Chad, there's a whole thread on this on the Rimfire Forum. IMO, save your money and buy a CZ.

Chad, So far I have either owned or shot in about 20 different 17HMR's! The CZ is one I have not shot but have heard nothing but good about them! Sub-MOA at 100 yards is the norm with several of the Marlins and Savages getting down into the .4's-.6's with regularity! One of the Savages (Heavy Barrel Stainless) did a .606 with the 11-15th shots down the barrel at 100 with a podunk Simmons 3x9 on it! The overwhelming thing about them is that they all seem to shoot well! From the NEF's(have seen two of them go back to the factory early because of shoddy machining.....wouldn't reliably fire) to the Savage to the Marlins and even the one 597 in 17 I had, they all are eye openers in how accurate they are! As far as foxes and yotes go, keep your shots under the 125 yard range and shoot head and neck! I have several 200 yard plus kills back here in the east on groundhogs but they were all head and neck shots! A GOOD PIECE OF GLASS IS WORTH IT ON THESE RIFLES!!! Dial em in and take their eyes out! GHD

Chad:

I've own, or have owned several: a Rem 597 with a Jarvis Custom barrel; an Anschutz 64 and a full-on custom target on a CZ action, converted to single shot and with a heavy Lothar target barrel---all pillared into a Shehane baby tracker stock and with a trigger job.

The .17 HMR is inherently quite accurate, for a rimfire at least. My Rem 597 [Jarvis Custom barrel] has shot .400" groups at 100 yards. My CZ custom [heavy Lothar Walther barrel] shot some 3/8 groups at 100 yards. Notice that .400" and 3/8 are about the same?! That makes the Rem 597 with the Jarvis barrel quite impressive.

My favorite of all is the Anschutz 64 sporter. I had the barrel shortened from 24" to 20" and also shorted the LOP about an inch. It is a well made bolt action with a quality barrel and it puts 5 shots into a dime at 100 yards all day if the air is calm. I've read a number of favorable posts about the Marlin and CZ bolt guns too. Also, Savage is now making their varmint barreled 93 available in .17 HMR. That should be a pretty accurate low-dollar option too. What I especially like about the Anschutz is that it is not a hit or miss proposition: you will get an accurate one off the shelf. No matter what. And you get a great trigger too.

There is a thread over on Rimfire Central [www.rimfirecentral.com] regarding the suitability of the .17 HMR for coyotes. Some guys claim to kill them with regularity, but honestly, the caliber is too small for clean, humane kills on coyotes at anything but close range. And can you ever guarantee close range on coyotes?! There is a post over on GoGoVarmintGo with photos from a guy who shot a bunch of fox---and had trouble killing many of them. There were alot of "run offs". Obviously, if close shot grey fox are running off after a shot in the boiler room, then the caliber is problematic for 'yotes.

The .17 HMR is a great niche gun. It is a great squirrel/rodent rifle out to maybe 200 yards [but not that far on chucks]. It gives you alot more reach and flatness of trajectory than any other rimfire out there. It is a great barnyard bird gun [starlings, crows, magpies, etc.]. The semi-autos are great on running jackrabbits [I can't him 'em with a bolt gun].

But the bottom line is I would not count on it for coyotes at ranges less than about 75 yards and unless you could guarantee a hit in the heart and lungs and a sure follow-up hit too boot---at least not if you believe in killing what you shoot,

Just my .02 worth----and I've never shot a coyote with the .17 HMR, though I have taken a few with the .22 WMR at about 75 yards broadside. At that range the killing power of the two seem to me quite comparable with maybe a slight edge to the .22 WMR at that range, given its heavier bullets. And 75 yards is pushing it for the .22 WMR on coyotes. I'd not do it habitually with that gun or the .17---even that close.

Jordan