17 Hornet vs 22 Hornet

[Heym SR20]

I have a little project in mind or returning a rook rifle from being a 410 to a proper rifle. Plenty have religned to 22 Hornet, and a few have been done to .222 or 223 and even 5.6x50r - albeit there are getting to more pressure than a rook rifle can withstand. 22 Hornet is the obvious and I will go with a 1 in 10 or 12” so as to be able to use non toxic for small game, and it also for vintage small bore target shooting. But the 17 Hornet has me intrigued. I know that the 17 HMR with non toxic shoots well and ideal for rabbits etc.

 

[25 Sharps]

It’s like the old .177 and .22 debate, there’s no right or wrong answer.

.177 if faster and flatter, .22 has considerably more energy.

The non lead would be the decider for a factory rifle, bullets for a 1:14 at hornet speeds are available but few and far between. But if you are able to a fast twist on your conversion then that would cease to be an issue.

 

[huntwithhounds]

17 hornet is impressive but limited, 222 or 223 the way to go , you can use on deer as well with 50g bullet

 

[jaseo69er]

I have a little project in mind or returning a rook rifle from being a 410 to a proper rifle. Plenty have religned to 22 Hornet, and a few have been done to .222 or 223 and even 5.6x50r - albeit there are getting to more pressure than a rook rifle can withstand. 22 Hornet is the obvious and I will go with a 1 in 10 or 12” so as to be able to use non toxic for small game, and it also for vintage small bore target shooting. But the 17 Hornet has me intrigued. I know that the 17 HMR with non toxic shoots well and ideal for rabbits etc.

Got one on my ticket I think the 22 hornet with more energy will be the one with me with a nice pard DS 35 70 on it

 

[Overlay]

Got one on my ticket I think the 22 hornet with more energy will be the one with me with a nice pard DS 35 70 on it

17 has more range, with foxes if you go for the 17 best include the cost of a decent teckle as well but the 22 hornet will knock foxes out to a 100 with ease
I lost a 125 yd fox the other night as a runner using the 22 hornet, after we tracked it up, the shot placement was spot on but it still managed 70 yds into a wood before departing, if it wasn’t for my teckles I would have lost half the night looking for it

I've had the 17 and loved it for rabbits - a fox rifle over a hundred it ain’t

if your shooting consistently over 100 yds I would plump for the 204 or a deuce they are the DB’s for foxing

 

[kenbro]

17 has more range, with foxes if you go for the 17 best include the cost of a decent teckle as well but the 22 hornet will knock foxes out to a 100 with ease
I lost a 125 yd fox the other night as a runner using the 22 hornet, after we tracked it up, the shot placement was spot on but it still managed 70 yds into a wood before departing, if it wasn’t for my teckles I would have lost half the night looking for it

I've had the 17 and loved it for rabbits - a fox rifle over a hundred it ain’t

if your shooting consistently over 100 yds I would plump for the 204 or a deuce they are the DB’s for foxing

Please read post # 1.
Cheers, Ken.

 

[Overlay]

Please read post # 1.
Cheers, Ken.

Hi kenbro
yep i had a holland with a side lever in a 22 hornet barrel and .410 barrel the hornet was the original rook rifle and the 410 new by the maker lovely working piece of kit used it for years started to show signs of pressure and it was retired unfortunately - it accounted for a number of foxes and rabbits now the chap I sold it to only fires it once a year

 

[kenbro]

Hi kenbro
yep i had a holland with a side lever in a 22 hornet barrel and .410 barrel the hornet was the original rook rifle and the 410 new by the maker lovely working piece of kit used it for years started to show signs of pressure and it was retired unfortunately - it accounted for a number of foxes and rabbits now the chap I sold it to only fires it once a year

Hi Overlay,
I meant that a 204 R was probably too much pressure wise for what he wants to do.
Cheers, Ken.

 

[Neddle]

17 hornet is impressive but limited, 222 or 223 the way to go , you can use on deer as well with 50g bullet

17Hornet will take anything out to 200yds as easily as 222, or 223,obviously not deer legal.
Brilliant calibre to shoot superior to 22 hornet

 

[25 Sharps]

17Hornet will take anything out to 200yds as easily as 222, or 223,obviously not deer legal.
Brilliant calibre to shoot superior to 22 hornet

So it will fire a 40 gr bullet at 3500/ 3800 or a 50 at 3200 / 3450 or at least a .17 bullet with similar drop, wind deflection and muzzle energy??

Of course not!!

Its a great little cartridge, but a 0.222 or .223 it is not!

 

[stevec]

I like my .17 Hornet a lot, use it more than anything else. The only downside I see is that it would be very loud out of an unmoderated rook rifle.

 

[Overlay]

Hi Overlay,
I meant that a 204 R was probably too much pressure wise for what he wants to do.
Cheers, Ken.

Yep without a doubt, if he wants to use another calibre suggest he gets another rifle the Holland wouldn't take a 204 charge
my one shot very accurately with factory rounds, never put a home load through it, although you can’t get much more powder in a hornet case

 

[old keeper]

The 17 Hornet is not a particularly good calibre for foxes but is excellent for long-range rabbit and corvid control.
The 22 Hornet is good for foxes out to 150 - 200 yards

 

[Bowland blades]

17 has more range, with foxes if you go for the 17 best include the cost of a decent teckle as well but the 22 hornet will knock foxes out to a 100 with ease
I lost a 125 yd fox the other night as a runner using the 22 hornet, after we tracked it up, the shot placement was spot on but it still managed 70 yds into a wood before departing, if it wasn’t for my teckles I would have lost half the night looking for it

I've had the 17 and loved it for rabbits - a fox rifle over a hundred it ain’t

if your shooting consistently over 100 yds I would plump for the 204 or a deuce they are the DB’s for foxing

i have to disagree choose a 40 -45 grain bullet it will run at 2850 fps That has killed many deer over 100 yards when it was legal , let alone foxes . bullet choice is wrong or you are running way slow perhaps have a poor choice of bullet ? 35 v max isnt very good after 100 yards , it sheds energy fast and has very difficult to get accurate at 200 yards with my CZ ( on a good day wind wise i expect 1" or less at 200 yards) Shot foxes no problem mostly nearer 200 yards, it killed very well ( i would be reticent on windy days to shoot in a cross wind though ) little stumpy bullets and around 5-600 fps slower than a 223 rem .
Check out 17 cal hornet bullets with 40-45 grain bullets regards BC and you can calculate the two side by side .
The 22 from a 140-160 yard zero needs + 2moa to account for drop depending on bullet
I repeat myself " forget the 35 v max though unless your keeping things around 100 "

 

[Overlay]

I’ve shot a fair number of Roe in Scotland using that old Holland albeit quite a few years ago, I distinctly remember shooting a Roe and a yearling the adult went straight down but the yearling I see the bullet strike for a decent H&L shot it just stood still enough to allow a reload and the second shot was good and the yearling ran to jump a fence and fell over backwards dead

on the gralloch the two shots were an 1” apart and both good heart shots, but for some reason the two shots didn’t connect enough to put the yearling down on the spot, they didn’t really have the internal knockdown the range was 90 yards which I thought would have been suitable, no recall on the bullet weight then but it would have been soft point

changed to a remmy .243 shortly after that, it could have turned out a wee bit different if the yearling

 

[Neddle]

So it will fire a 40 gr bullet at 3500/ 3800 or a 50 at 3200 / 3450 or at least a .17 bullet with similar drop, wind deflection and muzzle energy??

Of course not!!

Its a great little cartridge, but a 0.222 or .223 it is not!

And your point is? It'll shot as flat as 223,certainly won't shoot a 40 or 50gr bullet,but I never said it would,I stated the 17 hornet would take anything out to 200yds but wasn't deer legal

 

[beanieboy]

I had a Weihrauch 22 Hornet and a CZ527 17 Hornet. Very accurate rifles both. I preferred the flatter shooting 17 (with 20g Vmax). I shot foxes out to 200 yards and took rabbits and crows out to just below 300 yards. Went back to 223 as I already own a 17 WSM. The 53g in the 223 bucks the wind much better than the Hornet.

 

[Klenchblaize]

The vision of a Rook Rifle with a thermal scope & rail has made my day!

Sign of the times though.

K

 

[25 Sharps]

And your point is? It'll shot as flat as 223,certainly won't shoot a 40 or 50gr bullet,but I never said it would,I stated the 17 hornet would take anything out to 200yds but wasn't deer legal

You said

“17Hornet will take anything out to 200yds as easily as 222, or 223”

But it won’t, it will suffer more drop and certainly more wind drift than a .222 or .223, both of which hit with a LOT more energy.

A .223 with a 53 gr v-max factory loaded will drift 3.7” in a 10 mph wind a 20 gr from a .17 hornet will drift 5.7”. You have to aim off more that makes it harder, particularly in strong winds or changeable winds.

The 53 gr V-max from the .223 is hitting at 200 yards with 906 ft-lb, the hornet at 1/3 at 296, this buys a lot of margin for error and opens up options for shot placement on animals that present awkwardly.

Shooting through light cover like stubble the .224 is going to get deflected far less.

The .222 and .223 at 1000 ft-lb with a 50 gr bullet will also both legally take a badger under licence, a 17 or 20 gr .17 would never make it through the muscle to the heart.

So no, .17 will not take anything at 200 yards as easily as a .222 and .223 will, not by a long shot. It’s a mouse gun.

 

[Overlay]

Hi 25 sharps
hopefully without hi jacking the thread
what’s you thoughts on the 222 and 204 i shoot both for foxing and a hornet for under a 100

only had the 204 a year now on it’s first lambing time and it’s or thereabouts-it’s finding its feet on foxes out to 200 compared to the deuce it’s a lot noisier although i have a MAE of the same cal on each but it’s doing the job, i’ve got them both out tonight one thermal one NV what is your preference i’ve grassed a lot of foxes with 222 and shoot that pretty well, can’t find fault with either
cheers

phil