Are 17 Mach 2s totally useless?

[1slow01z71]

I intend to find out...

For some reason Ive been on a rimfire kick the last few months and now Ive got the beginnings of another build before my other ones are done but I didnt have much choice if I was ever going to do it. This is a 10/17HM2 build with the sweet Volquartsen carbon fiber tension barrel. The whole buid started by me looking at their barrels online since Ive been thinking about doing a PWS toggle action build and the PWS barrels arecarbon fiber tension barrels so I decided to go look at the pioneers of this technology. Ive never been a big 17HM2 fan but when I emailed Scott Volquartsen he informed me that they were discontinuing the 17HM2 barrels so I had to have one. I figured it would make for a nice cartridge to haul around on the deer lease during the off season for critters and its stil got enough ass to take out a small hog with an ear shot.

So the build is obviously the volq cabon fiber tensioned barrel with their black finish and thread muzzle in 17HM2, with their tungsten weighted competition bolt since the 17HM2 packs a bit more punch than 22lr the extra weight is needed to get the timing right. Many people have used weighted charge handles but I dont like how that keeps the weight not centered on the bore axis and people still have had problems with timing the bolt and bulged cases. The volq bolt is heavier and just an all around quality piece with all the typical accurizing goodies already done.

I also picked up a polymer trigger group as they seem to work better with the kidd drop in trigger kit. I dont need anything crazy light as this will be a brush gun too.
Ruger 10/22 "trigger job" kit
Im still trying to decide on what receiver to go with as there are so dang many options but Im thinking right now Ill probably end up orderin a kidd classic receiver as I really like the finish(black) and the way their rail is designed too.
Classic Receiver
I picked up some burris xtr medium height rings thatll hold my old vortex viper pst 2.5-10. Its a lot of scope for the little rifle but its just been sitting in the safe so itll do for now till I find a better use for the scope then itll get swapped out for a falcon menace 4-14. The scope

I know some will disagree with my choice in stock but for a gun thats going to get taken through the woods and I want to be light I think the hogue stocks are hard to beat so Ill be throwing one of them on in OD.
Hogue OverMolded Rifle Stock Ruger 10/22 .920 Barrel Channel

Hopefully the barrel likes having the sparrow hanging off the end of it. I havent been able to find much feedback on these tensioned barrels with a can hanging off the end of it.

 

[my human host]

My 17 mach 2 is one of the most useful guns I own.

I've only used the plastic tipped Hornady and Remington ammo in mine(boltgun). Expansion has been erratic on light animals like birds and rabbits. It hits woodchucks and coons hard at close range. Seems to take some fairly dense tissue/bone to get the bullets to do their thing.

 

[drhcobra]

Hm2 is definitely not useless, my setup is similar your build. VQ barrel and bolt, Hogue stock, Timney trigger, Vortex 4x12 diamondback scope, VQ scope mount. No sparrow for me in my state. If you have problems with rim blowouts try different lot or brand of ammo. I had trouble withe one lot of Eley otherwise no problems.

 

[JWV]

They cut squirrels heads right off and are very accurate. Also a hell of a lot cheaper than HMR.

 

[458win]

Best pigeon round ever created. Yank out the plastic tips for a massive hollow point. Works great inside in a shop or whatever. Long as you hit the pigeon first just leaves a big blood splatter on the tin (miss the pigeon and you have a hole though)

 

[1slow01z71]

Oh I know its a pretty cool caliber, just thought the title would catch some attention. Ive got a ruger X17 so Im a big fan of the little 17 caliber bullets. I just wanted an auto action and Volquartsen isnt making any more magnum bolts til summer some time and I didnt want to wait plus the 17hm2 likes the shorter barrel so itll work well for my intended use. I may end up eventually with a raptor stock but for now Ill start off with the hogue.

DRH, thats a nice rifle you have there and I know Ive seen a picture of it somewhere. Its one of the rifles that inspired my build. I might end up with the same scope as you too as I like the specs on it. Its much lighter and compact, how do you like it?

 

[drhcobra]

Oh I know its a pretty cool caliber, just thought the title would catch some attention. Ive got a ruger X17 so Im a big fan of the little 17 caliber bullets. I just wanted an auto action and Volquartsen isnt making any more magnum bolts til summer some time and I didnt want to wait plus the 17hm2 likes the shorter barrel so itll work well for my intended use. I may end up eventually with a raptor stock but for now Ill start off with the hogue.

DRH, thats a nice rifle you have there and I know Ive seen a picture of it somewhere. Its one of the rifles that inspired my build. I might end up with the same scope as you too as I like the specs on it. Its much lighter and compact, how do you like it?

I have 2, they make a nice scope for a compact rifle, they have pretty nice finger adjustable knobs under the caps and not to mushy.

 

[1slow01z71]

Had some difficulty getting the barrel seated in the receiver last night. Ended up throwing the receiver in the oven while the wife was baking some sopapilla cheesecake so why not throw a gun part in too. After about 5 minutes in there I took it out and the barrel dropped right in. I had plenty of time to clock the extractor slot to my satisfaction and then put a paper towel soaked with cold water on the barrel extension so the carbon fiber didn't get too heated up while the receiver cooled. After that it was pretty straight forward with the exception of the guide rod. Since the volquartsen bolt has a built in handle you don't get to put the quide rod in through the ejection port then toss the bolt in. You have to put the guide rod in the bolt then compress the crap out of it while simultaneously putting the bolt in. The use a screw driver to pop the guide rod into its hole. Its not that hard just takes a little precision and patience.




Just have to put the trigger kit in now and then Ill be good to go. Should get to break it in Sunday at Lonestar. Eventually I want to get some better glass for it, something like this
Vortex Optics - Diamondback 4-12x40 V-Plex
Would be nice, since the current scope is heavy as hell and the glass sucks even for a rimfire scope.

 

[woogie_man]

I use a sparrow on the end of my PWS T3, and haven't noticed any difference with it on or off. These barrels are extremely stiff and light weight as well.

Shouldn't have any problem with the can!

 

[drhcobra]

Nice job, hope it shoots as good as it looks.

 

[aidenpeacemaker]

17 mach and 17 hmr are great small criter rounds and great on rabbits

 

[ivanthesane]

17m2 ammo is available right now.... not so much on the 22lr front

 

[1slow01z71]

I use a sparrow on the end of my PWS T3, and haven't noticed any difference with it on or off. These barrels are extremely stiff and light weight as well.

Shouldn't have any problem with the can!

That's great to hear, Im hoping with any luck my can ought to be in my hands within the next month or so.

Nice job, hope it shoots as good as it looks.

Me too, hopefully this weekend. Had to make last minute trip to visit my 89 year old grandma this weekend so the range trip got put off a week.

17 mach and 17 hmr are great small criter rounds and great on rabbits

Im hoping its a lot of fun, especially when we trap a sow with some little ones. Ought to make for good moving target practice.

17m2 ammo is available right now.... not so much on the 22lr front

I haven't been able to find any online. My dad was able to find some for me while he was out of town to try. Once I find out whether it likes hornady or cci, Ill be placing a large order with midsouth most likely.

 

[hk9176251]

i love mine and use it quite a bit i have carbon barrel on my mag reaserch with hough over molded stock and kidd single stage trigger

 

[1slow01z71]

Finally got my suppressor in hand and took the rig out this past weekend. The results were less than stellar. Not sure if its the crappy BSA scope holding me back or what so I'll be putting a vortex viper pa 6.5-20 on it this weekend for some accuracy testing. With the can on I adjusted windage and elevation and was only able to get 2" groups out of it. When I took the can off my group dropped about 4". If I get these repeated results I'll be pulling the barrel and bolt for Kidd 22lr stuff.

 

[Stokes]

Of the four common rimfires, it's by far my least favorite, and one that I don't have anymore in my lineup.

 

[rgrmike]

I shot a squirrel at 110yds with a Savage and a Wal-Mart scope. Less than $200 in that set up and it's a shooter. I love the Mach 2.

 

[BradZ]

I have a marlin bolt in mach2 that's a great little shooter

 

[Clark]

My 17HM2 is nearly useless, but I have the 17HM2 reamer and so many bricks of the ammo, I have not given up and will build another rifle.

​Ruger 10/22, channeled out stock for bull barrel, Majestic Arms 17M2 barrel with Lothar Walther liner, Power Custom handle, STS trigger, 13x40x40 Leupold scope [focus ok at 40X at 50y]
Eley ammo 17 gr Blue Vmax bullet [8 cent ammo], 2192 fps, 2109, 2203, 2154, 2133, 2168 fps
1.1" 5 shot group @ 50y
.92"
.63"
.45"
.8"
.56"
.55"
1.56" 5 shot @ 100y
1.4" 5 shot @100 y

CCI 17 gr Black Vmax bullet, seemed to be around 2100 fps
1.3" @ 100y
.23 3+ shot @ 50y
1.05" 5 shot @ 50y
.92"
.65"
.81"
.98" case head blew

Hornady 17 gr Red Vmax bullet 2086 fps, 2157 fps
2" 9 shot @ 50y
.87" 5 shot @ 50 y
.67"
.5"
.97" 10 shot
.68" 5 shot
.67"
.9"
1.06"
1.13"

Once the 17HM2 gets dirty, the trouble is, the 17M2 does two hole touching, one flyer, and thenjams.

 

[1slow01z71]

Want a volq barrel and bolt to build another? I've gotta send my scope back in for service so I won't be able to retest this gun for a while.

 

[shaman]

Subscribing to see how this turns out. It's a hunting round, plain and simple. Anyone trying to turn it into a precision rimfire I think will be disappointed. For killing little things quickly, and some larger things as well, it is good.

 

[bob7-08]

i have a 17 mach 2 barrel for my sako quad i use mostly for crows and nutrias,deadly and very accurate on it,longest shot on a crow 170 meters with CCI's cartridges !the only issue is that these cartridges are quit e hard to find in my country.

 

[1slow01z71]

Subscribing to see how this turns out. It's a hunting round, plain and simple. Anyone trying to turn it into a precision rimfire I think will be disappointed. For killing little things quickly, and some larger things as well, it is good.

The fact you're calling it a hunting round doesnt absolve it from needing to be accurate. With the rest of the build I see no reason it shouldnt hold moa out to 200 on a good day. My 17hmr does that all day long so if the hm2 doesnt compare, a kidd barrel and bolt will be going in its place. I sent my scope off to vortex so when its back I'll try again. Its a 20x scope so I should be able to find out if its a shooter or not fairly easily. Ive only got about 200 down the pipe and I've got another 250 to shoot. If it doesnt calm down and settle in by then, I'll be yanking it out for 22lr parts.

 

[shaman]

The fact you're calling it a hunting round doesnt absolve it from needing to be accurate. With the rest of the build I see no reason it shouldnt hold moa out to 200 on a good day. My 17hmr does that all day long so if the hm2 doesnt compare, a kidd barrel and bolt will be going in its place. I sent my scope off to vortex so when its back I'll try again. Its a 20x scope so I should be able to find out if its a shooter or not fairly easily. Ive only got about 200 down the pipe and I've got another 250 to shoot. If it doesnt calm down and settle in by then, I'll be yanking it out for 22lr parts.

I'm not trying to absolve it. I bought it because of it's flat trajectory, lack of ammo choices, and purported accuracy. Plus, when I bought it was cheaper than anything put bulk per round. Day after day here and RFC I see people talking about how accurate he HMR is and slamming the HM2 because the "best group ever" is larger than the HMR's. I'd like to see MOA out to 150 even. The little pill is running out of steam fast out there.

 

[Clark]

Evidently when I bought all those bricks, it was 8 cents a round.

It has not appreciated like 30-06 black tip ammo that was 10 cents a round.

 

[shaman]

have you looked at gunbroker lately?

 

[jake6547]

I love mine, so far its killed everything I aim at, I still can't believe how it kills ground hogs. I shoot and they don't even move unlike any 22 I've ever shot.

 

[shaman]

There is a good article in the latest VHA magazine discussing the problems with the 17hm2 loadings

If you don't have it I can sum it up later tonight.

 

[ringet421]

this is my 17HM2 and it is amazing. out the other day with some freinds getting out big game rifles tuned for moose season and had some small coke bottles sitting at 200 yards in a good 4 mph wind and held on the cap and hit every time. i know 200 yards is close range but never missed a shot. my friends and their 270, 300wn and 338 couldnt hit consistantly every shot. it was fun showing them up with the tiny 17.

Savage MKII GV 17HM2 show and tell - YouTube

 

[ringet421]

not to mention the scope on it is about as cheap as you can get Bushnell Banner 3x9 from my rem 770 lol but i guess it holds zero ok lol

 

[1slow01z71]

I got rid of the barrel and bolt from this setup. It just wasnt consistant enough accuracy wise and dirty as hell. Tons of suppressor shift when the sparrow on. Ive gotten into reloading so that holds more allure anyway at this point besides not having yet another caliber to stock up on thats ridiculously hard to find. The receiver is getting a kidd ultra light barrel and kidd bolt.