Thread: VIDEO: Mid Winter Rabbit control with the 17 Hornet

A bit of footage from a couple of hours of trigger time with the 17 Hornet shooting rabbits in the apple orchard late Saturday arvo. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/KWH6lUNJI_Y

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nice shooting well done

Just how big is the area you shoot ? . I have a potential ? area in Clevdon , but am a bit yeah nah because it is flat and around 50 acres and would probably use 22 subs or maybe high velocity ?.
Nice video wish I could do that sort of recording .

Originally Posted by Tankd

Just how big is the area you shoot ? . I have a potential ? area in Clevdon , but am a bit yeah nah because it is flat and around 50 acres and would probably use 22 subs or maybe high velocity ?.
Nice video wish I could do that sort of recording .

Im not sure of the size of that property but im certain it'd be a fair bit smaller than what you're looking to shoot on.

This orchard is flat as, has roads on two opposite sides and houses at one of the other ends.

I need to be carefull of shooting direction and angle of shots. Its not that hard as im normally walk down the ends of the rows, shooting from the housing end and parallel with the roads. As im shooting down the rows its normally possible to use the rows of trees as backstops by taking the shot on a slight angle.

You can see this in the video. Also you can see on the rabbit i missed, the bullet exploded only just behind it.

Its important to use a cartridge/bullet combo that doesnt ricochet. The 20gr vmax from the 17 Hornet doing 3700 fps explodes when it hits ANYTHING. Where as 22lr subs or supers will ricochet like crazy.

Id rather use a 17gr 17hmr in a built up area than 22 subs any day. Way way safer.

Great video! taking a liking to the Hornet!

Originally Posted by GWH

Im not sure of the size of that property but im certain it'd be a fair bit smaller than what you're looking to shoot on.

This orchard is flat as, has roads on two opposite sides and houses at one of the other ends.

I need to be carefull of shooting direction and angle of shots. Its not that hard as im normally walk down the ends of the rows, shooting from the housing end and parallel with the roads. As im shooting down the rows its normally possible to use the rows of trees as backstops by taking the shot on a slight angle.

You can see this in the video. Also you can see on the rabbit i missed, the bullet exploded only just behind it.

Its important to use a cartridge/bullet combo that doesnt ricochet. The 20gr vmax from the 17 Hornet doing 3700 fps explodes when it hits ANYTHING. Where as 22lr subs or supers will ricochet like crazy.

Id rather use a 17gr 17hmr in a built up area than 22 subs any day. Way way safer.

You make a lot of sense , I will have to look into it further . Thanks

Originally Posted by Tankd

Nice video wish I could do that sort of recording .

The filming isnt that hard mate, im just using a 2nd hand $300 canon powershot SX50 super zoom camera sitting on a $90 light weight travel tripod.

I walk along with rifle slung over one shoulder, the camera on the tripod slung over the other shoulder, binos in hand, looking for rabbits, when one is spotted, the camera is quickly setup and zoomed in hit record then take the shot.

Then all the footage gets shortened up in editing.

Any other footage thats mixed in is recorded with my phone.

another great clip GWH
wonder if 22 hornet with 35gn vmax be safe for jobs like that 🤔

Originally Posted by quadhunter260

another great clip GWH
wonder if 22 hornet with 35gn vmax be safe for jobs like that ��

Its the velocity combined with a lightweight, lightly constructed bullet that gives the explosiveness of the 17 Hornet etc, its doing 3700 fps. What's the 22 Hornet 35gr doing?

a 17gr 17hmr at 2550 fps does explode too, but no where near as extreme as the 17H at higher velocity.

35gn 2hornet roughly 3000fps-2800 i think depending on rifle and load etc etc 🤔

Originally Posted by quadhunter260

35gn 2hornet roughly 3000fps-2800 i think depending on rifle and load etc etc ��

Only one way to find out, do some testing in a big wide open safe place. Shoot at a variety of surfaces, ie glancing shots off the side of rocks etc and see if the bullets blow up or see if you hear them richochet.

@GWH cheers 😎👍

That is a beautifully dialed in rifle, it must be a joy to shoot with it. And what a mess those little hornets make. Well done and nice shooting.

Love it, you have that down to a fine art. Very effective caliber on those rabbits.

Originally Posted by Mr Browning

That is a beautifully dialed in rifle, it must be a joy to shoot with it. And what a mess those little hornets make. Well done and nice shooting.

Originally Posted by Mooseman

Love it, you have that down to a fine art. Very effective caliber on those rabbits.

Thanks guys

It seriously is very enjoyable out having a session in the orchard smacking bunnies with this rifle.

Don't get me wrong I love getting out hunting/shooting deer as much as the next bloke, but there is something that is pretty addictive to me about sniping rabbits with the 17 hornet, some of them take some getting I tell ya, I'm back and forth between rows flat out sometimes after the clever ones that are onto me and are playing hard to get diving back and forth between the rows of trees trying to hide, the real smart ones just keep running and dont stop until well out of sight or they make it to their holes, but their number is always up.

I'll get them next time, but it might be from 200 yards or more rather than 100. The furthest rabbit shot on Friday arvo was 270 yds (wasn't filming that day). I do love the ability to sneak away from the wife and kids for just a couple of hours and spend some quality quiet time in a target-rich environment giving plenty of trigger time, something you don't get that much of when chasing deer, where if you get to pull the trigger once its a good hunt ;-)

The shooting practice is always good, both technique, trigger control and also thinking about the wind for the longer shots, it all helps put you in good stead for being able to make a long or tricky shot on a deer.