Anybody Tried The New .17 Hornet Yet?

a7mmnut · June 22, 2012, 08:23 PM

I've searched a little, with no positive results. Looking at Hornady's Superformance load data, at 3650 fps will this be a great mid-range varminter with only 20+" of drop at 400 yards?

-7-

impalacustom · June 22, 2012, 10:22 PM

Quite a few people on another forum I belong to have them and a few of them are in the process of making a 20HH out of the 17. It has a bit better ballistics than a 17AH but not much at all. The problem at 400 yards will be wind not drop. I was shooting a friends 17AH with 20gr Zmax (vmax) and while it is capable of hitting the distances we shot, it was extremely hard to hit as we had 2 different cross winds at the range. Furthest we shot was 635 yards at a full size steel coyote.

Personally I think it will take off like wildfire and be the next big round for 17's. You use very little powder with lots of performance and can shoot all day with out burning up a barrel.

FrankenMauser · June 23, 2012, 02:32 AM

New?

Factory ammo might be a new concept in the .17 Hornet world, but the basic cartridge goes back to the late '40s / early '50s.

Ask the old-timers about the .17 Hornets they've been shooting for up to 60 years, if you aren't finding much about the "NEW" .17 Hornet.

impalacustom · June 23, 2012, 04:10 PM

I believe that he is talking about the new Hornady Hornet.

cornbush · June 23, 2012, 11:00 PM

The "new" 17 Hornet is the same as the "old" 17 Hornet, its just factory loaded now.
Its as good now as it was before.

FrankenMauser · June 24, 2012, 12:07 AM

Hornady only slightly decreased case capacity by moving the shoulder a little farther back than the classic dimensions of the .17 AH dictate. They also gave the cases a thicker rim.
I supposed the thicker rim is to keep people from being able to fire it in existing .17 Hornets, and.... My guess is that it was also to deter other manufacturers from jumping right in and producing their own cases from formed .22 Hornet brass. Hornady has been getting both predatory and defensive in their product releases. I wouldn't put it past them.

It's close enough to the classic versions of the .17 Hornet, that the shoulder bump is negligible. (And the thicker rim does not affect case capacity.)

impalacustom · June 24, 2012, 05:14 AM

Here is a pic of the HH and AH, the HH is on the left and AH on the right. Here is the reamer print for it too. If you wanted a 17 I'd either get it or the 17 Remington. Basically the HH is a way to get a smaller 17 on the market for everyone that doesn't want to build a rifle for the AH.

langenc · June 24, 2012, 12:55 PM

17 Hornet is probably a 250 yd caliber-max.

June 22, 2012, 08:23 PM	#1
a7mmnut Junior member Join Date: February 27, 2009 Location: NC Foothills Posts: 1,150	Anybody Tried The New .17 Hornet Yet? I've searched a little, with no positive results. Looking at Hornady's Superformance load data, at 3650 fps will this be a great mid-range varminter with only 20+" of drop at 400 yards? -7-

June 23, 2012, 02:32 AM	#3
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2008 Location: 1B ID Posts: 5,399	New? Factory ammo might be a new concept in the .17 Hornet world, but the basic cartridge goes back to the late '40s / early '50s. Ask the old-timers about the .17 Hornets they've been shooting for up to 60 years, if you aren't finding much about the "NEW" .17 Hornet. __________________ "Such is the strange way that man works -- first he virtually destroys a species and then does everything in his power to restore it."

June 23, 2012, 11:00 PM	#5
cornbush Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Location: The retarded place below Idaho Posts: 1,356	The "new" 17 Hornet is the same as the "old" 17 Hornet, its just factory loaded now. Its as good now as it was before. __________________ The best shot I ever made was an accident

June 24, 2012, 12:07 AM	#6
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2008 Location: 1B ID Posts: 5,399	Hornady only slightly decreased case capacity by moving the shoulder a little farther back than the classic dimensions of the .17 AH dictate. They also gave the cases a thicker rim. I supposed the thicker rim is to keep people from being able to fire it in existing .17 Hornets, and.... My guess is that it was also to deter other manufacturers from jumping right in and producing their own cases from formed .22 Hornet brass. Hornady has been getting both predatory and defensive in their product releases. I wouldn't put it past them. It's close enough to the classic versions of the .17 Hornet, that the shoulder bump is negligible. (And the thicker rim does not affect case capacity.) __________________ "Such is the strange way that man works -- first he virtually destroys a species and then does everything in his power to restore it."

June 22, 2012, 10:22 PM	#2
impalacustom Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2009 Posts: 469	Quite a few people on another forum I belong to have them and a few of them are in the process of making a 20HH out of the 17. It has a bit better ballistics than a 17AH but not much at all. The problem at 400 yards will be wind not drop. I was shooting a friends 17AH with 20gr Zmax (vmax) and while it is capable of hitting the distances we shot, it was extremely hard to hit as we had 2 different cross winds at the range. Furthest we shot was 635 yards at a full size steel coyote. Personally I think it will take off like wildfire and be the next big round for 17's. You use very little powder with lots of performance and can shoot all day with out burning up a barrel.

June 23, 2012, 04:10 PM	#4
impalacustom Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2009 Posts: 469	I believe that he is talking about the new Hornady Hornet.

June 24, 2012, 12:55 PM	#8
langenc Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2007 Location: Montmorency Co, MI Posts: 1,187	17 Hornet is probably a 250 yd caliber-max.