Introduced my .17 HMR to a somewhat shy gray tom the other day. I was somewhat disappointed with the results. Between the eyes. I would have preferred less flopping around. I guess it is my own fault, I had a 22-250 available, I just didn't think he was going to stick around very long. No meat damage so the Dragon Lady can have him.

Hugh, I have avoided the .17 bore, thinking it mostly without point. Not just in the HMR, but all of them. I'm unaware of anything they will do that cannot be done as well or better with larger bores, and I'm too cheap to buy another cleaning rod anyway. That shot taken with the .22-250 would have been spectacular! Ants woulda cleaned up the mess in a few hours too.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Pointless.Projectiles

The cradle rocks,,two? years ago,the guns[.17hmr] were selling like hotcakes,and no ammo to be had... I went to the gun shack today,,and saw more .17's sitting on the consignment rack than .22's. You rarely see a .22mag on the consignment rack,,And the ammo mfgrs. are making improvements with it,,so they must be selling a good bit of .22mag ammo.I toyed with the thought of getting one,[.17hmr],But I think I'm gonna pass and stick with what I have,,Clay

Cats flopping around are always annoying. I just shoot them again a time or two and the floppy part stops.

Dan, I got into a dispute in the Varmint forums 9-10 months ago when I called the .17HMR "a marketing gimmick".

Once again, history has proven me right!

Not all .17's are bad. I'm partial to the .17 Remington.


Toolmaker

I remember in the late'70's for the .22 mag.,,there was winchester ammo,,,,fmj.,or soft point,,And the cci hp. Now everyone and thier mother has a .22mag offering,,,,even remington,has a deluxe round for it.And as far as devastation is concerned,,,blount ind.aka.,,cci,,has taken it to heart.I had a few rather artistic rabbits that took pride in making water art by nipping the irrigation tubes in my container yard,,,to them it must have been beautifull fountains of joy .Using cci v+ .22mag rounds,,,2 were blown in two pieces,,,one was gutted to polishing cloth status,,,Have fun!!!!!Clay

I must also speak up for the .22 mag. While accompaning a government hunter in the 1960's I witnessed him
taking hundreds of deer, bobcats, one cougar, and all manner of pests with a Winchester Model 61 in .22 magnum.
That was back when there were few choices in ammo. Since that time I have also taken a hell of a lot of things with various .22 mag's. With today's ammo, the .22 magnum needs to be reconsidered by those that like to blast things. I use it for cats, possum, nutria, and other vermin.

I bought a .17 HMR when they first came out. Before ammo was available. When ammo became available I used it
on all manner of critters. I still use it but I restrict it to smaller critters like selected birds, sage rats, columbia ground squirrels, and other critters of such size. I find it EXCELLENT for those targets.

I use both the .22 mag and 17HMR for low volume shooting. When I want to really go varmint hunting I use several rifles in .221 Fireball with 40grain VMAX or Noslers. It definitely does a better job than any rimfire and for a lower cost since I reload. For groundhogs and above I use a 6mmBR with 55gr or 70gr bullets.

For coyotes there is the AR15 - Lock and load, drop them now!

I think that we all need to figure out what each cartridge is good for within our own critter killing environment.

Oh, I should mention that the cougar was taken while in a leg hold trap. The government hunter had cajones the size of basketballs. To shoot a bear he would run towards it until it reared up then he would shoot it in
the open mouth with a 20 gauge shotgun. He wasn't worried about saving pelts. He would drop the deer with a shot between the eye and ear. He waded into a stall with a pitchfork and killed one bobcat in a barn full of
stock. Decent man.

I found the 17 HMR to be one shot stoppers if you are charged by one of these.........



IMHO you should still have someone watching your '6' with buck and a slug.

I will contribute a minor accolade to Hornady/Ruger/Marlin on the HMR. They have raised the bar on production accuracy, and I think that a good thing. I know a number of folks that own them, and being of the simpler sort in regards to guns they are enamoured with the little pipsqueak. They rant about its accuracy, and other mythical, mystical attributes even if they do little else besides plink paper. This is due no doubt to the effort Hornady put into spec's for the cartridge and chamber, and to QC by the arms manufacturers. Kudos to them, for it IS a hot seller and that is good for the industry and for us. I suspect that selling a 5 MOA rifle just got a lot harder because of all of this.

If it makes the industry tighten up on the rest of their specs, so much the better. I'd still rather use a Hornet or .22 mag, or .22-250, or .257, or...well, you get it I'm sure. IF I were a fur hunter I might be more conciliatory towards the .17's, the .17 Rem in particular. But I'm not, never will be, and I would as soon cut a 'yote in half with Bob than anything else. I leave 'em where they lay. I did collect a bobcat once with a .30-30, and it had a .30 cal hole going in, one of about .40 cal on the way out. Methinks those that promote the .17's as being fur friendly are either lazy or effite snobs that tweedle over little more that minutae. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Sunny.Days

And just to prove the point of my conviction, I just returned from Ocala with a NIB 94/22M. First new gun I've purchased in several years. Has a very nice trigger, and will soon sport a Leupold Red Dot sight. Then I will call it BTNIB(better than). Well, downstairs to clean off the factory goo.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Crat.Cracker

quote:

.17 HMR

17MHR
Please keep using that peeeeeeeeeee shooter
Oh oh
POTKB
GTTTSD

I sail past My Bowl
Birman

Birman. I think you should know that the crat was a goner. There was gobs of coagulated blood everywhere. It just took a little longer. Come by with a couple other strays and I'll do a side by side comparison with my .17 and my .22-250. I'll shoot a hole through your damn bowl.

As for my .17 HMR. I love it. It is accurate an a lot of fun to shoot. It is excellent for small critters that you don't want to save meat on. However, crats, being possessed by the devil, have a nervous system that requires serious firepower to kill them imediately. I regret not using the 250, becuase crats are rare around here for some reason, and when I get one I wanna do it right.

You poor misinformed man . For one the Midwest has little to offer so we tend to not hunt there . I found Wyoming on the other hand to be a great place to maim . I love maiming Sage Grouse. They are very rare so it gives me that much more pleasure to take one out . Now. As far as your 17MHR goes ..........giggle giggle...... I have taken on BMGs 20mm launcher 120mm canons and the rest but none have done me in yet. I do admit that an M60 mini gun did lighten me up some. It also gave me a weird sound when I ran across a field . Kind of a whistle that oscillated as I bound .
Well Have fun a shoot strait ...... Giggle giggle..... Hope the wind stays calm ..... Ohoh
POTKB

I whistle by My Bowl
Birman

Son of Whistre Mutha! HA HA! You have date with Dragon Lady this night. Li wear best brack tight ninja suit, one with uprifting panars. You rike beau coup, then you see frash of gord shuriken. Then you guest of honor at Golden Chopstix! HA HA! Carr you Hory Birman with Knot in Middre! HA HA! Pheasant Cock on nose for coror. Big night Birman~san, be ready! HA HA!

Ahhhhhhhhso -
DlagRady
Again you try to best me in your own way. No good Mamason. Birman never farr to your wicked ways of the Wok. Tly and Tly again DlagonRady you never get this hide on your stove .
I have to admit that the Pheasant Cock Streamer is a great idea but I like Quail . HAHA! You forgot didn't you. Skill needs to be earned and learned. Resson taught werr DlagonRady. Risten and rearn .
I teach Buda at My Bowl
Birman

Birman~san, maybe you rike this sage hen fry? Hear you say other prace you rike sage hen. Rittre baby sage hen chicky fry, peep peep! Twitch twitch! You rike Birman~san?

HAHAHAHAHAH!!! DragonLady

You have no barb on the hook . You still need work . Not your looks just your style . If I saw one of those creeping across the high plains I would have to give a giggle and then play with it for a bit then sit down and look at the “fisher-person†.

I work on patterns at My Bowl
Birman

Birman, I could be mistaken of course but I think that is really a IED hook, improvised by our boys in Iraq for fishing in the Tigris for the dreaded Assholis Terrorista fish. They aren't good to eat, so when they bite the little round thingy where the barb is 'sposed to be, it goes boom. DL might be craftier than you think bubba.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Point.CounterPoint

Hugh, Brainshots cause a shortcircuit and a combative posturing. It is just natures way of saying "Holy Shit" I been brain shot!!! derf