School me on the 17 Hornet

[osteodoc08]

Saw a neat lil varminter at the LGS. It was a ruger 77/17 Hornet. Also had one in 17 HMR. Need a change of pace and low recoil to engage my fiancé. I've got a savage in 17 HMR. What's the advantage of either one?

 

[303tom]

The difference being the .17 Hornet has a 1,000 fps & 500 ft. lbs. of energy more & it is center fire not rim fire !.............

 

[allaroundhunter]

If you want a quick .17 caliber rimfire then look for the Savage BMag rifle chambered in .17 Winchester Super Mag.

 

[303tom]

Ain`t none of the .17 Rim fires as hot as a .17 Hornet.................

 

[ATCDoktor]

I purchased my Ruger 77/17 in Dec 2012 and have some experience with Factory Ammo and Handloads.



Reference factory ammo, it performs as published with a 17 caliber 20 grain VMAX bullet running 3500 FPS over my CED M2 chronograph.

Trajectory of the factory ammo is as published and it mirrors the trajectory of the .223/5.56 55 grain round (sighted 1 inch high at 100 yards, it's dead on at 200 and six inches low at 300).

Accuracy with factory ammo has been outstanding and it's easy to get groups of a half inch or less at 100 yards.

Terminal effect of the factory ammo on jackrabbits is as expected and a properly placed bullet inside 200 yards will knock their heads smooth off.



Handloads with Hornady 20 grain ZMAX bullets and Hodgdon Lil Gun perform similarly with groups at 100 yards running a tad larger at .75". Terminal performance and velocity are equal to factory loads.



With respect to handloads in the 17 Hornet, caution need be exercised when working up loads.

I found 1/10th of a grain increases in powder charges (above a certian point) led to sticky extraction and signs of high pressure.

With regards to the Ruger 77/17 (the rifle itself), I will be honest, it had to go back to Ruger immediately after I got it home. Upon initial firing with factory ammo, the bolt would seize and it required tapping open with a small brass hammer.

The trigger was horrifyingly stiff as well and identified it as such and upon return to Ruger they sorted it out to an acceptable weight of pull and had it back to me in about 2 weeks.

The rifle is exceptionally handsome and shoots extremely well.

That said, the rifle is exceptionally expensive (if you can find one) and Factory ammo is hard to find an expensive as well.

With all that said, I like mine.

It was disappointing to get it home and have to ship it straight back to Ruger but they paid the freight and sorted out all it's issues and at the end of it all I have no complaints.

To date I haven't killed anything larger than jackrabbits with it but I hope to take fox and bobcat with it in the fall.

 

[7mmMurphy]

Wow! Some head shot. How far was that shot?

Are those the factory rings that come with it? What size scope objective lens? Just wondering how big a bell the factory rings will accommodate.

Been watching them for months waiting to find a deal. I can only imagine what my 204 Ruger would do the ol' jack rabbits.

 

[ATCDoktor]

How far was that shot?

Little over 100 yards.

These two were at 150 yards, shot with my handloads using Lil Gun and Hornady ZMAX 20 grain bullets. Velocity was right at 3500 FPS.

Are those the factory rings that come with it?

Yes, factory rings with Nikon Buckmark 4X14 mildot scope with 40mm objective lens.

I can only imagine what my 204 Ruger would do the ol' jack rabbits.

Reference the 204 vs jackrabbits, here's my Savage Model 11 in 204 Ruger suppressed with a Gemtech Trek Titanium suppressor:







As you can see, and might well expect, it's quite devastating

 

[GooseGestapo]

Sounds like in 15yrs, Ruger is still pushing them out the door with "bolt issues".

My Ruger 77/22 KBZ (stainless/laminated-brown) in .22Hornet is/was exactly the same.
The problem is a mis-fit between the two bolt halves. The front half rotates within the rear half and is spaced with a cross-pin.
Like yours, mine had so much play, it failed to cam-out the fired round where it could be extracted. It required a wooden block to extract the fired case.

I "fixed" it by placeing a half moon shaped piece of 0.032" stainless steel aircraft safety wire between the cross pin and forward half extension, effectively eliminating the play/slop between the bolt halves. I've had to "renew" the "fix" a couple of times.

There is a shop in Connecticutt (name excapes me, he used to advertise and support www.rimfirecentral.com) that specializes in "fixing" this problem with Rugers. He additionally offers a service where he sets-back the barrel and recuts the chambers with a minimum tolerance chamber and recrowns the barrel. He offers to recut the chamber to K-Hornet dimensions vis-standard Hornet.

Fortunately for me, My chamber on this particular Hornet is very, very tight. Unlike a previous Ruger M77/22 Hornet I had that had such a buldged/over sized chamber, it had a case capacity approaching a .218Bee. Accuracy was dismal. At the time Ruger refused to accept that they had a "problem" with fitting and quality control and would not "correct" these deficiencies. Thats how the above mentioned shop got their foundation.

Glad to hear they "corrected" your 77/17Hornet.

I've considered getting a .17Hornet to replace my seldom used .17HMR. If I do, it'll be a carbine barrel for T/C Contender.

Unlikely as I live in Georgia and we don't have that many "varmints" of the Jack Rabit or pararie dog type. A few ground hogs, but opportunities to shoot them beyond .22lr range is seldom/never. Besides, the .22Hornet was the original ground-hog gun. That, and the two.223rems, .22-250, .243, and .257Roberts get "offended" at "newcomers" to the gun-rack... Not to mention the rimfires (.22 and .17); (regular and magnum). Too much clutter in the reloading room as it is...

 

[rayatphonix]

ATCDoktor, Advantages of the 17 Hornet over the 204 Ruger? I've got a 204r and have been looking at something 17 cal centerfire and can't quite pull the trigger. Can you help convince me? Thanks!

 

[yzguy87]

Those head shots are sweet!!!
It would be sweet to have a slow mo camera on that thing as the round was taking care of business!
Nice shooting btw

 

[ATCDoktor]

rayatphonix wrote:

ATCDoktor, Advantages of the 17 Hornet over the 204 Ruger?

Only advantage the 17 Hornet has over the 204 is/was cost of components.

With less than 10 grains of Lil Gun I can push a 20 grain bullet 3500 fps and get out to 300 yards.

Granted terminal effect at 300 yards for the 17 Hornet is fairly feeble compared to the 204.

Oh, and the 17 is more quiet than the 204.

yzguy87 wrote:

It would be sweet to have a slow mo camera on that thing as the round was taking care of business!

I made this video last year.

It's a 220 SWIFT firing a 50 Grain ZMax bullet at 3700 fps.

The rifle is suppressed with an AAC M42K Silencer.

It'll give you a clear indication as to what a high velocity round will do when it meets the bridge of a jackrabbits nose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvOKqBnOLZU

 

[LeonCarr]

ATCDoktor, AKA Jackrabbit Decapitator.

Excellent terminal performance.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[rodensouth]

ATCDoktor, that's what I call "Ask and you shall receive." Thanks for the great posts, made my night.

 

[ECVMatt]

I have a 17 hornet and really enjoy it. My 7 year old loves it! I like the fact that it has the same trajectory as the .223 that I shoot often. It is very easy on the ears and pretty lethal on the jackrabbits. I also have a 17 HMR and there is really no comparison. Similarly, comparing the new Winchester 17 to the Hornet is no comparison. The Hornet is at least 500 FPS faster. This may not matter to some, but I use my Hornet for Coyotes and Bobcats, so I like the extra power, flatter trajectory, and the ability to reload.

My rifle came from Ruger good to go and shoots about about 1/2" at 100 yards. I also sight in about 1" high at a 100 and easily hammer rabbits and crows out to 300 yards. At 300 yards the 17 has lost most of its' steam. I did kill a coyote at 334 yards with a single shot to the head. There was no fur damage; I was very pleased.



I am taking it to Colorado next week to shoot some prairie dogs.

Overall it is a very neat rifle.

 

[7mmMurphy]

204 Ruger pics, wow! Not often you have to follow the blood trail to find a head.

Did you get to look at the Savage Walking Varminter before deciding on the Ruger? I know you wrote you had some initial problems with the Ruger so wondering if you'd still get the Ruger or opt for the Savage?

 

[ATCDoktor]

Did you get to look at the Savage Walking Varminter before deciding on the Ruger?

Yes, and I would have purchased the Savage Walking Varminter on the spot but the only one my LGS had in stock was spoken for so I traveled across state to buy the Ruger.

That said, I am pleased with the Ruger.

 

[7mmMurphy]

ATCDoktor I'm picking up my Ruger 17 Hornet on Saturday!