I am a believer in the .17 HMR

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texfar

New member
Took on board all of ya'lls advise, along with tales of knocking off marbles at 100 yds and am now a believer in it all. Just brought home a Marlin 917VS, mounting a Redfield Illuminator 6x20 that I had laying around, and shot some unbelievable fun groups......... and blew up a couple of cans to boot! Smilie:) Totally impressed with quality of rifle all together. Taking it down tonight to see how it works and lube what need lubing. Thanks for the input and knowledge put forth in helping me make up my mind. May just turn into my favorite gun to shoot! Was only able to find CCI and Remington (V-MAX) ammo. Will try and find some Hornady. Was too busy having fun to do any serious target shooting with the high winds we are having right now in the TX Hill Country, but will compare ammo when they go away and set up the Chrono to see all. Again, thanks all for the input and taking on board another convert. :)
 
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TPAW

New member
texfar......No tales "tex". I'm the marble guy. Soon you will be also. Enjoy the rifle, it's outstanding! Make sure to try the Hornady. Shoots great with my 917. Good luck with your new tack driver! ;)
 
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Zen Archery

New member
The hummer aint no bummer even for the beginners.

I let one of my friends soon pop some cans 100 yds out and his dad bough himself and his son one later that week.

We now call it the varmint eliminator!
 
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Mal H

Staff
I've got to agree with all you say, texfar. I bought a 917VS last summer and it has turned into a great varmint control rifle. It is also a fun-to-shoot rifle to boot. I took it to our cabin where about 20 of us old far... err, that is, old friends get together each Labor Day and everyone had great fun shooting it, more than any other rifle we had there.
 
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Selfdfenz

New member
tex
Congrats on the hummer.
I have the Savage with a RB trigger and it's a wonder.
I find the hummer stands up to our TX winds better than 22lr so if it's windy but the shot are 50 yds or so go for it.

Two words........paint balls!

S-

If you put'em on golf tees you can shoot the tees too :)
 
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Death from Afar

New member
I guy I know noted that in very hot or windy weather the .17 is negatively effected by wind nad heat. NOt surprising given the size of the round. Could be factor. I wonder how the .17 mach2's compare?
 
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Hal

New member
I'm the marble guy
Click to expand...
marbles @ 100 yards?
Fer real? (well,,obviously or it wouldn't have been posted Hal you dummy)
<suddenly the hmr has my attention>
tell me more
 
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TPAW

New member
HAL.....Fer real! Marbles at 100 yards! I shoot the Marlin 917 with a 8x32 40mm BSA Contender scope. I have found Hornady to be the best ammo so far. It's not unusual to put 3 out of 5 rounds through the same hole on a still day, and cover all five with a dime. Wind can be a factor.
 
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DR_MAX

New member
Ditto all said. I can hardly think about shooting my Savage 17 HMR w/o smiling. Only thing is, the trigger is no selling point, but I saw that Selfdfenz had the aftermarket trigger on his. Been thinking about going that rout. The only one I have found is like $80.00. Wanted to be sure it was worth it. Even with a 6+ lb trigger the Savage shoots sub 1"" groups with ease.
 
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FirstFreedom

Moderator
Just FYI

Did a smidge of accuracy testing yesterday with my Marlin 917 HB, comparing the Hornady 20 grainers to the CCI 17 grainers. I was using a variable 40mm scope set on 20x.

Observations:

1. Point of impact of the Hornadys was approx. 1" higher and 1" right of the POI of the CCIs. Or, conversely, CCIs POI was 1" low and 1" left of Hornadys' POI.

2. I can't tell which one is more accurate. It's a tie/toss up right now - more testing needed.

3. With my skill, at 50 yards, my good 5-shot groups were just under 1/2" (1 MOA), and my worse groups were right about 1 and 1/8th " (just over 2 MOA). Not so hot, but I think the rifle can do more than my skill. My heartbeat messes me up the most; wind also threw me off, not by affecting my bullet, but by blowing my body and thus my hold. I need a lead sled or ransom rest type device to really test it, to eliminate my human error. This is totally stock rifle - no bedding or anything.
 
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TPAW

New member
First Freedom.........sounds like your off to an excellent start! When it comes to tack driving with your 917, everything has to fall into place all at one time. I'm a big coffee drinker, and believe it or not, when I'm loaded with caffiene, I can actually see the cross hairs jump a little each time my heart beats. Before I shoot, I try to keep the coffee to a minimun. There are many varients when it comes to such percise shooting. You know the drill, proper hold, proper breathing, proper sight picture, proper trigger squeeze etc.
I try not to anticipate the shot. When I'm concentrating on my site picture, breathing and trigger squeeze, and the rifle fires and it startles me, then I know I hit my mark. Conversly, if you know when your rifle is going to go off, chances are you will be off.
 
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Death from Afar

New member
It interesting that the groups were left and right of each other. You must have moved either the spot weld on the stock, or the rifle on your shoulder to cause that...
 
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TPAW

New member
I think it's the ammo. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as long as the cross hairs are on the same spot, what difference does it make if he holds the rifle differently. It's the scope and barrell that are aligned with each other, right?
 
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FlyinGN

New member
welcome to the .17HMR club:)

I adore my Taurus .17HMR with an 8" barrel. fantastic shooter. The most accurate handgun that I have ever shot.

Frank
 
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Mal H

Staff
DfA - It's a known fact that different ammo can cause variations like that. One particular load might be dead on, but another can be an inch or more off even though the firearm is aimed precisely the same. Variations in velocity cause variations in the resonance of the barrel.
 
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