Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

Maser

Maser

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    • May 17, 2006
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    #1
    What exactly is the problem with this cartridge and the conversion for the 10/22? I looked at the ballistics and they are great and best yet they fit in any 10/22 magazine. For awhile now I been wanting to convert my 10/22 from .22LR to .17HM2 and all that's required is the .17HM2 barrel and a heavier bolt. What is so uninteresting about that? I recently looked for the conversion system again and it said it was discontinued because "lack of interest" or whatever it was. I can't be the only small game/varmint hunter who thinks that cartridge would be great in a 10/22 to increase downrange energy and trajectory without having to buy an entire new rifle.

    So what gives? Is it just there's no demand for the conversion system or is the cartridge in general that is getting no demand?
     
    #2
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    The EABCO conversions are discontinued because of a lack of decent ammunition. A problem with squib loads IIRC. As far as I know you can still get Volquartsons conversion barrel and bolt, but for the price you could have a dandy bolt gun chambered for it and a scope and a sling and rings and targets and gas money to the range and... you get my point. Looks like a fun little cartridge. I had the 17 HMR when it came out but sold it after a year of it sitting in the safe. It didn't fill a role for me. My marlin 22 was/is my go to for little stuff. If the 22 wont get it, the 223 will. As neat as it was, it was useless to me. Luckily my cousin thought it was neat enough to buy from me. Now it sits in his safe untouched.

    Good luck.

    I also have a 22 WMR that sits in my safe untouched filling the same nonexistent role that the 17HMR took over for a while.
     
    #3
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    I looked into them but found more negative reviews then positive. Ruptured cases, out of battery ignition, and so on. I sort of lost interest.

    I owned a .17M2 Savage bolt gun for a while but it didn't shoot that much better (if any) compared to my .22's so I sold it. The ammo cost more and since I was just punching paper with it really didn't see the point. For small varmints that aren't too far away it seems to be a pretty good choice though.
     
    #5
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    I built one up this year for sage rats. I loved it. I did a little planning and a lot of reading to help minimize any problems I might have.

    I decided on running a 16.5" barrel to release the pressure as soon as possible. If I remember correctly around 19" is supposed to get you to maximum pressure/velocity.

    Most of the people that had problems I read about were using a weighted bolt handle. I'm sure there are many good weighted bolt handles that work just fine. I decided on trying the Volquartsen 17m2 weighted bolt. They put the additional weight right on the bolt. I think CT-Precision does the same thing.

    I bought a Kidd 2 stage trigger. I asked them if I needed a magnum trigger spring with the vq bolt and they said I didn't. Another poster on another forum was told just the opposite, so I decided to play it safe and bought the magnum trigger spring.

    Gunking up always seems to be a problem with 10/22s, dirty ammo, and certain lubes. I decided to run a dry lube to avoid this problem.

    People that have/had problems with their conversions seemed to be using the gamut of ammo. No one particular brand of ammo seems to be the cure all. I got in a group buy of Eley ammo and was very pleased with the results.

    I mainly used my rifle for walking fence lines this year. It was responsible for quite a few kills and a whole lot of fun. I didn't run into a single problem with it. I made sure to carry around a bore snake and run it through every once in awhile to make sure things stayed clean and safe.

    My recipe for my rifle is:
    MCM Intimidator Stock Pillar Bedded With Devcon
    VQ SS Receiver
    VQ .17m2 Bolt
    Lilja 16.5" .17m2 Barrel (no they are not on his web site, but if you ask nicely he will make one for you at no extra charge)
    Kidd 2 Stage Trigger With Magnum Spring
    Kidd Receiver Pins
    Kidd Bolt Buffer

    Can you build a functional and safe semi auto 17m2 rifle cheaper, absolutely, I just used more cents than sense in building mine and couldn't be happier with the results.
     
    #6
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    i was going to find a cheap used 10/22 and do the convertion but i found a magnum reaserch 17mach2 and orderd it it sould be here on the 9th i think the supplier has one more in stock http://www.bigskyguns.com/Magnum_Research-Magnum_Research_MagnumLite_MLR-1722_.17_Mach-2.html p.s. i'v found that most of the people that have tried to talk me out of one have never shot one or try to steer you to the hmr i have a hmr bolt gun and love it i still wanted a mach2 semi auto so i ordered one i say go for it and have fun if thay stop making ammo i can at home rebarrel and have a real nice 22!! also here you can get the convertion http://www.cdnninvestments.com/10to17bacoki.html
     
    #7
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    The problem with the conversion is getting the timing right. The higher pressures of the M2 is what causes the blowouts on the case head. Even a high velocity .22 round can do this.`The bolt speed needs to be slowed down to what it was with a 22 round. A heavy charging handle, weighted bolt, heavy recoil spring, hammer spring, shorter barrel length can all help. Also keeping the chamber squeaky clean is a must. My conversion ran very smoothly. I never had a blowout but always had a slight bulge in the case heads.
     
    #9
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    The first .17HMR semiauto to hit the market was the Remington 597. When it started having <span style="font-weight: bold">KBs!</span>, there was a lot of finger-pointing, mostly between Remington and Hornady. Remington issued a "voluntary recall" of the .17HMR 597 and Ruger scrapped the planned 10/17. The ammo companies issued notices that their .17HMR bullets shouldn't be fired in any autoloading rifle not approved for its use by the manufacturer.

    My suspicion from the start was that Remington had let a few rifles with "out of spec" chambers get out of the house. For one thing, many of the rifles that <span style="font-weight: bold">KB!</span>ed did so on multiple occasions. Others had run thousands of rounds with no problems. This led me to suspect the rifles more than the ammo.

    I think the cartridge was somewhat stigmatized because Remington dealt with the problem in a ham-fisted fashion. First, if there was a real, universal problem, would the recall have been "voluntary"? And they only offered $200 in credit with Remington, not a full-fledged refund, and $250 for the HB models, but MSRP on the HB was more than $500.

    There was enough hue and cry from 597 owners that Remington finally decided to sweeten the pot and offered to re-barrel the rifles in .22WMR of the same profile as the OE barrel. But there were many 597 owners -- like me -- whose .17HMR shot close to 1" @100 yards and were none to keen on swapping it for a .22WMR that could be expected to group closer to two inches than to one.

    So I E-mailed Volquartsen, fishing for some insider information. Scott answered and said the primary problems with the Remingtons were headspace specs and manufacturing tolerances, and that neither would be the case his his rifles.

    Long story short, I think all the machinations tarnished the reputation of an excellent cartridge for no good reason.
     
    #11
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    My bad, do tend to get my wires crossed them when people use HM2 instead of M2 or "Mach 2".

    Yeah, I have seen one report of a <span style="font-weight: bold">KB!</span> with the M2 but an one <span style="font-weight: bold">KB!</span> could be anything but definitley isn't a trend.
     
    #13
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    I tried converting mine. Started with MR conversion from CDNN, then tried rimfiretechnologies bolt handle and accurized bolt, a different barrel, heavier springs, a Power Custom heavy bolt handle etc etc etc. Mine wouldn't stop rupturing rims. I choose to sell off the parts and get a custom bolt action for less than I had into the 10/22. The 10/17 was super accurate and fun, but it just wouldn't work for me and I was done putting money into it.

    I would recommend the custom built ones versus doing your own conversion if you got the $$$ to spend. I'm very happy with my SMOS custom built bolt gun.
     
    #15
    Re: Ruger 10/22 .17HM2 Conversion?

    I bought the Magnum Research CF barrel and heavy bolt handle. It shoots great and I have not had the splitting problems at all.
    I bought a bunch of Hornady ammo and some CCI. Both worked well but Hornady shot more accurately.
    After I built the 17AH, all my 17 rimfires went dormant.
    As a matter of fact, I might just throw my conversion and ammo out there for sale soon.
     
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