17 HMR. Pros and Cons?

[Thatoneguy24]

Hi all,

I've always seen 17 HMR's lying around at the local big 5, but never really took a serious look at them. Does anyone have experience with them? Trying to figure out if it would be a good 300 investment or if I should just put that money into something else. Thanks!

[erichuff7]

I hear good things about em. They had a nice looking wood stock marlin at dicks sporting goods for $239 that may be my next purchase

[DColvin209]

i have a savage 93R17 BTV that is a nice little tackdriver with the accu trigger. I love to shoot it and have never had one issue with it. That being said its not good for anything much bigger than a squirrel or rabbit and plinking. Ammo is $15-$20 per 50 rounds depending if you get V-max rounds, Hollows, or Jacketed rounds.

[erichuff7]

They're supposed to shoot a really flat trajectory extremely accurately. Only cons I've heard is cost of ammo compared to. 22lr

[toby]

They are devestating on game Animals out beyond 200 yrds. Other than the price of ammo there is no downside. A 22 Mag will do great as well but not offered in many rifles now.

[SoCal Bob]

Depends on what you want to do with it. It is supposed to shoot flatter than a .22 WMR but is more susceptible to wind deflection.

I have a .22 WMR Savage 93 and a .17 HMR Mossberg 817, in my opinion the Savage is a much nicer rifle. If I had to choose just one I would go with the Savage in .22 WMR because my Single Sixes also shoot .22 WMR. I can usually find better deals on bulk .22 WMR than .17 HMR and my Mossberg is the only thing I have in .17 HMR.

Rimfirecentral.com has a number of discussions about .17 HMR if you haven't checked them out yet.

[Izzy43]

Very accurate rifle round. Zero @ 50yds and less than 1/2" drop @ 100yds. As far as ammo prices, yes it is more expensive that bulk .22lr ammo. To achieve the same accuracy as a .17HMR you would have to buy Match .22lr ammo and I doubt even then that you could achieve the same accuracy @ 100yds that a .17hmr can deliver unless you buy the $20/50 Eley Tenex. Hornady .17HMR 17gr ammo can be found for around $10/50. Not much more than .22WMR ammo.

.22WMR carries more energy than the .17HMR but the HMR really starts to shine beyond 100yds when it comes to accuracy.

The debate goes on whether the .22WMR or .17HMR suffers more in winday conditions. The .17 has less area to be pushed around by the wind but the .22WMR has the heavier bullet. The .17 spends less time to the target than the .22WMR so less time for the wind to affect it. I have both and in the wind I can't really decide which one is better.

[pisarski]

i have both savage 93s .17 and .22 wmr and they both shoot about the same out to 100 yards but after that the .17 takes over

[Maddawg46]

I have a Savage. Great trigger and accuracy. The only downside is th.at they are a small light bullet. Any wind and they will be blown around. I don't hunt with it and bought one just because I did not have a 17 HMR. Savage makes sone real nice models of the .17. Some are stainless with cutout laminated stocks and fluted barrels. I purchased the cheapest one, but it's still a tack driver. Buy the Hornady ammo. It's more accurate.

[Maddawg46]

I have a Savage. Great trigger and accuracy. The only downside is th.at they are a small light bullet. Any wind and they will be blown around. I don't hunt with it and bought one just because I did not have a 17 HMR. Savage makes sone real nice models of the .17. Some are stainless with cutout laminated stocks and fluted barrels. I purchased the cheapest one, but it's still a tack driver. Buy the Hornady ammo. It's more accurate.

[Quickdraw Mcgraw]

Having just shot my buddys .17hmr marlin I went looking for a savage or marlin bolt gun and ended up buying the .22lr MarkII FV-SR since I already currently have about ten kinds of .22lr ammo and ZERO .17HMR. AND 17HMR is EXPENSIVE!!

I'm hoping with some ammo I already have I can shoot similer groups to my buddy but we shall see!! I'll post some results once I take her out!

[Izzy43]

Originally Posted by Quickdraw Mcgraw

Having just shot my buddys .17hmr marlin I went looking for a savage or marlin bolt gun and ended up buying the .22lr MarkII FV-SR since I already currently have about ten kinds of .22lr ammo and ZERO .17HMR. AND 17HMR is EXPENSIVE!!

I'm hoping with some ammo I already have I can shoot similer groups to my buddy but we shall see!! I'll post some results once I take her out!

I shoot a lot of Lapua Center-X .22lr ammo, very accuracte stuff. Cost the same as Hornady .17HMR 17 grain ammo. If you want accuracy (talking 5 shot groups @ MOA) you gotta pay for it. Where expensive .22lr ammo really shows its accuracy is @ 100yds. You may shoot similiar groups @ 25 and 50 yds but I doubt you will @ 100yds.

[jvpark]

Fast round and if you are going to use it to hunt small game (for survival) your going to blow off most of the meat at close range.

[robcoe]

I use mine(marlin 917vr) for target shooting and rodent control. Inside 100 yards it might as well be a laser rifle. I love the thing, only downside to it is that the ammo is expensive compared to .22lr, and I cant reload it.

[Izzy43]

Originally Posted by robcoe

I use mine(marlin 917vr) for target shooting and rodent control. Inside 100 yards it might as well be a laser rifle. I love the thing, only downside to it is that the ammo is expensive compared to .22lr, and I cant reload it.

One of the reasons it shoots like a laser is the ammo. If we want that kind of performance we have to pay the price. Buy some .22lr ammo that shoots like a laser and you'll be spending as much or more than the .17HMR, Lapua Center-X is one example in .22lr, cost $10/50 and I can buy Hornady .17HMR for the same price.

[TRAP55]

MiWall has CCI TNT and Vmax for less than $8 for a box of 50, I just paid $79 for a brick of 500.

[Dannicus]

It's unfortunate that 17 HM2 doesn't seem to be catching on. It's shown to have nearly the same performance as HMR, but at a lower cost.

[Izzy43]

Originally Posted by Dannicus

It's unfortunate that 17 HM2 doesn't seem to be catching on. It's shown to have nearly the same performance as HMR, but at a lower cost.

I have been successful in not buying a .17HM2 rifle for some time now but its getting harder. If I didn't have a .17HMR I would already own one. Out to 100yds they out perform any .22lr ammo and are deadly accurate like its .17HMR cousin. Ammo is less expensive as you stated but is creeping up in cost. My real concern is that it may go the route of the 5mm rimfire cartridge someday. I guess people like me who are sitting on the fence about this round doesn't really help its popularity but with 6 other rimfire rifles its hard to justify another purchase. Lastly I don't hunt and that's where the .17HM2 really shines. It is the opinion of many that the .17HM2 is the primo squirrel round to 100yds due to its flat trajectory and energy level.

.17HMR on the other hand is just too devastating on small game unless you can head shoot the little critter. I once shot an orange @ 50 yds with a .22lr hollowpoint and another with a .17HMR. The .22 made a nice little entry hole and a exit hole about the size of a nickel. The .17HMR round exploded the orange in pieces no larger than my thumbnail. I would hate like hades to get hit with a .17HMR.