Reloading the 17 hornet

I use Lil Gun behind the 20gr v-max, but my load is actually only 9.5 gr, which is below the starting load in the Hodgdon online data. Despite that, my load produces 3680fps in my rifle.
 
I use aa1680. Lil gun in the 17 hornet is known for building pressures very fast. Also hodgdons data on it is very hot according to about everyone whose tried it I have a pound of lil gun but so far have gotten ok results with 20 gr tipped noslers and 1680. Will be trying the hp noslers and vmax soon. Factory 20 gr hornady have shot as good and probably slightly better for me than anything I've been able to work up with the 20 gr tipped noslers. Although i have no problem getting 3650 fps with my loads. Factory ammo was slower. One lot a lot slower. I had 2 lots, one was 80 fps shy of advertised. The other was 210 slower.

If you happen to buy factory ammo just to get brass to reload make sure they have silver primers and not gold. Hornady made a change in the brass. Gold primers means the older brass. Not near as good. Primer pockets leak cause there visibly not round there oval. They leak from the 2 oval ends. Case head separations showing a piss poor designed case head. I cut a bunch I'm half since the primer pockets leaked anyway. The ones that separated had different shaped case heads than others. You want to get silver primer factory ammo or component brass to avoid this older junk.
 
I would not recommend doing load data for a tiny necked down carriage like this without a crony. With either lil gun or aa1680 stop when you hit 3700 fps. Also stop at the normal signs of pressure but 3650 should be doable with no pressure signs with these 2 powders. However the load that hits 3650 in one gun can change to the next especially in a tiny necked down case like this.
 
All good points above and good advice. Specially about the chrono. I wouldn't work up a load for the hornet without one myself. Like stubblejumper I'm running 9.5gr of lil gun and getting consistent 3640-3650fps. If I wasn't running them over the chrono while building a. Load I'd have gotten in trouble.

1680 is said to be the powder to use for this round and rumor is it's what Hornady loads it with. If Id have found some I'd use it over lil gun given equal accuracy.
 
IMR 4227 and AA1680 are top. New Hodgdon CFE BLK looks promising. I would not go with LilGun due to spikey pressures, I prefer the case being more full with a slightly slower burn rate. As for bullets I am using Hornady 20gr Vmax, Hornady 25gr HP and Nosler 20gr Varmageddon, both hollow point and tipped

CZ 527 American with fixed 6x Leupold. IMR 4227 and 25gr HP
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Using 1680, accuracy is not a problem, but definitely not fur friendly. 20 and 25 gr Vmax.

Anyone with experience in making a more fur friendly round?
 
kens said:
Using 1680, accuracy is not a problem, but definitely not fur friendly. 20 and 25 gr Vmax.

Anyone with experience in making a more fur friendly round?
Click to expand...

I'm considering a rifle in 17 Hornet for exactly the opposite reason. I want the LEAST fur-friendly option out there for gophers out west/groundhogs here in Ontario. :)
 
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