Thoughts on the .17 HMR

[Douglas Blair]

When I got my .22 Hornet I had the option of getting the .17 HMR for the same money. But at looking at the price of the ammo and the bullet was only 17 grains I thought no way. I'll stick with what I know, plus I can reload the Hornet. Also In my mind the 17-grain bullet being so light would be more like trying to shoot feathers than a bullet. I know I can shoot my Hornet cheaper, further and at a faster velocity.

What are your thoughts on the .17 HMR?

[DaveK]

My thoughts exactly and that is exactly why I bought my 22 Hornet about 3 mos. ago. Darn good ground hog gun.

[Loggy]

I considered the .17 HMR couple months ago while lookin for a good squirrel rifle. Per my reading on this caliber I concluded that bullet is way to explosive plus ammo pretty salty.

I opted for a CZ 452 22 LR for squirrels and close groundhog work and picked up a savage 11 243 for longer ranges and larger critters. My first CZ rifle but would not hesitate in getting another. Never owned a quality 22 so I treated myself. ;D

[Rifleman]

I have worked with the 17hmr and this is what I have learned. They are quick and accurate. But they have their little quirks. Alot of the factory guns have some rough bores, keep in mind that rough is a relative term. What I mean is that a little rough spot in a 30 cal bore of say .xx is a smaller percentage then the same area of roughness is in a 17 cal bore. I don't think the barrels are any worse or better then in any other factory barrel, but in a 17 it becomes apparent a whole lot quicker. If you buy a 17 I would recommend a custom or semi custom like a cooper. This caliber is definitely one in which you want to spend your money on a quality barrel. Or you can do like alot of fellas and buy a factory ruger,savage etc and go through a long ardous process of break in. shoot one and clean, shoot one and lap etc,etc, ad nauseum. The rifle I have the most experience was a ruger 77/17 stainless laminate heavy barrel. I bought this new. Right out of the box I had 3 shots touching at 100 yds, WOW I thought . Shot one more, right on the money, cool..... next three went 5 inches out. Huh ?? Got on the phone, called a buddy, and he broke the truth to me, they shoot great when spotless then go to heck in a hurry until the barrel is broken in. That was my experience as well, when the gun was clean it shot awesome for about 4-5 rounds then poof, rest was poor. A royal pain in the rear end equipment. I just stick with my little .223 rem 700 for poodle shootin now.The 17 is not my game, but it is just the ticket for some, I kinda like it but not enough for all the headaches. Ok that's my sttttory an I'm sttttickin tttto it.
Rifleman

[Redclub]

I have a 17hmr Savage and carry it almost everyday on my walks around the property If I see a critter I don't like then he is history Doesn't happen very often couple times a year but it still feels good to carry. It does OK on coons and skunks. It is a tremendous squirrel rifle though At 100 yds squirrels don't have much of a chance and boy they taste gooood.
It is not a real great shooter though.
redclub

[JeffinNZ]

Hi
The difficulty I have with this very dinky little cartridge is I just don't believe it has the 'legs' for the long range work that it is claimed it can do.
There is a lot of reference made to how flat it shoots to ranges of 150-200 yards however due to the minimal mass of the bullet and the copper jacket I have grave doubts that regular expansion could be gauranteed at these ranges. I have seen penetration tests done at ranges as above and the bullet did very little expanding.
As such, if the round is only going to reliably perform at ranges of less than 150 yards then it really has no advantage over a hot .22WRM load.
HOWEVER (he said play Devil's advocate) if the market is being stimulated and the punters are happy with what they are getting then it is a VERY good thing.
Just my 2 cents worth. ;D

[ABinMD]

Doug, I have a Sav. 17 HMR, just got it last year-SS/heavy barrel. Pretty good shooter to 100 yds. or so, have not shot it past that yet. Probably 75 rounds thru it, Varmint Express-poly tipped advertised @ 2550fps. Shot four ground hogs from 40 to 108 yds. bullet just blows up inside them ,no exit- dead hogs! Al

[JACKJR60]

I personally see no advantage to the .17 over a .22WRM. Just my opinion though. I think the last couple of years these manufacturers have gone new caliber crazy.

Jack

[DaveK]

I agree, I am sure the new calibers are out there to sell more new guns and it appears to be working.

[SavageShooters]

I wouldn't consider the .17HMR an effective long range rimfire (say over 150yds or so), but I have shot (and witnessed others) shoot prairie dogs well beyond 300yds with them. In fact, longest confirmed kill we had on last months PD trip was at 408yds, measured with a Leica Geovid rangefinder. Took 3 shots to get the holdover right, but the .17 dropped the PD like a rock.

Fortunately, Hornady's new 20gr XTP loads are starting to surface (got myself a brick while at the VHA Jamboree). Hopefully these won't be fragmentation grenades like the .17gra bullets, and should benefit from the higher BC. Nice thing is that you only lose about 175fps. Now if I can just find a g-hog to volunteer for a carnage test.

[Douglas Blair]

SavageShooters, that new 20-grain bullet can't do anything but improve the performance of that small cartridge. I just wish someone would bring back the 5 MM Rem. Mag. The only fault with that cartridge/rifle combo was the rifle itself. The extractors broke for a past time. And the accuracy of the 5 MM was nothing short of spectacular.

[JeffinNZ]

DOUG:
I agree about the 5mm. I have a 5mm rimfire barrel in my safe waiting for a project.
Maybe with the Ruger move to the .204 the 5mm market will become stimulated.
Personally I think the 5mm with a 32-34gr bullet on modern powders would have been a better bet. It could achieve the same velocities as the .17 HMR with a decent weight bullet.

[tcmech]

Been shooting a NEF single shot heavy barrel 17 that is shooting 1 hole 3 shot groups at a 100yds. I have not shot anything at a longer distance than that, but I really do not have faith in it to take down foxes or anything that size cleanly. Awesome squirrel gun, but I will stick to my 243 for anything bigger.

[whyohe]

i have a marlin heavy barrel and LOVE IT. me and my buddy shoot the sheet metal screws iff that hold the target at 100 yards. i shot a ground hog at 130 yards and dropped it. i took it out for squril once and if you get it in the head fine. but any where else it just destroys it(at 30 yards). the faly in it is the light bullet the wind effects it GREATLY. i have some 20 grns and cant wait to see how they do.

[Groundhog]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

I bought a Ruger .22 Hornet and thought it was going to be THE close range groundhog rifle. It would shoot 2 good rounds or so and then a flier. It was sweet when it was on though. It was the perfect velocity for close range groundhogs. Never saw a round that liked to make their eyes bug out like that. I couldn't see myself trying to reload those itty bitty cartriges so when I had the opportunity came, I traded it for another Remington .222.

I read and heard all the hype about the 17HMR and bought a Savage. It was pretty much the same deal as the Hornet, a couple of good rounds, and then a flier. I lapped the bore and it has improved, but I generally grab the .222 when I'm not shooting into the next county. Then it's time for the Ruger VT 22-250. A buddy of mine bought a Marlin .17HMR and it would shoot circles around mine out of the box. I've always thought it needed a little heavier bullet, so I'll grab a box or two of 20 gr. next time I see them on the shelf and give it another go.

Varmint rifles will have to wait, it's almost Muzzleloader season in Tennessee, and me and the ML10II have work to do.

Shoot straight,

TNgroundhog

[Rifleman]

Hey groundhog, interesting point about the Marlin, I kinda wondered how the micro groove rifling would work out with the 17, might try one of those myself.

[Kudzu]

Have a Ruger 77/17 Love it, at lest the way it shoots. Have her sighted in at 75 yrds. Shoot 15 rounds and cover then all with a 5 cent piece. Have not shot much over 100 yrds. Tooo hot for tree climbers and not hot enough for longer range coyotes, but allful fun to shoot.

[Ronmar]

I just got my Savage 93R17 BVSS. The trig is crap. I replaced it last night with a Rifle Basix sear. This got the trig pull down to 1 lb but there is still some creep.
Has anyone worked much with this rifle/trig combo?
Can the creep be eliminated?

The gun shoots great and will use it in Dec on pdogs.

Ronmar

[whyohe]

UPDATE i shot the 20 grn bulles and are as accurate and more deadly on groundhogs. big hole in body at 30 yards. might be worth a crack on cyotes with well placed shot.