. Keen to hear people's experiences of

• Which model you have & its accuracy with factory loads
• Reloading experiences: Better accuracy? Difficult to find a good load?
• Effectiveness on birds/rabbit/foxes at what ranges
• Realistic range
• Fussy about cleaning?
• Barrel Life
• Any other lessons learned

Would you recommend it?
Many thanks.

Model. I have a CZ nearly got a savage and am glad I didn't. Factory ammo is 1/2" to 1" at 100 meters.

Reloading. Get a good set of scales as you will need them 0.2 of a grain can make a huge difference in accuracy. Mine is more accurate with reloads than factory but as previously you can get high pressure signs really fast so my load ladder went up in 0.1 grain increments. Also some bits for reloading can be a bit more of a pain to get like trimming dies as its not such a common round. Reloads for me generally do 1/4" to 1/2" at 100 meters

Effectiveness on quarry. Rabbits if it isn't a headshot you wont be eating them, birds any hit generally wallops them hard at decent ranges, Foxes good but you need to be realistic its a small bullet and it hasn't got the grunt of a .17 Rem behind it so 150 ish yards is my limit as there isn't as much margin for error as if you are throwing 50 grain plus bullets at them at high velocity.

Cleaning now there is a tale I have put a few threads on about my CZ hornet and it appears to be much better when fouled for accuracy so far but each barrel is different.

Barrel life. Its not a really hot/ fast round so should be good for quite a few.

Lessons learned for me.
1)It was probably not the best round to start reloading on as I also now have a .243 which is a piece of the proverbial compared to the hornet. However as someone said to be when I started if you can reload .17 hornet you wont have an issue on bigger stuff and he was dead right.
2) I got it as a bunny/ foxing gun. Its a good foxing gun for me but for bunnies I find it too devastating as I like to eat the bunnies I shoot.


Cheers Zetter

 

[Effnjeff]

Zetter hit the nail on the head. The 17 Hornet is not a novice reloaders cartridge as it is quite fussy to get right and it requires utmost precision and attention to detail. That said, it is very satisfying to develop a good load. The same goes for shooting it too as though it is fairly flat, it does get blown around in the wind.
I really like it as it keeps me on my toes, but others might get frustrated with all the mucking about.
My 223 has been a doddle in comparison.

 

[xavierdoc]

Cz527, Varmint. I like the trigger and the mini-mauser action.

Great little round- "Zero" recoil, flat, hard-hitting, cheap reloads. Everything the 17HMR can do but better (and no dodgy ammo.)

Accuracy is typically 0.5-0.8moa with factory 20gr Vmax, though the velocities on the box are highly optimistic!

Handloading 0.4-0.6moa, occasional "wonder" groups better than this but only in perfect conditions.

25gr Vmax could be driven remarkably fast using DO63 (AA1680 to all intents) without pressure signs in my rifle, hits harder and bucks wind better than 20gr (but still v drifty).

20gr Vmax has been marginally more accurate than 25gr, using Lil Gun.

Very Cheap 17gr bullets are available and some reloaders report good results but I haven't persued this option. I bought the bullets with a view to a "light" rabbit load but I think it's not going to work.

Mine shoots better when clean, however I'm paranoid about fouling now as Lil Gun and DO63 are mucky powders and Jonny Elsemore (POI on YouTube) rotted his barrel in short order...

Barrel life unknown to me but it's not exactly a huge amount of powder and not an overbore design so should be good in hunting role.
Explosive terminal ballistics on feather. Rabbit meat v badly damaged by body shots inside 200yds.

Range on fox is very dependent on shot placement, as others have said: the drop is minimal but the Drift is not! Mine is not a foxing rifle so I have only limited experience in this respect but no runners yet.

The Hornady brass isn't great; S&B is meant to be better but I've not found any to try yet. Some (early issue?) Hornady brass had shallow primer pockets, preventing most primers from seating (except Fiocchi).

Ignore Hodgdon's online load data for Lil Gun: start way below their min and work up in v small increments. As in posts above, precise Reloading practices are crucial. A 0.2gr weighing error for a 9gr charge is way more significant than for a 40gr load. You'll probably need some specific 17cal kit for reloading (funnel, flash hole deburr tool.)

I bought the 17Hornet to replace the (erratic) 17HMR, and use it similarly. If you want a dedicated foxing or longer-range corvid/rabbit rifle I'd look at 20cal or more.

 

[Gunner223]

I have the Cz 527 and cant really fault it, went to go down the reloading route found brass very expensive so stayed with factory 20g v max, great for rabbits ,crows out to 300 no problem.

 

[JTO]

If you visit Ivythorn, ask Steve what he thought of the Savage 17 Hornet.

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

Just get a 1:12 .223 and use 40gr bullet heads, more power, flatter trajectory, better rifles available, i.e Tikka T3 for great performance for £.
40gr heads can be bought for under £20, by the time you factor in brass and primer which are same cost, your only paying a bit more for powder and its a much more versatile round for long range vermin, drops fox better and legal for small deer like muntjac and CWD ...

 

[Gunner223]

Just get a 1:12 .223 and use 40gr bullet heads, more power, flatter trajectory, better rifles available, i.e Tikka T3 for great performance for £.
40gr heads can be bought for under £20, by the time you factor in brass and primer which are same cost, your only paying a bit more for powder and its a much more versatile round for long range vermin, drops fox better and legal for small deer like muntjac and CWD ...

And a lot louder

 

[Klenchblaize]

Just get a 1:12 .223 and use 40gr bullet heads, more power, flatter trajectory, better rifles available, i.e Tikka T3 for great performance for £.
40gr heads can be bought for under £20, by the time you factor in brass and primer which are same cost, your only paying a bit more for powder and its a much more versatile round for long range vermin, drops fox better and legal for small deer like muntjac and CWD ...

I'm sure the above is perfectly correct and eminently sensible but sadly it also totally misses the point of Hornet ownership!

All the best

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

I'm sure the above is perfectly correct and eminently sensible but sadly it also totally misses the point of Hornet ownership!

All the best

I own a .22 hornet and its a cracking little round, same as the .17 hornet is..but the .223 is seriously not much louder at all, has next to no recoil and is better in every other respect..Give the choice between the two, I'd go .223 all day long..

 

[soulboy1957]

I've had the. 17 hornet Savage for just over two years and I love it, use it 3 times a week, hundreds of rabbits and 287 foxes!.
As accurate as any other make, the only fault I can find is the bolt is a bit weird!

 

[Effnjeff]

In my opinion, the 223 is a lot more gun. It is obviously ballistically superior, but can be a bit much for some applications. I regard it as a fox cartridge and the 17 Hornet as a vermin cartridge, like an improved HMR. The Kranks 17 grain bullets make the 17 very cheap to shoot at around 15 pence per round. I use them to fireform cheap 22 Hornet brass where they shoot an easy sub MOA.

 

[old keeper]

Someone has said the 17Hornet destroys rabbits, as of course does the 223, as the 17Hornet can't be described as a true fox round, can 17Hornet owners state a case for owning one. I have a 22Hornet, but that's averydifferent kettle of fish!
The reason I ask is becauseI'm think of getting one!

 

[Overlay]

Someone has said the 17Hornet destroys rabbits, as of course does the 223, as the 17Hornet can't be described as a true fox round, can 17Hornet owners state a case for owning one. I have a 22Hornet, but that's averydifferent kettle of fish!
The reason I ask is becauseI'm think of getting one!

+1 on the hornet and I also use the trusted .222 for foxes

Having never seen a 17 hornet it does keep springing to mind as a decent all round calibre I don’t think I’d go for a light round, at the moment the .22 hornet I use 40 grn Winchester SP in the deuce 35 grn V max both rounds suit the rifle for accuracy

is it worth reloading the 17 or is factory a good buy, wouldn’t mind getting one, any information to bullet weight, performance would be good to read up on from someone who is using the 17 for rabbits and fox

cheers

phil

 

[Zetter]

If you have the kit its a really cheap round to reload for as has been mentioned about you can buy .17 grain bullets from Kranks if you want to go really cheap. Powder use is really low im loading on top of 11.7 grain of H4198 so you get a lot of load for your 1 lb of powder.
Factory ammo depending on who you get it of averages about £1 per round that puts it out of the rabbit cost efficiency category for me but with reloads you can get close to HMR cost.

In defence of the .17 Hornet it will do bunnies and they are edible if you head shoot them (they just have no head) but shots on other parts do too much damage to eat them, however if its pure pest control and the bunnies are destined for say ferret food you have a round that can go further with authority than HMR.
Also unlike the HMR its a good foxing calibre up to about 150 yards (I don't want to get into the but I shoot foxes at 2 miles with the HMR debate but for me its not a mid range fox gun) so if you use it on bunnies and spot at fox at those ranges and closer you are going to have a calibre to deliver some damage.
Finally its a light fast moving bullet so it does reduce ricochet risk somewhat as the bullet had more tendency to come apart both on hitting quarry and the ground. Of course backstop is king as always but its nice to have a bit of backup to your backstop. On the foxes and rabbits I have hit with it at medium range I haven't seen many passthroughs the bullet had basically broken up fully in the target.

 

[simonl]

Many thanks for all the responses. I'll be having a good read & collating other stuff I've found elsewhere.
One thing I forgot to ask though - what barrel lengths are you using?
If you know velocities or any drop data (inc zero range/height) that'd be really helpful too.
Thanks again, Simon.

 

[AnthonyR]

I have an Anschutz with an 18" barrel, I get 3515 fps with the factory Hornady ammo. Accuracy is about 0.5 MOA on a calm day.

I zero at 150 yards and it's pretty much flat on a rabbit target from 30-200 yards, I don't use it much beyond that as it is terrible in the wind.