.17 Hornet

C

Callinfool

New member
Ok, NY has changed their Furbearer regs. Areas that require shotgun only (No rifles)for deer now allow a rifle to be used (During any open deer season yada yada yada) for furbearers as long as it is a .22 rimfire or smaller or and this part is new, a centerfire rifle smaller than .22 caliber. So, I am looking at getting a .17 Hornet. The .204 Ruger is legal as is the .17 Rem but the .17 Hornet just sounds very nice for night hunting. Question is why no AR platforms for this? At least I can't seem to find any info on it. If there are any Uppers in .17 Hornet can someone point me to them?
 
The case it too small for the from and would not feed reliably. Besided no one making magazines, bolts, or other parts required.
 
There's the 17 Rem and 204 as you mentioned, and the wildcats 17-223 and 20 Practical, but I also believe someone was doing a one-off 17 Fireball/17 Mk IV?? Any of these can be downloaded as needed for performance goals, but they may not operate the action in a semi if downloaded.
 
I have 17 and 20 Tactical ARs
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My problem for the time being is I don't reload so I am limiting myself. I like the idea of the .17 Hornet since I often hunt within a few hundred yards of houses and it just seems like it would be a bit quieter than the .204 at night time. Is the AR in .17 Hornet a technical issue? I know I shot an M16 with .22 Rimfire and although they had problems they did work the action.
 
I am not aware of any manufacture making the necessary parts to built a 17 hornet for the ar15 platform. There is a company that makes a rifle chambered in 17wsm or you will have to step up to 17 rem. or 204 ruger.
 
Originally Posted By: CallinfoolMy problem for the time being is I don't reload so I am limiting myself. I like the idea of the .17 Hornet since I often hunt within a few hundred yards of houses and it just seems like it would be a bit quieter than the .204 at night time. Is the AR in .17 Hornet a technical issue? I know I shot an M16 with .22 Rimfire and although they had problems they did work the action.

Your 22 RF was blow back operated and was like any other 22. No gas was needed. The CF AR15 uses gas pressure to move the BCG either directly or through a piston.

The Hornet case is very small for production of gas/pressure and that would be extremely borderline. To compound the issue the Hornet case is rimmed at .350. Rimmed cases don't feed well in the auto platform. A 223 is .378 at the head. Way to much difference to think about and by design would not letthe rim slip up in the bolt face. Of course then the magzine issue pops up.

This is simply a no go. Given no reloading ability you are stuck with the 17 Remington or the 204 Ruger though there is some 20 Practical factory stuff floating around but it is like Unicorn Horn IMHO.

Greg
 
GLShooter, That was a good answer. Now I have a better understanding. I am though still confused on the M16 with .22 Rimfire. We were told at the time that the modification to the M16 was a different Bolt and Magazine. This was 1979 Military M16. Any thoughts on how that was done? I think for now I will take a look at a Bolt Action Ruger for the .17 Hornet.
 
Originally Posted By: CallinfoolGLShooter, That was a good answer. Now I have a better understanding. I am though still confused on the M16 with .22 Rimfire. We were told at the time that the modification to the M16 was a different Bolt and Magazine. This was 1979 Military M16. Any thoughts on how that was done? I think for now I will take a look at a Bolt Action Ruger for the .17 Hornet.

The M16/AR15 conversions to 22LR are a blowback conversion. The rimfire cartridge only cycles within the confines of the original BCG space in the upper receiver. The cartridge doesn't cycle the carrier into the buffer tube extension at all. The twist rate isn't ideal for 22LR, but all you need is a new magazine and bolt conversion kit to run 22LR in an AR15. They can be somewhat finicky but are typically pretty reliable with good ammo.

CMMG Conversion Kits
 
One other issue is the AR bore is larger than the 22RF and accuracy can be less than sterling. The hot rocks way is a pure 22RF upper end. Some of them are outstanding. I built one using a rechambered 10-22 barrel. What a hoot when you drop it on an M16 lower.

Let us know how the Ruger works out. Ritch has the regular Hornet that shoots well.

Greg
 
U can always buy an upper in 17 rem or 17-223 and download to 17 Hornet velocities. It might not work the action reliably though. 17 rem or 17 Fireball loads should do it though. And do what you want in performance too. Just a thought.
 
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