17 Hmr

[SilverZuk]

I've been looking at 17 HMR's and thinking about getting one to see what the hype is all about.

I seriously doubt that I will keep it for long, but would like to play with one this summer to form my own opinion.

The biggest turn off to me is the ammo cost of $200 per 1000.
I can shoot an 7.62x39, 223, and a few other guns for $200 per 1000.

Anyone have one?
Which model and what are your comments?

I am probably going to get the Savage rifle because I can pick one up for around $150-175. If I am going to pay $300 for one, I will get a 222 and have a much more versatile gun.
Where I live 200 yard shot are about max range on varmits (crows and grounhogs). There are some places that I would feel better about shooting more often with a 17 than I would my 243. The neighbor's don't seem to mind, but I don't shoot a whole lot to be respectful to them.

[NVScouter]

I bought the Marlin 93SV blue bull barrel. Think it was $190 plus I got a smokin deal on a X3-9 and rings so I'm into my rifle under $350. I shoot it alot since its a blast and insanely accurate. I've take squirrels, rabbits and two coyotes with it. The V-max ammo works on everything and leaves holes like a 22-250. the sound level is very mild and no recoil. 10-300 yard shots with mine sited in 1.5" high at 100 yards are all basicly dead on. I've taken a few 350-450 shots but the 9X scope fails by then so I'm buying a X6-24 to replace it. You just cant see a 8" tall target at 350+ yards on 9X.

Alot of people attempt to compare it to a .22mag. I have one and its apples to oranges. Better BC, modern bullet styles, faster velocity, higher power rounds. The modern bullet style alone makes up for the 18-23 grain advantage the .22mag has. I have shot critters with a .22mag with no or little bullet expansion. The 17HMR leaves palm size exit wounds and you get 100% expansion with V-max within 2-4" of wound channel.

All of the V-max tipped 17HMR shoot identical in my rifle. The 20gr XTPs do well on everything including coyotes. The Gamepoints shoot a bit slow for me and are as effective as a .22mag with little to no energy delivered to the target.

This rifle is worth the $ for the ammo. It also is a excellent way to bring a younger shooter into long range shooting without a .223/22-250/6mm recoil and blast. While a good .223 and reloading can be just as good the noise alone could be an issue depending on where you go. I can shoot in some places that may not be as friendly to my 300WBY, and I can do it all day long.

my two cents.

[whistle pig]

I have a ruger 10/17 semi auto. The .17 is good to 200 yards but that is about it as the wind will give it fits past that.

The marlin or savage are the two best .17s for the price out there. Get a stainless one. The remington 597 is junk.

They say all the ammo is made by CCI but I just don't believe it as none of the different brands shoot the same in mine.

Get as good a scope as you can afford and MOA or better accuracy at 100yds should be easy once you find which ammo it likes.

I can get 1/2 to 3/4 MOA at 100yds with mine but I still have some tweaking to do.

Here is a pic of mine with a 6-24 tasco on it which will be replaced with a 6.5-20 leupold VX-III as soon as I find some rings. With the leupold on it I will have around 1450.00 in it.

[KS Toy]

I too have been looking at these but I want a semi-auto and I am NOT spending $500 on the 10/22 conversion. The Marlins are kind of plain but that is the way I am leaning right now.For only $200 it sounds like a good deal. Is there any other autos available?

[whistle pig]

Originally Posted by KS Toy

I too have been looking at these but I want a semi-auto and I am NOT spending $500 on the 10/22 conversion. The Marlins are kind of plain but that is the way I am leaning right now.For only $200 it sounds like a good deal. Is there any other autos available?

You will not get a 10/22 conversion for 500 as they have quit making the 10/22 magnum and the ones left are bringing 450 to 600 bucks plus the barrel and stuff.

The only other semi-auto I know of is the remington 597 but it is junk in my opinion.

[KS Toy]

I forgot about the Rem. I really wish Ruger made a factory .17 Do you (or anyone else) know if the Marlin any good?

While were are talking 17s... It is my understanding that you can not shoot the Mach 2 in the HMR chambered gun. What is the story on this?

[whistle pig]

Originally Posted by KS Toy

I forgot about the Rem. I really wish Ruger made a factory .17 Do you (or anyone else) know if the Marlin any good?

While were are talking 17s... It is my understanding that you can not shoot the Mach 2 in the HMR chambered gun. What is the story on this?

The marlin is a decent gun for the money. I seriously doubt you will ever see a factory ruger 10/17 due to case bulging issues

The differences in the length between the mach 2 and HMR prevents the safe firing of the M2 in the HMR.

While it might not blow up the gun, it could very well put an eye out due to case fragments blowing out when the bolt opens.

[Fisheadgib]

I've got a Marlin 917VS that I bought about two years ago for about 300.00 and I haven't gotten around to scoping and firing it yet.

[t0talkos]

IVe shot both the marlin and the savage. I bought a savage. They both shoot really good and the price is only 20-30 dollar difference but i liked the savage better.

I got the synthetic stock one with the stainless upper and factory bull barrel, its VERY accurate at 100 yards even with the iron sights, I havent quite saved up for a scope yet(going with a Leopold, of course) but im working on that.

I dont mind that its bolt action either, I have the 10/22 and a lot of other semi-autos to use for that. Semi auto is nice. but i like the classic bolt action to. And if i remember right, Bolt actions are slightly more accurate because theres less moving parts, unless thats just some weird myth.

[fatkid]

I have the Savage MKII BV in 22LR, its nice. I chose the 22LR over the 17HMR because of the cost differene in the ammo, but I do like some of the 17HMR optics with preset elevation drums though.

[SilverZuk]

I've got several 22 rifles (after selling several over the last few years), and quite a few 22 pistols.

I was just wanting to toy with one, but the ammo cost abotu has me turned away.

The ones I am looking at are the Savage and Marlin bolt actions.
Several on-line reviews say both shoot good but the triggers need work out of the box. I like ruger rifles, but I am not paying that much more.

As far as a scope, I've got a 3x12 Simmons at the house. The gun I am looking at already has a straight 4x on it.

[fatkid]

Originally Posted by SilverZuk

I've got several 22 rifles (after selling several over the last few years), and quite a few 22 pistols.

I was just wanting to toy with one, but the ammo cost abotu has me turned away.

The ones I am looking at are the Savage and Marlin bolt actions.
Several on-line reviews say both shoot good but the triggers need work out of the box. I like ruger rifles, but I am not paying that much more.

As far as a scope, I've got a 3x12 Simmons at the house. The gun I am looking at already has a straight 4x on it.

When I picked mine up I was doing a lot of Small Bore with my daughter, so for training purposes we shot the same round. As far as which manufacture is concerned I couldn't see paying the price difference for the Remington or Ruger 77/22 verses the cost of the Savage. In my mind its still only a 22lr.

As for out of the box, I did do a little work on the trigger, it sits at about 2 1/4lbs. of pull. I also adjusted the over travel stop and shimmed the side play.

[Fisheadgib]

Originally Posted by SilverZuk

The ones I am looking at are the Savage and Marlin bolt actions.
Several on-line reviews say both shoot good but the triggers need work out of the box.

I'll have to agree with that. My Marlin has a "junk gun" trigger pull and the design of the lockwork is so that you risk dropping the hammer when the safety is taken off if you try to lighten or shorten the pull. Polishing it for a smooth travel is all you can safely do.

[NVScouter]

My Marlin's trigger was smooth as can be out of the box.

the other thing is that the 17HMR(.22mag necked down) and the 17M2(.22LR necked down) only have about a 2-300fps difference in speed and you only need to re-barrel a .22LR to shoot it(unless its a tube fed). Also on auto a heavier bolt to handle the extra recoil. The 17M@ ammo is the same $ as 22Mag.

I cant say enough about the Marlin or the 17HMR. Matter of fact I was just on www.opticsplanet.com looking at a new 6X-24 mil dot for it

I got a ranch out here thats over run with ground squirrels if anybody wants to blast em this spring. You can shoot my Marlin for a day and see if your hooked. The owner of the same ranch was after watching me with mine.

[Josh83]

I know it isn't quite what you are asking, but I have an S&W 647 8 3/8 barrel that is GREAT fun to shoot. One thing that is great about it is it is a LOT of gun for that much load, so there is virtually no recoil. They also made a 12" barrel model. Both guns were discontinued in 04, but prices haven't started rising on them yet. If you are interested in small caliber pistols and have the funds, definately pick one up. I love mine so much I am gonna put some target grips and a scope on it for groundhogs

[KS Toy]

Originally Posted by Josh83

I know it isn't quite what you are asking, but I have an S&W 647 8 3/8 barrel that is GREAT fun to shoot. One thing that is great about it is it is a LOT of gun for that much load, so there is virtually no recoil. They also made a 12" barrel model. Both guns were discontinued in 04, but prices haven't started rising on them yet. If you are interested in small caliber pistols and have the funds, definately pick one up. I love mine so much I am gonna put some target grips and a scope on it for groundhogs

Just saw one on gunbroker last night for $450. Looks just like the big bores.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...?Item=64895873

I went to the local gun shop today to see what they had on hand. Only 17 HMR handgun was a stainless single six that was pretty sweet and 8 long guns. The Browning lever was the nicest one of the bunch. The Henry looks good too. I am just trying to get past the high price tags. I will have to see what is at the gun shows in March and April before I buy anything.

[SilverZuk]

If I pay $450, I'll go find a 222.

[Fisheadgib]

I'll probably end up selling my .17 and building something in .218bee or .22hornet. Either of those pushes a 40 grain bullet at about 2700 or so with about 750 ft lbs of energy compared to a 17 grain bullet at 2550 and 245 ft lbs. Along with the fact that either of the centerfires can be reloaded for about .15 a round, at least a nickle a round cheaper than the .17 for a lot more performance. (and the powder charge is about half of the .222)

[fatkid]

Originally Posted by Fisheadgib

I'll have to agree with that. My Marlin has a "junk gun" trigger pull and the design of the lockwork is so that you risk dropping the hammer when the safety is taken off if you try to lighten or shorten the pull. Polishing it for a smooth travel is all you can safely do.

I tested my Savage with a dead blow hammer, anything less than 2 1/4lbs. of trigger pull would cause the Hammer to drop when I hit the butt stock.

[NVScouter]

I'll probably end up selling my .17 and building something in .218bee or .22hornet. Either of those pushes a 40 grain bullet at about 2700 or so with about 750 ft lbs of energy compared to a 17 grain bullet at 2550 and 245 ft lbs. Along with the fact that either of the centerfires can be reloaded for about .15 a round, at least a nickle a round cheaper than the .17 for a lot more performance. (and the powder charge is about half of the .222)

But the Ballistic coefficient would be different. On paper a .22mag looks like a better round, but on game the 17HMR is much better. If you want an something like this then the 204Ruger would be sweet. My friend has one I have yet to shoot, but it may be my next rifle for coyote shots over 200yrds.

If money isnt an option then a custom 17 or 20 cal based on the .22hornet or .223 would be sweet too. The only problem reloading 17 and 20 cals are the relatively small amount of bullets available. They are getting better but nothing like for a .22.

[Fisheadgib]

Originally Posted by NVScouter

But the Ballistic coefficient would be different. On paper a .22mag looks like a better round, but on game the 17HMR is much better. If you want an something like this then the 204Ruger would be sweet. My friend has one I have yet to shoot, but it may be my next rifle for coyote shots over 200yrds.

If money isnt an option then a custom 17 or 20 cal based on the .22hornet or .223 would be sweet too. The only problem reloading 17 and 20 cals are the relatively small amount of bullets available. They are getting better but nothing like for a .22.

I've had my Mossberg 640K in .22 mag since about 1973 and I know the .17 HMR is a better performer. I have a couple .223's, a .243, and a 120 grain load with a ballistic tip for my 7mm mag that will almost vaporize a yote at 500yds. I've got the real long range varmint stuff covered. I was looking for stuff in between. Right now I'm leaning towards a .22K hornet.

[NVScouter]

How about a compramise?

Can you say .17 K-Hornet?

[Fisheadgib]

Originally Posted by NVScouter

How about a compramise?

Can you say .17 K-Hornet?

Now that could be a cool little round. I've always kinda dreamed of building a wildcat with a small bottleneck cartridge. A gunsmith that did my pistol work when I lived in Texas used to build a lot of custom rifles for rich guys that wanted a round named after themselves. A custom chamber reamer is about 200.00 and if you base it on an existing round, you can fireform the cases. That's kinda how Roy Weatherby started. He would take an existing round, move the shoulder forward, and sharpen the shoulder angle. This would give him more case capacity, and a hotter round. The .17 couldn't be a k (Kilbourn) hornet, You'd have to name it after yourself.

[NVScouter]

The .17 couldn't be a k (Kilbourn) hornet, You'd have to name it after yourself

Actually the .17K-Hornet already exists. I've often thought about having a custom Encore barrels done just like you said and name it after my wife. Lets say a .20 Fayne based off of a 30-30 with a blown out shoulder. Attempt to get about 4500FPS with a 32gr bullet. Match that on a 18"bbl and 8X32 scope. I'd think it could do.

[ndeepoffroad]

I bought my Marlin .17HMR with the wood stock and blued bull barrel. Put a Nikon Buckmaster scope on it ($450 total invested in gun, rings, scope, 1 box shells).

I love this gun. Got it sighted in and it will drive nails at 150yds. Very devastating on squirrels, coons, possums, and skunks. Good damage on Coyotes and larger varmits (read "wild, mangey dogs chasing cattle").

I wouldn't have another varmit gun after shooting this one.