New cz 527 17 hornet. Did I make a huge mistake?

oddione

oddione

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Hello,

I just purchased the last cz 527 Varmint in 17 hornet in Canada from Prophet River Arms. The rifle is being discontinued.

I was hesitating between the 17 hornet, which I bought, and the cz 527 american in 204 ruger.

Now I'm starting to worry that I should have gotten the 204.

I already have a 22 and a 308/30-30/30-06. I was looking for a long range rabbit, groundhog, and coyote gun to get the targets that the 22 can't with some finesse.

Now that I see that 204 and 17 ammo are the same price, and considering that I hunt on my farm only and have no other "varmint" rifle, should I have gone with the 204? I guess I can always get a 204 later. Living out east, there are always houses nearby.

EDIT : I'm really not worried about the cost of ammo because I shoot very little but the idea that a round that uses half the powder is the same price annoys me. Coyote is not the main Target, but if it ever is, I want to save the pelt. The main target is smaller critters which damage my grain crops. It's not legal to use rifles on deer or moose in my jurisdiction, so the biggest game I'm allowed to rifle hunt is coyote before going up to bear, and I could do so at longer range with my 308 and closer ranger with my 30-30. Of course for coyote it would damage the pelt.

If rifle was allowed for deer, I would have gone for something bigger than a 17. The question is now that I have a 17 hornet, what is the best intermediary round between 17 hornet and 308?

204? 22-250?
 
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Ruger 204 vs 17 Hornet is like comparing apples to oranges since the 204 is way flatter shooting then the 17 but really you have to ask yourself at what ranges are you going to be shooting this gun out to?
If out to 200 yards is fine with you then the 17 is a fine cartridge and won't disappoint and is super accurate. If you were worried about the cost of ammo then Meroh is right the 223 would have probably been a better choice.
 
If you keep the distances reasonable, you will love how quiet the .17HH is! I've got a 527V in .17HH and shot one whole box of 25 into a single group and it was .625" I've got a .204 as well and everyone knows when you pull the trigger, they're loud! When it comes to factory .17HH, the price at Dominion Outdoors (site sponsor) is a LOT better than you see at Cabelas.
 
PGW Steve said:
If you keep the distances reasonable, you will love how quiet the .17HH is! I've got a 527V in .17HH and shot one whole box of 25 into a single group and it was .625" I've got a .204 as well and everyone knows when you pull the trigger, they're loud! When it comes to factory .17HH, the price at Dominion Outdoors (site sponsor) is a LOT better than you see at Cabelas.
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Can you recommend a scope and rings? What do you shoot? Targets or hunting? Do you shoot bench? What accessories do you recommend if any? Did it shoot well out of the box? Do you reload?

What model is your 204? If you could only keep one, which would it be between the 17 and 224?
 
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oddione said:
Can you recommend a scope and rings? What do you shoot? Targets or hunting? Do you shoot bench? What accessories do you recommend if any? Did it shoot well out of the box? Do you reload?

What model is your 204? If you could only keep one, which would it be between the 17 and 224?
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I put a DIP 20moa rail on mine, but on a couple 527's I have without DIP rails, I'm running Warne QD's. Right now I have a 4-16 Bushnell on it, but will probably change it up to a 6-24 soon. I typically use it for gophers, magpies, crows, skunks and really only target shoot to verify zeros at various distances. I did end up bedding it into a BC fiberglass stock, but it shot fantastic before that. The stock change was primarily for durability as I'm dragging it around for varmints on a SxS. I do reload, and my stuff shoots a bit better than the factory load, of which I still have a bunch so I just end up shooting the factory 20's.

My .204 is a 527 Varmint as well, it's bedded into a BC fiberglass stock as well. If I had to choose, it would be the 17. It's very quiet and a perfect match in the cow pastures here shooting gophers. I've got 527's in .221 FB, .222 Rem, three .223's and two 6.5 Grendels so I have lots to pick from for farther shots.

I think the perfect combo for me would be a .204 on the .221 FB case, some day perhaps.
 
PGW Steve said:
I put a DIP 20moa rail on mine, but on a couple 527's I have without DIP rails, I'm running Warne QD's. Right now I have a 4-16 Bushnell on it, but will probably change it up to a 6-24 soon. I typically use it for gophers, magpies, crows, skunks and really only target shoot to verify zeros at various distances. I did end up bedding it into a BC fiberglass stock, but it shot fantastic before that. The stock change was primarily for durability as I'm dragging it around for varmints on a SxS. I do reload, and my stuff shoots a bit better than the factory load, of which I still have a bunch so I just end up shooting the factory 20's.

My .204 is a 527 Varmint as well, it's bedded into a BC fiberglass stock as well. If I had to choose, it would be the 17. It's very quiet and a perfect match in the cow pastures here shooting gophers. I've got 527's in .221 FB, .222 Rem, three .223's and two 6.5 Grendels so I have lots to pick from for farther shots.

I think the perfect combo for me would be a .204 on the .221 FB case, some day perhaps.
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Thanks Steve! This makes me feel very good about my purchase.

I'm looking at the Warne QD rings. Do you recommend them or a dip 20 moa rail?
 
oddione said:
Thanks Steve! This makes me feel very good about my purchase.

I'm looking at the Warne QD rings. Do you recommend them or a dip 20 moa rail?
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I like the DIP rails so I can swap optics amongst my fleet of rifles easier. I've got Warne QD's on some full stock rifles so I can go to open sights for giggles. The Warnes are very nice stuff, and keep the little action uncluttered as the rails do and make the rifle look nice.
 
I have the 527 in 22 Hornet and love everything about it . Shot a coyote at 300 yards no problem . just got to hit em right . I cant see a 17 hornet be anything but great . More velocity then the 22. should be a great little gun to have .
 
travco said:
I have the 527 in 22 Hornet and love everything about it . Shot a coyote at 300 yards no problem . just got to hit em right . I cant see a 17 hornet be anything but great . More velocity then the 22. should be a great little gun to have .
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Do you shoot prone? Bench? Bipod? Rest?

What kind of rings/rail and scope do you have? What do you recommend? Is your 527 a varmint or American model?
 
PGW Steve said:
I like the DIP rails so I can swap optics amongst my fleet of rifles easier. I've got Warne QD's on some full stock rifles so I can go to open sights for giggles. The Warnes are very nice stuff, and keep the little action uncluttered as the rails do and make the rifle look nice.
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I unfortunately don't have sights on my new 527 Varmint so that wouldn't be a good reason for QDs.

The rails would allow me to afford a bettering scope and move it from rifle to rifle. I assume this is your system.
 
I have a 527 varmint model in 17 Hornet, great gopher gun. Haven't used it for coyotes as i have several 22 centerfires that are better for larger varmints. Love the set trigger on the 527. Used a set of Leupold rings if i remember correctly.
 
204 ruger will bring the smack down on gophers and also put the larger varmints down better too. If your only gonna have one then I’d choose 204. Or 223.
 
.204 has been proven small varmint and coyote round. It can reach some impressive velocities with next to no recoil. Watching a gopher get smacked with a bullet coming out of the pipe at 4200 fps is pure bliss. Load a 35 gr bullet and drop coyotes with no hide damage, very important for me as I put up all my fur. For me nothing beats the .204 in a varmint cal. Id regret getting that 17 Hornet but thats just me.

Cheers!!
 
I've got a Ruger 77 in .17 Hornet. My greatest shot, I consider was using the Hornet and a shooting stick to take ground squirrels at 225 yards. It's very quiet. When the gophers get skittish it's a fun and effective long range option.
 
scott_r said:
.204 has been proven small varmint and coyote round. It can reach some impressive velocities with next to no recoil. Watching a gopher get smacked with a bullet coming out of the pipe at 4200 fps is pure bliss. Load a 35 gr bullet and drop coyotes with no hide damage, very important for me as I put up all my fur. For me nothing beats the .204 in a varmint cal. Id regret getting that 17 Hornet but thats just me.

Cheers!!
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Do you have a cz 527 in 204?
 
Mike112288 said:
204 ruger will bring the smack down on gophers and also put the larger varmints down better too. If your only gonna have one then I’d choose 204. Or 223.
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I'll end up getting both. However, I'd be lucky to get one coyote per year, whereas the main target for me will be pests.

Do you have a cz 527?
 
I have both calibers. A CZ in .17 hornet and 2, .204's one custom and a factory Ruger Varmint.
The .204 is wonderful in the patch and does give you a bit more range (350+ vs 250+) then the .17 Hornet but it is nosier and I find I take the .17 out much more often then the .204's
Also do yourself a favor and get a single shot follower from James Calhoon in Montana.. I find the mag's a pain in the butt with either my .17 or my .22 Hornet and for the patch single feeding is the way to go.
I have shot yotes at ~250 yards and they were DRT if I did my part.

I reload and I load 25gr. Hornady bullets they work the best for me and my rifle. I found the 15.5 gr. (Factory) worked well to about 175 yds then the factory 20grs. had a bit of an edge. Save your brass! you will want to reload, and DO get some help the round is a bit of a bear and requires a bit of finesse to reload till you figure it out.

I have Sightron 4.5 x 14.5 X 50 blue sky (no longer in production :( ) on both of the Hornets with the HHR reticule and Warne rings on one and a knock off on the other I never really notice much difference between the two sets but the Warne rings are much better polished / finished then the knock offs. I tend to leave both of my scopes at 10 power for most of my gopher patch work.

You did not make a mistake and you will soon fall in love with the little cartidge that can ! .
 
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