.17 something or another

[CarbonMTN]

I cant decide between and 17 HMR or a 17 hornet, they both have great pros and cons.

Is going 17 hornet a better option? I love the speed out of it but I worry that its limited from the ammo selection ( i dont reload but might need to if i get into the caliber) and there arent many bolt guns out there chambered in it (ruger, savage, and CZ).

Are those rifles able to shoot sub MOA? there is not a lot of data out there for the hornet and its a hit or miss what those rifles can do. some says its a tack driver, while others say its a 1-2 MOA at best so I dont know if its the rifle or the shooter.

Will that 3600-3800 fps be stable for long shots (500 yards), that's some serious speed.

at the end of the day is the 1000 fps worth the $1 shot and make it better than the 17HMR?


BTW my gun safe is full or I would just buy both.....

 

[Mike Casselton]

What is your primary target?

Also, why the 17 caliber if you want to shoot out to 500yds?

I own the HMR, the 17 Hornet, 17 Fireball (AKA the 17 Mach IV) and 17 Remington so I have nothing against the 17 caliber rifles?

The HMR should have an upper limit of foxes and that should be close range.

The 17 Hornet is capable to around 300 yards on chucks and foxes, but I would limit it to 200 on coyotes.

The 17 Fireball is a 300yd capable cartridge up to coyote with proper bullet selection.

The 17 Remington is capable of killing coyotes to 400+ yards but there isn't much margin for poor shooting.

For either the 17 HMR or the 17 Hornet, look nowhere else than the CZ rifles. They shoot very well right out of the box.
My 17 Hornet is very capable of keeping 5 shot groups under a 1/2" with factory Hornady 20gr V-Max.

In fact, the 17 caliber is typically very accurate and does not foul the bore like the old books say.
The recoil is so low, they really don't move much and you get to see your hits through the scope.

If you want more horsepower with good factory loads, take a hard look at the 204 Ruger.
Easy to shoot and low recoil too.

Oh, buy both, you won't regret it. Then buy a second safe or a bigger one...

 

[jcwarrior87]

So I have had both, I still own a 17 hornet, great killer to about 300yrds. We always have wind and the 17s don't do well in it. The biggest reason I have a hornet and not a hmr is I get about 100 more yards of what I am willing to shoot a coyote in. Plus hit a coyote in the boiler room with a hornet and it is like hitting them with a lightning bolt.

 

[CarbonMTN]

What is your primary target?

Also, why the 17 caliber if you want to shoot out to 500yds?

Oh, buy both, you won't regret it. Then buy a second safe or a bigger one...

I love small bullets and trying to push them far out there, so its mainly for plinking. trying to see how far I can push a bullet. Like my T1x in 22lr, 50 shots landed 7 of them out to 457 yards.

I know with any caliber you could lob out to "1000" yards. but I want to choose a distance and be able to have multiple hits without it all being luck or not if I can connect with one.

 

[Mike Casselton]

The 17 Hornet is a very accurate cartridge and is a nearly identical copy of the 17 Ackley Hornet.

Go here for tons of info on sub calibers.
WWW.Saubier.com

 

[Blutroop]

I just got done building a 17remington ar. I was looking at 17-223 but couldn’t find a reamer and wasn’t ready to have to reload all my ammo. Even up here in Alaska I can find 17rem and 17remington fireball on the shelf. I also bought a savage 17wsm. It’s a rimfire between the hmr and the hornet. If your wanting to get out to 500 with any type of takedown power with a 17, your probably gonna have to look at wildcats like 17predator. 17’s are great if you are prepared to be accurate and want to save fur.

 

[jbuck88]

I'd vote HMR. There is a berm about 450yds which makes it fun to shoot into. If you have plenty of free time for load development, which I don't, I might change my mind. I own a couple of 17hmr's now and owned a 17fb and 17rem so have plenty of bullets and the tiny powder funnels still.

 

[steve123]

OP, the problem with all rimfire ammo is the poor vertical it gives at long range compared to a centerfire.

Add in the fact that when reloading you can control many factors which lend to accuracy. Weighing powder to the kernel in small cartridges goes a long way once the optimum charge weight is found, so does finding the best seating depth.

I almost bought another 17 hmr about 4 months ago (owned one a decade ago) and couldn't talk myself into it after shooting my friends rifles at distance and rediscovering the huge flyers and dismal performance. Also with that 17 grain bullet it's darn hard to see misses in grass.

My solution was taking my CZ 527 custom in 20-221FB AI and reducing the load to 2300 fps with 32's. I now have my cake and can eat it too. The vertical is tight, SD's are decent, accuracy is silly, I can shoot our non AR 500 steel from 30Y to whatever distance without damaging it and shoot my normal load which is going 3735 fps when I want to and that isn't a hot load BTW.

With that normal load I've hit stuff out to 675Y and 421Y with the reduced load and produces sub 1" groups with both at 200Y, well 3 shots on steel are basically an enlarged splat.

I've had quite a few 17's as well. Being the type of person that doesn't want many guns in the same caliber for similar purposes "redundancy" I've settled on this rifle cartridge combo as ideal for coyotes out to 300Y and smaller critters farther out.

Eh, I have 22 rimfires for.... or medium sized to large centerfires for... some I can buy factory ammo but I usually reload instead.

 

[RTH1800]

Once you go below .20 cal you are getting into the very small bore category. No one I know of thinks of it as a practical 500 yard caliber.
I'm sure you can get it to fly that far at times but doubt it is worth the trouble.

For small caliber the .204 is your friend.

 

[Mike Casselton]

The 20 VarTarg improved that @steve123 mentioned is a great cartridge. The standard VarTarg is simply a 221 Fireball necked to 20 caliber. It is best with 32 grain bullets.

I've got an extra CZ-527 in 221 Fireball that has a damaged barrel and it is going to be rebarelled into the VarTarg.

 

[Rprecision]

For my uses .17 hmr for all things rats.

Anything bigger gets 5.56 /22-250

 

[Herstal 12]

I have a 19 Calhoun and made hit to 545 yds but in practically zero wind, the 204 ruger is much better though.

 

[MarinePMI]

.17 Hornet. At least it can be reloaded, unlike the HMR. Like others here, I have a pant load of "sub caliber" rifles. The .17 Hornet just seems to stand the test of time, performing way above it's weight class.

 

[Ridenemwild]

I know you asked for a .17 caliber but I have had great success with a ruger mkii vt in 204 ruger out to 700 yards. Factory ammo is good and is screaming fast 4200+ fps

 

[ryodlsl]

My safe was full too but I had to make room for this Anschutz beauty in 17 Hornet