.17 HMR: Just how popular is it?

[American Eagle]

I've come across a lot of talk about the .17 HMR driving the .22LR or .22WMR into extinction, and how this round is the greatest thing since the invention of the gun, but is this round really that popular as a plinker and varmint killer, or just overhyped?

I can't find a single gun shop where I live in Florida that carries the .17HMR rifles or ammo. The only place I've ever seen them on sale is in Bass Pro Shops, and then the selection of rifles is pretty abysmal...not a lot of different brands to choose. Come to think of it, other than Youtube, I've only seen two people in my life shooting a .17 rifle.

Is it just hype?

 

[Uncle Buck]

Don't know about hype, but it is a pretty neat little rifle.

My neighbor has one and I spent an afternoon shooting it. Went out that evening to Walmart and bought one. Never did get around to mounting a scope on it or even shooting the one I have. (Still in the box!)

One of these days.

 

[JWT]

Not sure how popular it is here but ammo is very easy to find locally. Ammo is also readily available with the on line sellers.
I just bought a Henry Golden Boy (lever action) .17 HMR this week and hope to get it to the range in the next day or so.
Have done a bit of target practice with a Savage bolt action my brother owns and it was a fun little gun to shoot and very accurate.
I think only time will tell how popular the cartrige becomes, but it seems to be growing.

 

[hogdogs]

I had an interest in them but they suffer too many limitations. While a hot little round, they do nothing way better than the .33 mag. As for puttin' the .22lr into extinction... won't happen so long as ammo is so expensive.

Brent

 

[kilimanjaro]

The .17HMR is not going to put anything out of production. Not even .22 Hornet, if someone is still making it.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

The 17HMR is a great round. Functionally, I do believe that it makes both the 22LR and 22mag obsolete. The ballistics and energy levels leave the 22LR in the dust and it shoots much flatter than the 22mag beyond 125 yards or so. It's a great round out to 200 yards. The problem is pricing. 50 rounds of HMR cost double, even triple, same name 22LR and sometimes 15-20% more than 22mag.

However, even the effect of pricing may not be significant depending on how much you shoot. I use the HMR for woodchucks. I'm not out there shooting 500 rounds a week. If you plan to use it for hunting, the price is pretty irrelevant. If you want to be a "plinker", you'd better be a wealthy one.

 

[carguychris]

One of the strikes against the .17HMR is that it's generally unsuitable as a handgun round except in very specialized applications.

You need a loooong barrel to get good ballistics from it, and even then, the tiny bullet goes against conventional wisdom for SD use. The bottleneck case is problematic in a revolver due to its inherent tendency to back up in the chambers when fired.* Finally, the ammo manufacturer's advisories against using the cartridge in a semi-auto firearm will probably preemptively kill any chance that a mainstream gunmaker will market a .17HMR automatic pistol.

I'm always careful to use the word "never" when talking about handguns, but I'm confident that the .17HMR will never approach the popularity of .22LR and .22WMR in handgun applications, particularly the former.

*Footnote: The only bottleneck cartridge to historically gain widespread market acceptance in revolvers is the .32-20 Winchester, probably because its case shoulder is so subtle that backup problems are minimal.

 

[C7AR15]

.17 is a good "gap" filler

Read the post from "PEETZAKILLA" again - my thoughts exactly.

I have 3 rifles in .22mag and 1 savage in .17HMR, I don't own a .22!!

Ammo for the .17 is expensive 6x more than .22LR !! So you can be sure the .22 will be around for another century.

 

[Hog Buster]

I’ve got a Marlin 17 HMR and find it to be a very good vermin eliminator. It’s very accurate out to about 150 yards, but lacks punch at greater ranges. But, what can you expect from a 17 grain bullet? Also the wind has a tendency to blow this light bullet around at ranges over a hundred yards or so.

It tears up small game such as rabbits and squirrel so is better suited for varmints or vermin. I’ve killed many coyotes and foxes with it and even a couple of small hogs. While I wouldn’t recommend it for hogs it worked fine on coyotes, foxes, feral dogs and smaller vermin.

Will it replace the 22’s? Not hardly, but it definitely fills a niche when it comes to pest control.

 

[B.L.E.]

*Footnote: The only bottleneck cartridge to historically gain widespread market acceptance in revolvers is the .32-20 Winchester, probably because its case shoulder is so subtle that backup problems are minimal.

There were a lot of revolvers chambered for .44-40 and .38-40, which also have a slight bottleneck.

 

[TX Hunter]

Its funny they say that, It seems that I see more new rimfires chambered for .22lr than anything else. I figured the 17 would be obsolete long before the .22Lr or .22 Magnum.

 

[bcrash15]

I have a Savage .17hmr and really like that gun. One good thing about the ammo is, at least for right now, that pretty much all of it is "match grade" quality, because there are only a few manufacturers making it and they are all holding tight tolerances. This is one of the things that gives it such a good reputation for accuracy. The cost is a downside I realized later. In fact, at current prices, I can get lower cost .223 for almost the same price per shot as .17. (But the .17 will probably outperform the cheap .223 at shorter ranges in terms of accuracy.) That is not going to stop me from shooting it though, it is an unexpectedly fun round. I love blasting golf balls and pieces of clay pigeons, etc. on the 100 yard berm with pinpoint accuracy.

 

[wingman]

Fun to shoot, accurate,down side ammo is expensive IMO, It would make a
great varmint control round at 170 yards or less, will never replace the 22lr.
I like mine(Savage 17hmr) however I find myself shooting 22lr and 223 more.

 

[Hog Buster]

The quality control on any brand of 17 HMR rounds greatly exceeds the quality control on any brand of 22’s. I’ve never had a dud with the 17 HMR while having many, many with various brands of 22. Plus the various brands of 17 HMR ammo seem to all shoot a decent group. Maybe not to the same point of aim, but still a group.

Not so with 22’s, from brand to brand there’s a wide difference in group size and in some cases calling it a group is stretching it a bit. Not to mention the FTFs you get. Apparently there isn’t much quality control when it comes to 22 ammo. This has held true for me no matter brand or type of 22 rounds purchased. Expensive target loads performed only slightly better, if at all, than cheap stuff. The only difference I’ve noticed between the cheap and the expensive is that the latter have a less FTF rate.

Being a reloader I don’t mind paying a bit more for quality rimfire stuff, the accuracy is worth it to me. So far I haven’t been able to find any 22 ammo that shoots as well, or as is consistent as the 17 HMR loadings.

 

[4EVERM-14]

For general plinking and recreational outings the .22 is hard to beat. Ammo cost is much lower and for serious target shooting there are brands that are world class. I shot prairie dogs with both ultra high velocity .22 and .17HMR with spectacular results. The 17 has made a place for itself but I doubt it will push the .22 off of the shelf.

 

[B.L.E.]

I get excellent groups with Wolf MT .22 standard velocity ammo and have yet to experience a FTF with that ammo.
I think that the consistancy of the primer is a huge factor in .22 rimfire accuracy and the FTFs you get with a lot of the cheap .22 ammo indicates a lack of primer quality control.
Match ammo for .22 is so expensive that you might as well shoot a .17.

My biggest concern with a .17 is that being a rimfire, if the caliber is a sales flop and ammo is discontinued for lack of sales, I'm stuck with an orphaned wall hanger. Anyone remember the 5mm rimfire?

 

[JWT]

From what I've read, all US .17HMR ammo is made by one manufacture in a single plant and packaged under different names. There are different bullets used for each brand. CCI is the manufacturer if I remember correctly.

 

[Geezerbiker]

This is not exactly what you were asking about the shorter .17 mach 2 round could obsolete the .22 LR for rim fire competition. That is if the round ever caches on. The .22LR is a very old design and hard to get the best accuracy from.

Other than that, the .22LR and .22mag will be with us as long as guns are made and sold...

Tony

 

[wingman]

Apparently there isn’t much quality control when it comes to 22 ammo. This has held true for me no matter brand or type of 22 rounds purchased. Expensive target loads performed only slightly better, if at all, than cheap stuff.

Interesting, I've had no recent failure with 22lr and find Aquila Match rifle
to be very accurate.

 

[HiStandardB]

17 Hmr ammo is not that expensive. Cabelas and Fleet Farm often have it on sale for 9.99 for a 50 round pack. You can spend more on good .22 ammo if you wanted to. Anyway 17 hmr is a really fun round to shoot. . . especially in a left hand savage. (one of my favorite toys)