lol sheister i love that word you coined in your post (californicators)im thinkin the same thing you said about noise ect.

a .357 mag can be your best friend.....

I haave been reading some of the coments on the new 17 HMR and of course every one has their own opinion, so here goes mine.
I have 2 Winchester lever actions, 1 is a 22LR and the other is a 22WMR and I wouldn't trade or sell them for the world;;But, I did buy one of the new Ruger 77/17 and put my 3x9 scope on it and sighted it in yesterday and at 65 yards, with 2 - 6 shot groups, you could cover them with a quarter and I moved out to 137 yards on a clean target and the wind started to blow some, about a 5 to 8 mile an hour cross wind, and still hit the 1" bullseye 4 times in that wind and out of 12 shots, they all stayed within a 6 inch circle and only had the varible wind drift and elevation was pretty consistant, within an inch and a half, and this was just shooting and using the bed of my truck as a rest and I was and am real satisified with it and at 137 yards it really tears the hell out of a 2x4 and complete penetration with no problem. I love it and plan on doing a lot of varmint shooting and squirrel and rabbit etc. and like I said, I absolutely love it. But I still love my 22 Mag and wouldn't trade it away because I can bring home the meat with it too. I hope they do bring out a heavier bullet for it like was mentioned, a 20 grainer or so, so what,,IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, don't buy it! I do like it and hope it sticks around like the 22's have.
Johnny Reb

You know, if I used the logic of some of the naysayers on this topic, I would never have bought a .223!!! Afterall, it doesn't kill deer worth squat! And sure as heck can't kill an elk!! SO WHAT!!!!

The .17 HMR fills a gap for those people who shoot small game/varmints at ranges that change dramatically, and for those who respect the abilities of the round and the shooter. I have used mine for prairie dogs out to about 175 yards. (That's a great thing, at 175 yards, or 100 yards, I don't need to change my point of aim. Try that with a .22LR or .22 WMR) I have also used it for crows, and the occasional jackrabbit.

Of course, I have yet to try it on a coyote! But, I have a 6mm and a .223 and a .22-250, and a .220 Swift, and a .25-06 and a few others that do better. I also have several rifles in .22LR and .22 WMR. Haven't sold them yet either!

I remember when the new Volkswagen Bug came out. I'm 6'6" and about 295 lbs. I thought it was the worst marketing scheme ever thought up. Afterall, who would want some ugly little bug of a car anyway?!?!?! Thought the same thing when they came out with the new Super Duty Ford pickups. Who would want one of those overgrown gas guzzlers anyway?!?!!? Wow! You mean somebody else does?

Shoot, if I was to use logic for all my shooting needs, I'd have a 12 gauge and a .22LR. With the use of slugs, buckshot, and birdshot, most all big game can be taken with the 12 bore. And, most small game can be taken with the .22. Pretty boring though....

I did three rimfire projects this year, an all the bells and whistles 10/22, a CZ 452 and a Savage 93R17-FV. They are all shooters all loads of fun to have on the range and in the field. Of the three the Savage involves the least money invested. BUT on the OOOO, WOW scale it is off the chart. I have a shooting/reloading mentor here in NC who has helped me out of many holes and showen me the way around road blocks. He told me something about the .17HMR. He placed a round on his bench and asked me what I saw, told him I saw a really neat looking little bomb waiting to be launched and it sure looked "cool" , look at me and said that is exactly why it will be a hit cause it looks so . He hasn't been wrong yet. I know the Savage is the first one I now grab.

Well,this is my first post,so here goes. I just received my Bullberry .17hmr laminiated topped with a 5.5X16.5 Nikon and believe this should be a good tackdriver.Only time will tell however.

Welcome to the forum plowboy!
Let us know what you think of your new "toy" once you get to spend some time with it.

I haven't had time to read all the posts on this subject, and, I'm also new, so please forgive me, but can anyone here say "5MM Remington Magnum"?

i have a 22 WMR and will be getting a 17 HMR barrel later this week (both for my contender). the 22 WMR is my squirrel gun (i use 40 gr FMJs to keep meat damage down) and my 17 HMR (12" barrel) pistol will be my squirrel sidearm for deer season hunting in east texas (by the end of the season, i get bored not seeing deer but still want to be deer hunting) as well as a side arm for rabbits, foxes, etc while deer hunting in general.

will let you know how it performs when i get it. i'm thinking that i would like to see it loaded with a less frangible bullet though . . . i shoot squirrels in the head as much as possible, so this shouldn't be a huge consideration, but i don't really like to have a "blown-up-head" squirrel in my game bag.

as for those of you who think its going to die, well, i figured that if it did, i could always rechamber my barrel to 17 hornet. nice thing about contenders . . .

Did I misread or did someone say the 17HMR would be fine for coons? Seems like a stretch, but my experience is limited to reading, not doing.

Based on my shooting it at the range, I believe it would make the coons roll over rather quickly. and the positive if you miss is very little richocet if any at all(sp?)
Since the round is designed to be supersonic at 200 yards and very flat shooting I would expect it to be fine coon medicine.
I'll let you know if I get the chance to try it out on ol' ringtail!

Coincidence, but after reading this I opened up my latest copy of IHMSA news, and it seems the 17HMR has been deemed capable in field pistol or rimfire class (100 meter max). Field pistol, if you aren't familiar, is ruled by 22 hornet, while rimfire is generally a 22LR dominated class.

But another article in the same issue shows how you should be able to get that same 2500 velocity out of a 40gr 22 hornet, and more so with a 35gr.

And yet the .22 Hornet is still not a rimfire.

ScottB - Sure you can outperform the 17 HMR with a Hornet! Not only can you match the velocity, but you're doing it with a bullet that will retain velocity much better and be less affected by the wind (because of much higher BC). I don't really think that is the point of all this 17cal madness.

The 17 HMR offers this level of performance to those who either can't reload or just don't want to reload. This round also accomplishes this velocity with less muzzle blast than would be generated by the Hornet. As for IHMSA competition, it would have to be first approved as a legitimate caliber. Frankly, I don't think that it would interest me to switch from my 55gr bullet travelling 1750-1800fps from my Hornet.

ScottB

Racoons should be no problem for well placed shots with the .17HMR. I killed a nice coyote last week with mine. I limited my shots to 50 yards or less and then only head shots. I know I can hit one at over 200 yards with it but I don't believe the little bullet would do any more than hurt them and probably wouldn't even slow one down. The racoons I shot when I was a kid were all a lot closer than 50 yards and I never saw one that was as big as a full-grown coyote.

Just taking some time to read these over and noticed SHARD BAIT'S comments on the crow and lack of recoil allowing him to see the hit. This is the exact point my wife makes and enjoys so much about the 17 HMR and I think it really fired her up about Varmint shooting. She likes opening up a prarie dog or rockchuck with her 223 and seeing the effects of a 50 gr TNT but to actually see the bullet hit and "detonate" so to speak is what really lit her varminting fire I believe. Good Hunting, Merry Christmas. "Z"