Finally got the .17 Hornet out for some Groundhog hunting!!!

[davemuzz]

Well, after recovering from some minor surgery.....plus letting this heat dome get out of the way....I've FINALLY have had a chance to take the Model .17 out to the field for some groundhog hunting. I was using my load of Berger 25gr bullets over H-335 and for the two hours I spent in the field, saw about half a dozen 'hogs, shot at 3, connected with two, and the one that I thought I hit.....I guess I just made him (like in the old western movies) dance a bit!!! That third one was behind a clump of grass and just peeking his big fat head up, so I aimed right at the bottom of the grass. Well.....I hit the grass clump and that 'hog jumped a foot in the air....and dove right into his hole. (I gave him a 8.5 out of 10 for style). That's OK. I know where he lives and I'll be back.

But....here's the other two. A big "Mom" and a little offspring:



Little "Junior" was about 125 yards and I was a bit surprised that the bullet gave me such a dramatic exit. (You can see exit "stuff" in the pic). Big momma was really close at only 50 yards. You can see the entrance wound.....but no exit wound....which is more what I expected from the berger bullets. I guess Junior needed to get more poundage on him.

Dave

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I've thot that the 17 H.H. would be great for fox and lynx. . What velocity are the 25 gr.bullets going from your rifle??

[davemuzz]

I just brought up my spreadsheet on that. And the average 5 shot velocity of the 25gr. Berger using 12.5gr. of H-335 was 3032fps. Not exactly "barn burning" for a .17 caliber. I believe I need to step it up to using H-110.

For example, using the same powder charge of 12.5 of H-335 for a 20gr. Berger I got an average of 3086fps. Again, not barn burner velocity…but excellent accuracy!!! OTOH, I purchased (at the time) the only available .17 bullet that I could find…which was the new Nosler 20gr. Varmagetton. I loaded these over 9gr of H-110 and got an average velocity of 3268fps (getting better) and excellent accuracy.

And….with out looking right now, I think the H-110 loads were near max, but not at 'em. I wouldn't hesitate to go up to maximum and I know a .5gr of powder in these little Hornet cases make a BIG difference in velocity. I doubt the increase in velocity would hurt accuracy….but then….that' why we go to the range first!!!

At this time of year I have enough loaded ammo to hunt with. Plus I don't have enough time to experiment more. So….I do have something to look forward to when hunting season is over!!!

Dave

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Wow. Only 9 gr of powder. That's impressive. . That's a lot of shooting for a little money!

[davemuzz]

Yes. I wanted the .17 Hornet because I already have the .17 Fireball that I wrenched onto a Stevens action and it's very accurate. So, I figured if I got the same accuracy and velocity from the Hornet using less powder……plus the Model 25 is so much lighter and nimbler to handle than my current Fireball on a Stevens action (and believe me….it for sure is) then the Hornet is a winner all the way around.

And it for sure is.

Dave

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I've never had a 17 . Are they much different than say a 223 as far as reloading for or maintenance. ?? There are lots of places where I call that are less than 200 yards and I think a 17 would be great. But I've heard of real big exits on fox. I was thinking the 17 HH would solve that. And from the look of the female ground hog above it seems the bullet would stay inside.

[davemuzz]

CTF,

The whole purpose (for me) of the .17 Fireball and now the .17 Hornet is for fox hunting. IMHO, this caliber is a "special purpose" one in that it's fantastic out to that 200 yard range that you speak of. Fox are not big animals and the .223 bullets will blow 'em up at close range, and even at beyond 100 yards they do a lot of damage. The .17 calibers, unless you shoot 'em at under 20 yards, will not give you an exit wound. Just that entrance wound the size of …..well the .17 bullet.

The other plus is that once the bullet gets beyond 300 yards, it loses energy very quickly so you really don't have that "fear" of did I hit something at 400 or 500 yards that I didn't want to? Here in Pa., shots past 150 yards on fox are not very common. Usually your going to get 'em at 50 to 100 yards at the longest. So, the .17 shines at those ranges.

Reloading, even with my fat fingers, is not difficult. I do load with an RCBS powder charger though. And the other special need's tool I use is a .17 powder funnel. It's a gotta have. Of course, you will need a .17 cleaning rod for the barrel. I use the Tipton one piece and find them easy to use…as long as you juice up that first patch or brush good with solvent. Don't go light the first time or it get's rough.

I hope this helps.

Dave