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is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

UNCLEDAN25

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 21, 2011
139
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SoCal
So is all the hype about a 17HMR worth twice the cost of a 17mach 2? was looking i not getting one but ammo seemed alot higher than standard Long rifle 22... i guess good for squirrels, rabbits, but doesn't seem large enough for Jack rabbits.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Hell ya its big enough for jack rabbits. How big are they over in your neck of the woods? We have some sizable ones around here but 22lr is still fine for them, 17hmr def puts more of a smack down on them though.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

well I would not buy a 10 yr old kid one that wants to go out on an afternnon and shoot 500 rds but for gophers. chucks jackrabbits a 17 hmr is wicked out to 300 yrds... like shootin a laser. I think in a rimfire comp they would be in their own class b/c they would whup a .22.... The only reason i would own a 17 Mach II is if i was going to convert a 10/22...
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

My 17 has taken down coyotes... If your jack rabbits are bigger than coyotes than you got a problem...
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

We shoot sage rats over on the "dry side" of Washington and Oregon for several farms. A farmer asked this same question of my wife and I a few weeks back. So we showed him the difference between what the 22lr and the 17HMR will do to a Sage Rat. After seeing it firsthand, he said he is definately getting one, as when a rat is properly dispatched with the HMR, the pieces are perfectly sized for magpies and crows to carry off. Whereas the 22 leaves the rat whole so he had to rely on coyotes, and turkey vultures to carry off the carcasses.

I've killed two coyotes with the HMR, but don't reccomend it in any way for good clean kills on them.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

for the price of 17 hmr I can load a nice .223 round so I would say no
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I agree, 17M2 will be history in the next several years because the extra cost is not justified. On the other hand, 17HMR has notably better performance than 22LR. We could shoot prairie dogs out to 200 yards with 22LR, but with 17HMR we could go out to 300 yards. With both rounds you have to be careful with wind direction - we tried to shoot downwind whenever possible.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I have to agree with captramrod01. HELL YES! I went out yesterday and shot prairie dogs with my 17hmr. Made shots from 75 yards out to 200. I have taken down a coyote with it as well. Now I also can't disagree with DFOOSKING about shooting suppressed 22 but I use that for "special applications". You won't be sorry you bought a 17.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I think the .17 HMR is a great improvment over the .22 WMR. Either is not even in the same class as a .22lr.

The .17 is more accurate with a balistic advantage to 150-200 yards.

Folks have killed coyotes with them, and without trying to insult them, its realy not a great choice for that. I have seen a number of yotes hit with centerfire make it out to die elsewhere. Trying to do it with a rimfire requires perfect hits.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George63</div><div class="ubbcode-body">for the price of 17 hmr I can load a nice .223 round so I would say no</div></div>

I can buy two boxes (100) of .17 for $20-$25.00

To suggest you can handload the same in .223 for cheaper is just not genuine.

At any rate the .17 is a creat caliber that can fill the nitch bbetween .22lr and centerfire. One of the reason I moved over from the .22WMR is the ammo availabillity
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I love my little 17, it is a huge improvement over a .22. I have shot turtles up to 175 and like others have said it is a laser. I am going shooting with a friend that wants a 22 mag and I will see what he thinks after trying out a .17. I haven't taken it farther than 200 yards but up to that it is an impressive little caliber. I put a Leupold 3-9 on it thinking it was plenty but after seeing how well it shoots, I would like to bump it up to a 4.5-14.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I disagree---I feel the 17M2 round is best for hunting---less damage if you are interested in the meat--squirrels and rabbits.
And the 17 Hornet and 17 Fireball are the perfect rounds for varmints and pelt hunters---i can appreciate the 17 HMR but have no need for one
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I have owned both 17 rimfires. They were novel and interesting but I sold them. I prefer the 22 rimfires, 22 mag for it's thwack on Jacks and a precision 22 for outright accuracy.

Freebie

Years ago I played around with 17 Rem and 17K Hornet. They too were fun for PD's out to 200-300Y but the 204 Ruger was superior.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

204 is another round I love, had a bitchin VTR in 204...killed alot of yotes with that round from 100-375yards...always dropped them in their tracks....talk about a laser.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Love the 17 hmr we use them on squeaks in klamath Oregon a 22 is good but u get anialation with the 17 hmr
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I have several .17 HMR rifles and its one of my favorite rounds to shoot now. Too bad the Pdogs have all been killed off by the plague where I shoot each summer. PG
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I love my Savage .17 HMR. With hornady v-max it is a varmint grenade launcher out to 200 yds.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I would say yes, but that might be swayed by the fact that I have two 93r17's in my safe along with the other toys.

They are truly a nice little gun, not that expensive, and when setup and shot, they can be a great training exercise as well. Most guys like .22lr for training because its cheap, but when you compare .17HMR to .22lr match ammo, there isn't as big of a cost difference.

.17HMR for groups at 200yds is fun.

Ringing steel gongs at 200 yds with .22lr is fun.

Neither will ever replace the feeling of banging steel at 1000+ with bigger bores.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I think it is, if you are comparing apples to apples.

I have a Sako Quad with Lilja 17 hmr and 22lr barrels. The 17 is a lot more fun to shoot and I hardly ever switch out the barrel. It its quiet, no recoil and shoots flat as hell. I buy the ammo locally when it is on sale for $10/50. I normally buy a couple of cases when it is.

The 22 ammo that shoots the best in my rifle, Wolf Match target, runs me about 10 cents a round. So I am looking at about 2 for 1 for the 17. It really depends what I am trying to accomplish when I am shooting.

The 17hmr is hell on Oregon sage rats, where the 22 is just kind of anticlimactic on critters.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Is it worth twice the cost?

hm2 2100 fps
hmr 2500 fps

hm2 is 84% the HMR

hm2 $4.95 for 50 last month
hmr at least $10 unless you find a sale

hm2 is <=50% the cost.

So no, it's not, unless you have to shoot something that is too big for an HM2 to handle, and since the hm2 uses the same projectiles as the hmr, all you really need to do is move up a bit, and there you have it. The ability to shoot Aquila in the hm2 puts in on par with the hmr as far as projectile choices go, if your rifle likes Aquila.

As far as what can be taken, I suggest you look through these two threads.

HM2

HMR
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tomf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love my Savage .17 HMR. With hornady v-max it is a varmint grenade launcher out to 200 yds. </div></div>

Amen brother !
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

To each his own. I had the same question and ended up buying a .221 Fireball to have something to shoot with more guts than a RF yet quieter than a .223.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

You know, I've never owned a .22WMR...other than a handgun chambered in it. Flamethrower it was. .17HMR...I bought one when they first came out...I want to say 2001-2002...sold it (needed the $$$ for an AR build). I picked up another one about 2 months ago. Love it. Laser (if no wind) and to me...$12 for 50 rounds of anything (9mm drops like a !@#$% at 300)...these days...is a win. The .22 can't keep up with it and I'm ringing the steel at 300m with the .17 easily. Fun rifle. Plan on buying a case of ammo and building the dope charts for it soon.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Does a hell of job on tree rats out to 100 yards.
I own three HMR's...
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rprecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George63</div><div class="ubbcode-body">for the price of 17 hmr I can load a nice .223 round so I would say no</div></div>

I can buy two boxes (100) of .17 for $20-$25.00

To suggest you can handload the same in .223 for cheaper is just not genuine.
</div></div>

Actually, it is quite realistic.

My loaded 223 cost using pickup brass that I have 5gal pails (yes, multiple pails) of costs me $16 per 100rd when loaded with 55gr pills, either SP's or FMJ's

CCI primers are $125/5k = 2.5 cents each
55 FMJ Hornady's are $78/1k = 7.8 cents each
8lb of surplus H335 is $127.50 delivered = 5.7 cents per round
Brass is all pickups for this stuff

Total is 16 cents per loaded round.

If I use 52gr Amax, the cost increases to 14.2 cents per bullet with an overall cost of appx 22.50 per 100 rounds. Sub MOA performance at 400yd for the same cost that the 17HMR gives at 100yd... if you're lucky.

I owned a 17HMR for about 6 months and sold it once I broke down the cost.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Love my .17HMR for varmint duty on smaller properties where a .223 is either too unsafe or too loud for nearby structures/people. It's a great "in between" critter killer between the .22LR and .223.

I'm not too fond of .17HMR as a target and plinking round-- the cost is too close to my .223 reloads. For inexpensive practice I stick to my .22LR but occasionally will take the .17HMR out for 100-300 yard sessions.

I won't part with my .17HMRs simply because there numerous properties that I do ground squirrel control on that are too small to safely use a .223 on or have nearby neighbors that don't care for the extra noise. The .17HMR is the perfect round for the job in those locations-- with a good PBR zero it's +/- 1.5" from 10Y out to 165Y. Makes it "point and shoot" for 95% of the squirrels without having to dig for the rangefinder.

I'm considering picking up a .17HM2 barrel for my Sako Quad simply because ammo is about 1/2 the cost of .17HMR.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

I wanted a rimfire bolt gun and went through the same thought process... .22lr, .17M2 or .17HMR trying to gauge cost vs. performance. Ended up going with the .17HMR and really like it for plinking out to 300 yards and rabbits out to 125 yards (so far, hard to see them any further out where I go).

It's not as cheap as a .22 but I don't get to go out to the range or field very often so when I do I want as much accuracy and flexibility as possible and I think I get that with the .17hmr. If I had easy access to somewhere to shoot I'm sure I would get a .22 and just shoot the crap out of it.

I reload for everything I shoot and sometimes it's nice NOT to have the option to reload and still get pretty good accuracy.
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17_new_stock_painted.jpg


Savage in a boyds tacticool with a Millett 4-16x50 mil/mil.
 
Re: is 17HMR worth the extra ammo cost?

Just picked up a 93R17 for 'coons, 'chucks and 'yotes here in S. Michigan. Ranges are usually limited for shooting at night, and the smaller report of the round keeps the neighbors neighborly.

I just pulled the bbl off and sent it away for a threading job since I finally got my SilencerCo Sparrow. Should be a lot of fun popping coonies at night with that around the in-laws dairy farm.