Has the .17 HMR had its day?

[Moorlander]

I was considering getting a .17HMR but have come across a lot of negativity , have you got one , love it /hate it?

Have you have a barrel blockage?

Will it / has it be superseded by a better .17 ? 

 

[phoenix]

I had two and eventually gave them up as a bad job.

I had one barrel blockage that was, very fortunately, so near the start of the rifling that the next round wouldn't chamber, otherwise it could have been very nasty.

However, my main issue was ammunition variability.

I had a CZ 452 and a Weihrauch HW66 - both excellent rifles, but neither would produce repeatable 5 shot groups at 100 yards with any of the many different types of ammo I tried.

Typically 3 shots from 5 would be in the one inch ring at 100 yards but one would be a couple of inches high and left and the other would be a couple of inches low and right.

I eventually gave up and bought a 22 Hornet (Weihrauch HW66) and my world is now a much happier place

 

Cheers

 

Bruce

[CliveWard]

Moorlander,

Nothing wrong with the .17 HMR, except the ammunition variability.

If you can find a batch that works in the rifle you have, then all will be well. If you can't then it will just frustrate you, or at worst have your fingers off if you are not very diligent with your misfire procedure. I think I have had a blocked barrel on 5 occasions.

It's a difficult call. The .17 HMR ammunition that I find reliable and accurate soon looses that accuracy past 130 or so yards so the practical reliable field range for the .17 HMR for me isn't massively further than my .22LR which I'm happy out to about 85 yards with.

I have a sorted .17 HMR but my choices are for Rabbiting and the odd close opportune fox, .22 LR and for Foxing while clearing up the Rabbits on the way, .22 Hornet.

I now use the .17 HMR for daytime mooching about and as a test bed for scope mounted NV. The .22LR and Hornet both have thermal rifle scopes on them.

Ammunition prices for the .17 HMR are also on the rise, but that depends on how much you will use it.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

Clive

 

 

[spanner]

The latest batch of Hornady I am using has been very consistent, the quality appears to me to be as it was when it first appeared.

[Akeld]

I'm on my third, never had a blockage, had a few none firers, had a few split necks.  Never had the claimed accuracy but accurate enough for my needs.  QC and availability of ammo need to be addressed , I did go through a stage of weighing rounds but didn't gain anything by doing so.  Mine is now a dedicated NV rig

[David Hancock]

I had a terrific HW 66 in .17HMR then suffered a fizz and a bullet stuck 4 inches up the barrel.  I replaced all the numbered batch of ammunition with new and suffered the same twice.  No split necks.  I had it bore scoped and sold it as I lost trust in the calibre.  Hornady ammunition.  As Alekd, QC needs to be addressed BUT,  this was FOUR years ago and (some people are finding) the situation persists. 

A shame as it was a great 175 yard vermin / 100 yard fox rifle and accuracy was always around 0.7 MOA.  

What is going to replace it ?  17WSM - try getting the ammunition, 17 Fireball - try getting the ammunition, 17 Rem - only 40gn factory ammunition I believe, 17 Hornet - just received my ticket for one.

 

[Moorlander]

From what you all tell me theres no point getting a calibre thats known to have issues ,think  I`ll be giving it a miss and stick with my .22WMR and .204R for foxing and the .22LR for rabbits.

[Akeld]

5 hours ago, Moorlander said:

From what you all tell me theres no point getting a calibre thats known to have issues ,think  I`ll be giving it a miss and stick with my .22WMR and .204R for foxing and the .22LR for rabbits.

I think you have everything covered with what you have

[triggersqueezer]

light fast .17 the hornet makes me wonder why any reloader would buy hmr.

[spanner]

I have both as I have no desire to reload any CF to volume shoot Rabbits.  The HMR is a great round still.

[Towsey]

I like mine, I do experience split cases with certain ammo but mates get split cases with different types of ammo to me so I wonder if that's a rifle preference thing. Mine shoots tighter than moa and I don't think twice about taking shots at 200 if there's nothing more than a steady breeze. As said before I think ammo is the issue, and with what you have I don't know that you need one. 

Towsey 

[VarmLR]

I had one for 4 or 5 years and thought it a complete waste of time.  Lots of squibs (with the potential for a serious accident if not vigilant), variable ammo (was always having to re-zero the thing) ammo prices rising to beyond a joke (it defeats the object when you start to see prices rising to close on £20/50).  The slightest puff of wind needed careful allowance once past 80 to 100 yards.

Best thing I ever did was to sell it. My 22LR, with practice, was all I ever needed to 100 yards, wind allowing, beyond which the .223 took over.   I appreciate that this has not been everyone's experience, but it was mine so from my own perspective the advice would be to steer clear and have a bit of fun reloading 17 Rem or 17 Hornet if you would like a good, accurate and reliable 17 cal.

[simonl]

I lost faith in my CZ 453. Lots of duds. I also got a bit disillusioned with the accuracy last time I tried it on paper. I went into a field a few months back & shot 9 rabbits in 10 shots in quick succession, up to 130 yds from a gatepost. No runners. I'd forgotten just how good a bunny bashed they are. Any  misfire or strange noise & I'm now pretty diligent about making sure the next shot isn't my last.

[Moorlander]

9 hours ago, simonl said:

Any  misfire or strange noise & I'm now pretty diligent about making sure the next shot isn't my last.

 Avoid like the plague by the sounds of it.

[Murph]

always thought it was a pointless caliber. Too loud for rabbits. And marginal performance on fox.

[VarmLR]

On 28/01/2018 at 1:59 PM, Murph said:

always thought it was a pointless caliber. Too loud for rabbits. And marginal performance on fox.

Not so marginal at closer range.  Only marginal when out beyond 100 yards, but to the rest I agree.  Given a choice between the WMR and HMR (I had both) it was the WMR that made more sense to me and still does for a longer range rimfire fox basher.

[GNG]

think i must be a lucky duck. Have 4 .17 hmr's and they all shoot amazing well with Vmax 17gr. they don't like the green stuff, not the 20gr. not had blockages. Only feeding issue i ever had was on a 2nd hand marlin hmr that went back to the shop as they attempted to bodge it with cardboard.

17 hornet is my new toy, 17 Remington was just shat, to be honest, but I'm sure others have had more success.

[Mick Miller]

On 1/14/2018 at 11:38 AM, Moorlander said:

I was considering getting a .17HMR but have come across a lot of negativity , have you got one , love it /hate it?

Have you have a barrel blockage?

Will it / has it be superseded by a better .17 ? 

 

Yes, the 17hmr has had it's day. 17 hornet does everything you really wanted your hmr to do and more. It also doesn't cost a great deal more to feed, especially if you roll your own for it.

 

The hmr is virtually pointless as a foxing round. I've lost count of the times I've watched people, who believe the hmr is capable, shoot foxes at sub 100 yards only to wound them and have them run off. No thanks. 17 hornet, even if chest shot, will have foxes drop within 20 yards of running. Just don't fall into the mistake of trying to replicate that at stupid ranges at night.

[kernel gadaffi]

The HMR I had wouldn't zero, it was returned and I was offered a new one, this was much better. I didn't shoot many rounds, maybe 300 and was offered silly money for it, so it went, to be replaced with a .22 Hornet, which was a much better rifle. I was told a few years, from a friend who visits the States regularly, that Steve Hornady had stated the barrel life expectancy had been reduced from 11K rounds to about 6K. A big increase.

[David Hancock]

Decrease even !

[pete52]

I had a one till it blow up on me It was the ammunition at fault. Tuck the gun back to the shop were I got the ammunition from. He was very good with me and gave me a new gun .I put it up for sale and got my self a rem 700 17center fire the best thing I ever  did I would never buy a17 hmr again. 

[Bangbangman]

I ditched the 17HMR and went with 17Hornet (home loads.) No regrets.

[Mick Miller]

Another fox flopped to the little hornet around 5 minutes ago and around 60 yards. No dramas, just drops to the spot with a chest shot. If you want a little, light, frangible round which isn't terribly noisy it does take some beating.

[Andrew]

I have several 17HMR's that haven't been used in a decade, at least. IT was my No1 vermin round until they decided to make it fast and cheap. None of the ammo I shot then split cases but accuracy was tank and bullet performance was poor. I finally shelved it with two,  500 round bricks of shoddy ammo waiting to be shot.~Andrew.

[Montey]

I bought mine when the Ammo worked well then noticed the drop off in groups plus a blocked barel (Luckly I noticed) so I've left it in the cabinet until yesterday as I've just bought some Winchester ammo and tried it. All seems well again and in the spring I will back out with on the rabbits. Numbers of rabbits permitting but that's another story.