Yeah, the S dies work slick with no lube. Have used them for several varmint rounds, including the .17 Fireball.
Mostly I run 12.0 grains of A1680 with either the 20-grain V-Max or Tipped Varmageddon. This gets 3600-3650 from the 22" barrel, and they both shoot to the same place. Oh, and the Remington 7-1/2 primer. Tried half a dozen primers and it was the winner.
But one of the nice things about the .17 Hornady Hornet is far more flexibility in powders than the .22 Hornet. Have also had just about the same results with 12.0 grains of H4198; the accuracy isn't quite as good (though it's more than decent) and it's better in really hot weather. 12.5 grains of LT-30 is very good too.
I've had best luck with Vit N110 and N120 with Berger 20gn Varmint so far. Velocities are around 3600fps. I can't get the 20gn Hornady Vmax to shoot anywhere near as well, but have found the 17gn Vmax (as used in HMR ammo) shoots sub MOA with 10.2gn N110 @ 3740fps when seated out long. I've noticed that seating depth makes a big difference to accuracy, and was wondering if primers might be important too.
