JIm,

I have crunched the numbers. In general, if you can buy bullets for 10 cents or less (sometimes possible on the Internet, even with shipping) you can load the .17 Hornet cheaper than on-sale .17 HMR. (Of course, a lot depends on .17 HMR prices. I tend to look for good sales, around $10 a box of 50. Have pretty much a lifetime supply stashed away at that price, and sometimes slightly better.)

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck