17 HMR field performance

[DieselPower]

I purchased this Savage shortly after they introduced the 17 HMR. With the addition of the Swarovski scope (I know I'm nuts, a $1,200 scope on a $200 rifle) and a little trigger shimming to lighten the pull (pre acutriger) all I can say is critters beware!!! I have pushed close to 9,000 rounds through this gun, killed hundreds of ground squirrels, just over 100 ground hogs in MD and PA, more birds than I can remember and even took a white tail doe a couple of years ago with it (don't tell the game warden though ). When the 17 HMR was first introduced I was very skeptical about it. After firing my first 100 rounds I was sold. In my opinion it by far the best thing to happen to the rimfire rifle.

The only two downsides are both due to the light bullet. Wind drift can be horrible if your not familiar with firing this cartridge. If you plan on serious hunting with it I highly suggest doing a bit of target shooting in the wind. The other problem is range. If your staying under 200 yards you should be fine, over that it has slowed so much you have lost most of your energy.

One additional thing I have found with 17 grain V-Max bullets is that it's darn near impossible to ricochet them. I have tried firing at very low angles into the ground, at tree branch's set up in front of a target and even tried bouncing them off water in a pond. They are so thin skinned they just seem to disintegrate on contact with anything.

Don't plan on fur hunting small game with this round. I have completly blown ground squirrels and rabbits in half with it.

My opinion, buy it you won't regret it. It's a superb cartridge when used on the proper game.

 

[Podunkadunk]

Diesel,
I was wondering when you were going to chime in. Nice setup by the way! I don't think you're nuts...just dedicated...and well financed!

Podunk

 

[jimg]

DP -- Snappy rig you have esp the scope. I think Swarovski is just about top of the pack!

 

[jimg]

While we're on the 17RF topic has anyone given the 17HM2 a go? They dont seem terribly popular at least not as much as the 17HMR. Just wondered how they do on small vermin.

 

[xlr82v2]

.17HM2... guaranteed to stop the most fierce charging mouse (if you hit it) in it's tracks, or your money back!!

Honestly, I've never even seen a rifle chambered in it, only the ammo. I don't believe it would be good for much more than squirrels.

I'm just not sold on these little .17's... the ammo is way too expensive, and I haven't seen any compelling reason to convert from my .22's. If I need more punch than the .22WMR can deliver, my .22-250 gets the call. No coyote hit with it has ever complained about it . If I wanted to get something a little less potent than the 22-250, but more than the 22WMR, I'd go for a .22 Hornet or .221 Fireball.

I guess the novelty of the .172 inch bore is the main draw... there's much better medicine out there than the .17 rimfires IMHO...

 

[archerynut]

My thoughts from shooting praire dogs in MT with .17. AWESOME. can't get much more fun than that. Shot them anywhere from 25 yards to 250 yards and killed them all. At closer ranges a head shot will remove any thing that was attached above the shoulders. Long ranges I had no trouble. It was slightly windy and at long range a couple of missed shots and then you adjusted and it hit right on. If I was interested in meat hunting I wouldn't recommend this cartridge. By the way, I was shooting the guides gun, a marlin, and it shot well but the trigger pull was not to my liking. This was the next gun I was going to buy, but other ones have snuck up and I had to have them for the arsenal.

 

[jimg]

>>.17HM2... guaranteed to stop the most fierce charging
>>mouse (if you hit it) in it's tracks, or your money back!!
Ive looked at the ballistics of the various ammo providers and its not a lion killer. OTOH it would be very useful for squirrels but then again so is my trusty 22LR. I wonder if it will wind up going the way of the 5mm.

>>I'm just not sold on these little .17's... the ammo is way too
>>expensive, and I haven't seen any compelling reason to convert
>>from my .22's.
The advantage of the 17HMR starts after 100yds, so unless you have areas that are open Id agree. Im not sure 17HMR is much diff in price than 22WMR.

>>I'd go for a .22 Hornet or .221 Fireball.
I like both but the 221 is by far my all time favorite + all of the other wildcats derived from it. My next rifle is going to be a 20 Vartarg based on a Savage short action.

>>I guess the novelty of the .172 inch bore is the main draw... there's
>>much better medicine out there than the .17 rimfires IMHO...
It does perform well beyond 100yds and thats not been the case until now for RF. I guess the better meds argument would have to consider a bunch of factors. For instance, the 17HMR is going to be pretty quiet and it wont heat the bbl like some of the big CF cases will.

>>This was the next gun I was going to buy, but other ones have snuck
>>up and I had to have them for the arsenal.

 

[xlr82v2]

My thoughts from shooting praire dogs in MT with .17. AWESOME. can't get much more fun than that. Shot them anywhere from 25 yards to 250 yards and killed them all. At closer ranges a head shot will remove any thing that was attached above the shoulders. Long ranges I had no trouble. It was slightly windy and at long range a couple of missed shots and then you adjusted and it hit right on. If I was interested in meat hunting I wouldn't recommend this cartridge. By the way, I was shooting the guides gun, a marlin, and it shot well but the trigger pull was not to my liking. This was the next gun I was going to buy, but other ones have snuck up and I had to have them for the arsenal.

Archerynut,

That's one use that I didn't think of, p'dogs. I think it WOULD be pretty awesome for that. But, not many dog towns in my part of the country, nearest one I can think of would be at the St. Louis Zoo... and I don't think they'd take too kindly to me thinning out their population over there. Nearest thing we have to p'dogs is groundhogs... and there aren't that many of them anymore, not like there was in the 1970's, although we're starting to see them more and more lately as coyote hunting is growing in popularity around here. I don't think they would be very good for groundhogs for the most point, as they can be pretty tough, heavy critters. I've seen big ol' boar groundhogs occasionally crawl back to and into their hole after being hit by .223's and 22-250's and having parts of their bodies missing. They're tough. They certainly didn't see the next sunrise, but they did make it back to and down into the hole. I think that would happen a LOT more with the little .17's. But for p'dogs and squirrels, it would be a neat little chambering. Just not neat enough (to me) to make me go buy one. I'm not knocking them, I'm just not sold on them.

In your experience, how many rounds can be fired before accuracy starts to drop off and the bore needs to be cleaned? Barrel fouling has always been one of the problems with the .17 centerfires, especially the larger ones like the .17 Remington and larger. Do the rimfires stay fairly clean?

 

[3RRL]

I was looking at buying this rifle with Accu trigger.
It's on sale at Big 5 for just over $200 bucks. Is it any good for the price?
.17 HMR Savage

 

[Podunkadunk]

I was looking at buying this rifle with Accu trigger.
It's on sale at Big 5 for just over $200 bucks. Is it any good for the price?
.17 HMR Savage

Without a doubt! My wife paid 200 bucks for my Marlin...it has a wooden stock ( I prefer synthetic) and NO accutrigger!

Podunk