.17 Hornet

tdregs13

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Sep 3, 2011
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I've been looking at a new gun for prairie dogs and maybe some coyotes, and came across an article on the .17 Hornet. After I was read the article I searched to see what companies had production guns in that caliber. I came across the CZ website, and on their homepage they said that the 527 varmint would be available in the .17 Hornet come January of 2013. So, this is really a two part thread, in that would the 17 Hornet be adequate for taking p-dogs and maybe 'yotes @ about 250yds? Also, what do some of the owners the CZ 527 think of it?
 
I purchased a Savage .17HH recently. I have had no problems, but have seen where some of the Savages are, mostly in feeding and stiff bolt lift; holding off for the C-Z in the very good 527 model might be prudent at this point. Wouldn't recommend it for coyote kills past 150 yards, frankly.
 
I have a .17 Hornet which is mainly used for rabbits and foxes. I found the 25gr bullet to be too heavy and slow for the little case but have had oustanding results with the Hornady 20gr V-Max. This tiny pill is still capable of blowing exit holes in a fox's chest to around 360yds and groups beautifully in my CZ, with heavy Shilen S/S barrel and thumb-hole stock.
 
I own a CZ 527 in 22 hornet that is rock solid from the action to the end of the sporter style barrel. Simply put, the micro mauser action that the 527s use is awesome and it regularly shoots moa on mild winded days, even better on calm days.
 
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I m a 17 caliber fan and have a 17 HM2, 17 HMR, 17 Fireball and 17 Rem bolt action rifles.. I would like to see Browning chamber the 17 Hornady Hornet in the same action as their 22 Hornet but I ll settel for a CZ . The 17 Hornet should have very little recoil and muzzle blast. 10 Gr of Lil Gun powder is a Max load with the 20 Gr bullet. I live in the wide open prairie dog country but with the 17 Hornet I ll limit my shooting to about 250 yards if I can get the rifle to shoot 1/2 inch five shot 100 yard groups. For yotes I may take out the 17 Rem but my 204 Ruger is some what better for shooting them. I would not use the 17 Hornet on yotes unless they were within 125 yards.
 
The CZ is a bit higher price point in comparison to the Savage, but yields slightly greater accuracy typically and has great fit and finish. This is not to say the Savage lacks in accuracy or quality, they make a fine rifle.
Shoot those dawgs! gun)
 
If it is to be your only PD & coyote gun I would run a little larger cal. 204R for factory or a .223 for cost. Otherwise I would look into larger .17 wildcats or .20's

If you have a good selection of larger cal's sitting in the safe that I would say go for it!

IMO

Jon
 
I too am excited by the new 17HH and can't wait to pick one up when CZ delivers this spring!

Looking a little more power than my 22WMR. Had a 17hmr and sold it. More so because I didn't like the platform rather than the cartridge. Love the 22 Hornet, but with the updated case and speed it's hard to pass up as a new "under 250 yard" vermin gun. I wish they would have made a 20 caliber rather than the 17. But I will take what I can get.

I have a 223 and 243AI for longer work and bigger varmints. But for a "niche gun" the new CZ in 17HH should fit the bill perfectly.
 
This is a very good thread. Thanks to everyone!

I too am interested in the CZ in 17 Hornet. I even sent CZ an email several weeks back and yes it is coming.

The only downside I have read regarding this cartridge / lite bullet is wind, it does not respond well to windy conditions and long shots. But I look at it more as a rifle for close up work around buildings and such. I am also thinking of the 22 Hornet.

Just wanted to add - CZ will be selling it in the 527 Varmint and 527 American.
 
I too am excited by the new 17HH and can't wait to pick one up when CZ delivers this spring!

Looking a little more power than my 22WMR. Had a 17hmr and sold it. More so because I didn't like the platform rather than the cartridge. Love the 22 Hornet, but with the updated case and speed it's hard to pass up as a new "under 250 yard" vermin gun. I wish they would have made a 20 caliber rather than the 17. But I will take what I can get.

I have a 223 and 243AI for longer work and bigger varmints. But for a "niche gun" the new CZ in 17HH should fit the bill perfectly.

I agree with all you said. I, too was hoping for a .19 or .20 cal. Hornet. I'd settled on a .22 Hornet for more range/accuracy than my .22 Mag, but when the gun counter guy pulled out the .17, I figured I'd give it a try. One thing I've noticed is that the .17HH has a bit louder report that the .22H's I've shot; kid of like a much-louder HMR. So far, I don't regret purchasing it, but like you said, it is a niche gun...
 
I agree with all you said. I, too was hoping for a .19 or .20 cal. Hornet. I'd settled on a .22 Hornet for more range/accuracy than my .22 Mag, but when the gun counter guy pulled out the .17, I figured I'd give it a try. One thing I've noticed is that the .17HH has a bit louder report that the .22H's I've shot; kid of like a much-louder HMR. So far, I don't regret purchasing it, but like you said, it is a niche gun...

You mark my words; when I get back to the states I will be developing what I will call the 20HHH.
(The third H is for my last name)

I will neck up Hornady cases to 20 caliber and fire form them to a 40° shoulder like so many of my other favorite Ackley cartridges. Effectively, I will be reinventing a cartridge just like Hornady did for the 17HH. lightbulb

So I guess if anyone wants to help me design a reamer and coach me through it, let's do it!

Rough guess/goals: that would give me 17ish grains case capacity and 3600 fps with a 32 grn bullet.

Thoughts?
 
Already got them in the UK and almost identicle to my 17A/H in a Ruger 77/22H chassis ie 3,650ft/sec pushing a 20grV/M.
But a gamekeeper friend of mine who has a Savage heavy barreled composit stocked one has just had his bolt come apart in his hand when ejecting a fired case.
He is in love with the calibre and has taken 10 fox in the three months ( aprox )he has had the gun but thinks it is too heavy up front and would like to put a thiner/shorter barrel on to his Cooper 204 action.
Have any of you done this.

Wally
 
I've been looking for the 17 Hornet but no gun stores in this area were able to order the savage. I changed gears and found a load for my .223 in 40g Hornady using a lite load of Blue Dot. very little muzzle jump and much quieter than the full load .223. 3,000+fps and excellent accuracy.
 
Purchased a savage model 25 light walking varmiter today. Thought I would wait for the CZ to come out, but decided to "pull the trigger" as it were on this rifle since it was available. Black composite stock with a black action and black medium-light barrel. Spent $465 on this savage. if it shoots, great. if it doesn't, I won't lose too much getting rid of it. Will probably put a Vortex Viper scope on it and see what kind of groups it will give me.

I currently own 3 CZ models in 527 and would love to have another. Currently building a 20vartarg out of a .204 CZ. This 17hh will fit in nicely between the 17hmr and the 20vartarg. So far the only thing that I don't really like about this Savage is that the cocking mechanism is a little rough when working the action after pulling the trigger. Not nearly as smooth as my CZ's. I expect the CZ in 17hh will cost about $650-$700 so $465 for the Savage was a no-brainer for me to see if I like the caliber or not. I expect to be able to shoot PD's out to 250-300 yds and fox/racoon/rabbit to 200-250 yds. and coyotes 150-200 yds.

It will take me 30-60 days to get it scoped and to the range and then another 15-30 days to get it out in the field.

Burt
 
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