.17 HMR is it your favorite cartridge too? What's your best rifle & ammo?

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  • JBLee

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    60   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    380
    28
    Indy North Side
    I've been shooting a long time, I like it all, but I love .17HMR. I don't shoot past 200 yards much and prefer to keep the .17 between 100 & 150 yards at the range. I've had great success with CZ, Savage, Marlin & Ruger Rifles, no surprise I'm sure, and buy CCI ammo mostly. What have you all had good luck with and what are your thoughts on .17HMR?
     

    Areoflyer09

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    14   0   0
    Feb 28, 2017
    4,637
    38
    Indianapolis
    My wife enjoyed the Ruger American Target we had. Nice rifle and it shot well. Ultimately, she ended up using it less and less once I finished her 10/22. The 10/22 is more accurate to 100, beyond that she has a 204 Ruger. The 17 was kinda stuck in the middle for us, overlapping too much on both sides.

    It is an awesome round for someone with right need though. Flat and light recoil, a great learning round for pushing distances out. Great varmint round too!
     

    JBLee

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    60   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    380
    28
    Indy North Side
    Longshot, what model and barrel length is your Marlin? I had a really nice accurate Marlin XT-17VSL but sold it a while ago, I'm thinking another one is in order.
     

    JBLee

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    60   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    380
    28
    Indy North Side
    It is an awesome round for someone with right need though. Flat and light recoil, a great learning round for pushing distances out. Great varmint round too!

    Totally agree, lots of sound for that "big rifle" feel and very little recoil for beginners, devastating results through the scope.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    The 17 is a decent all around (limits of course) round. I have had 2 Taurus Trackers with 6" barrels that were dead on accurate. A friend took one Deer hunting for years. He dropped several Yotes with it from the tree stand. It had zero trouble dropping them with 1 shot.

    From his knowledge base the .17 is a poacher round much used and loved by that crowd. I have no direct knowledge as to this but he is an avid hunter with several hundred acres groomed for this. All of his family are avid hunters. They like the round as well.

    I sold the 2 rifles and pistols a few years back.
     

    Longshot308

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 10, 2010
    52
    6
    Westfield, In
    I put a BSA Sweet 17 scope on my rifle. 6-18x. The finish came off of the original. To their credit, BSA sent a brand new scope free of charge. Very surprised at the good quality of the product for the price.
     

    JBLee

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    60   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    380
    28
    Indy North Side
    I put a BSA Sweet 17 scope on my rifle. 6-18x. The finish came off of the original. To their credit, BSA sent a brand new scope free of charge. Very surprised at the good quality of the product for the price.

    10-4, I don't think I have anything less than a 6-24x50 on any of my .17's I really like the way you can use big time magnification and still "watch" the bullet all the way to target through the scope due to the minimum recoil.
     

    Gabriel

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    Jun 3, 2010
    6,713
    113
    The shore of wonderful Lake Michigan
    I have a 17 HMR lever gun that has been dedicated to hunting the varmints that kill my chickens. I've taken over 200 raccoons with it over the last three years or so. It's a good little round, but I've never shot it for groups or at any real distance.
     

    Sniper 79

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Oct 7, 2012
    2,939
    48
    Shhh dont let the cat out of the bag on this one. Its a sweet round that I enjoy dearly. Has limits with wind! Slices like a golf ball. I keep it within 150yrds. First time I fired it my .22's hit the classy adds and got gone. No more ricochet risk and poor filthy ammo problems. It isn't loud like people complain and my kids are learning to shoot with it. Actually snipers with it. Hilarious to watch the bullet impact tiny targets. Its a blast! Going to get some head shots on squirrel this fall. Ammo can be had on sale in the 9 bucks a box range.

    Have a Savage 93R17 FVSR. Threw the stock and mounting hardware in the garbage and installed a Boyds pro varmit with DIP bottom metal kit. Snapped up a cheap Center Point 6-24 AO with illumination from a show.

    Its probably the most accurate out of the box gun Ive ever owned. It did have the scope base screws cross threaded from factory I had to fix. The factory stock was a joke so it got pitched. Overall a wonderful purchase. Might venture into something lighter for hunting but it works for now. Regretting not buying a Savage a guy had in 17HM2 awhile back for a 100 bucks outfitted nice. Darn it.....
     
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