Need help choosing a .17 for squirrel removal

Of the 3, I would use 17 HMR. Of what I have, I would use 22 mag.

I have shot plenty of squirrels ground squirrels, tree rats and chipmunks, with a 17hmr. some out to 150 yards. Before going the first ground squirrel hunt with my 17 hmr, I took a target started with 3 shots at 50 yards picked it up went to 75, then 100 then 125. all shots where aimed at the same spot. I had a group about 1/2" wide and 2" tall when done. I would not want to shoot it up in the air unless I had a mile before hitting anything important.

I'm with the two posts above. I've tested two Marlin 917 bolt actions in .17 Mach II and .17 HMR. The .17 HMR is very accurate and I used it to eradicate our "empire" of those pesky little red squirrels that chew on anything and everything, or pine squirrels as some call 'em, along with culling out the chipmunk herd . The .17 HMR turns those critters into "red mist" and the chick-a-dees just love the remnants clinging to tree limbs and bushes. The Marlin 917 has a mid-heavy barrel and I found it to be a very accurate rifle with any of the current .17 HMR ammunition.

I'm on the bandwagon with both the 17 hmr and the Marlin 917 which are a very accurate combo. Good luck on finding ammo though. I haven't seen any in months.

Go with the HMR. I have one in a Savage 93r17, and it is very accurate out to about 125-150 yards. Don't expect to eat any of the squirrels you shoot with it, however. CCI's website shows ammo available for the 17 HMR, but it's about $20/50. Pretty pricey pest control, IMHO.

Mac

MacAR said:

Go with the HMR. I have one in a Savage 93r17, and it is very accurate out to about 125-150 yards. Don't expect to eat any of the squirrels you shoot with it, however. CCI's website shows ammo available for the 17 HMR, but it's about $20/50. Pretty pricey pest control, IMHO.

Mac

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The 20gr game points and FMJs might not blow up squirrels....ive seem both of those bullet anchor some pretty good size pigs with head and neck shots, and not cause a horrible wound.
The 17gr bullets will likely puddle them tho.....I have some of the "green" 17s and they have proven both accurate, and impressive on sodas.....

I have shot many squirrels with a scoped 22 rifle and 22 LR ammo.

Another vote for 17HMR. Plus I love my Savage rifles. Now if Marlin would actually make a good left hand bolt action, I would consider them.

I hae a left hand Savage in 17M2 that does well but 125 is about as far as I will personally push that round for a clean kill.

LoonWulf said:

The 20gr game points and FMJs might not blow up squirrels....

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Fair point. I use 20gr HP's, and they're pretty darn wicked on small stuff. On larger critters they aren't too bad. Still, the 20gr FMJ as available from CCI currently would be just the ticket in my mind. Never tried the game points, but they might do the business as well. This is all conjecture on my part though, as I doubt the op plans on eating any this time of year any way. I certainly wouldn't.

Mac

If your mostly going to be shooting under 100 yards I think I would go with a 17 Mach 2 in a ruger 10-22. Will save a bunch of money on ammo.

someguy2800 said:

If your mostly going to be shooting under 100 yards I think I would go with a 17 Mach 2 in a ruger 10-22. Will save a bunch of money on ammo.

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I never got mine to run reliably, it would blow up a case every few hundred rounds.....when it worked tho it was fantastic!

No one has been able to get a semi auto in 17m2 or 17HMR to run reliably without case ruptures except for Savage with their A17 series. Savage uses a delayed blow back system. What causes the issues with a traditional blow back system is that 17m2 and 17HMR have a different and higher pressure curve than 22lr and 22WMR. Most companies tried addressing this by changing the recoil spring weight and the bolt weight with little success.

Guys on Rimfire Central are still trying to get the 17m2 to run in an AR but again are having issues with case bulging and case ruptures.

Given the availability of various ammunition today, you need to use what you can find.

If you reload, 22 Hornet or 22 K-Hornet would be good alternative to the various 17 rimfire rounds. The Hornady 35 grain V-max bullet would be a good choice for the service.

But, again, given the availability fo components, what's available will drive the choices to use.

And if some of your squirrel hunting is in places where you can't use that .17 or have real concerns about where the round might end up as you shoot upwards.. When I was a kid I was deadly on squirrels (and rabbits) with a Benjamin air rifle, 22cal... Pretty quiet as well... It was a pump up model - and I still have it today - all those years later...

It taught me to "aim small, hit small" where we lived - on Redstone Arsenal in the mid sixties...

12Bravo20 said:

No one has been able to get a semi auto in 17m2 or 17HMR to run reliably without case ruptures except for Savage with their A17 series. Savage uses a delayed blow back system. What causes the issues with a traditional blow back system is that 17m2 and 17HMR have a different and higher pressure curve than 22lr and 22WMR. Most companies tried addressing this by changing the recoil spring weight and the bolt weight with little success.

Guys on Rimfire Central are still trying to get the 17m2 to run in an AR but again are having issues with case bulging and case ruptures.

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My only experience is my old man's. He has a 10-22 converted to mach 2 with a tungsten bolt handle and it runs like a top. He also happens to have 17 HRM's from magnum research and volquartsen and they both run well. I know a friend of his also had a magnum research one that used to rupture cases.

someguy2800 said:

My only experience is my old man's. He has a 10-22 converted to mach 2 with a tungsten bolt handle and it runs like a top. He also happens to have 17 HRM's from magnum research and volquartsen and they both run well. I know a friend of his also had a magnum research one that used to rupture cases.

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And it took some tinkering to get them to work well too.

Anyway not to derail the thread.

As mentioned look for which ammo is more available and which rifle is available too. That will narrow don't the decision making right now. Personally, I am fond of the 17M2 and 17HMR. I haven't shot the 17WSM. The thing to remember about 17 caliber centerfire cartridges is they can have short barrel lives.

Before the component shortage I would of gone with the 17 Hornet, cause you can reload them from mild to wild. I squirrel shoot with a friend who had a 17 Hornet in his squirrel arsenal and it does wonders on the critters. Then again I am real happy with my 17 HMR and got a load of them when they were $8.00 a box. First thing to become rare is the ammo then the reloading components. Of course you have to like reloading. I did wear out a barrel on me CZ 453 in 17HMR right about 8000 rounds. Went out like a light bulb! Started using a 22 LR for anything 100 yard or less. Cannot wear out a 22 LR barrel in a life time

I have a custom .17 Hornet, but if I didn't I'd get one of these Savage Model 25 ! https://www.gunbroker.com/item/903925450

17hmr is fast and it can be pretty ugly if you go looking for the remains of the critter. The key to that is to buy the right ammo. Seemed like in the cheapo Mossberg international bolt rifle I had that the rougher it was on the critter, the more accurate the ammo was. The TNT ammo was appropriately named, and shot like a laser.

This discussion is as it should be - unilateral support for the 17HMR. The 17HM2 is as close to ideal as a cartridge can get for the described task, but is also as close to obsolete as it can get without actually crossing over, quite unfortunately. The 17Hornet is a reloader’s cartridge, like any of the other 17 centerfires, and frankly, like any of the others, it’s more power than the OP will really need. The 17WSM falls into that bucket as well - too much of a good thing for smacking squirrels out of trees. The 17HMR is more than enough, but only slightly, and has the best supply chain of all of them. Good rifles, good ammo, and good performance for the task.

Personally, I use a 17HMR revolver and a 17WSM rifle for most of my non-22LR small game rimfire hunting... but I use 22LR somewhere on the order of 10:1...

A CZ like a model 455 is good for 100 yds. using std. velocity (sub sonic) 22LR ammo. 17HMR would be a better cartridge for the task at hand but .25/rd would put me off of that one real fast.

Years ago when Eley stopped making their 17m2 ammo and vendors were clearing it out of their warehouses, I bought quite a bit. All of mine are Remington branded, it is the exact same as the Eley branded 17m2.

While I do like my Savage GLV varmint barrel left hand MkII rifle in 17m2, the 17HMR does make more sense for the OP. With either, the 17Gr ballistic tip ammo will do a number on what you are shooting. I found out real quick with the 17m2 to take head shots only if I wanted to eat the squirrels.

I recommend the HMR. It’s more popular than the other two options so finding rifles chambered in it as well as the ammo will be substantially easier than if you went with another .17 option.

As for rifle, I recommend any of CZ’s offerings. I have the 452 Varmint in .17HMR and it is incredibly well built (functionally and cosmetically) and supremely accurate. May only complaints are the dovetail mounting surface (need to ensure scope mount compatability), the fact that you can only operate the bolt with the safety off, and how you pull the safety lever rearward to disengage the safety (opposite of most rifles). I believe CZ changed the safety in their 457 series so that you push forward to disengage.

Years ago, I had a 10/22 converted with a 17 Mach 2 barrel and bolt. It seemed to work reliably, but I did have at least one incident where the magazine blew out. I didn't find the case so I don't know what happened.
I ended up selling the ammo after it was no where to be found and went back to a 22 barrel.