What makes .17hmr so much more expensive than .22LR?

[Bull's_eye]

Is it because it hasn't been around as long and/or there are less people making it? What's the deal here? The price discrepancy of the ammo is huge.

[Fjold]

Volume.

The ammo manufacturers make billions of 22 rimfire a year and a fraction of the 17 HMR cases. They have more equipment, that has been paid off for years, to make 22 LR cases so it's cheaper to make.

[rromeo]

Just like 9mm being cheaper than .32 acp.

[ghostrider]

Yes indeed they are expensive, .22 is probably the least expensive of all the ammunition available. The .17HMR descended from the .22 Magnum. It was developed by necking down a .22 Magnum to fit a .17 Caliber bullet. I love the HMR for the velocities in a rimfire platform anywhere from 2350fps to 2550 feet per second
I have found the Hornady 17 HMR with the V-Max bullet to be one of my more accurate rounds I like to shoot
When I 1st started with the HMR a box would run around $7-8 a box of 50
Now I buy it for $9.99 a box at midsouthshooterssupply

[Izzy43]

Is it because it hasn't been around as long and/or there are less people making it? What's the deal here? The price discrepancy of the ammo is huge.

If you do a comparison of .17HMR accuracy with a .22lr ammo that is as accurate I believe you will find the price is not that much different. Sure .22lr bulk ammo is a lot cheaper but the accuracy is not there.

Look at the price of a 50 round box of Tenex or Lapua match ammo. Wolf Match Extra is $6.50/50 and not considered high grade match ammo. Aguila Supermax @ 1750 FPS is the fastest long .22lr ammo out there and costs around $6.00/50 and will produce 3-5" groups @100yds.

I'm not saying that .17HMR Hornady is match ammo but it will consistantly shoot MOA out to 100yds and beyond with ballistics far superior to .22lr.

[jackandblood]

.17 hmr is a damn cool round. but i wouldnt know where to go to hunt varmint, plus i kinda think squirrels are cute. I think these are reasons .17 doesn't sell well in socal (turners had maybe 20-30 boxes sitting idle and only one brand). .22lr does paper just fine. new tech .22wmr, short barreled high energy rd. are backordered to hell and back. .22 wmr regular stuff out of convertible revolvers are just plain fun, though not very accurate. .22wmr continues to gain momentum esp. in CA where SAO convertible revolvers of a certain length are roster exempt.

I would think .17 hmr would extract more reliably than 22wmr given the necked case, but haven't seen much in the way of semi rifles in .17hmr

[xxINKxx]

Or like how 22 short is more expensive, yet there's less material and powder to make it so you'd think it would be cheaper. Just not a big market for it and it's not as mass produced and sold like popular ammo to help keep cost down.

[bentnbroken]

basic economics - supply and demand

[stockranger]

part of it is the knecking down of the case is a pain in the butt.

I agree that in so cal the 17hmr is sort of pointless. It is not big enough for coyote. Too big for rabbit. Its a good jack rabbit gun but most areas that hold jacks are shotgun only unless you drive north past highway 58. We really don't have ground squirrel hunting close by. Might aswell step up to a small centerfire if you need more then a .22 LR. The 17hm2 is an improvment on the .22lr and really is the ultimate small game round. Cheaper to shoot too. 17hm2 is awesome can't believe it doesn't become more popular.

[nation]

i currently have 2 projects going. im doing a .17 conversion on my 10/22 and dropping that setup in a nordic conversion kit. should be a kickass little plinker.

[2004jamange]

If you do a comparison of .17HMR accuracy with a .22lr ammo that is as accurate I believe you will find the price is not that much different. Sure .22lr bulk ammo is a lot cheaper but the accuracy is not there.

Look at the price of a 50 round box of Tenex or Lapua match ammo. Wolf Match Extra is $6.50/50 and not considered high grade match ammo. Aguila Supermax @ 1750 FPS is the fastest long .22lr ammo out there and costs around $6.00/50 and will produce 3-5" groups @100yds.

I'm not saying that .17HMR Hornady is match ammo but it will consistantly shoot MOA out to 100yds and beyond with ballistics far superior to .22lr.

I agree... 17HMR is a far superior round to the .22lr and in my eyes there is no comparison between the two. Cost winds up being a wash after you talk about rounds on paper... or varmint.

[resident-shooter]

.22 is faaar more common, both as the product and the caliber of a gun. Almost every gun owner has a .22, but who has .17s??? Therefore only a handfun of manufacturers devote equipment to making .17 cal ammo.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

Volume.

The ammo manufacturers make billions of 22 rimfire a year and a fraction of the 17 HMR cases. They have more equipment, that has been paid off for years, to make 22 LR cases so it's cheaper to make.

This ^^^^^

[Khram]

I see merit for .17hm2 and .17hmr does have drawbacks. I wish .17hm2 was more popular hopefully in hangs in there. I have only one .17hmr. It also seems there is a issue with semi autos and .17hmr. Some of the ammo manufactures say not to use in in semi autos and Remington recalled their mod 597 in .17hmr.

[mincoda]

The 22 has been around since 1887 and the last figures I saw that approximately 2-2.5 billion rounds are produced annually. So ya economics of scale does come into play.