The .17 Hornet offers pure shooting joy, producing nearly zero recoil and mild muzzle report, shooting flat out to 275 yards, dramatically dismantling burrowing rodents and decisively anchoring larger varmints and predators up to coyote size. With near-standard 20-grain bullets, the .17 Hornet has proved effective out to 330 yards, the point at which the tiny projectiles run out of energy and fall to earth. With a quality turreted scope, I consider my .17 Hornet a 350-yard rifle.

Hornady standardized the .17 Hornet in 2011, removing some of the case taper found in .17 Hornet wildcats and sharpening the shoulder to 25 degrees. Variations of the .17 Hornet – obviously built on .22 Hornet cases – have been around for decades, the most recognized is P.O. Ackley’s .17 Ackley Hornet from the 1950s. Hornady’s version provides a hugely efficient and economical round that fits into standard .22 Hornet actions. Overall, I shoot my .17 Hornet cheaper than my .17 HMR, while also gaining a 1,000-fps velocity advantage. Tiny, highly-frangible bullets also make the .17 Hornet safe for shooting near civilization.

Miniscule powder charges can make the .17 Hornet somewhat finicky, though certainly not as fussy as the parent .22 Hornet. The .17 Hornet’s sharp shoulder helps keep cases centered to the bore, alleviating some of the accuracy challenges of the .22 Hornet (which headspaces off the rim). The .17 Hornet doesn’t seem to be as particular about primers as the parent .22 version and I’ve experienced fewer problems coaxing tight groups from my .17 than my .22 Hornet. The trim-to specs for this rifle is 1.34 inches.

My .17 Hornet, used for testing here, is a Savage Model 25 Walking Varminter holding a “medium-contour” 22-inch barrel measuring .71 inch at the muzzle, including a nice target crown and 1:9 rifling twist. The AccuTrigger was adjusted to break at 2½ pounds and the rifle feeds from a four-round detachable magazine (single feeding this rifle doesn’t work well). The 3-lug bolt includes a short throw and has remained smooth through thousands of shots. A Vortex Viper PST 6-24x 50mm scope with exposed ¼-MOA turrets, side focus and illuminated reticle was installed in four-screw, medium Burrus Zee Rings the day I purchased this rifle and has remained ever since. The rings sit on two-piece bases. The outfit has proven capable of sub-half-inch 100-yard, five-shot groups with tailored handloads.

I fired nothing but Hornady factory loads (the only option initially)
while accumulating brass for handloading. This ammunition shot so well – consistent sub-half-inch groups – that when I began handloading, I sought to duplicate factory ballistics of a Hornady 20-grain V-MAX sent at 3,650 fps. Accurate 1680 was determined to closely duplicate factory velocities (from 24-inch barrel used to develop Hornady load data), so I worked loads around that single powder. Oddly enough, that 3,650 fps mark also produced ¼- to ½-inch groups. So, for the past 10 years, my .17 Hornet has been shot with only one bullet, one powder and one load. This test was devised to explore additional options.

During the interim, Hornady introduced the 15.5-grain NTX (lead-free Non-Traditional eXpanding), making 4,000 fps theoretically possible (with a longer barrel). Midsouth Shooter’s Supply’s 20-grain Varmint Nightmare X-Treme HP has remained a curiosity based on price alone, a 10-cents per-shot investment when purchased in bulk. Nosler’s 20-grain Varmageddon has produced noteworthy results from other rifles, and they are considerably cheaper than premium poly-tipped bullets. The Hornady Z-MAX is the same V-MAX I’ve always fed this rifle, only holding a green tip. These are leftovers from when the “zombie era” was a thing. Berger’s 25-grain Flat Base Varmint was added to see what that weight is all about in this cartridge. My working assumption had always been that the 25-grain bullet kills everything good about the .17 Hornet, namely velocity. But for a moderate-range, predator-calling load, the added payload offers obvious appeal.

For powders, I ignored older formulas that might prove less temperature stable, or even dirtier burning. My .17 Hornet gets used largely during warm spring and early summer varmint-shooting forays. The tendency with smaller cartridges like the Hornet is to push toward maximum loads. Powders that might develop dangerous pressures if left in a hot truck cab make me nervous. Also, tiny .17 caliber tubes foul quickly, clean-burning powders allowing maybe 100 shots instead of 50 before deploying the bore snake. Copper-erasing Hodgdon CFE-BLK was an obvious choice, as were the other “Blackout” powders; Shooter’s World Blackout and proven Accurate 1680. Hodgdon’s Lil’Gun remains suspect in terms of cleanliness, but its velocity generation remains alluring. Other powders included were Vihtavuori N120, Accurate 2200, Alliant Reloder 7, and Hodgdon 322 and H-4198 for the heavy bullet (the latter both stable Extreme Series formulas).