17 HORNET or 204 ruger

Z

ZaneTucker

New member
I'm looking at buying and new rifle for predators and varmits. Right now I have a 223 and 22-250. I love them both but they arn't very fur friendly. I want something nice on fox but will also thump a coyote at 100 and under. This will be a light weight walking gun for mostly night hunting and close areas. I'm looking at the savage 25 walking varmiter for the 17 hornet.
 
Sounds to me like the .17 Hornet might be right up your alley. If anything, at least with factory loads, the .204 less fur friendly than the .223 is. Even though I'm more of a .17 Remington fan than I am any of the other .17 centerfires from what you are looking for the .17 Hornet may very well be your best bet.

I wish that I could also give an enthusiastic thumbs up for the Savage 25 but from what I have seen and read of them I think that there are better choices as far as firearms goes. A pity too as I am a real Savage fan.
 
For what you describe,the 17 Hornet...I have one and and fur friendly is its middle name..I started out using the 20 V-Max with mine,but have since graduated to the 25 gr Hornady hollow point..Still friendly but drops coyotes..The last one I shot straight on at 50 yards didn't wiggle..

While the walking varmiter isn't all that refined,mine is very accurate and does what needs done..



 
CZ 527 .17 Hornet is what you need
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I like the 17 Hornet round but didn't have good luck with the Savage 25 in that caliber. First, mine had feeding problems and would snag/catch rounds all the time and not chamber properly (usually dinging up the bullet in the process.) The only rounds that fed from the clip were the vmax polymer tips and I usually had at least one jam per 4-6 shots. Was going to handload a bunch of hollow-points for it but those wouldn't feed at all. Might not have been a big deal if I could easily single feed by hand into the chamber, but the design of the 25 makes it nearly impossible to single feed. I also never could get mine to shoot decent groups - it was all over the place with both factory ammo and vmax handloads. This was a shame because I've got a couple of Savage model 93 17hmrs and a Savage model 40 .22 Hornet and those are all tackdrivers with no functional problems. I've heard great things about the CZ 527 in 17 hornet and that would be the one I'd look at if I was shopping for one now.
 
I don't have the accuracy or feeding issues some have..I have heard of others..The only problem with mine is the cock on close feature..It is possible to feed a round,close the bolt and not be cocked..Once I learned about it,I don't have that problem anymore,but it was frustrating for a short time..
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I have no doubt the CZ is the better gun in operation,but I doubt it shoots better, than mine anyway..
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Love my 17 Remington but based on your criteria, fox and coyotes at 100 yards and less, I would recommend a 22 magnum. I have an H&K 300 and shoot Winchester 40 gr HP's out of it and have killed a lot of fox and coyotes with it over the years with absolutely no fur damage. And, I have shot coyotes with it at a lot further than 100 yards.
You can pick up a good, accurate 22 Mag at a reasonable price and ammo is readily available and not priced through the roof.
Something to think about.
 
The .17 Hornet would probably be your best bet between the two choices. The .17wsm is no slouch at 100 yards on coyotes so the .17 Hornet would definitely do the trick.
 
I went through this debate alot, and ended choosing the .204 after reading alot of the hornet comments on the foxpro forums. I just ordered a Howa mini action today.
 
Originally Posted By: lhitchcoxI am going to be the contrarian here. I would go for a .17 Fireball.

Yeah, but that was not one of the choices unfortunately.
 
IF I were to use my .17 hornet to shoot any coyotes, I would at least make sure I had a decent bullet, such as a good 25 grain hp. I've shot enough prairie dogs with mine to see that the 20 gr. v-max doesn't penetrate a whole lot, sometimes not even making it all the way through a prairie dog.
 
Get the 17 Hornet not as loud as the 204. I had my 17 hornet out at the turtle pond today and it blew those turtles up !
 
Originally Posted By: songdog I've shot enough prairie dogs with mine to see that the 20 gr. v-max doesn't penetrate a whole lot, sometimes not even making it all the way through a prairie dog.

As long as you dont stretch it TOO far the .17 Rem works well on prairie dogs. I have shot a lot of pasture poodles with my .17 Remmy and the 20 grain grain Vmax and have completely passed through most of them. Some were just atomized even. I will admit that once you get much past 200 yards or so that they do not always pass though but the closer ones I have not had any issue with. I love watching those little Vmax bullets blow the stuffing out the back of those critters!
 
Originally Posted By: Rustydust As long as you dont stretch it TOO far the .17 Rem works well on prairie dogs.


Originally Posted By: Rustydust Yeah, but that was not one of the choices unfortunately.


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Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotOriginally Posted By: Rustydust As long as you dont stretch it TOO far the .17 Rem works well on prairie dogs.


Originally Posted By: Rustydust Yeah, but that was not one of the choices unfortunately.


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Um......did I miss something here? Care to fill me in?
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