17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire.
I've just begun shooting this fascinating little cartridge. Heard about it, saw people talking about it online, and finally broke down and bought a bolt action rifle in 17 HMR to see what all the fuss was about. For you other newbies out there, I'm going to keep this little blog going to record my impressions.
What I found wasn't a juiced up 22 as much as it was a mini high power cartridge. The 17 HMR shares several characteristics that are more appropriate for centerfire rifles than rimfire smallbore. Definitely more so than the 22WMR, which is really more of a heavyweight .22 than it is a distance round.
Flat trajectory. From 50 to 100 yards, there is little bullet drop, if any. I took great pains to locate the scope close to the barrel on my Marlin 917v, to keep parallax to a minimum. Consequently, zeroing at 50 yards is just about spot on at 100 yards. Maybe .5" drop. Maybe.
Compared to the 17HMR, shooting a 22LR at 100 yards is more of a lob toss.
Muzzle velocity. Considerably higher, in the 2500 fps range. Consequently, this is a noisy round. Out of the Marlin's 20 inch barrel, it's an uncomfortably loud, high pitched bark that has me reaching for the muffs. Quite unlike a 22 WMR, whose lower tone and slightly quieter sound is comfortable enough to endure without protection.
Recoil. No, it doesn't have a serious kick to it, but compared to 22LR, the gun does move, and lets you know it went off.
Accuracy. Quite good. At this time, the only cartridges one can find are in the $10/50 rounds price range, about what the very high end 22LR target rounds go for. My experience is that at 50 yards, the accuracy is comparable. Pushing out to 100 yards, the 17HMR is considerably more accurate than the best 22LR target rounds.
On the downside, I have noticed that the little 17-20 grain bullet is very susceptible to being pushed around by the wind.
If anything, the 17HMR reminds me of centerfire rifles, in that it tends to shoot like a .223, only everything is in miniature. No real recoil, not nearly the range, but it's more than the lightweight 22LR, it hints at a serious round.
A few weeks later...
Tidied up my Marlin 917v with a Rifle Basix trigger - vast improvement.
With that and a decent scope, it punches a ragged hole at 50 yards off of a sandbag. Getting better.
Had the bug for a new smallbore revolver, but hesitated to get another .22 because I'm pretty long on .22 pistols right now. Sort of hard to top that Diamondback, too... I did come across the Taurus Tracker in 17HMR, and the price wasn't bad. It's a tad heavy, and forget the double action, way too stiff. But, the price was right... and it can be found in an 8" barrel... could be interesting...
And a week later...
Bought the Taurus. Decided to pass on the 8 3/8" barrel because I couldn't find one locally, and went for the 6.5" barrel instead. Very well built revolver. Also very loud.
Two weeks later...
A frustrating afternoon. I couldn't seem to do very well at 50 yards with the Marlin, but I believe the problem is the scope. The Leupold Rifleman, while a good hunting scope, just won't focus down to 50 yards - no adjustable objective. It will focus properly at 100 yards, which is why I am seeing good patterns at 100 yards, but strictly medicre patterns at 50 yards. Time to get a fixed power, AO target scope.
Have mixed feelings on the Taurus. Not the pistol, but using the 17HMR cartridge in a revolver. It isn't exhibiting markedly better accuracy than a good 22LR at 30 yards. Saw a Taurus Raging Hornet at a gun store - 22 Hornet revolver with 10 inch barrel. Impressive looking, and expensive...
Another two weeks later...
Reworked the trigger on the Taurus, and it is greatly improved. Mounted a red dot sight on it, and still am not seeing superlative results at 30 yards. Pushed it out to 50 yards, and got pretty much the same pattern. Impressive... still, I have a hard time justifying the extra noise and expense of 17HMR in a revolver. I have pretty much decided to trade the Taurus off at the June Louisville gun show. Nothing wrong with the pistol, I am just not impressed enough with 17HMR in a pistol. Great in a rifle, not so hot in a pistol.
And a few weeks later...
Put a BSA Red Dot sight on the Taurus, and reworked the single action trigger with a diamond file. Real improvement. Shooting much better now. However, it still doesn't beat a decent 22LR pistol at moderate ranges. Or is that me?
Still waiting for the new stock for the Marlin. Micro-Fit said 4-7 weeks, and it's been five. Patience...
A couple of months later...
Well, it appears that Micro-Fit has lost my order. So I'll take my business elsewhere.
Getting ready to ebay the Leupold scope and get something with AO. Still getting killer patterns at 100 yards with the Marlin.
And a week later...
For once, procrastination paid off. My Micro Fit stock showed up. 4 months instead of 7 weeks, but it's a real beauty.