Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .17 Hornet

I've been shooting my new CZ .17 Hornet with factory ammo this spring, on both targets and rodents, and am very impressed. Now I have enough empty cases to handload. So far the only published data is Hodgdon's, and Li'l Gun looks like the best powder, with 4198 close behind.

I've mentioned starting to handload the .17 Hornet on another thread, and so far have various, mostly vague recommendations, including one for loading the .17 Fireball. One recommends 4198 with the 20-grain Hornady V-Max (probably the most popular .17 bullet for smaller rounds). But no powder charge, velocity or accuracy is specified, just that it's the "huckleberry." Would appreciate some more specific results, especially from people who've tried more than one powder.

Shot four 5-shot groups with the Hornady 20-grain factory ammo today and they averaged .53 at 100 yards. Broke down one of the factory rounds and found 12.4 grains of what looks a lot like Accurate 1680--and that charge would make sense. I'm gonna try it, but wondered if anybody else had--or had any other "huckleberries," with more specific info than simply the powder and bullet.

JB, I've not had reason to try anything other than 10 gr lilgun. Pards with the ack like the 1680, including FieldGrade. Maybe he'll chime in. I was told the factory hornady rounds were stoked with Superperfomance....

20 gr vmaxes

should probably add, 17 data is in the new hornady book. But it don't include lilgun....

The load ive been shooting is 10.1 grains of lilgun for 20 grain bullets. Ive shot 20 grain nosler varmageddon ballistic tips and hollow points, hornady vmax, and Midway dog town bullets. All have shot right around 3/4 of an inch at 100 yards for 5 shot groups at 3500 fps. Only using a 3x9 power scope so I could probably tighten it up alittle more. That and the copenhagon shakes get to me. The Dog Town bullets have shot alittle better than the rest for me at around 1/2 inch groups. All these groups are on calm days. Sure is a fun shooting round. Kinda have the 17 cal itch now.




Just looked at my notes and the nosler varmageddon ballistic tips actually shot right at an inch for 5 shot group not 3/4inch

I picked up a copy of that Hornady 2013 ( magazine )manual recently.

for the 20 grain V Max it lists the following:

H 4198 11 grs ( 3226 fps) to 11.8 gr ( 3463 fps) 39,300 psi

IMR 4227: 9.3 grs ( 3204) to 10.1 ( 3356 ) 45400 psi

296: 8.0 grs (3173) to 8.7 grs (3301 ) 45100 psi

H110: 8.0 grs ( 3173 ) to 8.7 ( 3301) 45100 fps

Lil'Gun: 9.7 grs ( 3538 ) to 10.0 ( 3629 ) 48200 fps

hopes that helps ya out there J.B.

I'm gonna weight until a CZ version comes my way, sadly haven't been impressed with the few Savage and Rugers I have handled...

the QC on the several Rugers I have handled were no where near the quality that I have on my other pair, 22 Mag and 17 HMR.

HANDLOADER #124 has an article with some data using the Hornady 25 grain bullet and 9 grains #2400 (MV = 3250) and 11 grains IMR 4198 (MV = 3160). Both are listed as max. loads; the cartridge was still a wildcat chambering at the time.

huntsman,

Thanks. I'd heard about the Superformance too, especially since the factory ammo boxes say "Superformance" right there. But in the Hornady loads Superformance isn't one powder, but specific blends for each cartridge, and I am pretty certain the Superformance powders used in the blends are made in the same factory as 1680. Will try it and see! I have plenty of both Li'l Gun and 1680, as well as Reloder 7 and Vihtavuori 120, which might be worth a whirl as well.

Thanks to everybody else as well!

Here's some data stolen from another website, but sent to a poster there from AA/Western. You might have it already, but every little bit helps.

It seems a bit milder than Hornady's 1680 data, but safety first, right? I haven't even gotten the rifle yet, but I'm pretty well stocked up on components.

ratsmacker,

Thanks very much! I know where that data came from, so know it's trustworthy. Was going to contact Western and see if they'd done any testing, but don;t have to bug them now....

Glad to be of service! I stole it from someone on another website. There may have been more data there, but I stole the stuff I thought would be most useful, and when I went back, I couldn't find the thread, and the search function was not helpful, either.
This had 1680 data on it, and that's the primary stuff I was looking for. I use a 1680 for my .22 Hornet.

I'm still looking for a CZ .17 Hornet (like thousands of other folks d:^( ) I'm on several "waiting lists", like the others.....

It looks just like the computer read-out from the Western Powders pressure laboratory, a place I've visited several times--which makes since, as whoever it is (I think I know) mentions they don't have any Ramshot powders suitable for the .17 Hornet. Western owns both the Accurate and Ramshot powder lines. I'm just wondering why they haven't posted the info on the Accurate website.

I got lucky on my CZ Hornet and got it directly from the U.S. distribution center. They should be showing up in various other places pretty soon. It sure shoots!

I may have missed it John, but is yours the Varmint or American, and did you get it in the first wave of rifles that had great wood?


I have one in Varmint I am waiting on ( 1k rounds of factory to shoot) that was ordered back in Feb that CZ filled half the 4 gun order, and I have been calling every month, and it seems like only the first batch has been received and delivered.
The last report I got 3 months ago was my dealer was in the next 50 guns to be delivered, so from my view they haven't shipped any guns in about 3 months. The rep I spoke to said they get about 3 day advanced notice guns are on their way, so either CZ is making other higher demand guns, or?

Most of the guns I have seen reports on, using factory ammo, have hovered around 3/4" 5 shot groups so yours sounds exceptional, plus the person pulling the trigger has a little influence on the group size....lol.


Now that squeek season is over for me, I am in no rush to get mine ( Yea, right...) 1K ammo, 30mm rings , modified bolt for low profile scope and Viper ready to bolt on.


Thanks for the report, and good shooting


Allen

It's an American sporter, and has pretty good wood.

Dunno why anybody would want a heavier barrel, as this one is pretty stout, given the little hole.

Mule Deer: So far all my efforts to obtain a 17 Hornet have been in vain.
I hosted a Varmint Hunter from Illinois last week and he had just paid $1,100.00 for a used Ruger 77/17 Hornet the previous week.
He did not bring it along on his first safari of the year but will have it with him next time through.
I am just thrilled at how well you are shooting your 17 Hornet with the factory ammo!
Good for CZ and Hornady as well.
I have two other friends who have purchased the savage Varminters in 17 Hornet so far. One has fired his with factory ammo and the other is into tilling and plowing season and is to busy to shoot his as yet.
I have my heart set on one of the Ruger rotary magazine normal safety 77/17 Hornet V/T models myself.
Keep up the good work and if I get a line on any good loads from my friends for the 17 Hornet I will pass it along ASAP.
My local pawn/sport shop had another small delivery of the Hornady factory ammo last week - this was the third batch of factory ammo they have received so far.
Wishing you continued good luck with the CZ.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Thanks, VH!

So far have just experimented with sizing brass, both Hornady and resized WW .22 Hornet, and have finally gotten some pretty straight necks, using both Redding and RCBS dies. Have found straight ammo is essential in .17's, more so than in any larger caliber.

John - I recently picked up one of the Ruger 77/17 Hornets from Capital Sports and have been trying to work the bugs out. Mine's been pretty frustrating - I haven't been getting the stellar results that Huntsman has. A pard of mine here swears by his and he's only shot factory loads in it and isn't interested in loading for it because it shoots the factory stuff so well.

I believe my problems may be related to inconsistent head space from a very sloppy bolt. Primers do back out noticeably on factory loads, but not so much on handloads after partial sizing. Accuracy has been pretty erratic with both, but I'm not ready to give up yet.

I've worked with Lil Gun from 9.7 to 10.0 and have had the best results at 9.9 with 20 gr Noslers. One thing I've noticed with Lil Gun is that with any charge weight, the bolt seems to want to stick. Not on bolt lift so much, but pulling the bolt back to extract the fired case. My pard experienced the same thing with his when I had him try Lil Gun. I've been reading some on the Saubier site about the 17 Hornet and it seems to be a concensus over there that Lil Gun is too fast for the 17 H and 1680 is a better choice. I know others who have been getting great results with Lil Gun - go figure. I've worked up to a little over 11 grains of 1680 per the chart that was posted above and the primers are very round and no sticky bolt. I have more loaded from 11.6 to 12.2 and will try that as soon as I can get back out.

Hornady flat-out says that 1680 is the hot ticket in the .17 Hornet, in their #9 manual, and they don't even have Lil Gun data there. There may be a good reason for that.

I had some ugly results with what should have been mild charges of Lil Gun in my .221 Fireball, getting pierced primers and sticky extraction in my little CZ 527. I now refuse to use the stuff. It works fine in my buddy's 700 Classic, but I don't trust it.
I've also seen a Savage M40 .22 Hornet locked up tighter than a tick, with another Lil Gun load, that should be mild enough, 12.0gr. Lil Gun with a 40 VMax. It locked that rifle UP. And folks say you can't put too much Lil Gun in a Hornet case...................................

Lil Gun is all I use any more in my 22 K-Hornet - as much as I can get in the case and it has been outstanding. Very consistent and accurate with great velocities and no pressure signs. 10 gr of Lil Gun doesn't come close to filling the 17 Hornet case, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I'm anxious to get out and work more with 1680 - the local shop has quite a bit on the shelf so if it works, I think I'll stock up.

JGray,

I have gotten a number of reports about Li'l Gun in the .17 Hornet. Some are enthusiastic, but some aren't--and one very experienced handloader (prairie_goat) couldn't come close to the 10-grain max listed by Hodgdon.

This isn't totally surprising, as it wouldn't take much variation in the tiny chamber and bore to cause big variations in results.

The Ruger I owned had the same issue with pulling the bolt back. I noticed that it worked fine without the magazine, which led me to look for issues with the mag.
I shaved a very small amount off of the top and front leading edge of the magazine's left side feed rail lip with a file, rounding off the lip as it was a sharp angle. This cured it instantly. Basically, the bolt was "sticking" on the magazine, which was protruding up a bit far.

I have 17 Hornet ammo , brass, bullets, primers, reloading dies, 4-16 AO scope , military sling and a ranch where I can shoot prairie dogs. But Cabelas has not filled my order for a CZ Varmint 17 Hornet. I was going to try some Lil Gun powder that I have but now I m going to get some 1680 for my first test loads. I can get by using my 17 HM2, 17 HMR, and 17 Fireball rifles . Im an old timer, started shooting p dogs in 1949 and like trying out new prairie dog rifles.

Thanks for the tip prairie_goat. I'll have to take a look at that - there does seem to be some sharp edges on the magazine. I've also noticed that feeding the last round from the magazine tends to bind a bit. You say you "owned" a Ruger - I take it you didn't keep it? I'd be curious as to the particulars on that decision as I'm contemplating letting this one go if it doesn't come around pretty soon.

Overall I was happy with the cartridge and rifle, but I've been whittling down the arsenal and keeping rifles of utilitarian nature and jettisoning those that are more specialized. Plus, reloading those little cases and little bullets is kind of a pain.

If I had kept it, I would have whacked the barrel down to 20", and dropped it into an older pattern (no longer made) Mcmillan 77/22 stock.

11 grains of IMR 4198 and a 20 grain VMax is your huckleberry. My rifle was a custom Anschutz 1432-1434 with a German barrel that shot extremely well, about 1/4-3/8" off a good rest. Velocity is forgotten to time. A heavy weight barrel is NOT necessary to get accuracy out of this caliber. I also had similar accuracy with plain old Remington 25 grain HP. I could usually hit a squirrel in the eye at 75 yards with that combination.

Taggged.

Tag.

Since starting this thread I've done considerable more experimenting with the CZ .17 Hornet, both with loads and in the field. The cartridge has become my main long-range choice for "gophers" (here in Montana mostly Richardson's ground squirrels, but also in some areas Columbian ground squirrels) when the .17 HMR isn't quite enough to reach some of 'em. Partly this is because it's easy to drop 100+ rounds in a shirt pocket and go on a walkabout. This can also be done with my .22 Hornet and .22 K-Hornet, but they're not nearly as easy to hit with as the flatter-shooting .17 Hornet beyond .17 HMR range.

But the CZ has also become my primary prairie dog rifle. Not only is it easy to hit with out to 300 yards (which takes in 90% of PD shooting) but recoils even less than a .22 Hornet, so it's easy to spot my own shots, whether hits or misses. With 20-grain plastic-tips (Hornady V-Max's or Nosler Varmageddons) at 3600-3700 fps, it really does the job; in fact on one PD shoot this summer my hunting partners at first thought I was using a .223 or something similar, because of the way it flipped dogs.

Plus, brass has become very available and CHEAP since 2013. In fact I sometimes shoot factory ammo because I can't handload it any cheaper, and the resulting fired brass is even cheaper than I can buy component brass. And only around 12 grains of powder is required for all this performance.

Have also found the .17 Hornet performs to its potential with a wider variety of powders than the .22 Hornet. My primary powder is the spherical Accurate 1680, since it provides top velocities and superb accuracy with easy metering, but several other powders also do about as well.

H4198 is just as good as 1680 but more temperature-tolerant, though being an extruded powder it doesn't meter as easily, sometimes requiring a little jostling to get charges through the tiny neck. However, Accurate LT-32 is also more temp-resistant than 1680, and despite being an extruded powder the granules are tiny enough to meter easily. Accurate 2200 also does pretty well with 20-grain bullets in a pinch, and is a good choice for those who prefer 25-grain bullets, along with H322, Norma 200 and RL-7.

Just a “gee whiz” comment, but I remember when the .222 Remington was such a hotshot because it was an honest 250-300 yard varmint cartridge and the .25-06 was good to a quarter mile (400 yards!!!) and beyond. The .22 Hornet itself was good to 150, maybe 200 yards with a good rifle and shooter.

Now folks are throwing rice grains at warp 9 from tiny little rounds and killing stuff way the heck out there. It’ll sure be interesting to see what comes along in the next 40-50 years.

Thanks for the update.

My buddy comes out on leave once in a while. He brought a couple of .17 hornets with him. I have been wanting one ever since.

I like 1680 too, and use it along with R7 most of the time in a .17 fireball. My Ar 15 in .221 did not like the 1680 though.

1680 really sucked in my .221 with 40-grain bullets, but shot OK with 50's. But I didn't do any experimenting with primers, partly because Li'l Gun worked so well.

One thing I've noticed while discussing the .221 with other shooters is individual rifles seem to prefer RL-7 or Li'l Gun, but not both.

In the .17 Fireball I got such outstanding results with TAC (the first powder I tried) that I never experimented a vast amount. Benchmark, 8208 and H322 also shot well but not any better than TAC, and TAC metered easier through the little neck.

My friend in the Navy just found a .221 Remington Classic and gave it to me as a present. Along with that I have a CZ, an AR-15, and xp 100 and a Remington 700 Laminate all in .221.

The 1680 would not cycle the action on the AR, I got good results with the R7. The 1680 was okay in the laminate Remington. I never did try Lil Gun, partly cause I dont like the name and partly because the faster powders did not seem to work in that AR. Probably should have had a carbine length gas system on it.

I guess I am a R7 guy, but have tried h335 and H322 with good results, however that was before I had a chronograph.

I just picked up some 20 grain Varamegeddon hollow points in Great Falls, and I have some Tac. I will try that in the .17 Fireball tonight! The neighbors prairie dogs aint gonna shoot themselves! Thanks for the tip.

The store in Great Falls had .17 Win Mag and .17 Hornet. For the same price you can get twice the .17 win mag rounds. Have you tried that cartridge yet?

Yes, I have, but couldn't get a Savage B-Mag rifle to shoot accurately enough for rodents, though it was OK for larger varmints.

While fooling with it, however, I tried some of the CCI .17 HMR ammo for the Savage A17 autoloader, and it not only was superbly accurate in my CZ 452 but got 2850-2900 fps, far more than advertised. (Some other people have found the same thing in bolt actions.) The .17 WSM ammo got around 2950 in the B-Mag, not enough difference to fool with, and the A17 ammo is usually as cheap or cheaper than .17 WSM. Found out it works great on prairie dogs....

I have not purchased a .17 rimfire yet, probably will lean towards a cz in .17 HMR now.

You wouldnt be willing to share your .17 fireball load would you?

I had a load of 19.7 of Tac written down with a 20 grn V max, but I dont recall shooting it.

Ramshot's data lists 20.7 grains with the 20 Hornady V-Max for 4057 fps from a 24" barrel. I tried various charges up to that to see what shot best, but as I recall was using anywhere from 19.5 to 20.5 grains, depending on the primer and bullet.

Thanks. I am out fighting fire, otherwise I would have gotten some loaded tonight.

Hi John, good to see you've stuck with the sweet little .17HH. I bought one in April of this year. Like you, I found that the factory stuff was outstanding and also cheaper to shoot than buying all the components initially. I've since accumulated about 400 brass, all of them from factory loads except one box of 50. My intention all along was/is to reload, but man, that Hornady factory stuff shoots amazingly well.

I was out to the range today with a box of factory loaded 20gr VMax, as well 50 handloaded 25gr, half Rem HP power-lokt, the other half VMax. Until today I've been using only Lil Gun as 1680 appears to be unobtainium here in Canada. But the Lil Gun is just too volatile, and I've never been able to achieve consistent, reliable pressure or accuracy. It is extremely temperature sensitive stuff. Last time out to the range, a couple weeks back, and chronographing 3 shot strings, the first two would be within 5-10 fps of each other (~3720) and the third shot would jump by 100fps. This happened with more than one string; I concluded that after the first two shots, the chamber was heating up sufficiently that the third shot would be crazy.

All that to say that today's loads were with H4198. The groups I was getting were consistent with what I've come to expect from the 17HH (.75 at 200yds). What a difference! I think I'm going to abandon Lil Gun. I have a stash of 750 of the Rem 25grs and would like to work up a consistent, accurate load, working primarily with 4198 and RE7. What do you think? And what has your experience been with the 20 grainers using powders other than 1680?

BTW, I had some factory 20gr VMax with me today; I use it as a baseline if I'm getting erratic results with my handloads to make sure my scope, etc, are OK. I thought I would foul my bore (cleaned my rifle this morning before going to the range) before clocking my handloads. Less than .25" at 100yds for 3 shots, which is typical of this stuff.

Several people (including me) have had similar experiences with Li'l Gun in the .17 Hornet.

H4198 works well with 20-grain bullets, in fact in terms it's a very close second to 1680 in my rifle in both velocity and accuracy. The only problem is it doesn't run from a powder measure into those little necks easily, which slows down ammo production when cranking out lots of ammo. An extruded powder that does flow nicely, shoots well, and gets 3500 or so with 20's is Accurate LT-30. Like H4198, its also supposed to be temperature-resistant.

Have had my best luck with 25's using Accurate 2200, but RL-7 and H322 have also been very good.

If you have a chance to try any of the Hornady 15.5 grain NTX loads, they're also very accurate in my rifle, with an average muzzle velocity of around 3850 fps.

Good thread you guys have going here. A lot of good input.
I picked up a CZ 527 varmint a while back. Been playing with it trying to find a load it likes. Have been using 20gr Hornady, did pick up 500 of the mid south 17's. Have yet to taste test them.
Been using CCI BR primers from the get go.
VV120 is nonexistent in this part of the country. I will try some sooner or later.
Tried lil gun with poor results and gave up early as feed back mirrored my results.
I have been playing with H4198 and 1680.
I am topped out with the H4198. Pretty much a full case. I use a 6" drop tube and my old Belding and Mull. Not fast but about as good as it gets with stick powders imho. H4198 may not be the fastest but shows excellent promise. Horizontal stringing.
1680 shows some pretty good groups but am still creeping up on a top end book load. I was warned early on to err on the side of caution with this cartridge as it can spike quickly.
I also picked up a pound of 2200 to taste test. Going to play with it in the 223 also. I have some of the old data2200 powder, I hope it is the same but I doubt I can be that lucky.
Have not tried 296/H110 as others results didn't look to be worth the effort.
I am going to play with OAL and see if that gains me anything.
This rifle had about 100 rounds through it when I got it. The gent that had it said it was a PITA to load for and factory ammo was to pricey. So I got it at a good price, as it came with a fair bit of extras.
Jeff

Some people apparently do have a hard time loading .17 cases, either with handling the little bullets, or chamfering problems inside the case mouth. All the .17 bullets I've seen are flat-base and after a friend collapsed several necks one day he sold his rifle. I can't recall collapsing any necks, and have loaded thousands of rounds--but I trim them in a Gracey tool that chamfers as it trims.

Will be interested to hear how the Midsouth hollow-points shoot in your rifle. I shoot plastic-tipped 20's on prairie dogs, having found they make a difference in both flat trajectory and explosiveness, but 20-grain hollow-points work fine for ground squirrels, as most are shot inside 200 yards. Have had great luck with Berger and Nosler Varmageddon 20-grain HP's but the Midsouth bullets are considerably cheaper.

My only .17 experience has been with the Fireball.

Mostly I like to load boat tails for varmints in my .22s.

I chamfer my cases, but sometimes those flat base bullets tip sideways in the mouth when I run the ram up. Boat tails seems to stay put better. If you had one tip to the side they would still load, just cut part of the plastic tip off. That is if you did not feel the resistance and balance the bullet better.

On my .17 Fireball I am using Hornady dies with the sliding seater. Works a charm with the V maxes.

I have loaded right at 100 working on loads. I did notice right off the bat that none of the cases had been chamfered, that was the first thing I did. I have had no problems.
I was fortunate enough to have been gifted a pile of once fired Hornady brass before I even had thoughts of playing with this case. Most all of them had the crimped primer. I took care of that as well.
I read some where the early brass had some splitting issues. I have been working with a batch of 30 cases. Some of them have been neck sized or partial sized 5-6 times with no sign of any issues.
Has this been taken care of? I didn't notice any comments from anyone here on annealing.
Jeff

I haven't had any problems with split cases, but have a bunch of brass, and the most any have been loaded is 2-3 times.

Some of the early cases used in factory ammo had "shallow" primer pockets, only discovered when somebody tried to reload them and standard small-rifle primers wouldn't seat deeply enough. The pockets weren't just slightly shallow, but a LOT, with only about 3/4 of the primer entering the pocket.

I never encountered this in any of the factory ammo I shot, or in unfired brass, but did run into some after purchasing a batch of once-fired cases off the Campfire Classifieds. About 2/3 had shallow pockets so I "uniformed" them, and they work fine.

What I've since wondered, however, is where Hornady got primers to fit those shallow pockets?

JSHKS

The primary situation I have seen and or experienced cracked necks with the 17HH occurred early in the introduction of this cartridge when 17HH brass was not readily available.

With that situation some were making their own 17HH, formed from 22 Hornet brass. with the more radical forming process some neck and shoulder splitting occurred. With the more radical forming process, annealing b4 first firing was / is highly beneficial.

I was aware of primer pocket concerns with the early ammo. Neck splits was not an issue with the early ammo to my understanding. Annealing job is not often nessisary yet occationaly when done properly may go a long ways to prolonging brass life.

My favorite 17 HH load has been near max A2200 as a preferred propellant under a 25 grain HP or V-max.

I've had issues with gifted once fired Hornady brass in a number of cartridges , i know it was once fired because i was present when it was fired. 44 mag, shallow primer pockets, .308 tight primers pockets so undersized that I could not seat CCI,Win or Rem primers. Of 20 .300 H&H 7 of them had oversized primer pockets primers fell out after seating.

Recently purchased a 77/22 17 H, and will begin with factory ammo.
Couldn't believe its cheaper then loading if you have to purchase new brass.

Here it's $28.00 per box of 25 . $1.12 per round
Bullets are $30.00 per hundred $.30 per round
New Brass is $50.00 per 50 $1.00 per round
Primers are now $7.00 per hundred $.07 per round
$1.37 per round plus powder vs $1.12 per round for factory.

Flyer

Yep, and I've purchased .17 Hornet ammo off the Internet that, with shipping, cost less than $20 a box of 25.

John,

It was after I read this thread you began, that I started comparing the cost of factory ammo vs reloading. Since 1980 when I began loading, I hadn't purchased any factory ammo . The had only factory ammo that I shot has been given to me or that was included as part of a gun deal.

Tim,

Flyer, your cost comparison is tough, I feel for you.
I just bought a box of 50 Federal to give a try,$39. Hornady brass was $31.
The brass prices are one reason I try to take extreme measures to take good care of it. It being the only thing we get back after dropping the hammer on a round. This is the main reason I am working with such a small batch doing initial load work.
I am not going to wait until a split or seperate a case, I am going to anneal after this batch is empty. This may or may not raise more issues.
I got to the point with my IHMSA match brass I annealed after the third sizing. I have some 30-30 brass that has been size at least 30 times now.
Getting my machine set up for the 17 will be a chore its self.

All this shooting makes me hungry, too.....

Don't you just hate "autocorrect"?

Ed

no. because I proofread before hitting submit.

Just love it.
This thing will correct after you hit the submit button.

be that as it may, I'm still hungry....

I've actually found the little 17 fairly easy to load for, including handling those little bullets. I use a Hornady die with the sliding collar in the seater, which makes it much easier. I also chamfer the neck inside and out after trimming.
I use a single stage press as well, which probably makes it a bit easier to feel the seating process; no crushed necks at all and I've probably loaded around 250 rounds so far.
I am reusing about 70 cases at a time and am about to load some of them for the 5th time. Now that I've more of a handle of powder selection I expect better life expectancy from my brass. Using Li'l Gun, I had to pitch some cases after the second load because I'd stretched the primer pockets.
Great cartridge, I love it.

I found this thread on a DuckDuckGo search for reloading 17 Hornet. Interesting to say the least on where this caliber has gone in the last few years. The UK boys seam to have picked up on the 17. I have watched several vids from there. I was really impressed with the accuracy & especially how quiet the 17 is.
I retired from my roofing business about 2 yrs ago. I have plenty of time to kill so I have gotten back into the varmint hunting pass-time again. I have always been a varmint hunter here in Tennessee. I grew up when you could ride the country roads in rural TN & the farmers would almost beg you to shoot the groundhogs out of the fence rows in freshly cut hay fields.
Since TWRA introduced coyotes back into the population here & a lot of the farmland is being sold & cutup into subdivisions, the whistle pigs have moved to town.
We have a new varmint that has come into the South in the last few years, the Blackhead Buzzard. They are a nuisance to property owners & farmers & are in this area probably by the thousands.
It reminds me of the situation you boys out West have with the prairy dogs.
When they first started inhabiting the TN skies, they fell under the protected species act, & you couldn't shoot'em. They are a predator species of buzzard, they will attack & kill newborn calves, goats, sheep, etc. The State of TN has in the last couple of years raised the ban on killin'em.
I have taken a personal vendetta against them. I patrol several farmers farms & take them out when I can.
Which brings me to this thread. I have chosen a Savage HMR, & a Savage M-25 in 17 Hornet as my choice of weapon for this newly declared war on them. I love my M-25, super accurate & deadly out to 300 yds on a calm day.
I have been a reloader since 1977. Not a professional as some of you probably are, but I can git-er-dun good enough to meet my needs.
Reloading the 17 is gonna be a mite different than what I am used to with my deer guns.
When I got my 17 from gunbroker.com, I also got a couple cases of Hornady 20 gr V-Max ammo. I have just about shoot all my factory stuff up, so I am gittin ready to start reloading my spent cases. After prepping them I have been putting in the primers & have run into a few issues there. About 1 in 20 will not seat to proper depth. About 1 in a 100 is so loose you can almost shake them out.

take another step and uniform pockets....

Tag

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good 'smith? I want to re-barrel a Ruger 77/22H to 17 Hornet.

what scopes have you been using on your 17 hornets?

Ed

had a bushnell 5-15 on it for years. It puked and got a 3-9 redfield put on. Didn't like that so tossed an old vortex 6.5-20 on it now. Kinda big and clunky, but works well.....

Mine has a Cabela's 4-12x, made by the same Japanese company that makes higher-grade Bushnells. In fact it kind of resembles some models of Bushnells. It works well.

John,

which particular model?

I've picked up a few of their scopes as of late, and I really like the features, glass and price...

Models in the 200 to 300 range.

Burris Fullfield 4.5-14


It was my first Burris scope, but its okay.

Plenty of scope for the job. I dont like how the whole eyepiece rotates with the power change, but thats my only gripe.

have been waiting impatiently for my cz 17 hornet to arrive. today is the day! looked at my scope stash and came up with a weaver 4 to 16 shooting at 50 yards to get centered up on target shot three shots in a ragged hole. using factory 20gr. v max ammo. couldn't be happier !

Ed

Just thought I'd follow up with you guys. Found a guy here locally and picked up the Ruger today. I'll get it out this week to see how she behaves. I also had it threaded for a Sparrow can when I get it.
My load work will be with 20 grain VMAX bullets and CFE BLK and Lil Gun powders. Might also try some 1680.

I sent a note to Seafire but I'll ask this group as well. Has anyone played with reduced loads for the 17 Hornet? Looks to me like a guy could make a reloadable 17 HM2 or HMR with a little application of the right powder...

Yeah, I've done a little of that. In my CZ the 20-grain V-Max gets about 2100 fps, the velocity of the standard 17-grain .17 M2 load, with 7.0 grains of Accurate 5744, with very good accuracy. I haven't tried it, but 8.5 grains should get around 2550, the velocity of the standard 17-grain HMR load.

Perfect. Thank you. Out of curiosity, what power optics do you use on your 17 Hornet

4-12x Cabelas, a very good scope no longer offered, made by the same Japanese company that produces the higher-grade Bushnells, along with many other scopes.

Thanks.

I use a Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 4.5-14 on my Savage M-25 LW Varmint.

Phil

Is anybody reloading the 17HH using Dillons? If so, any issues?

I thought about setting my Hornady press up as a turret, one case at a time all the way through. I have not totally disregarded that thought, BUT I am pretty sure I will still drop and weigh a lot of powder charges as I am at upper end of loads to get the accuracy I seek.

Been away from this thread for longer than I thought. Not much adult supervision and ended up with quite a few new to me rifles since my last post. Two more 527's a 204 and a 17 Remington. Swapped barrels on a savage 223 and it is now a 204. Went to do a stock swap on another 223, that was a mess but turned out well, lol. I bought a complete rifle planning on robbing the stock off of it and putting my extra 223/204 barreled action it. Got the rifle, well it was one of the old early long actions in 223, I was told or warned it was a shooter and had spent most of its life in the safe, less than 500 rounds through it. Gent gave me what old he found it liked, danged if it wasn't a combo close to what I already loaded. Plunked a scope on it, went to the range, the man told me no BS, the damn thing is a tack driver. To good to tear down and part out till it fades. Now I have thoughts on using it when rebarreled in a 223AI fast twist with the new heavies seated out. I would think they would feed from the magazine? Time will tell.

Back to the 223/204 savage, found a stock for cheap and threw that together. Totally changed the way it shot. This style of stock sees a lot of love it or hate it reviews.

Forward a bit more to my favorite GS. An as new Savage LRPV 223 right bolt left port was on the counter when I walked in one rainy day. Got lucky the gent that traded it in was there. It was a 1-9 twist and would not shoot the heavies he wanted it too. Less than 100 rounds through it. It came home with me.
Acquired the other two 527's at the same shop. Gent had bought out of his pocket several of the 527's. He was a wannabe gun writer. He was going to see what all the hype was about the CZ's. Actually got to talk to him and read a little of his findings. Long story short, he expected custom things out of production guns. His choice of optics was less than stellar. Shot all factory ammo. Yet one of his comments was about the long throats.
I have several ladders put together for both with several bullet powder combos. I leaned a fair bit towards the extreme powders as I did not know when time would allow me to get to the range alone with no "audience".

Stay after it gents and good shooting in the coming spring. I know y'all have no empty brass in the house now;-).
Jeff

Really, everyone has these shooting like a laser????

I did give into a new rim fire, 17wsm. It is a bit behind the 17HH in speed, but if it will keep out to 2-225 yards and do it well I may part ways with my 17HH. Time will tell, rimfires can be and are fickle.
Jeff

Purchased a CZ .17 Hornet a few weeks ago. On Mule Deer's suggestion (thanks MD) I'm loading 12gns of H4198 (ADI 2207) behind the 20gn V-Max with excellent accuracy - genuine .75 inch average for 5 shots at 100. Have some Hodgdon CFE-BLK on order so we'll see how that goes.

It's a real fun calibre to shoot - when I can get it off my son