Why do I need a .17?

[Armored farmer]

I have a few .22lr rifles, and two nice .22magnum rifles.

What would a .17 do for me that my .22s wont?

 

[Bayourambler]

Nothing. I have not found much use for a .17 . Its loud and everything I've shot with mine tore up too much meat! Squirrels, rabbits, etc. , it will darn near cut them in half! However, it is a great crow killer! I brought my ruger m77/17 to the last gun show, I couldn't hardly give it away. I kept it to dispatch varmints.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I like my HMR. It's very accurate and works well if you head shoot small game.
Like Bayou rambler said it destroys the body if you hit it.
It's great if you have a MIL dot scope and no wind.

 

[entropy]

Empty your wallet faster and make more noise, and demolish bodies (and pelts) more. The .22 Mag is a much more versatile gun.

 

[Varminterror]

Depends which 17 you're considering.

17WSM does a LOT the 22WMR only dreams about.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I like my Savage 17HMR. It does a lot of damage, which is what I want. Not terribly loud and the range and accuracy of the tiny bullet is impressive.
Will it do anything your other rim fires won't? Probably not but that kind of logic won't allow for many new guns.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

I was at the outdoor range today. The gun a ways down from me was shooting a 17. I was very impressed. (By the noise) Man that sucker was loud.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have a 17 Remington AR-15. Cool rifle. Very accurate. Puts itty bitty holes in things.

 

[someguy2800]

If the wind isn't blowing you can shoot shotgun shells at 200 yards with a 17 hmr.

 

[Dr T]

I will only note that I see a lot more 17 HMRs on the used rack than I do 22 LRs and 22 WMRs. So, you could say they fill up the used gun section more efficiently.

 

[Scooter22]

It will allow you to use a coat hanger as a cleaning rod. AFAIC .22 is a small enough hole to clean.

 

[GBExpat]

Why do I need a .17?

You need it. You want it. You should have it.

 

[rayatphonix]

My 17 HMR shoots groundhogs at distances my 22LR can’t. Wasn’t an issue when the ‘hogs were complacent, but now they’ve learned.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Since I bought my first 17, a cz in about 2003, I don't think I have fired a 22 magnum rifle. Excluding handguns all my 22 mags have been in a safe since then. I like its performance on varmints much better and the flat short range trajectory suits a rimfire better imo. For any distance I step up to 223. I also have matching pairs of 17 and 22 mag in cz 452 rifles, as well as Marlins. In both cases the 17 is considerably more accurate, so I feel like the ammo is better, as I can't imagine much difference in tolerances between like rifles.
As far as price there is little difference, and at times ive seen 17 cheaper, like during the panic. I doubt I ever buy another magnum. I've shelved all my calibers except 17- 223-300mag- then 338 lapua. Every time I add a caliber to my collection I say "no more" and there are some I truly question why, (5.7 would be at the top of that list) but i don't regret adding the .17 hmr.
As far as the little 17 mach or the other new 17 rimfire I have no experience.

 

[Armored farmer]

My 17 HMR shoots groundhogs at distances my 22LR can’t. Wasn’t an issue when the ‘hogs were complacent, but now they’ve learned.

If the wind isn't blowing you can shoot shotgun shells at 200 yards with a 17 hmr.

I have a 17 Remington AR-15. Cool rifle. Very accurate. Puts itty bitty holes in things.

I like my HMR. It's very accurate

My neighbor also claims his .17 is his most accurate rifle.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

My neighbor also claims his .17 is his most accurate rifle.

They are remarkably accurate. You need to clean the bore more often than a 22 to maintain accuracy.
We have a lot of stripped ground squirrels around here, it turns them into a red mist.

 

[crestoncowboy]

My 17 hmrs are far and away my most accurate rimfires. My above post was purely about 17 HMR and 22 mag
As far as centerfire 17s I have a couple but wasn't impressed. I don't care for the super light bullet if I'm putting up with that much noise, filth, and reloading for it too. I'd skip to a varmint 223. I never got any better accuracy from 17 rem. over 223 or 22 swift when handloaded. With the swift/ 17 rem/ or the 223wssm I was always hesitant to shoot much because of the barrel life. My hornady manual even has a warning about barrel life (as in hundreds not thousands) of the 223 wssm. But I think the max speed listed is 4600fps. I have, and someday likely will again, used 17 rem. And wouldn't really say anything bad about it. But if limited to a certain number of centerfire rifles, I'd skip 17 and jump to 223 or 22-250. Thankfully we aren't limited.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My neighbor also claims his .17 is his most accurate rifle.

I wouldn't say it's my most accurate because a breeze will move it a lot. But it will put 5 in a nickel at 100yds if it's calm.

 

[morcey2]

My dad uses his Savage 17 HMR specifically to control ground squirrels on my brothers farm. It works much better for that than the 22 LR that he had been using.

Matt

 

[loose noose]

I recently acquired a 17HMR in the Savage, and it is extremely accurate out to 150 yards, however out here it is rare when the wind isn't blowing, when just about any breeze will throw that little slug 2-5" off your intended target. I do believe the heaviest bullet you can purchase is the 20 grain. I placed a really nice Leopold scope on it, but I do believe I'm going to take it off and place a Weaver K4, and use the Leopold on my new Ruger RSI.

 

[entropy]

The centerfire .17's and .17HMR get the nod for having longer range than .22 mag for varminting in windless conditions. Here in the real world, the .22 mag is fine in some wind at ranges one might shoot varmints in an Illinois farm.
Of course, you already have a .204 and .223 that are more than adequate for varmints, Armored Farmer, so if you want a .17, it's just because you want one-that can be reason enough.

 

[Texas10mm]

I picked up a pencil barrel Savage B-Mag when Walmart was closing them out. The .17 WSM is a great round. It was sitting on the shelves when there was no other rimfire available.

 

[Armored farmer]

I was curious as to what you .17 guys were using them for.
It sounds like light varmint/pest/target gun.

 

[someguy2800]

My dad has killed a bunch of yotes with his but he mainly uses it for prairie dogs.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I've found that wind drift is exaggerated by most people in the heavy (for caliber) v-max. At 200 yards or less I can't recall ever missing anything with my hmr. Granted there is far more drift than any other round ive used, i don't find it to be an issue inside the range it was designed for. Even the 2-5 (ive seen 2 inches at 100 ) inches listed above, which I feel is pretty accurate, is a hit on a groundhog. Where I live wind is broken up by the mountains so it's either calm or whipping enough to knock my 200 lbs around and not suitable for small bullets (or being outside), not much in between.
As far as uses, anything up to coyote (ours run small if internet hunters are to be believed at 17-25lb average, the biggest ive personally weighed was 36 lbs) I've not had problems killing and the noise level in 17 HMR (or 22 mag) is low enough that a quick shot at a pest without plugs doesn't bother me although I'll use plugs or muffs if time allows. The damage for the little v-max is massive. Ive got pictures from coyote and bobcat that people argue aren't shot with a rimfire. The nastiest being a between the eyes shot on a bobcat in a chicken coupe that was an instant and convincing kill. My guns didn't shoot the hollow points good so I never hunted with them. Conversely my 22 magnums back when I used them (from Teen to mid 20s killing a hundred or more groundhog yearly plus predators and crow) didn't shoot the Remington polymer tips worth a crap so I'm comparing different bullets, but from thousands of dead varmints, the 17 hmr is easily my choice.

All that said, if I know I'm hunting coyote or bobcat I take a different caliber. But when I'm carrying the 17 on my atv or jeep hunting groundhogs and see coyote, it is adequate.