17 HMR........What do you think?

[CBS220]

Not as well, or as cheaply, as the .22 magnum does for 99% of the nation's rimfire shooters in the field. And that idea seems to be getting put forth more and more on the forums - and at the cash register.

.22 Mag doesn't cost much less than .17 HMR, and is much more than .17 HM2.

It also doesn't shoot quite so accurately, in my experience. Not enough to really matter, but it doesn't give me those really pretty groups my .17s do.

I'll agree with Krochus- speak with gun store owners. .17 is a very good seller, even going on 6 years. Not as many people want .22 Mags, except in handguns.

And if you want a really sweet, well-mannered .22 centerfire that will turn your .223 into a safe queen, there is always the .22 Hornet.

Been considering it. The Savage Model 40 looks sweet

Hit a ground hog twice at 50 yards, after the second shot it ran into its hole. That never happened with my .22 mag.

Then you haven't been shooting enough groundhogs with that .22 Mag if you haven't had ONE escape before.

rimfires are all about FUN !

Now that is something we can all agree on!

 

[rangerruck]

I'm down with them, but do not plink with them. The 20 grainers , I use to plunk coyotes, at 100 yds or more if necessary. the vmax tips i use for everything else smaller, including fox.

 

[Shawnee]

"Been considering it. The Savage Model 40 looks sweet "

The Savage Model 40 .22 Hornet is one of the all time "sleepers" of our Age.

Splendid rifle in a sweet caliber and can be had for prices that are ridiculously cheap compared to its' actual value at places like GunBroker. Likely to become even less-expensve too.

Go for it !

 

[zgate]

Then you haven't been shooting enough groundhogs with that .22 Mag if you haven't had ONE escape before

.

Your right, I haven't killed more than 50-60 with it

But I'm working on it.

 

[CBS220]

In an internet display of one-upmanship, I'll raise you my last caddy-shack inspired anti-groundhog raid which involved several packages of smoke bombs, an Auto-5, and No. 6 shot.

5 holes, in about a 4 acre area. Got 30-odd groundhogs in a couple of hours

 

[The Highlander]

Worthless, not even close to 50 bmg performance, which is what it's based off of.

Ha.

 

[Der Verge]

IMO, the only reason the .17 hmr is more popular than the .22wmr is the cost of the weapons. A good .17 can be had in the $200 area, sometimes lower. A .22wmr worth buying on average is $450 or more. $250 gets you an awful lot of rimfire fun........ Like I said, I like the .17. If I was offered to have traded my .17 for a good .22wmr, I would have taken it. As good as the HMR is, it bridges no gaps between CF and RF. Impressive though it is, 17 or 20 grains at 2500fps is still a bit lacking compared to 35gr @3100fps, or 45gr @2700fps

 

[hksw]

Make Ya a deal - I'll give you $10 for every shooter who shoots in order to "attain the precision..." and you give me just $1 for every shooter who goes shooting just for FUN and couldn't give a rat's baby-pink bottom if his rifle shoots 1.5" groups instead of 1/2" groups. Deal ?

NOT if you're standing up on your back legs in a field plinking at thistelheads or starlings or spinner targets etc.

Make Ya a deal - I'll give you $10 for every shooter who shoots in order "to get the absolute most out of their rifle..." and you give me just $1 for every shooter who goes shooting just for FUN and couldn't give a rat's baby-pink bottom if his rifle shoots 1.5" groups instead of 1/2" groups. Deal ?

Nope. It is a wash ONLY when you believe all the nation's .22 shooters are deathly allergic to the cheap, fun plinking ammo they buy by the brick every week at Walmart and K-mart and Target and Acadamy and etc., etc. The very fact that the discount places stock the "cheapo" ammo and not the Lapua is - to me - a real strong indicator that the shooting public is a heck of a lot more anxious to plink a pine cone or a rat snake with 10 1-cent .22 cartridges than they are to shoot three 30-cent cartridges through the same tiny hole. I could be wrong about that though. How 'bout if I give you $10 for every high-dollar .22lr AND every .17hmr shooters fire next Saturday and you give me just $1 for every .22 rimfire they shoot next Saturday ? Deal ?

Oh, I see. There really is no market for high precision. Nobody really wants tight groups.

The 303. British, the .33 Winchester, .250 Savage, .220 Swift, the .22 Jet and .244 Remington have all been around a lot longer than 6 years but I know you wouldn't say they are going strong. Gun sales and number of cartridges sold should be better indicators of how "strong" a cartridge is going and the .22lr wins hands down - probably 1000 times over. There is often a huge gap between what the Advertising Dept. are braying about 24/7 and what the Public is really spending their hard-earned dollars for.

Yup, if it doesn't bring in the numbers like the .22 lr, it must be a failure, just like the .22 mag. Or maybe like the .22-250, as compared to .223.