.17 Ackley Hornet

Loads for a Classic Wildcat

- Layne Simpson

Parker Otto Ackley’s name is synony-mous with wildcat cartridges, and the .17 Ackley Hornet has long been one of the more popular. It is formed by necking down the .22 Hornet case and fireforming with a reduced powder charge. Doing so reduces body taper, moves the shoulder forward and increases shoulder angle for a slight increase in powder capacity. In his Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders, Vol. I, Ackley shows a velocity of 3,585 fps with a 25-grain bullet.

One wonders if bullet weight in the Ackley data might have been a typo. Hodgdon’s 2018 Annual Manual shows a maximum velocity of 3,242 fps for a 25-grain bullet at a chamber pressure of 45,000 psi. Hodgdon did reach and even exceed 3,500 fps, but with a 20-grain bullet. So how fast is the .17 Ackley Hornet and how does i ts velocity compare with its bigger cousins? Velocity will vary from rifle to rifle, but from the 24-inch barrel of the SSK Industries custom Contender I am presently shooting, maximum velocities for 20- and 25-grain bullets are in the neighborhood of 3,575 fps and 3,250 fps, respectively. Higher velocities are possible, but case life is shortened.

When loaded to maximum with a 20-grain bullet, the .17 Mach IV and .17 Remington Fireball will average about 300 fps faster while the .17 Remington outpaces those two by about the same amount. For bumping off prairie dogs and groundhogs as far away as a .17-caliber cartridge should be used, the bigger cartridges have a noticeable edge. But when surrounded by thousands of vicious, grass-munching flickertails, no cartridge is more fun to shoot than the .17 Hornet.