17 HMR field performance

[ToadHill]

I still lean toward my .222 Sako. It reaches out a long way and has been a great varmint gun.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Eddie, I pay $9.95 for Hornady 17 gr Varmint Express with V-Max bullet (polymer tipped) 50 RDS.

I have neighbors and maybe only shoot 4 times a year (around here) and only in a safe direction. My FIL is the family official gun nut and he bought this for me as a relatively safe pond shooter. His understanding is the speed and only 17 gr just kind of explodes instead of ricocheting. Is this correct? I have never heard a ricochet after shooting maybe 200 rounds. He sighted it in at 100 yds but most of my shooting averages 30-50 yards (nutria and turtles). I think I'll resight it in at 50 yards and relearn my trajectories.

BTW, mine is an New England Firearms bull barrel single shot with a Bushnell 3x9 on it. I can't complain about the price as it was given to me and I can drive tacks with it at 50 yds. (Have not taken it to the gun range yet.) He also has "hooked" me up with one of his favorite calibers, a 35 Whelen. He tells me it will work for anything on the North American continent out to 400 yds. I haven't shot it yet. We were going to the gun range but got side tracked. I'm a shotgun man myself. Shot many different types under many different circumstances. Yes, I'd like a high dollar Krueghauf (spelling?) but when I go dove hunting, I prefer my plain ole simple reliable Remington 1100 or 1187 semi auto.

 

[jimg]

coobie...I hear you! I have a couple 22H which I really like. Still, Ive also been thinking along the lines of a 17 or 22 Squirrel based one of those rifles. From what Ive read the Squirrel is very flexible in that is can be reloaded and theres a good choice of applicable bullets. Im looking for just enough fire power to off small game but not enough to blend them. I think the main faults of the 17HMR is that its really rough on small game and not reloadable (no flexibility). BTW the Squirrel case is supposed to work well on turkeys too.

 

[Podunkadunk]

He sighted it in at 100 yds but most of my shooting averages 30-50 yards (nutria and turtles). I think I'll resight it in at 50 yards and relearn my trajectories.

Kyle,
No need to bother with resighting. Ballistics difference is virtually non-existent from 50 to 100 yds. (See post number 2 of this thread, click .17 ballistics)

Podunk

 

[Killer_B]

Look at the savage 93R17 classic. It's not one of the cheap ones but I think is the one I will get. It's got the accutrigger and looks nice. I like the new savage rifles a lot. I've rebuilt a few model 10's into sniper rifles for some cops now and they sure like them too..

I have a savage .17 HMR, and a 22LR, both bolt action with accutrigger. They are more accurate than I am, and have been problem free. I paid $205.00 for the .17 on sale at a local sporting goods store. $99.00 for the scope. See attached photo.

The .17 will shred a squirrel. The 22 leaves you something to clean and eat.

KB

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Kyle,
No need to bother with resighting. Ballistics difference is virtually non-existent from 50 to 100 yds. (See post number 2 of this thread, click .17 ballistics)

Podunk

Thanks Podunk, You're a great American

 

[yomax4]

I have a Ruger 77 .17HMR that is Awesome. I had Trigger work done and This Baby Shoots. Its not a .223 but its not as loud either. It makes a Mess out of a Squirrells Head. Coyote is another story, Too large for the .17 I have tried. This gun takes out golf balls at 100yrds with out ever missing. I have notice the Hornady Red Tips and Remington Gold Tips shoot better than the Hollow Points. .22 is ok but they just dont shoot good groups because of the bullet style. I have a couple quality .22s but like the .17 better.

Regards..

 

[jimg]

Guess I'm going to punt on the 17HMR. I finally found a load that shoots well in my 22WMR + gives excellent ballistic performance. The 22 was acquired some time ago and never shot well. During the Christmas break I found a load I hadnt tried and figured it was worth a go (CCI 30gr polytip). Ballistically its little diff from the 17HMR, not quite as flat but delivers more energy at 100yds.

 

[Podunkadunk]

Guess I'm going to punt on the 17HMR. I finally found a load that shoots well in my 22WMR + gives excellent ballistic performance. The 22 was acquired some time ago and never shot well. During the Christmas break I found a load I hadnt tried and figured it was worth a go (CCI 30gr polytip). Ballistically its little diff from the 17HMR, not quite as flat but delivers more energy at 100yds.

Not quite, but if you had stated in your first post that you had a .22wmr instead of us assuming you had a standard .22 (because you didn't say), we'd have all probably agreed that you had a fine weapon to knock the wind out of some varmints

Here's what I found out on the web: Compared: .17 HMR and .22 WMR (Magnum)

Velocity

Here are the velocity numbers in feet-per-second at the muzzle, 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards (when available), and 200 yards (when available):

.17 HMR, 17 grain V-Max = MV 2550 fps, 2380 fps at 50 yards, 1900 fps at 100 yards, 1620 fps at 150 yards, 1378 fps at 200 yards.

.22 WMR, 30 grain TNT = MV 2200 fps, 1720 fps at 50 yards, 1340 fps at 100 yards, 1080 fps at 150 yards.

From these numbers it becomes clear just how much faster the .17 HMR really is. At 100 yards the difference amounts to 550 fps between the highest velocity loads for each caliber! Clearly, the .17 HMR is the undisputed speed king.

Energy

Velocity is an important factor in calculating kinetic energy, but so is bullet weight. We have already seen that the .17 HMR is by far the faster cartridge, but the .22 WMR shoots a far heavier bullet. Energy is important because it powers bullet expansion and penetration, and is a major factor in killing power.

Here is the energy of our comparison loads, in foot-pounds at the muzzle, 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards (when available), and 200 yards (when available):

.17 HMR, 17 grain V-Max = ME 245 ft. lbs., 185 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 136 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 99 ft. lbs. at 150 yards, 72 ft. lbs. at 200 yards.

.22 WMR, 30 grain TNT = ME 325 ft. lbs., 200 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 120 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 80 ft. lbs. at 150 yards.

Podunk

 

[jimg]

Your assumption was correct b/c at the time Id found nothing that shot well thru the 22WMR. The plan was to sell it and acquire a 17HMR in hopes it performed better. Finding the 30gr polytips changed that. Although the trigger is still horrible I now have a reason to fix it.
Here are the numbers I compared from CCIs site:

30gr 22WMR polytip

Velocity(ft/s) Energy(ft-lbs)
Muzzle 2200 322
50 yds 1866 232
75 yds 1714 196
100 yds 1571 164

Trajectory (100yd zero)
25 yds -0.2"
50 yds 0.5"
75 yds 0.6"
100 yds 0.0"

17gr 17HMR polytip

Velocity(ft/s) Energy(ft-lbs)
Muzzle 2550 245
50 yds 2220 186
75 yds 2064 161
100 yds 1915 138

Trajectory (100yd zero)
25 yds -0.5"
50 yds 0.1"
75 yds 0.3"
100 yds 0.0"