by Bills Shed » 08 May 2019, 9:43 pm
I own and reload for both the 17 and 22 Hornet. I also run a 223R. For the small critters including foxes the 17 is by far my favourite rifle. If you have heard that the 17H has issues grouping, that is a crock of crapp. The 22h was a bit more work. As for splashing, I have not seen this. Never had a issue. As for poor brass maybe once and I did get some of the the so called doddgy brass but I have shot it many times and with the usual case prep they are fine. If you want , you can neck down 22 hornet brass if you think it would be better. I have made many 17H cases like this.
I do notice the the 22H has more knock down power but a well placed 17 pill kills them just as dead.
As to a 204, noisy bloody thing. Wakes up the world and why burn twice as much powder to make a critter just as dead.
As to getting 17 cal projectiles of heavier weights, I am making 22gn ATM and 25 and 30gn if you want them. Factory projectiles are not too hard to find. You also have the choice of 17gn pills. For the 17H shooting 30s, you loose a lot of velocity but they hit hard and I have used them on goats. The 20gn Max brothers at 20gn you can buy in bulk very cheaply and are an excellent pill. I have tried loading the 17H down but below 1400fps projectile performance is poor so push them hard and make use of the high velocity.
Within its limits there is not too much to like about the little 17H.
Bill
Swaging your own projectiles is the ultimate in flexibility.