17 hmr

[RidgeRebel]

Anybody shoot a 17 hmr. I was thinking of purchasing one for target shooting and light varmint hunting. I would have never considered one before when 22lr ammo was cheap. I couldn't see spending that much more for rimfire ammo. But I have noticed that 17 hmr ammo is available at most stores around here and isn't too badly priced. So my question is what rifle to buy and how effective is the round (distance wise) on small varmints maybe a coyote? Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Recoil Operated]

Re: 17 hmr

I shoot a Savage 93R17 for practice and light varmint shooting. Much more accurate than my .22s at longer ranges out to 200 yds. Longest shot on a rabbit was 225 with one spotter round that hit about 10 yds short. Seemed he really didn't notice it. Next round was to the back of the head with devistating results! Easy to set the .17 up to simulate my other rifles and is much cheaper to shoot, resulting in more trigger time.

 

[krink85]

Re: 17 hmr

Love my 17. My furthest hit was a hair over 100 at a tree rat. Could only see 1/2 his head. Took me 3 shots to actually hit it. One was too low one hit right over it and then a final head shot. My little brother was "spotting" for me and almost shit his pants when he saw the final hit. He said its head was there than gone. I then let him use it for the rest of the summer and he put 2000 rnds down the tube. Great rnd for shooting small things at a distance. On a coyote though i would keep it to head shots and under 100 yrds.

 

[blboyd]

Re: 17 hmr

I also have a Savage 93R17. My first Savage rifle... hehe

It's a great shooter. I can consistently put 5rds inside each other at 50yds. Shoots very nice groups at 100yds. I haven't stretched it out to 200yds yet but hope to within the next couple weeks.

If you decide to buy one and spend some time on the trigger you will certainly learn one thing.... to dope to wind.

I have a nice 3-9X piece of glass on mine and it's more than adequate. If you send much time over on RimfireCentral they'll convince you that you need at least 24X to shoot to 150yds - freaking insane!

Brandon

 

[Asm1]

Re: 17 hmr

Ive the savage light barrel 17HMR synthetic its a 1/2" gun at 60 yards or better we have put 800 rounds plus down it and it will shoot with any of the HEAVY BARREL lam stock 17HMRs at 1/2 the weight nice for us when we walk about.
my kid shooting his 17HMR out the window at 70 yards..





5 round group,dont want lowlight getting upset with 3 round groups and all..

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[clmayfield]

Re: 17 hmr

I like 17HMR because you can shoot it out to 100 yards accurately. My Marlin is sub-MOA at 100 yards. You can't do that with a 22LR... especially not a $300 .22LR.

At shorter distances, a .22 can perform better... if you drop a ton of money on it. As has been said again and again, .17HMR ammo is much more expensive. You can get top-of-the-line match grade ammo for the same price as a box of .17HMR (right now, at least).

I had plans to build the ultimate .17 HMR, but you are always left with the ammo issue... nobody makes match grade, so it is tough to get groups much tighter than .5 MOA @ 100, even with a perfect gun.

Now, if you have a low budget, I think the .17HMR is a good investment if you want out-of-the-box accuracy. Also, as a varmint gun, the .17 is far superior because you also have a choice of hollow points or ballistic tips, both of which give great terminal ballistics and you can reach out to 150 yards or better if you have to. If you want to keep the pelts, FMJ is an option as well.

 

[3rd eye blind]

Re: 17 hmr

I have a Ruger 77/17 Target w/NIkon 4x14x40 scope. I have been able to hit empty 12 gauge shells at 200 yards, if there is no wind. Come up was 6'' from 100 yard zero. The little 17 grain bullet does not like wind.

 

[ggarrett1911]

Re: 17 hmr

Another happy 93r17 owner here...ditto on the shooting shotgun hulls (& larger rifle brass) @ 200 yards. It's in the middle of a makeover at the moment & I can't wait to get it done!

 

[sniper7mm]

Re: 17 hmr

My buddy and I both have Ruger 77/17's he just put a Shilen barrel on his. Ragged 1 hole groups @ 100 yds all day long!! now I need one!!

Side note They seem to run out of steam about 250 yds. We were shooting are centerfires @ 300 and decided to see how the 17's would do. They key holed @ 300.

 

[psinclair]

Re: 17 hmr

Get one youll love it! you wont want to shoot a .22 long rifle again! Ive got a ruger 77 .22 mag converted to .17HMR by dropping in a Lilja barrel...shoots the 17 hornady @ 2775fps!!

Best gopher gun ever!!

 

[drake1]

Re: 17 hmr

me and several buddies have the marlin 917vs and everyone of them is a tackdriver. they do a decent job on coyotes at closer ranges, but as far as squirrels , rabbits and that kinda stuff they are the cats ass!

 

[10FPshooter]

Re: 17 hmr

93r17 is a great shooter for the money. I never take out the 22lr anymore. 17hmr is a lot more fun.

 

[SavageStag]

Re: 17 hmr

I have a Marlin 917vr, and it is a blast. I would recommend one.
Alot of fun for cheap.

 

[SmokeRolls]

Re: 17 hmr

I just bought my second one....I sold the fist to a guy I'm trying to get into shooting.. I really love the Savage 17HMR 20" bull barrel.. Out of the box accuracy is comparible with the Cooper 17HMR and that is somewhere in the $1,500 ?? range. ( correct me if I'm wrong.) I have gotten one enlargened hole at 50 yards and about a 1/2" group at 100. I loved it so well, that I bought one in stainless and with the accutrigger for a smoother pull..... I highly recommend the savage, my next choice would be a CZ in bull barrel configuration. Whatever the 22LR can do at 50 yards the 17 HMR can do at 100-120 yards. I have heard to keep the coyote shooting to a max of 100 yards but I'm sure that it could clean ones clock at further distances but I think it's power is within it's sweet spot ( 0-120 yards.) Beyond that I would grab a 223 or a 22-250.....Have fun deciding.......SmokeRolls

 

[DeeGee]

Re: 17 hmr

I have a .17HMR CZ 452 Varmint, with the bull barrel. Matches my .22, and is a lot of fun to shoot. Yes ammo costs more, but you get longer range and it is somehow a different experience than the .22. I really like having idential rifles in 2 calibers. The CZ is a sweet rifle in any incarnation, and shoots well right out of the box, while having many cheap or free tweaks available.

 

[bohem]

Re: 17 hmr

I have a Savage 93 in 17 HMR, I really like it a lot. Much less than MOA at 100y and it behaves nicely well past that. I'm looking to take it to 300 next time I get it out.

I've seen a 200 yard tree rat hit with the round, one story on here claims a 401y second round hit on a woodchuck with it.

I like the Savage more than the Marlin 917 because of the accutrigger. The marlin's stock triggers are miserable, putting a rifle basix in the thing costs a lot more than the savage would cost right off the shelf.

Carter, I have a Marlin 25N that I shoot right on MOA or slightly less with cheap ammo (bulk remington) at 100y. Both right around an inch including a vertical flier. I shot a 5 round group, noted a wind issue, sat down and printed the second 5 rounds.

The 925 (same rifle) currently goes for about $225 out the door. If you don't believe me I'll scan the targets for you. Marlin makes a damn fine rimfire rifle for the money.

 

[LNO1]

Re: 17 hmr

You would absolutely love the performance and economics of the CZ 452. Outstanding little rifle that can do squirrel head shots at 100yds all day.

 

[Liberator TJ1984]

Re: 17 hmr

+1 on the CZ452 my boy has one and it's extremely accurate & quality workmanship

on the ammo side > buy in bulk 1000rds or more from the likes of say...ammoman, cheaperthandirt,etc...
my son uses a little bag that clips onto his belt with a zippered top ...it will hold a few hundred loose rounds easily...

 

[CleverName]

Re: 17 hmr

Glad I saw this thread, I need a rimfire, and I'm starting to consider a 17HMR or possibly a 17HM2 as opposed to a 22LR. Speaking of 17HM2, (slight thread hijack), how does it compare to 22LR and 17HMR?

 

[Longguns]

Re: 17 hmr

I have a .17 HMR and am very impressed with it. 200 yds is about its limit. Very accurate. I shoot the 20 gr XTP bullet with good results. Haven't shot a coyote yet though. You can shoot a .17 grain bullet for more velocity. Good Round.

 

[Longguns]

Re: 17 hmr

Forgot to add in other post this cartridge does not do well in wind. Blows off course bad. But look at size of bullet. Still a great round and very explosive on game.

 

[bohem]

Re: 17 hmr

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VTR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a .17 HMR and am very impressed with it. 200 yds is about its limit. Very accurate. I shoot the 20 gr XTP bullet with good results. Haven't shot a coyote yet though. You can shoot a .17 grain bullet for more velocity. Good Round. </div></div>

I got 8/10 hits from the 17 Vmax bullet in the CCI loadings at a 400y torso silohuette. It drew quite the attention at the range when the wind died enough to hear the hit come back. At 300y it was not particularly a challenge to pop an 8" rock over and over so I moved to the steel at 400y. It's viable to kill woodchucks at that range, if I can find a place to go hunt them with it. The hits were in a pie plate sized group. The two misses are because I didn't take my time with the wind and they landed off target.

 

[mp45acp]

Re: 17 hmr

I have found the .17 hmr to be hard hitting and very accurate.

The bullet doesnt do well in wind, but is fun to shoot.

as close you can get to a miniature centerfire as possible.

pretty good training round, just be aware of the wind limitations.

In regards to hunting, seems a bit light for anything over 20 pounds, but I have seen some guys have good results with yotes out to 150 yards or so.

I have a savage, with a BSA sweet .17 on mine.

have fun!

 

[7mmRM]

Re: 17 hmr

Ive shot alot of Pdogs beyond 300yrds with a 17Hummer. Fun little rifles for sure.