Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Desired 17 Hornet package

Remember a lot of good folks I left behind when I stopped running Jim's site because of him.

No rat smacking here anymore... my hunting days are over. Spent a lot of this past summer smacking the AZ Bark Scorpions that invaded my home though. Even bought a 50 shot repeater BUGASALT for next years attack. LOL

Yea,,, I quit that site a while back too, although it had nothing to do with Jim.
Don't matter though cause I ain't looking fro gossip.
Just glad to see that your doing well.

Oh,,, and good luck with those Scorpions. That sounds nasty.
I know that when we had a fire up behind my place a few years ago, I was covered up with Rattlesnakes all summer. Got to the point where I was sure they were under the bed if ya know what I mean. LOL

Doing fine thanks, one day at a time. I get Mojave's here, but outside only. While a much more serious threat with their Type A venom and serious aggression not one I pay much attention to other tham when I go out in bare feet. I've lived with rattlers all my life. But I've stepped on several of these scorpions the last 3-4 years bare foot and brushed them with bare skin on walls, and got away with it. I got nailed by one 30+ years ago when in top physical condition, and it was worst than the Western Diamondback that bit me in my late teens. with my age, poor health now, up most nights all night in the dark and almost never wearing shoes they are a bigger threat than the snakes.

Yea,,, outsides best where snakes are concerned. LOL
We have Prairie Rattlers here. They don't get that big but there's plenty of em.
Never been bit but a few dogs have. Didn't kill any of em, but it sure made em wish they were dead for a few days.

I don't kill them either, have killed very few in my entire life (including not killing the one that bit me, was entirely my fault). Only those my ex wife, son or I could not safely get out of the strike zone of without trying to step over them due to the circumstance. Off the cuff countable on one hand. Have been backed up unbelievable distances by the Mojave's though when they would not call of their aggressive "attack" simply because I didn't want to kill them. Our other three species here are just the opposite, they want and take any opportunity to get away. Have been dry hit by diamondbacks and sidewinders many times as a reminder to give them the chance to go on their way.

Having built more than a few of the new 17 Hornets on the Ruger Hornet platform there is much more to the conversion to get it to run right and be accurate than just rebarreling one. I wish that was all there was to it. Forget the Blued walnut version. It's like Ruger is having these built in a cave somewhere. The metal is dovetail shapped so bedding is a nightmare and the barrel channels are all off to the port side near 1/8 of an inch which requires reinletting the whole stock to get the barrel anywhere near centered.

The Stainless laminated version is a lot better platform to start with. It's still plagued with nasty tool marks and irregularities. The bolt fit needs fixed to get zero headspace, the magazine needs machined internally to get them to work right. They work best bedded and free floated. The extractor needs a little attention to get them reliable and the rings will about kink a scope. After that and a few other things are striaghtened out, we and are regularly getting well under sub moa.

Once done, they are a nifty little rifle.

Hiredgun,

I know the Ruger 77/22 Hornets were, if they have not remained pretty much the same even to this day, a hit or miss thing from day one as 22 Hornets. Was very common that they had to be reworked to shoot descent, and it gave them a bad name. While I have been a Ruger fan from my very first in the late 50's/early 60's, that is why they were not even considered for my 17 Ackley Hornets. With the three 17AH's I already had in hand that were semi custom or custom, I also bought a Browning 1885 Low Wall 22 Hornet with the plan to also turn it into a 17AH. Dang thing shot so good on long range diggers as is that I changed my mind and left it a 22 Hornet - later sold it to a friend. I also think many of the older 22 Hornets I had decades ago would hve made great donors for either of the 17 Hornets because they shot so good as they were. The 17 Hornet cartridge is so spectacular by default it wouldn't have taken much to convert those into excellent 17 Hornet shooters I'd think.

I used to have a friend up to about 10 years ago that redid the 77/22 Hornets, but his real thing was building lots of custom 10/22 and 77/22 22RF's back then. His rifles, bumped scopes and craftmanship was amazing. Great guy who came to see me with many of them tow to fondle once, but I lost track of him over the years. I did have pictures of many of them, but they were lost in a computer crash long ago. I also had him modify two magazines for me for my 17VS 17HMR, cut down from 7 to 5 capacity. Anyway, like you he figured out how to make many Rugers better.

My mid 80's 77/22 that has always been a favorite is now a switch barrel 22LR/17HM2, but I haven't shot it with the GM 17 barrel..... yet.

A couple of guys I've talked to who have the Savage Model 25 Walking Varminter in 17 Hornet absolutely love it. Both say it's a real tack driver.

I may be testing one soon in the new Realtree Extra pattern camo stock.

Actually all of the 17 wildcats are "tack drivers". There would be even more cheaper 17 cal options for shooters if they ever get more of them commercialized. With the 17 Hornet (17 Ackley Hornet) and 17 Fireball (17 Mach IV) now it would great if they did one midway from the Fireball to the 17 Rem, and the 17DT or 17 Athena to surpass it.