17 hmr?

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WhiteFoot

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I've always wanted one of these guns, but currently don't have one. I have a 22lr that I use for rabbits and plinking. Is there going to be a big enough difference between the two guns for me to justify buying one? Obviously the 17 will shoot flatter and father. I hear that they tend to damage the meat a lot, but that isn't going to be too big of a problem for me because I usually just hunt jack rabbits/raccoons etc that I wouldn't eat anyway.

Another reason for wanting them is last panic I couldn't find 22lr anywhere near me but most places still had 17 HMR and it was reasonably available.

What's your thoughts? Is the difference worth it?
 
What you would get with the 17 HMR is better accuracy and a little more range. As far as killing power goes, I don't think there is a lot of difference.
 
.17 HMR is a .22 WMR case necked down for a .17 projectile.

The difference will be how far you can kill. Less than 50 yards, there won't me much of a difference.

17 HMR is just about the same price as .223. .223 is a much better long range varmint round.
 
Guess I should have also mentioned that I already have a 223 (ar15)

Seems like logically the reasons for picking one up are limited, so my reasoning for buying one will just be for wanting one...
 
Right now the .17hmr actually makes good sense. Ammo has always been available while .22lr and .22mag have been scarce as heck, and very expensive to boot. I have seen 50 rounds at my lgs for $17.
 
I bought the second one available in my city. It probably gets used more than any other firearm here. We have rock squirrels that burrow under woodpiles and outbuildings and I snipe them off of the front porch.

A .22 would do the job, but when the squirrels are hit by the .17, they just stop whatever they were doing, right now.
 
I know of a fellow that told me he shot turkey vultures with both .22 and 17HMR.
He says they just kinda shrug off the .22 (he's put a few away the next day that couldn't fly after being hit) - says when he hits them with the 17HMR it's lights out immediately.

I got a Savage 93R17-BTVS-RJ a few years back - it's a shooter.

I took it to the range and zeroed at the 50 yard range - picking off UTZ Cheese Balls at 50 yards is ridiculously easy - I gotta get it back to the range and play with it on the 100 yard range.
 
I think it would be about perfect for squirrels.

I've shot a couple of raccoons with mine. Both fell out of the tree and died right where they fell. The ground hog I shot with it got back into its hole under my porch. A few days later one could smell something dead under the porch; that was last year and I haven't seen a ground hog around here since then so I know I got it. A rabbit I shot with it was DRT. All of the aforesaid were no more than 25 feet away.
 
Since I bought a .17 HMR I rarely use my .22s. I bought a Savage Bolt with a heavy barrel and it is a tack driver. I love shooting this gun. I use it on my property for gophers, marmot and I've killed a fox with it. No animal has moved after being hit. I think it is much better at killing than a 22. It sure is more fun to plink with. I say buy one.
 
I've always wanted one of these guns, but currently don't have one. I have a 22lr that I use for rabbits and plinking. Is there going to be a big enough difference between the two guns for me to justify buying one? Obviously the 17 will shoot flatter and father.

Guess I should have also mentioned that I already have a 223 (ar15)
Click to expand...

I have thought about the .17 hmr as an in between, on and off a few times and got pretty close a time or two (switch barrel CZ 455) but went with the .22 hornet instead. A lot less bark than a .223 (lot less powder per round too) and pretty decent "short" range small animal round, +\- 1.5" trajectory out to 160 yards or so.
 
I have a .17 HMR. It's a nice Ruger rifle and it is pretty accurate.
Given a choice I would go with the .22 Rimfire Magnum. It seems
to have more power and penetration especially on larger small game.

Zeke
 
I have a NEF .17 HMR single shot (Sportster model, I think) with a Leupold 3.5x10. I like it for a several reasons. It's short and handy in the pickkup. As others have noted, ground squirrels are DRT. Also, houses have intruded into my area in the last 15 years. I'm very careful about the direction I shoot, but I've never heard a bullet go whining off into the atmosphere. Used to get that occasionally with a .22. My mistake was letting my wife shoot the .17. Until I did so, she was happy to pot the ground squirrels with an old Remington pump .22 with a 2.5 Weaver. Cost me a $750 trip to Cabela's to get her set up with a CZ American and a Leupold variable.

Biggest things I've shot with it have been feral cats. Also a quick clean ending. Some say it's good for coyotes, but I'd want a little more horsepower if I were to hunt coyotes.
 
I think they are ideal for anything smaller than large coon, coyote. out to 100 yds. They are laser accurate.
 
I've got a CZ 455 in 17 hmr and absolutely love it. Out to 150 yards it is dead nuts accurate, and out to 200 will hold its own if I do as well. I've only had the opportunity to shoot at 2 yotes with it. One about 75 yards and the other at about 115. The 115 yarder dropped in its tracks, while the 75 yarder made it 20-30 yards before dropping. Both were head shots and showed good penetration, although I have found the rounds tend to fragment a bit. In terms of just being a fun round to plink with, for distances inside of 150 yards with enough umph to it, I think it's a hard round to beat.


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The 17HMR has considerably more killing power than a .22LR. I've killed 100s of squirrels and prairie dogs with both. The HMR whacks them much harder than a .22. I've had a lot more crawl-offs with the .22. I've also killed some coons with both and the same is true. I have 2 HMRs and love shooting them. Around here, NE Kansas, HMR ammo can be had for $13. I usually pick it up at Gun Shows for $12....I've occasionally found deals for $11. The 17HMR is the best rimfire cartridge to come along in many years. You will be very happy you made the investment.
 
I am lucky I own lots of firearms, my cattle pastures are overrun with hogs, I have a Savage 93 .17 hmr, I kill hogs with it all the time, using 20 grain hunting tip I have killed lots of hogs with it. a few years ago I shot a sow about 100 pounds with a heart lung shot, out of curiousity I cut it open....the heart and lungs were Jello. hog dropped in its tracks, I usually carry .22-250 or .308s but take my word for it, the little .17 hmr will get the job done.
 
Its a fun caliber. I used to plink at pennies at 100 yards with mine. Yes, they can be hell on small game as far as damage (the 22 mag is too) but I would just head shoot critters I planned on eating if I use a 17 or 22 mag. The downside is the ammo is pricey and obviously they don't like a crosswind.
 
I bought my first 17 hmr (Savage A17) last year as a back up gun on my first PDog hunt in Wyoming.

It worked really good out to ~200 yards until the wind picked up. I went back to the .308 and didn't pick the .17hmr up till the end of the day when I ran out of ammo for the M1A.

I figured that I could get a good windage adjustment as the wind was steady and from the same direction but that little bullet seemed to dance around. Still working at around 200 yards, I never could get consistent hits with it, even in a fairly mild breeze.

It is fun to shoot. Not as explosive on small varmints as say a 125g Speer TNT loaded in a .308, but not many crawl-offs either.

Edit: to add, I find the Hornady ammo more accurate than the CCI. Even the hotter CCI, especially made for the A17, was less accurate in my rife
 
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Love mine

I have a Cz452 Sillouette but with a walnut stock - my stock broke and CZ didn't make those anymore so gave me this one. I did a basic trigger shim and spring job on it and it is crazy accurate. Small and light, smooth action - I'll take it to an Appleseed one of these days to see if I can qualify with a bolt gun.

Highly recommend and the ammo is not too bad these days.
 
My CZ 455 17hmr is one of my favorite rifles to shoot, it's like a very accurate micro-centerfire. I can usually get a box of hmr for $13 or so, so it's pretty cheap given how well it shoots. I could probably load .223 for around the same price, but I honestly like being able to just grab a box and go sometimes without having to plan my loading ahead of time. In my experience the 17 hmr is head and shoulders above .22 lr for quick kills on appropriately sized animals. If it's something you're planning on eating, like squirrels or rabbits, a .22 will definitely cause less meat damage on a body shot.
 
The .17HMR is a fantastic varmint and small game round. I have two, a Savage 93 and a Ruger American. No problem with predators as large as coyotes as far as 150yds. I prefer the 20gr XTP for those. Not as explosive as the 17gr V-max but penetrate is guaranteed. I've taken crows as far as 250yds with it.


17 HMR is just about the same price as .223. .223 is a much better long range varmint round.
Click to expand...
Only if you compare the cheapest .223 available. All .17HMR ammo is high quality and you'll find that equal quality .223 is much more expensive.
 
Love mine, it's a Ruger All Weather 77-17 bolt gun. Feels like a full size rifle and has an excellent trigger. It is capable of 1/2" groups at 100 yards if the wind isn't blowing too hard. Most critters will stop dead right there if hit inside of 150 yards. Once took a coyote at 260 yards out in our back field, dropped in it's tracks and I thought YES, as I walked out to it about 10 seconds after I shot it it jumped up and ran another 30 yards or so and flopped over dead. Put a small hole in it's chest cavity up high and never mushroomed or exploded as the case is usually with 17 bullets. Did some testing and the velocity drops quite rapidly after about 180 yards. Don't seem to expand after that range.
 
Asking guys like us if you should buy a new gun is like asking a new car salesman if you need a new car. If you can afford it then get it coming! Justify it anyway you want. We will agree with you.
 
About the frequency of cleaning....it must vary from rifle to rifle. One poster says he cleans only after 500 rounds. My Anschutz needs to be cleaned after 100-150 rounds. It generally shoots best clean, so I clean mine fairly often and especially before a prairie dog hunt.
 
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