Cooper 17 Hornady Hornet

[banjo]

Does anyone here have one and how do you like it? Do they have a match chamber? Do they shoot better than the CZ's? How are the triggers?
Thanks
Tim

[dsandfort]

I have one and it shoots great. It's a Cooper, so yes, I like it. Not sure what you mean by match chamber. I've never shot a CZ in that caliber but I find them a bit unattractive (sorry CZ fans). The factory triggers can adjust down to a crisp 1.5 pounds or thereabouts, but I switch all of mine out for 10 oz. Jards. The factory ammunition is adequate and I think the brass stinks. I re-formed Winchester 22 Hornet to HH and it's much better in my mind. Remember, all Coopers have a 0.5" MOA guarantee. My Ackley Hornet generally gets the nod but the HH is in the same league.
We killed a lot of ground squirrels with the HH and AH recently. They were all equally dead as I'm sure they would have been with a CZ. I suppose the HH is a nice choice if you were to run out of reloads and needed to pick up some store-bought.

[Daryl]

LOL - store bought 45gr. Hornet's here, are $75.00 for a 50 box.

[Eagle_view]

Daryl, that is unreal pricing. Are there any ammunition factories in Canada anymore? There used to be a couple IIRC. Do they not keep up with the new cartridges?

I am not picking on Canada, we are neighbors, it just seems like that is an excessive price.

Lowell

[Daryl]

No more ammo companies in Canada. Dominion/Imperial used to be here, but I think folded up.

.22 Hornet ammo has never been cheaper than $65.00 per 50 box for WW- since early 2000's.

Any CF ammo was cheaper back then, except for the stuff loaded with Prem. ammo.

I've not bought any CF ammo since 1969, except for a box of 80gr. GMX .243's a year ago, for $36.95 just to try in my Ruger International. It didn't like them but that was cheaper than being stuck with a 50 box of them for $54.99. That same 20 round ammo box is now close to, or over $50.00.

Back in the 70's when Trudeau's father was PM, we could buy stuff from the States, ship it up here and the shooting supplies ended around 55% of what the cost was here. This was due to Exchange rates on currency.
About same thing today, except for the new rules by Homeland Security's export laws - which effectively stops those shipments.

[Dean2]

Alberta prices aren't great but compared to what you guys are having to pay in B.C> ours looks like a good deal. We could find Privi 22 Hornet 28/50 and WW 42/50 up till last year. I haven't looked at recent prices for those two but I know Rem is 60/50 currently.

Good thing we all hand load, price of loaded stuff would make it REALLY expensive to do much shooting.

To the Op, I have shot both Cooper and the CZ in 17 Hornet. I still own the CZ. $3000 dollars less and it shoots as good as the Cooper. I like the looks of the CZ but even if I thought they were a little fugly, I could tolerate that for the price difference. As much as I admire the Coopers, their price for what you get just isn't in my wheel house. Factory Sako, Heym and Blaser are all less money and perform as well or better. I can order a full custom from Ultra Light Arms for a $1,000 less than a stock Cooper. Shoots as well and on average is 3 LBs lighter. Same is true from many other custom makers, $4,500 buys a guy a lot of gun, even from custom makers.

Not trying to bash Cooper, I think they make a great firearm, its just that their prices have become non-competitive to me.

[montdoug]

I like the looks on CZ's as well Dean but have to admit that I like the Cooper Varmint and Montana Varmint better. Having said that I gotta say I have some real problems with Coopers which give CZ the edge in my opinion and that's price aside if buying em to keep em.
1st.) Unless something has changed of late and that's quite possible, Cooper vents popped primer gases straight back through the bolt and into your eye , (on the 21 and 38 I should add). I have a pair of Ray-Ban shooting glasses with little pit's in em directly in front of my right eye courtesy of a .17 Mach IV Cooper that had a tight neck on it even though they had told me at purchase time it didn't. That's a real biggie to me!
2nd.) The Coopers with wood stocks I bought back when, while beautiful, came with a caution "they are not all weather rifles". Get drops of rain on the stock and they stain, the stocks dent and scratch very easily as well. Very soft and generally a real poor finish IMO even though attractive.
Aside from that they shoot very well as a rule and their long on pretty. Just my personal opinion and keep in mind I've bought more than a few and still have two so I must like em .

[17tbs]

Pardon me guys, but aren't we all about performance on target and accuracy here? I have a choate stocked TC carbine that is beautifulnin my eyes because it is USEABLE and I don't care if the stock gets scratched up, it just adds character and gives a better grip. Sure a cooper is pretty, but.... if primer leaks vent to my face, i wouldn't care if the rifle could cook, clean and do laundry, I still wouldn't have it in my inventory.

With the ULA comming in at less, and not to mention much more durable, you are silly to buy a cooper at retail price. JM2 cents.

[ramos]

Rough crowd! I have two Coopers, one synthetic (.204R) and one wood (.20 VT). Neither one is for sale, rent or trade. Staining? Everyone of my wood stocks get an occasional coat of oil rubbed into it. Liquids just bead up and roll off. Dent? Steam it out and gone. Venting system? Arguably, not the best design. I pierced a primer several years ago in the .204R. Know what happened? Nothing. I was not even aware of it until I felt some resistance in the bolt lift and inspected the case. We all need to load smart and shoot smart. There are no perfect, accurate, sexy, cheap rifles to be had. Pick any two of the last three options. The first option is on backorder!

My one 'Cooper Complaint' is that the retail pricing is going up at an alarming rate. They have never been cheap but, they have represented a tremendous VALUE. Let's hope they don't mess that up.

In regards to the Choate/TC rig, I have a question: What does your typical five shot, 100 yard group measure?

[stubblejumper]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Alberta prices aren't great but compared to what you guys are having to pay in B.C> ours looks like a good deal. We could find Privi 22 Hornet 28/50 and WW 42/50 up till last year. I haven't looked at recent prices for those two but I know Rem is 60/50 currently.

Good thing we all hand load, price of loaded stuff would make it REALLY expensive to do much shooting.

To the Op, I have shot both Cooper and the CZ in 17 Hornet. I still own the CZ. $3000 dollars less and it shoots as good as the Cooper. I like the looks of the CZ but even if I thought they were a little fugly, I could tolerate that for the price difference. As much as I admire the Coopers, their price for what you get just isn't in my wheel house. Factory Sako, Heym and Blaser are all less money and perform as well or better. I can order a full custom from Ultra Light Arms for a $1,000 less than a stock Cooper. Shoots as well and on average is 3 LBs lighter. Same is true from many other custom makers, $4,500 buys a guy a lot of gun, even from custom makers.

Not trying to bash Cooper, I think they make a great firearm, its just that their prices have become non-competitive to me.

My Cooper in 17Hornet is built and should arrive in a couple of weeks, but it didn't cost $3000, let alone $3000 more than my CZ. When it arrives, I will see how it compares accuracy wise to my CZ in 17Hornet. I previously owned a Ruger in 17 Hornet, and I was not at all impressed with it.