17HMR

[RoadRunner20]

what does everyone think about 17hmr. i want something a little more than a .22LR but dont want to spend more than a few hundred. i found a savage 93R17GUL for 209.00 but dont know if i should buy it, but its kinda hard to find lefty bolt actions. or any lefty comb. any ideas or advice?

[picksbigwagon]

what are you looking to do with it, squirels, rabbits, plinking????? they are fun to shoot, amazingly accurate at 100 yards, but really make a mess of small game at close ranges

[almostthere!]

17HMR is a great killing round. Have a cousin in Missouri who regularly kills wild boars with one. Shot placement is the key.

You don't have to worry about the "mess" anymore. CCI came out with a FMJ last year which leaves very small entry and exit wounds. Just make sure you know what is beyond your target.

[koonie]

Wild boars with a 17 cal?

What does he do walk up to them and shoot them in the head?

It is more or less a small game or plinking caliber.

Generally speaking you'd be undergunned for anything larger than a fox.

[ScoutII]

A 17M2 is flat shooting out to 100 yds. But if you want some punch at a 100 yds. a 22 Mag. is the way to go.

[Whopper Stopper]

This would be a good excuse for you to try something different. I have a 17 HMR barrel for my Contender. If I do my part it's 3 under a dime at 100 yards every time. From here the fever begins to spread!

WS

[almostthere!]

Koonie,

He shoots them right behind the ear. Shot placement is the key.

Recently, I purchased a wild boar from a trapper. To kill it, he shot it right behind the ear with a 22 Short. The beast dropped on the spot.

If a 22 Short can do that to a boar, a 17 HMR would have no problem doing the same to a boar at 100 yards. What is more important: a small caliber that will allow you to hit where you aim or a big caliber that will cause you to flinch?

[RoadRunner20]

i would generaly be using it for small game, see i live out in the country and we have a lot of varmints that come up to our house, and cause trouble..the largest animal that i would ever shoot with it would maybe be a coyote if i ever saw one come up to the house or if i was out hunting. but mainly using it for coon, squirrel, opossom ect. besides my dad has a .22 that i "borrow" when varmints come into the yard, i just use shorts with that though. but i wanted a 17hmr so i could get the coons when the ran away, something with a little more range.

[koonie]

That is quite interesting.

How does he hunt these hogs? Is he up in a stand? What kind of distances is he shooting at? How big are they? Does he have anything for a backup just in case?

I've always seen and read about people shooting them with bigger bores. This would be quite the challenge. Probably kind of scary hunting from the ground if you don't make a good shot.

I'm ready to give it a try.

[Whoaru99]

I'm not too familiar with the .17 HMR, but my .22 Mag works for me and I can actually get ammo in the town where I live...

Here is the conclusion from some reading I just finished on the .17 HMR vs .22 Mag.

"The .17 HMR and .22 WMR are both useful varmint and small game cartridges. Ammunition and rifles for both are widely distributed and commonly available. Recoil and muzzle blast are low for both, particularly from a rifle. They are good cartridges for use in semi-populated areas.

.17 HMR ammunition is generally more expensive than .22 WMR ammunition, but the difference will not be an unbearable burden to most small game and varmint hunters. For inexpensive practice at the range, neither is in the price class of the .22 Long Rifle.

Used with proper ammunition, the .17 HMR has an advantage in velocity, trajectory, and accuracy. The .22 WMR has an advantage in energy, bullet frontal area, sectional density, and consequently killing power.

After researching and writing this article, I have reached a conclusion about these two cartridges. I would favor the .22 WMR for shooting small game and varmints within 100 yards, and the .17 HMR if shots often run much beyond that distance."

I'd like to add that even though the .17 has some advantage over the .22 Mag at distance, there still isn't enough left left for predators, IMO.

[CAJ]

I am a firm beleiver in the 17 HMR. I have taken 6 Coyotes with mine. I have put a lot of time shooting it, so am able to place the shot in the Ear or behind at 50 to 75 yards. I think that you don't want to stretch the distance to far, but a very good Yard and Varmit rifle. It is the best Gopher gun I have ever had. You re3aly know when they are hit. The shells are spendy, but who cares. The price of fish per pound isn't very cheap either. CAJ

[Christopher Quast]

99 i know this much you will really njoy the 17hmr compared to the 22 these things r tackdrivers and mine doesnt even have a sweet 17 scope on it it has 1/4moa and i can have a 5shot group at 100yds that a dime will cover dropped a coon at 150yds didnt even twitch with the remingtons premier load

whatever u do dont waste your money on a cheap scope save 100bucks and get a sweet 17

[Whoaru99]

No plans to buy a .17 HMR...

I already have two regular .22 rifles (one is a REALLY nice Browning copy of the Winchester 52B), a .22 semiauto pistol, a .22 Magnum, and next up is the .223. I believe I have the small caliber end covered.

If anything, I'd probably look at a .243 to fill the gap between the .223 and my .270. Or, perhaps on the other side, a .300 Mag (and use for deer too with the managed recoil loads) or maybe even a .338 Mag with the same thing in mind.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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I am a firm beleiver in the 17 HMR. I have taken 6 Coyotes with mine. I have put a lot of time shooting it, so am able to place the shot in the Ear or behind at 50 to 75 yards. I think that you don't want to stretch the distance to far, but a very good Yard and Varmit rifle. It is the best Gopher gun I have ever had. You re3aly know when they are hit. The shells are spendy, but who cares. The price of fish per pound isn't very cheap either. CAJ

---

Ever seen what a .22 Mag JHP does to a gopher?

Not much left besides a few scattered pieces...

[troutmaster]

if you go to the gamo HSOforum for pellet rifles they shoot and kill a wild hog with a pellot rifle so yes a 17hmr would be more then enough.

[snapcrackpop]

I like my 17HMR. I just traded the BSA Sweet 17 in for a Simmons Varmint 6.5-20x40AO. It was $89. Shooting less than 1" at 100 yards is easy.

The rimfirecentral HSOforum has a great amount of info about it.

[fishermann222]

I have a .17 HMR and I use it to shoot fox. Great little gun. HOWEVER, if you have any wind it is not a good round, the wind drift you get is AMAZING.