.17 Mach 2 (HM2)?

[rsinmv]

Anyone have an opinion on .17 HM2 guns, in particular with the Kimber 1911 chambered in one? I'm thinking about picking one up mainly because my Kimber 1911 in .22lr has been great and I wanted to try some other caliber.

One negative being that the ammo is bit pricey and I'll probably wind up buying them in a bulk from a GB since the most gun shops around my area don't carry it. Also have read about ammo in the semi-auto guns having FTE issues and a guy with a Kimber posted about his headache with FTF issues.

Also, if I later decide to convert it to .22lr, can I just swap out the barrel and the magazine since the case is about the same size as the .22lr? I've read that Kimber used to sell .17 HM2 conversion kit along with the .22lr conversion so I'm assuming it should be a easy swap...?

Aside of all of the posted issues on the net, it sounds like a fun gun to shoot, what do you think?

[headshrinker]

I have a 10/22 with an HM2 barrel and a 22lr barrel. I've never shot the HM2 in a pistol, but I would guess it would be a fun gun to shoot. I have found the HM2 to be very accurate and significantly more powerful than the .22lr at less than 100 yards. Beyond that, the little 17 grain bullet loses it's punch rapidly, which in some cases is a good thing. I used to shoot varmints on a friend's ranch and the HM2 or HMR were preferred because they didn't carry as far as a .223 or .22/250.

In my 10/22 I use the same magazine, so I think all you would need to do is swap the barrels out. My 10/22 does require a different bolt handle tough, which is a bit heavier to accommodate the hotter HM2 round.

It seems to me that a Kimber in .22lr/17HM2 would be a nice package.

[trob]

i had a .17hm2 barrel on my ruger 96 and I never could get it to shoot right. Its a fun round, but very picky about conditions and cleaning frequency.

I was shooting Eley HM2 for about $.06/round so i didnt care how much i shot it. I sold the barrel and all my ammo about 6 months ago because I got sick of it.

[MongooseV8]

I have a Savage FV in 17HM2 and it has taken more squirrels than I can count. Super accurate and has a further range than a 22lr. sgammo.com has the best deal you will find on ammo at a bit less than $5 a box after shipping. I kinda want to try the Kimber conversion as well, since I already have the 22lr version.