Questions on the .17

[SavageSniper]

I am considering getting a .17 rifle. I used to consider it a fad, but I got to fire a 17hmr, and was very impressed. The question that I have is that I see the round in differant choices, .17 hmr, rem, hm2 and maybe more. What is the differance between them, and which do you like the best. Also, how does it perform on paper to say 200 to 300 yards.

 

[Dave R]

.17HMR is a .22mag necked down to .17. Ballistics? 17gr. bullet at 2500FPS? Somebody will correct me. Its a rimfire, not reloadable.

.17Mach 2 is a .22LR necked down to .17. Much weaker. Ballistics? I dunno, maybe 17gr. bullet at 2100fps? Also a rimfire, not reloadable.

.17 Rem is a centerfire cartridge. Pretty big. It shoots a .25gr. bullet at 4,000fps or so? Reloadable. Big difference.

The Mach 2 is not a 200 yard cartridge. _Maybe_ 100 yards. The HMR might stretch to 200yrds, usable. The .17Rem is a 200-300 yard cartridge.

If you don't want to reload, I'd recommend the HMR. If you want to shoot mice or rats under 100 yards, the Mach 2 would be OK. The .17Rem for serious varmit hunting.

I shoot a wildcat--a .357mag pistol brass necked down to .17. Shoots a 25gr. bullet about 3200fps. Love it. Light recoil, and does a good job disassembling small varmits.

 

[rantingredneck]

+1 on the above. I've never shot the 17hm2 or the 17rem but I've got an HMR. It's a Savage 9317 heavy barrel. Bought it at Gander mtn for 239 with scope. It shoots dime sized groups at 100 yds as is. I plan to put a better trigger on it (mine doesn't have the accutrigger) and it should tighten up some.

 

[Reyn]

What do you plan on doing with it? Ive got an HMR and HM2. For hunting small edible game like squirrel i use the HM2 almost always. For plain on target,crows and other i use the HMR.

 

[Art Eatman]

On a prairie dog hunt, one guy was using a .17 Mach II. He was easily getting clean kills at 100 yards. Somewhat new to rifles, it took him a while to work out holdover and windage, but he then regularly got clean kills out to around 200 yards. None that he hit went running off.

Art

 

[kart racer]

I have a savage with accutrigger and love it.It's a 17hmr.The longest shots I have taken have been around 110 yards.As long as the wind isn't blowing too much it is very accurate.I think around 150 yards is gonna be realistic.

The mach2 is good to about that range also.I don't have a mach2,but with gander mtn have cci mach2 on sale for 3.99 I'm tempted to stock up on ammo and go buy a cheap rifle.

Never shot the 17 remington

If you get and hmr you'll want a good scope to see the real accuracy.

 

[SavageSniper]

Thanks for the info. Looks like th 17 hmr is my choice. I plan on using it on paper and crows to about 150 or so yards. The one that I shot was stupid accurate. I will pick it up this weekend and let you guys no the results.