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Old 04-17-2012, 06:16 AM
pslyke pslyke is offline
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Default Range report for my Ruger in Hornady 17 Hornet!

Hey guys/gals, this is a re-post of my review that I put over on 24hr and thought I would share it with everyone over here too!

This is my first review of a rifle... had a lot of fun putting it together and I would appreciate feedback!

Action- Ruger 77/22 hornet
Stock- factory brown laminate stock bedded to the action and inletted for a .920” bull barrel
Barrel- 20” fluted Lilja 9 twist
Rings- factory ruger rings (lapped)
Weight- 8lbs with rings and Vais muzzle brake
Gunsmiths- Shawn and Brady of Straight Shooter Supply in North Bend Oregon

The Cartridge-
I have never been excited about a cartridge launch before but for some reason I have been “stung” (hah) by the new hornady .17 hornet. .17 HMR is my favorite small caliber so I knew that the new hornet would be an excellent addition. The cartridge is a .22 hornet necked down to .17 and given a modern shoulder. Muzzle velocity for this hot little number is 3650fps with approximately 10grs of powder. The small but efficient powder charge gives this caliber great velocity, near zero recoil and less noise than a comparable centerfire. Ammo runs $16-$19 (street price) for 25 rounds which makes it cheap to shoot if you don’t reload, and because it doesn’t use much powder- reloading is inexpensive as well.
[IMG] IMG_4305[2] by pslyke, on Flickr[/IMG]

.17 hornet vs .17 HMR


Custom Rifle-
I was excited about this hot new caliber and unwilling to wait for a factory gun that I wanted. I thought it was a great opportunity to try out a custom built rifle and I can now say that I am a convert. I can truly appreciate a well-built rifle that has the exact look and specifications I want. My gunsmiths were Shawn and Brady of Straight Shooter Supply in North Bend, Oregon. They were excited about this new cartridge and were quick to purchase the required tooling for the chamber, etc. as they know it will be a hit with their customers. They were very responsive to my requests and had an excellent turnaround time for my project. Thanks guys…I love my gun!!
[IMG] IMG_1661 by pslyke, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG] IMG_1670 by pslyke, on Flickr[/IMG]

Ruger’s action-
I chose the Ruger action because I am fan of their proprietary integral scope rings/base combo and their rotary mag. I have sighted in my Ruger 30-06 exactly once and it has never lost its zero after many seasons of hunting. I am also a big fan of the rotary mag which fits flush in the stock and has proven to be 100% reliable in my .22lr and .22mag rifles. In the Hornet configuration, the mag holds 6 rounds plus one in the chamber. The new 17 hornet rounds feed beautifully through Rugers’ mag and I had no failures to feed or extract through my testing. A little more care must be taken when loading these mags compared to your 10/22 mag as the rounds occasionally get somewhat “wedged” on their way to be seated…Tapping the mag on the bench properly seats the rounds and you can continue.

How’s it shoot?
This rifle is more accurate than I am. The trigger is tuned to a crisp 2lbs and the shots go right where I put them. I kept trying for that stellar five shot group but would undoubtedly flub one of the shots. I was using a bipod up front and a sandbag rear. Best I could do is an enlarged hole for 4 shots at 100 yds. This is an easy and consistent .5” shooter. People may think that the muzzle break is a bit overkill on such a small cartridge, my response is- it works and I like it! No, the recoil is not “ferocious” but half the fun in having a varmint rifle is throwing a high power scope on it and watching the action through your scope. The picture shows a Leupold 4-12 but have since put a Nikon 6-18 on it and with the break on I get the same performance as my .17 hmr- zero movement of the crosshairs at 100yds. With two mags loaded, you have 12 rounds at the ready to put the hurt on the varmint fields.

[IMG] IMG_4432[2] by pslyke, on Flickr[/IMG]

3 shot .226" group
This rifle is an absolute blast to shoot and it makes even me, a fairly lousy shot with poor eyesight, look like a pretty good shot! I will try and get more shots of groupings up this weekend and hopefully a report on the effectiveness of the round

Last edited by pslyke; 11-01-2012 at 08:21 PM.
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Old 04-17-2012, 11:01 AM
wahoowad wahoowad is offline
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Nice. I'm a Ruger fan. Did you do anything to the stock....bed it?
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Old 04-17-2012, 11:49 AM
Alan in GA Alan in GA is offline
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Default nice.....

nice write and nice rifle....I like Rugers, too.
Now, grab your boot straps and go shoot a 5 shot/100 yard, maybe a few of them. We all have to learn to pull the trigger 5 times!

Last edited by Alan in GA; 04-17-2012 at 11:59 AM.
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:35 PM
moorepower moorepower is offline
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Amazing for factory ammo. Did they do any bolt work?
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Old 04-18-2012, 01:56 AM
pslyke pslyke is offline
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The stock was inletted for the .920 bull barrel and it is floated. the action is bedded but I haven't taken it apart to look at any of it


lol- I am still a fairly lousy shot and staying consistent for 5 shots is difficult for me...I have not shot at a formal shooting range until fairly recently so I am still getting used to bench shooting. I have a lot to learn!

I have left the bolt alone for now- if I notice frequent flyers (not as a result of my shooting) I will look into getting the bolt tightened but for now it shoots so well I don't think I will improve it noticeably.
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Old 04-18-2012, 02:22 AM
GLWenzl GLWenzl is offline
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Nice report and nicely done up 17 HH!!! I think the 77/ hornet has it going on with the rotary mag, size and even the factory stocks sit nice in my bags. I've never had to mess with the bolt to obtain 5/8" groups or less with either of mine. You're going this love this one!
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