21 replies to this topic

[STPilot]

Anyone see this yet?? Interesting ballistics, if those numbers are true. 1100+fps over the HMR and its NOT rimfire. Savage is listing a model 25 for it. Could be a great cartridge for Sqeeks... Although, Im not sure how "affordable" it is, Midsouth is listing the ammo or $16.29 a box.. OF 25!! Ouch!!

http://www.hornady.c...Varmint-NewAmmo

[zippy1970]

Experts , correct me if I am wrong ,

The .17 Hornet has been around for some time for the Wildcatters to whom had to reload for it . Maybe 1 company ( Cooper / Kimber ) made a factory gun in that cal but you still had to reload for it . Supposed to be low noise , no ricochet , type cartridge . I wanted to redo my Ruger in Hornet into a .17 Hornet but was not happy with the gun over all . Liked the rd .

Andy

[modoc squeek shooter]

I got model 25 in 204ruger, it's a nice rifle. You are right Tim the 17 hornet would be a great squeek rifle. Just buy one and gett some dies and reload lol. I would buy one except I am on a Remington kick lol. Ed

[zippy1970]

I'd say just buy it . Especially if you want low noise , Sqeek killer .

The ,17 guys should be chimming in soon .

If Hornady is going to try & make a wildcat , a factory option , they should be selling their own brass & have reloading data too . One word of caution : if you have sausage fingers , holding a .17 bullet can be a pain . Get an inline seater die ( has a cut out / window you drop / place bullet in ) to seat it .

Andy

[Hemiallen]

The Walking varminter model 25 in 17 HH is out, several gun writers have done reviews and it all looks good. I can't locate a 25 savage locally to handle it, but my son had a model 12 and I disliked it compared to my Remington 700's.


I just picked up both a 22 Ackley hornet and a 17 AH Bullberry barrels for my contender. 22 is ok, but I haven't done any reloading, shooting ammo that came with.


The 17 AH I have fired 3 shots, at 50 yards after bore sighting, and the lack of recoil, noise and accuracy is very nice. I see the CZ-527 will be out around the first of the year if no more snags happen, the savage was delayed as the gun's needed some more work in the accuracy department than they anticipated. Ammo has been out a year, and several gunsmiths have barreled ruger 77's and CZ's to it.


I hope to shoot a few newly formed brass/ ammo tomorrow along with second range sessions on my Cooper and 17 Fireball. The cooper cleaned up very well, the FB took more to clean up. I am using a product called Ultra Bore coat to reduce fouling and it takes a few range sessions to see the benefits, and I have a borescope now to verify the cleanliness and cleanup.


Allen

[STPilot]

I got model 25 in 204ruger, it's a nice rifle. You are right Tim the 17 hornet would be a great squeek rifle. Just buy one and gett some dies and reload lol. I would buy one except I am on a Remington kick lol. Ed

Yeah, I dont know Ed... Right now I'm drooling over a Cooper 22-250 I looked at down at the gun shop last week. I think the .204 over the .17 Hornet would be a good way to go also. Too many choices!! Either way, another caliber to reload.... But, I love my Sage Rats! They deserve the best powder and boolits money can buy!! LOL

[Baja_Traveler]

Reloading a 17 Hornet would be interesting - the bullets for my .204 are small enough, reloading a .17 must take tweezers!

My next rifle will be a .22 hornet though...

[OrneryOlMofo357]

Maybr Gary "A17Shooter" will chime in on this topic. I know that he has been shooting the 17's for years. I would not be afraid to shoot Coyotes at reasonable ranges with the .17. Gary and I were out once and I saw him shoot a Coyote in the 80+ yd range. When hit the Coyote just stiffened up and tipped over... legs in the air! There is something good about that little 17 projectile. I have never seen the DRT's that a 17 cal replicated by a .20 thru 6mm Cartridge. Sure, they drop when shot properly, but its wierd how they just stiffen up when hit with a 17. JMO

[modoc squeek shooter]

I have a 700 in 17 rem, I load for it, no problems. Bullets are small, but doable.

Tim, Your needs as a squeek killer would reguire you to obtain at least one of every rifle out there lol. I know this as a fact , it is addicting. I have gone to therapy and it helps. Thanks to therapy I will only buy Remington 700"s now lol. So I will probably never own a 17 hornet unless I have one built on a 700 action, and not sure it can be done.

Allen I would sell my nice model 25 salvage in 204 ruger, then you could handle it lol. Nice rifle just not a model 700 lol. Ed

[A17Shooter]

For me the 17's are great. My 17 Ackley Hornets are in three guns. A 12" Contender with a Bullberry barrel, an 18" Bullberry Contender barrel and a Ruger #1 with a 20" barrel. The 12" has a MV of about 3200 fps, the 18" runs about 3500 fps and the 20" just a squeek more. I did do a test with Berger's 30 gr bullets, in the Ruger, that had a velocity of 3000 fps and a group of .75".

Fouling? I started my 17 shooting with a 17 Remington and had two friends shooting Rem 700s in 17 Remington. When they were running over 4000 fps they cleaned every 25 rds or they started getting smoke puffs out about 25 yds. That was Remington's factory barrels back in the 80's. When I got my 17 Hornet barrel from Bullberry, I tested for fouling on a WY Prairie Dog trip by not cleaning for three days. After the three days, and 660 rds, I shot a five shot group that was the same as a freshly cleaned barrel. Dropping 500 fps off the velocity helps the 17 caliber fouling problem.

The best grouping 17 cal cartridges in my experience are those that have the powder capacities of a 17 Fireball. The old 22 Fireball was wildcatted as the 17 Mach IV as soon as it hit the streets. My 16" Contender pistol barrel, chambered in 17 Mach IV, has grouped down in the threes and does very well on critters out around 300 yds. My other cartridge in that range is the 17 Hay's Jet in a Ruger #1. The velocities generated by the Jet are in the same league as the Mach IV, 17 Jet or 17 Fireball.

So now you can have cartridges equivalent to the popular 17 wildcats just by going to your gunshops and not have to form cases and handload. BUMMER!!!

Just my rambling.

['Ike']

I've been watching this one (17 Hornet) for a bit...Just couldn't justify it yet!

[Hemiallen]

If you get a chance to shoot a heavy barreled 17 fireball or a 17 hornet, you will wonder how you could have missed enjoying one for so long. I think Cooper is your only choice for a new 17 Fireball , some NIB rem 700's are still floating around.

 

 

I have a contender in 17 Ackley hornet, a CZ-527 in 17 ackley hornet shipping my way today, and I am waiting for a new CZ-527 Varmint 17 hornet to arrive as well. For us reloaders, 10 grains of powder pushing a 20 grain bullet around 3500 fps, quiet and I understand heating barrels isn't an issue like 22-250's and even my 204 and 223's get warm enough to swap guns while it cools, or possibly erode the throat from shooting one when the barrel is toasty. I also have 2- 17 fireballs, one a fluted stainless light barrel and a heavy fluted barrel gun, and a 17 remington cooper. It's tough to stop finding these little gems and scooping them up for my soon to be retired status.

 

 

But then again, 17 HMR's are fairly impressive at 100 yards for making Beldings fly, but not as impressive as a 223 or 204.

 

 

Allen

[Varmint Al]

Left to right:
17 Hornet 20 gr V-Max factory ammo
17 Hornet fire formed in my 17 Ackley Hornet chamber
17 Ackley Hornet made from 22 Hornet brass
17 Ackley Hornet V-Max 20 gr moly with 12.2 gr AA-1680 MV=3880 fps

Of course the 17 Hornet would not chamber in my 17 Ackley Hornet Contender Carbine barrel. The body taper was slightly less than the 17 AH. So I took my 22 Ackley Hornet FL die and slightly reduced the body diameter, from the shoulder back to a approximately a half inch, so it would chamber with a light force. The neck of the fire formed 17 AH is about 1/8" short but I can live with that. The POI of the factory ammo was essentially the same as my original ammo.

The fireforming accuracy is very good and was very effective on the ground squirrel control on a near by cattle ranch. I did not have to adjust the scope and it was zeroed the same as my 17 Ackley Hornet ammo. I am quite happy with the new 17 Hornet in my 17 AH Contender Carbine.
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[HOG]

As of Monday I should have all components in place.  Nothing now on back order just a matter of the supplier getting things shipped.  Materials in: dies. primers, funnel, shell holder (thanks Bob) 300 20g.v-max bullets with 1000 20g. zombie-max in the mail. .   I couldn't find brass yet so I ordered 100 loaded,  Powder on the way.  I found a Contender barrel in 17 Hornet 23" 1/ 9 and is on hold till the owner gets back from vacation. 

 

I'm sending a Contender 17HMR back today.  I haven't shot this barrel in years.  It was keyholing at 50 yds.   

 

update on the knee surgery: day 3 no pain sitting, just minor discomfort in walking. ice, and more ice, keeping it elevated, no swelling.

[Hemiallen]

Sounds good on both the new gun and surgery.

 

My Custom 17 AH in a CZ-527 should arrive at the transfer dealer tomorrow, I currently have both a 22" bullberry and a 12" bullberry in Ackley so I have reformed brass and dies, and if the planets align I'll have a Varmint 17 Hornet cz when it arrives. 

 

 

It seems ammo , when found online, is scooped up fast. I missed an opportunity yesterday, I won't do that again. I have a guy looking at his local dealer tomorrow for empty brass, but I need dies for the Hornady round. I may just get ammo and start from once fired brass.

 

Al, are you concerned with erosion of the chamber from the short brass? I have heard stories of 22's being used with 22 shorts for many years , then finding the chamber pitted and not allowing a 22 LR to chamber fully. That reformed 17 hornet ammo looks like too short of a neck to my eyes.

The count down at Livermore has begun, if the Budget doesn't RIF me first.

 

Allen

[Big-Bob]

If anyone knows where we can buy brass please PM me  . I have a couple hundred factory rounds but would like to get my hands on some brass because I have everything to reload. Anyone reloading this cartridge and have a good recipe?

[HOG]

new brass no.  I have brass on backorder but had to buy factory new so I ordered 100 rounds.  Figured I would shoot those and reload wile waiting for brass order to come in.  

[Varmint Al]

Al, are you concerned with erosion of the chamber from the short brass? I have heard stories of 22's being used with 22 shorts for many years , then finding the chamber pitted and not allowing a 22 LR to chamber fully. That reformed 17 hornet ammo looks like too short of a neck to my eyes.

The count down at Livermore has begun, if the Budget doesn't RIF me first.

 

Allen

Allen. I have had no problem so far. I would probably shoot out the barrel before neck erosion would be a problem.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[Big-Bob]

Frustrating when they come out with a new cartridge and you cant get brass. I guess it does not help it was released around the same time this buying craze started.  

[Varmint Al]

new brass no.  I have brass on backorder but had to buy factory new so I ordered 100 rounds.  Figured I would shoot those and reload wile waiting for brass order to come in.  

You can form the brass out of 22 Hornet brass. Here is a link to how I was making 17 AH brass out of 22 Hornet brass. I used a lot of steps but many people who reload have gotten by with fewer steps. http://www.varmintal....htm#Forming_17

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[Hemiallen]

Thanks Al

 

I forgot to ask, I assume you left the factory ammo assembled when you resized the body slightly to fit the Ackley? I have a 22k contender as well, interesting fix if I understand it correctly.

 

 

I think Bob Murray  finally retired for good.

 

Allen

[Varmint Al]

Yes I resized the loaded 17 Hornet loaded ammo. I did have to roll the loaded ammo on my lube pad to apply a lite coat of lube. I first tried it with just wiping the brass off, but after a few rounds, it started scoring the brass from brass gauling inside the 22 K-Hornet FL die. I had to soak the die in Sweets and polish the ID to remove the brass build up. With the lite lube it went very smoothly after that.
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al