.17hmr yay or nay opinions please

nigelm485

Hi all
Thinking about this caliber alot lately had a .22 but wanted a little more knock down power. Id mainly be using it for rabbits and the closer range foxes. Undecided to go .17 or bigger. Any opinions would be great

Cass

I think they are a fantastic caliber. Good enough to do short range stuff that a .22lr can do, and the slightly longer stuff out to 200 yards. With ballistic tipped rounds they leave a hell of a hole and are more than good enough for foxes out to 130 yards (more if you're confident), rabbits to 200+.

The pros are:

• Cheap to feed compared to centrefire
• Quieter than centrefire, but depending on mod it varies
• Powerful round to do pretty much everything you need.
• Great range compared to other rimfire calibers
• Little hold off from 50 to 200 yards with 100 yard zero

The cons are:

• As a small bullet it can get blown off in strong winds
• Even with it being a rimfire it's loud. A good Mod will quieten, but not to the level of a .22lr.
• Not as powerful/hard hitting as a centrefire, but then again neither is a .223 compared to a .308.
• Drops quick after 200 yards

I done a comparison on a .22lr to a .17hmr a week or so ago. It's here.


However as you're thinking of a .17 or higher then look at the ,17 compared to say a .223:

Feature | .17 hmr | .223 |
Ammo Cost | €17 - €20 per 50 | €13 - €28 per 20 |
Speeds (FPS)| 2,200 | 3,400 |
Effective range | 200 yards | 500 yards |
Cost of kit | €600 - €1,100| €1,200 - €2,000 |
Muzzle Energy | 217 ft/lb | 1,200 ft/lb |


You can go on, but the end result is the same. A .223 or similar varmint centrefire caliber will always beat the .17hmr. However it's not a similar comparison. For rimfire i'd go with .17hmr over a .22lr, hornet, magnum, but if you want more range, power, etc then go for centrefire in .223, .220 swift, .204, etc.

Simply put if the ,17hmr ticks all the boxes in terms of cost to buy, cost to run, fulfills your needs (range, rabbits, etc) then go for it. If you think you might be lacking in some department then think is it important enough to look to a higher caliber, and if so then go for something bigger.

nigelm485

Thanks for your indepth review of the .17hmr I think it will suit me and what I want it for.can you recommend any particular make or model. I think I am in the market now ha.

Cass

I'd start with the most popular of the rimfire manufacturers, CZ.

They are plentiful, cheap to buy, good quality, decent resale value, easy to upgrade. Here is my one:



Then other makes include:
Marlin - Same/cheaper than CZ
Anschutz - Most expensive, but a beatuful rifle
Savage - Can be cheaper to more expensive depending on the model of .17 you go for.

There could be more but these would be the four most popular ones available here. I also have a .17hmr in Savage. It is the 93r17 in thumbhole with stainless barrel. Here it is:




The CZ kit above runs €1,050 new. The Savage kit above runs €1,600. The same kit in Anschutz (depending on mod) would be between €1,500 - €1,800. These are all new prices, with rings, Mod, bipod. Second hand you could pick a full kit for between €450 to €1,000 for different makes/models and kit.

It's all about looking around lad.

Chiparus

I had a 17hmr, for rabbits, traded it in for a 22, which I much prefer.

German pointer

I went back to .22 from HMR i had a few reasons for doing so one of them was the **** that was in the powder tended to make it inaccurate after less that 100 rounds and it needed cleaning

nigelm485

Thanks lads I don't think id have an issue with the powered as I wouldn't be doing mad work with it and I dont mind ccleaning at all. Just one more thing. Ive cash there at the moment for second hand would u buy it now or wait till ive full new price for kit.
Have always bought second hand guns and just want a opinion.

Snakezilla

I have a .22 , .17hmr and .223 and to be nothin but honest the hmr gets the most work. Furthest Ive shot a fox is just under 150 yards. Crosshairs just behind the ear and it was lights out. Ill never get rid of it !

yubabill1

nigelm485 wrote: »

Thanks lads I don't think id have an issue with the powered as I wouldn't be doing mad work with it and I dont mind ccleaning at all. Just one more thing. Ive cash there at the moment for second hand would u buy it now or wait till ive full new price for kit.
Have always bought second hand guns and just want a opinion.

Should be no problems buying 17hmr s/h, getting someone who knows a bit to accompany you always a good idea - a friend stopped me buying a lovely looking gun that had been really well dressed-up to hide its being shot-out. Second opinion invaluable, because the head can get overruled.

Don't forget to clean copper/carbon out regularly - 22LR rarely needs this, unless you run Stingers through it all the time.

Scrappy600

German pointer wrote: »

I went back to .22 from HMR i had a few reasons for doing so one of them was the **** that was in the powder tended to make it inaccurate after less that 100 rounds and it needed cleaning

Completely different from my experience and if you read a lot of reviews from people online the 17hmr shots better when dirty. Have had a marlin 917vs for 7 years now and have only ever found it shots better with a dirty barrel then clean.

eoin.d

ive a .22, 17hmr and a 223 and i use the hmr alot more than the other two. for the land i shoot on its ideal for any foxes, never really need long distance. i cant recommend a cz highly enough. more accurate than me anyway. the hmr does n3d to be cleaned alot more though

German pointer

Scrappy600 wrote: »

Completely different from my experience and if you read a lot of reviews from people online the 17hmr shots better when dirty. Have had a marlin 917vs for 7 years now and have only ever found it shots better with a dirty barrel then clean.

I had a 455 and if I didn't bring my bore snake with me to the range i would need to go home with less than 100 shots fired

Chiparus

I found the accuracy would go off after 20 or so rounds.

Cass

Jaysus lads, what were ye using? Federal Ná Mona.

They are a dirty little round, no doubt, but i've never had loss of accuracy even after a 100 rounds. However after 20, i'd be looking at something else as the cause. Even the Savage can go for 100's of rounds before any loss of accuracy. Even then it's minimal. Bullet width type of thing.

Chiparus

It seems to be a common issue with the 17, some clean every 20 to maintain accuracy,
others seem to shoot better "dirty" , I had an Anschutz, could get it to shoot fine if clean, but the accuracy would fall off very quickly.

http://www.rimfiremagic.co.uk/17hmr_rifles.html

Cass

As said above though how much loss of accuracy are we talking?

When we say "it looses accuracy" most people would immediately think if i aim for something i'm going to miss. The thing is it's not that at all. Especially considering we are always talking minute of bunny, not minute of angle. So if at 100 yards you are experiencing 5-10 mm variance, or at the far end of the scale, 16 - 22 mm in a badly fouled rifle you're still hitting your target and with enough accuracy for a clean kill.

The most important thing is not to take other people's opinions. You need to find out what your rifle does. So while mine might be fine for 100+ if your rifle doesn't maintain accuracy after 20, 40 ,60 rounds then you need to find this out and act appropriately. Also find out how much loss of accuracy you are experiencing at what distance, and how much that degrades as you shoot more without cleaning.

Only then can you make an informed decision as to what your gun likes.

Cass

As said above though how much loss of accuracy are we talking?

When we say "it looses accuracy" most people would immediately think if i aim for something i'm going to miss. The thing is it's not that at all. Especially considering we are always talking minute of bunny, not minute of angle. So if at 100 yards you are experiencing 5-10 mm variance, or at the far end of the scale, 16 - 22 mm in a badly fouled rifle you're still hitting your target and with enough accuracy for a clean kill.

The most important thing is not to take other people's opinions. You need to find out what your rifle does. So while mine might be fine for 100+ if your rifle doesn't maintain accuracy after 20, 40 ,60 rounds then you need to find this out and act appropriately. Also find out how much loss of accuracy you are experiencing at what distance, and how much that degrades as you shoot more without cleaning.

Only then can you make an informed decision as to what your gun likes.

Chiparus

I agree, but for rabbits you really need head shots , as the 17 is so damaging to the meat.

Cass

Absolutely, but again the head is not a half inch or anything. With your rifle dead on zero for 100 yards and say half an inch of variance due to excessive fouling, you're still hitting the head.

If your rifle has more than 2 inches of drift due to sods of turf down the barrel it's your own fault, and really not down to the rifle. However you'd need to do serious shooting, even with a dirty round such as the .17, to give enough fouling to cause severe variance to miss a head shot at 100 yards.

German pointer

When my barrel was dirty and with less than 100 rounds down it I could be an inch or two off target but when clean she was one hole groups

Chiparus

Cass wrote: »

Absolutely, but again the head is not a half inch or anything. With your rifle dead on zero for 100 yards and say half an inch of variance due to excessive fouling, you're still hitting the head.

If your rifle has more than 2 inches of drift due to sods of turf down the barrel it's your own fault, and really not down to the rifle. However you'd need to do serious shooting, even with a dirty round such as the .17, to give enough fouling to cause severe variance to miss a head shot at 100 yards.

I would get 1/2 inch groups at 50-100 yards just after cleaning the rifle, however after about 20 rounds , it would start opening up.

I have no problems with any of my other rifles, I sold the 17 and got a 22 , which I find fantastic.

This was my second 17, my first did not have the accuracy problems but was recalled due to safety issues (rem 597)

Zxthinger

What ever you decide to do! Make sure that you follow some sort of barrel break-in procedure, the lands in the 17hmr are very shallow. 0.002" iirc. Examination with a bore scope will show very rough tooling marks on nearly all factory bores. The break-in process is meant to remove some if these tooling marks quicker and then a smother bore avoids excessive fouling. You should clean for carbon and soot every 20-30 rounds and clean lightly for copper fouling every 100rounds, watch for accuracy degrading- this is the alarm bell to clean. Don't try and get every bit of copper out as it's kinda needed to smooth out the bore..
Be very sparing with any bronze brushes as they are very hard in bores. In fact I'd avoid them if ye can,
Alway clean from the breach/chamber and protect your trigger from solvents.
If you buy this rifle then get a very good scope too. You'll need it with long range small targets. Seriously consider bedding the action and the scope rails and or scope itself.
A really valuable bit if kit for checking your scope of unplanned movement is a leupold zero-point bore sighter. Invaluable kit tbh.
The chamber also need cleaning and dirt here can be the number one cause of accuracy issues IMO. It effect neck tension and so on and so forth effect accuracy.
The 17will shoot better than you ever can, it's really a top class round, it's just a pity the 17HM2 never caught on too.. Take a look on YouTube at sniper 101 Rex, he gives a good general over view on bores and fouling and the need for fouling etc etc.
Regards zx