Anyone out there tried the .17rem rimfire cartridge/rifle? Looks like it could be a sweet looking set up. Think it will catch on? Its not in my budget atm but I'm hoping to get a look at one sometime this week .

 

You mean the .17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire)? I have a Ruger model 77/17 with a Burris 3x – 9x and to my surprise I can cover a 100 yard 3 shot group with a dime. Currently both Hornady and Remington make the ammunition and at least around here for a while it was really hard to come by (selling out as fast as it hit the shelves). The .17 caliber, 17 grain projectile doesn’t pack much of a wallop but is effective if used within the scope of its capabilities.

 

Thats the one !... I currently shot a .17rem with 25grain HP . I love it. Its accurate,quiet and blistering fast, i thought the 17HMR would make a great companion . Made a quick comparison on the Remington website last night and the ballistics are quite similarout to about 150 yards, obviousy the HMR packs a much smaller punch . We currently use 17 Rems for fox and coyote hunting, do you think the HMR would have enough punch to take down a fox'coyote at 150yds? Its not often we shoot much beyond that range because at that point the critters are on a dead run and someone tricky to hit LOL>. I did manage a 125yd shot on a fox , on a dead run, last week :-] Nice thing about the 17rem is that it does very little pelt damage, a pencil hole on each side.hmmmm and one more thing.... are the HMRs prone to richocet( frozen ground,stones etc)?? nice thing about 17rem is richocets are all but non existant because of the 4200fps speeds.

 

I've got a Marlin heavy barrel I've had for about a year I got the first one at my dealer. Its the best pickup gun I've ever had. I've shot fox and Jacks. The farthest I've taken a fox is about 170 yards It stumbled for about 70 yards but dropped. The one thing I like about it is that its so fast the wind doesn't bother that bad even though its only a 17grain shell.

 

I too have a .17 Remington that I bought used a long time ago. I also have a .22 rimfire, a .22 Hornet and a .220 Swift (besides the .17 HMR which is the newest member of my collection). Of course I have other firearms too but this represents the bulk of my smallbore collection.

The .17 HMR doesn’t come close to being as effective on larger small game (such as groundhog or fox) as the .17 Remington. On groundhogs the .17 Rem is very lethal at ranges of up to about 200 yards. Beyond that my .220 Swift is the better choice. With the .17 Rem there was very little visible damage to the groundhogs no matter what the range but the internal damage was horrific (that high speed projectile disintegrates upon impact) so the kills were clean.

I’d say the .17 HMR should be limited to Prairie Dog sized game or smaller. Recently I observed a strangely acting large Raccoon near the farmhouse in the daytime so I grabbed the .17 HMR and dispatched it at a distance of about 40 yards. I used a chest shot because I wanted to preserve the head in case the health department wanted to examine it to see if it was rabid. However the first shot didn’t kill cleanly and I fired another in quick succession to finish it off. It was a large raccoon though, probably around 25 lbs or so.

What the .17 HMR has going for it is its mild report, extreme accuracy and flat shooting out to about 125 yards or so. It’s great for rabbit, squirrel, prairie dogs (if you have them – we don’t but I’ve seen videos of it’s effectiveness on them) and groundhogs if you concentrate on head shots. Anything larger and it probably isn’t very humane.

About the .17 HMR and ricochets, I don’t think that is an issue (certainly not to the degree of a .22 rimfire) because that thin-skinned 17 grain Hornady V-Max bullet is designed to fragment upon impact. I’ve heard of cases of bullets at .220 Swift / .17 Remington velocities disintegrating after hitting a blade of grass or a leaf because of the extreme velocity. I don’t think this would be an issue with the .17 HMR, but impact with something solid like the ground will most likely cause complete destruction of that little bitty bullet.

 

thud if you're shooting a 17 rem now, don't waste your money on a hmr. The rem is much more versatile and being a centerfire is reloadable. The 17 rem can be loaded for pennies a round as opposed to $10 a box for hmr.

Don't take this wrong as the hmr is a good round and quite accurate. The 3 different pieces i've shot were at least. The only problems i've had was with the cci ammo as far as accuracy was concerned.

 

2TV,

very good post. You obviously have been around guns for some time and know your stuff. I do agree on the .17 Rem disintegrating upon impact.

Never shot one, but would love to have one. I have talked with predator hunters in the past and the only complaints were accuracy with windy conditions, and barrell life if they shot over 2000 rounds.

 

I have used a 17HMR on groundhogs out to 125-130 yards with great effectiveness.
Beyond that, out beyond 150 yards, forget it. The little bullet just doesn't carry
enough energy to kill cleanly. I got the 17 to use around a neighbors dairy
herd, the low report doesn't spook the cattle nearly as much as the 223 Rem
or 6mm Rem I would normally use. The 6mm scares the sh*t out of the cattle,
so it can't be used there.

However, I also have a 22 Hornet. It is more effective
at 150 yards, and the report is only slightly more.

Had I to do it over again, I would
not have bought the 17 HMR. Cost of ammo is
too high for the benifits gained. I can
reload the Hornet for 9 cents per round.

 

Why thank you LEP7MM. Yes, I’ve been around firearms for nearly 40 years and consider myself more of a collector and recreational shooter than a hunter. I hunted during my high school years and a little beyond, but now other than target shooting / plinking its pretty much limited to problem varmints (mostly groundhogs and rabbits).

My .17 Remington has always shot very well, although it doesn’t group as tight as the .17 HMR. I’ve also never fired factory ammo through it (only my own handloads as I bought a quantity of boxed unfired empty brass when I bought the rifle). It’s been a few years since I’ve last used it though, setting it aside when I got my .22 Hornet and .220 Swift. I bought the .17 HMR more as a novelty for my collection, but with the fine accuracy that it has I may use it for squirrel hunting if I ever get around to doing that again.

Next on my wish list is a .50 BMG. As of right now I’m considering the Armalite AR-50 (a left-handed model since I am a southpaw)…

 

2TV... Though I'm really a big bore fanatic, I do have a few small bores... but mostly the 17's, to me are just too small... my favorite small bore is with out a doubt the 22 hornet... in a Contender, I've shot Prairie Dogs out to 250 yards ( though thats obviously pushing the limit )... I have a CZ - 22 hornet rifle that shoots way tighter groups than I'll ever be capable of... awhile back, I bought a Tarus Raging Squirrel ( LOL ... Raging Hornet )... though this is an interesting gun, it'll never take the place of the Contender... My main problem with the HRM, is the "R"... though I don't have much time for reloading, I always save my factory brass, & have dies for most of the calibers I shoot... I wouldn't even think about buying a gun in a cartridge thats not reloadable ... now if they offered that in a factory 17 - 22 hornet cartridge... then they'd be taking my money...