Hornady Increases Production of 17 Hornet Ammo
Here’s good news for varmint hunters. Hornady just announced that it is ramping up production of the 17 Hornet: “For those of you who love the 17 Hornet, we are manufacturing ammunition right now and you should see it back in stores soon!” The 17 Hornet is a fun, fast cartridge that is ideal for ground squirrels and other small varmints. It has light recoil similar to a 22 WMR, but with the ability to reach out to 300 yards and beyond. Since the 17 Hornet is a centerfire cartridge with reloadable brass, it can actually be more economical to shoot than the 17 HMR, provided you “roll your own”.
Speed Kills — 3650 FPS
Based on the 22 Hornet cartridge case, the 17 Hornet can drive a 20-grain V-MAX bullet at 3,650 fps. At this velocity, the 17 Hornet can match the trajectory of a 55-grain .223 Remington load, but with much less noise and recoil. Take a look at the chart below. You can see that the 17 Hornet’s trajectory (blue line) is almost an identical match for the larger .223 Rem (red line) all the way out to 400 yards or so. The 17 Hornet is an economical, fun .17 caliber centerfire cartridge with way more “reach” than a 17 HRM or 22 WMR.
- 3,650 fps muzzle velocity with a 20 grain V-MAX bullet.
- Same C.O.L. as the 22 Hornet – uses the existing action.
- Trajectory comparable to a 55 grain 223 Rem, but the felt recoil of a 22 WMR.
- Lower cost and comparable quality to the 17 Fireball and .223 Remington.
Video Explains 17 Hornet Features and Performance
A friend is very happy with his .17 AI Hornet. It seems to me that with the right reamer design, that this ammo would pair quite well with a rifle in that caliber. I would bet that the forming shots would be accurate enough to take to the field, and after that, with a little more powder, you would have a real hotrod, with an ideal case shape, and even more performance.
As of 7/26/14, none of the legitimate retailers have either ammo or brass for the .17 hornet. Those would include Midway, Midsouth, Natchez, and Grafs. But you can find the stuff listed by the scalpers on Gunbroker. I’m pretty disgusted with Hornady foisting this on us, and I won’t forget it when buying other reloading supplies or equipment.
In the last 3 weeks there have been 2 retailers with ammo, albeit close to a buck a shot, and one big retailer who has now sold out. It appears on websites, people share when it is in stock, and it is sold out before folks like you even know it is available… just like 22 LR ammunition! Get used to buying as soon as you see it offered, or go back to the end of the line of buyers who claim none is available. Blame Hornady all you want, they are making ammo as fast as they can, AND selling it for the same now as it was sold for when it first came out, no scalping on Hornady’s part. Cheers to Hornady.
Many scalpers on Gunbroker are FFL dealers.
I think Hornady should not sell to
dealers who have no intentions of selling at reasonable prices to their customers. Kenny