17 hornet vs 204 ruger

[Canhunter35]

hi, I would like to hear everyone's experience with the 17 hornet
I'm considering upgrading from a 17hmr to a 17hornet. I'll be using it to kill varmits and the cost of hmr rounds has me considering a little centerfire that I can reload for. My wife already has a 204, awesome little round and I'm wondering if maybe I should just go with that. Does anyone know the muzzle report between them?
I would purchase a cz 527, looks like a sharp little gun

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

hi, I would like to hear everyone's experience with the 17 hornet
I'm considering upgrading from a 17hmr to a 17hornet. I'll be using it to kill varmits and the cost of hmr rounds has me considering a little centerfire that I can reload for. My wife already has a 204, awesome little round and I'm wondering if maybe I should just go with that. Does anyone know the muzzle report between them?
I would purchase a cz 527, looks like a sharp little gun

I haven't personally shot it, but i know a guy who has one in a savage and he likes it. Says it sends woodchucks into summer saults. I hear you about 17 hmr rounds. They're getting ridiculous

 

[Mark M.]

I have both the 204 and 17 hornet, The 17 hornet is in a CZ varmint, The noise level quiet a bit less than the 204, maybe a little more than half, my 17 shoots about half moa with factory ammo, you should like it.

 

[Canhunter35]

I have both the 204 and 17 hornet, The 17 hornet is in a CZ varmint, The noise level quiet a bit less than the 204, maybe a little more than half, my 17 shoots about half moa with factory ammo, you should like it.

Sounds good, thanks for the info

 

[Sykes]

I also have the 17 hornet in a CZ varmimt, sweet little gun and super accurate! I shot several coyotes with it around 70 yards with the 15.5, 20 v max and 25 HP. They are all dead lol. Set trigger is a cool feature too. can't wait to try it on chucks and prairie dogs this summer

 

[swd]

The 17 Hornet is a nice little cartridge to around 225-250 yards. It's a lot quieter than the 204. If coyote is high on your list the 204 is more forgiving. For fox the 17 Hornet is perfect.

 

[huntaxhunta]

I've never shot a 17 but I have taken a lot of critters with my 204. Mostly coyotes but I have taken 3 Bobcats with my 204 and 35gr bergers and there was no damage at all but they were flat broadside and one head on and all were shot perfectly. So I'm not sure what would have happened if it were a gut shot or something like that. If you aren't going to shoot any hogs I would try the 17 for fox and Bobcats. If I was to have a critter specific rifle for cats and fox it would be a 17 of some sort.

 

[Canhunter35]

More for badgers, porcupines, skunks, and a few gophers when I want to vaporize them lol

 

[B23]

More for badgers, porcupines, skunks, and a few gophers when I want to vaporize them lol

I have both, 17 Hornet and 204, both are CZ 527 Varmint models. For smaller sized game, the little 17 Hornet is one of the most fun little guns I own. I shoot just about everything suppressed but even unsuppressed the 17 Hornet isn't particularly loud and is MUCH quieter than my 204. The 204 will definitely have more kill power, especially at further ranges, but if you are looking for a fun little gun to replace your 17 HMR, you will not be disappointed with a CZ 527 17 Hornet.

I'm a little surprised you are paying high prices for 17 HMR ammo. If you look around much the prices are at a nearly all time low. I've seen it as low as $8.50 per box of 50 which comes out to be about .17 cents per round and the cheapest I've found 17 Hornet ammo is .65 cents per round.

 

[Dan Carey]

What does it cost to reload a 17 Hornet with a 20 grain Hornady bullet?

 

[B23]

What does it cost to reload a 17 Hornet with a 20 grain Hornady bullet?

Brass for these little 17 Hornets is ridiculously priced, usually around $28-$30+ per box of 50, and is sometimes hard to find so I've always bought loaded factory ammo and after I have a few hundred rounds of once fired brass I start reloading for it. I use 12.2gr of 1680 w/20gr Vmax and a small rifle primer. As you can imagine, a pound of powder goes a long way in these things so that helps and the more times you reload the same piece of brass, the more it lowers your cost as well.

For me, what makes these 17 Hornets so much more appealing than any of the rimfires, is the fact that the ammo, even the factory stuff, is so much more consistent and once you start reloading for these you can really dial a load in. With the rimfire stuff, like the 17 HMR or even the 17 WSM, the ammo can sometimes have a significant variance in how it shoots depending on that particular Lot# and when all you can ever use is factory ammo, it's kind of luck of the draw on if your gun will like that particular Lot#. Shooting inside of 100 yards it's not that big of a deal but when you start stretching your shots out past 150+, it becomes a big deal real fast.

 

[Canhunter35]

I'm a little surprised you are paying high prices for 17 HMR ammo. If you look around much the prices are at a nearly all time low. I've seen it as low as $8.50 per box of 50 which comes out to be about .17 cents per round and the cheapest I've found 17 Hornet ammo is .65 cents per round.

I do live in Canada so that might be a reason for the cost difference.

Thanks for the info, nice to hear from guys with both the 17 and 204

 

[jrock]

I have a HMR and built my wife a .204. Now I wish I had a .204 as well. If I were to build one, I'd look into an AR platform. For longer range shooting, I'd take the 20 cal. I can reload .204 for the same price as .17HMR. I only buy that stuff when its on sale.

 

[Mark M.]

I bit the bullet and had Precision Firearms build one (204)for me in a AR platform, 24" 1-10 heavy 10 fluted bartlin barrel with the Precision firearms break, SLR adjustable gas block and there in house side-charge upper, when I fire this thing, the gun doesn't even move, virtually no recoil, outstanding accuracy, what a blast!!!