Stopped in at the local sportsman's warehouse this afternoon...

they are now proudly marking bozes of 17 HMR and 22 Win Mag also, up to $15.99 per box..

Lets see, that should make it about 32 cents a round!!!!!

Well MINE is definitely available for a new home...

32 cents a round for a rimfire is ridiculous!

Some may continue to pay that kind of price...but the ammo companies are letting the lefties just price it all out of existence...

The lefties wanted higher ammo prices to cut down on gun ownership.. and the ammo companies are more than happy to give it to them...

Good bye Ruger 77/17!

Well, all ammo has gone up.

17 hmr started out high, got fairly cheap briefly then went up enough it was not cheaper than 223.

The price will force it to be a niche round for sure if it continues. Might even mean it won't quite stick around. The 17 mach 2 looks to be dying.

I do agree it seems not to offer enough for that price other than lots of affordable accurate rifles for the ammo.

Agreed! 17M2 is $13 a box (of 50) CHEAPER than the HMR... I can shoot my 223, 30-30 243 6.5-284 and every pistol I own for less. I love my HMR, but the greed is obvious, sickening and it's time to vote with my wallet. No more HMR until the price drops. If the factory is making money with M2 at $4 a box $5-7 should be a reasonable expectation for the HMR... [rant off]

Can any of you guy's honestly say you did not see this coming. I must admit I fell for the 17 gig also. But it did not take me long to get rid of it. It was a fantastic marketing ploy by the mfrs. What's next???

I hate to say this, but the anti's can some times sit back and let us self-implode. Tom.

Everyone thought I was nuts. When I bought my 17hmr I went on an ammo buying spree. I hit every sale hard. I paid as little as 5 bucks a box and no more than 8. I am currently sitting on about 6000 rounds

I dumped my beautiful Volquartsen over a year ago. I wasn't overly impressed with the terminal performance or original ammo price, but I was really impressed with the Volquartsen and its quality. Now I am really happy I dumped it. I will get another Volquartsen in 22LR. I much rather shoot my 223 or 17 Rem. I can reload both for much less than the 17HMR. Lou

I was about to fall for one a few years ago and did some math. Let's see...For prairie dogs its cheaper to shoot my .223 and it has WAY more power and I save the cost of another high priced rifle, scope and accessories. For gophers (Richardson's ground squirrels for the purists) a .17 is way better than a .22LR, but for me I like to pull the trigger and not think about the cost when out a gopher wacking. Plus, its fun trying to hit a gopher at 80 - 110 by lobbing in a .22LR. If I want something nastier for gophers, I can grab my .223.

In my opinion the .17s have been for people with way more money than me. They don't fill a niche for me.

mike7mm08: I think you might be able to retire early if you sell all those rounds!

quote:

Posted 06 March 2008 10:01 Hide Post
Everyone thought I was nuts. When I bought my 17hmr I went on an ammo buying spree. I hit every sale hard. I paid as little as 5 bucks a box and no more than 8. I am currently sitting on about 6000 rounds Big Grin

me 2 did the same thing with a hm2

I won a 17 rimfire at a Friends of the NRA banquet. I was likkered up enough to buy lots of tickets, but sober enough to realize that I didn't want it, so I donated it back and they made another $300 or so auctioning it off to the guys who were too likkered up to make sense of it all.

Yup!! My HMR went down the street several months ago. Hail to the 223 and Blue Dot!!

I've had 3 of the HMRs. Key word is "had."

Here is south central TX, there are no small critters such as picket pins, and the HMR has proven to be rather marginal on the larger stuff. So for me, it does not fill a niche, either.

It seems many folks are dumping them as well. The last time I was at Cabela's, the used rack was dominated by .17 HMRs. Another gun shop has several used versions that have been on the shelf for at least 3-4 months.

When they first came out, I had to have one. Bought a new Marlin, had some trigger work done, bought a new scope and bi-pod, then couldn't get any ammo. You all probably remember the ammo shortage, right at first. Any way I finnaly got ammo and was very disapointed. Oh well, another lesson learned. I took it to a gun show and sold it to a guy that claimed he was going to shoot Hogs with it. I wished him luck... Good bye .17 HMR and good riddance

Out here in Idaho we have either rock chucks or ground squirrels (Thompson ground squirrels) coyotes, badgers, skunks, and raccoons for our main varmint target base.

I'm liking my Ruger 10/22 ,tricked out, for the ground squirrells lead lobbing and what fun that is to connect at 80-120 yards with the RF or a move up to the centerfires. Mostly the .223 now seems to be the favorite child.

I was never able to see the niche, for me, that a 17 HMR or M2 would fill in my battery. I found that niche very narrow in my selection of targets and conditions and terrain and stuck with the 22RF and centerfires to fill all those needs. Foretuneatly my ignorance of the need may have saved me from a dinosaur. Still a little too early to tell.

So OK. You guys have me convinced not to buy a .17 rimfire. What about a 700 in .17 Remington?

quote:

Originally posted by MikeMichalski:
So OK. You guys have me convinced not to buy a .17 rimfire. What about a 700 in .17 Remington?

I'd hang loose and pick up a 17 Fireball instead.. however unless you hand load, it is spendy to shoot.. and if you handload, brass availability is poor, unless you reform 223 or 222 brass.. or 204 Brass...

Seafire2, Thanks for the response as I am lookng at one now. Although I've been reloading for 40+ years, fireforming is not for me. I'll start looking for a fireball.

quote:

The lefties wanted higher ammo prices to cut down on gun ownership.. and the ammo companies are more than happy to give it to them...

You got that right,gun bans have proved not to be to the solution.My advise to all is buy it while you can afford it,because it looks like they want to price all ammo out of reach.


Then again when it comes to gun rights I feel like chicken little.


Cal30

I and a buddy bought .17HMRs as a 150yd prairie dog rifle. It was a way to go (we thought) cheaply without having to reload when we didn't have time. We now realize that isn't going to happen. I've stocked up too on ammo, but if the cost doesn't come down, once my stash is gone, so will be the rifle. If the price does come down, I'll keep it.

quote:

but the ammo companies are letting the lefties just price it all out of existence...

The lefties wanted higher ammo prices to cut down on gun ownership.. and the ammo companies are more than happy to give it to them...

Why are you blaming 'the lefties' for the increase in ammo and component costs ?

When the problem is commodity prices as set by the free market.

Lead is trading at $1.39/lb and copper at $3.87/lb

Look at the chart for lead prices over the last 5 years.


and for copper,

Skinner is spot on. I asked every ammo maker and component supplier about this at SHOT last month. Without exception, they said hat they can plenty of raw materials but that prices have gone nuts. Why? because China is building tens of thousands of miles of copper electrical lines and a little despot in a four-letter country starting with I is building massive nuclear facilities and needs lead shielding. Ring any bells? Oh, and transportation costs explain what the materials don't.

It is NOT greed on anyone's part, merely the cost of doing business. All ammo prices are up. The next time you buy factory 223 or 204 or any other varmint cartridge, you may find that those 17 HMRs seem cheap again, in comparison.

Just how much lead and copper/brass is involved in making a box of 17 riimfire ammo. Not $16 buck worth I'll bet!!!

I see 17 hmr for sale for under $10 at midsouthshooterssupply.com also m2 for under $6.
I only get out a few times a year and my son has alot of fun being able to hit distant small targets with less noise and muzzle blast.we'll keep ours for awhile.

Very poor argument... the exact same amount of lead is in a 17M2 as is in a 17 HMR. The HMR cost's 13-15$ MORE per 50. Spot price of lead, copper, brass or powder cannot explain this.

The Lefties are NOT involved. This is capitalism at work. Simply charge what the market will bear. Stop buying HMR ammo and the price will drop. I wouldn't be complaining if I owned Hornady stock.

quote:

Originally posted by Skinner.:

quote:

but the ammo companies are letting the lefties just price it all out of existence...

The lefties wanted higher ammo prices to cut down on gun ownership.. and the ammo companies are more than happy to give it to them...

Why are you blaming 'the lefties' for the increase in ammo and component costs ?

When the problem is commodity prices as set by the free market.

Lead is trading at $1.39/lb and copper at $3.87/lb

Look at the chart for lead prices over the last 5 years.


and for copper,

price is the reason i sit on my 22 mag ammo i got for 3.00 a box way back when.its cheaper to shoot a 30-30

22 mag is my other retirement fund. I got couple milk crates full.

I only buy HMR on sale and have never paid over $10 a box. I bought 2 HM2's because the ammo is so cheap. I got 3000 eley for under $3 a box. Should last me a while! N.E.F. cuts the cost of shooting also. One at a time.

The 17 HMR was of interest to me as I hoped that CT would make it legal for state forests. The largest rifle we can use now on CT state land is a .22 LR.

Then in came the reports that the 17 HMR does not cut it on coyotes and that was the last straw. We just don't have volume shooting here and I have a better chance of getting a crow over the tree tops with a shotgun than a rifle anyway.

The .22 mag is not legal on CT state land.

So to me the .17 HMR has been forgotten.

Went to a gunshow in Denver this weekend. Bought every .17HMR round under $11.50 a box that I could. Was told by a couple of distributors that the next ammo they'll have on sale will be around $14 or higher. By the time I pay shipping from one of the mail order companies, .17HMR is higher than the retail stores.

damn, now I want to sell my HMR, anyone interested?

I was going to buy a 17hmr and bought a hornet instead it has a longer range more hitting power and if I want to load cheap I buy rem or win bullets 7.00 100 so for 12 bucks ! have a 100 rounds

So I stopped ar Dick's to buy some .22 Hornet to sight in my new CZ and get a baseline group. $37.99 for 50 Remingtons. $0.75 a round!!!

Buying loaded hornet rounds is expensive,better off buying new brass and reloading

I will continue to shoot both the 17 HMR and 17 M2. I own both calibers in heavy barrel Marlins and find both to fill niches for ground squrls, starlings, rabbits, chucks and just great shooting.

I can buy locally eley 17 M2 for $4.43 and 17 HMR for $10.00. Sure price has and will continue to go up.

Have you looked at the increase in 22 LR ammo, powder, primers, bullets, ect.

Just part of the game fellas.

Mike.

quote:

Originally posted by The Derek:
damn, now I want to sell my HMR, anyone interested?

Make that TWO of us that have one for sale...

Ruger 77/17... Grey laminate stock.. heavy barrel.. trigger job done.. 3 x 9 Weaver scope mounted...

quote:

Posted 12 March 2008 20:37 Hide Post
Buying loaded hornet

fireball10x, You are right, of course, but I like to get a group or two with factoty ammo before embarking on the reloading stage.

The 17 HM2 seems to have been a total dud.
Local retailers are vastly overstocked with ammo they can't sell that they run sales on.
I suspect that in a couple of years the 17 HM2 will be discontinued and the ammo will shoot up.

BTW I was in China a couple of years ago. There you can drive for many miles on major highways without seeing power lines. Out in the stick you don't see power lines going to any of the peasants huts but you do see a pile of coal dumped on the side of the country roads here and there.
In the major cities they have trouble keeping the power on in the summer. They don;t have enough or very reliable electrical generating capacity.

The only rimfire I own is the standard 22 rf.

The rest are just over price most of the time one can reload a 22 center fire just as cheap or cheaper.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeMichalski:

quote:

Posted 12 March 2008 20:37 Hide Post
Buying loaded hornet

fireball10x, You are right, of course, but I like to get a group or two with factoty ammo before embarking on the reloading stage.

Well I'm sure you will like the CZ, I love the CZ hornet I have. Have Fun

Thanks fireball10x. Loaded some lil'gun last night an will try this PM if the Michigan weather will allow.

Looks like its time to dust off the .17 rem. Its up the back of the gun safe somewhere. With all the new info with blue dot it will be cheap to run. Still got the cases and bullets in the cupboard to. $ 4.00/100 rems on the old price tags.