worth it to get a .17 HMR?

the noobie

the noobie

New member
Well all I am stuck. Can't decide if it is worth it to get a little .17 HMR. I have been shooting my uncles little gun and I have been having decent fun. His is just a plain Jane pencil barrel and plastic stock. Paired with a cheap Tasco sight and it's been a decent gun.

I have a sweet little 10/22 that I have spent some decent money on upgrading barrel scope and trigger. But I haven't shot it in 3 years because I can't find ammo and I don't want to burn through what bit I had already bought before the scares..

I also have my .223's. But ammo has gotten expensive for them and the only chance I have to reload for them is the few weeks I spent at home for thanksgiving and Christmas each year.

I have noticed that .17 HMR ammo has always been pretty easy to find and it's prices has been constant for quite some time. I AM NOT CONSIDERING THIS GUN AS A COYOTE RIFLE. But I am thinking that one will give me the reasonable accuracy I see out of my .223 but be more economical like my .22 used to be. Gun would be a plinker/fruit killer/ whistle pig gun.

Thoughts? I'm looking at a simple Savage gun. Can't afford a CZ. Any opinions welcome. I just can't decide if they are worth it.
 
The savages are good rifles. I've had 2. The think I didn't like about the round is how much wind affects it because it's always windy where I live. They will kill a coyote dead inside 100 yards no problem. Just keep it aside for deer and elk hunts ;-)
 
All I can tell you is a 17 HMR is just plain fun to shoot! I shoot my .17 more than any other gun. But I went from a 17 HMR, to a 17 WSM, and now have a 17 Hornet that I will reload for. I can reload for the 17 Hornet real cheap.
 
I have a plain jane wallymart Marlin heavy barrel 17hmr and its darn accurate and nice to shoot, and as you know ammo is easy to get. Its perfect for rabbits, p-dogs & coyote if you keep it under 100yds.
 
My 2 cents, after having had and shot both extensively, go with a Marlin. Accuracy is the same, but the action and feeding from the one Marlin I had was much better. Have had/used 2 savages since, and regret selling the Marlin. That said, I do plan on giving the Savage semi auto a try one of these days to see how it does.
 
Yes it is a fun round and they are, in my opinion, underrated. This year I started to use a 17 HMR for fox with very good results. I also use it in developed areas for groundhogs. I used to think that it was a 100yd round but have killed groundhogs at just over 200yds with mine. It is a small bullet so one must sometimes wait for a perfect shot. Body shots at longer range don't cut it. If you get a savage try the 20 grain bullets as they tend to shoot them better.
 
I didn't know marlin made one I will have to check them out.

I notice that there is a small variety of ammo for these guns. Is there really Amy difference in the different bullets that are offered?

How does the .17 compared to .22 mag? I see more .17 ammo on the shelves so that's why I am curious
 
I have a Savage 93R17 and a Taurus Tracker 17, both have killed coyotes, both make me grin every time I shoot them. No idea if I could really justify them, but I don't have lots of guns that I can't really justify.
 
It is a fine caliber. One of the best for fox and other critters of that size. Works fine for coyotes as well if you understand it's limitations. For "plinking", I wouldn't spend he money. For a small game hunter, you bet!
 
I have a Savage 93fv17 and a Marlin 22 mag. The Marlin is plently accurate and has a high capacity mag, but the trigger is [beeep]. I spent $70 on a rifle basix trigger for it and it was a huge dissapointment, over travel is almost 3/8". The Savage with the accutrigger I was able to get down to 1.5 lbs with spring work and it will put 5 shots under a nickel at 100 yards. I would go savage if I was you. My 17 hmr has killed more varmints than any rifle I own.
 
I know the .17 will work but I have enough other guns I don't need it for coyotes. I wish 22 ammo wasn't so danged hard to find. A .22 with a .223 as backup was my favorite whistle pig hunting set up but now it's just .223 with another .223 as backup.

I'll have to go play with this gun some more and decide. If I had my own reloading setup at school I would just sped the money on more components but the .17 seems like it would be a sweet gun to have when I am at school. Cheap to shoot and capable of doing some varmint hunting.
 
I have the Marlin 17VS (before they made the 917) and it is probably my favorite rifle. I have no problem getting ammo for it and is devastating on small game. Slap on a suppressor and you really have a fun setup.
 

By all means get an HMR. As previously mentioned, they are a fun gun, very accurate and flat-shooting out to 100 yards or so. The HMR makes a great crow sniper, and we have used it with great success on groundhogs, being able to take head shots past 100 yards. As you mentioned, HMR ammo is much easier to find that 22 long rifle and that's another reason to consider a purchase, but also, it's just a fine little cartridge for it's intended purpose.
 
I was in the same fix as you can't hardly find any 22lr ammo around here. I ended up buying a savage 93r17 with a standard barrel to use for this years squirrel hunting. Mine prefers 20 grain bullets over the 17 grain 50 yards they just about cut the same hole of the bench. But so far I've been really pleased with it.
 
I was at a similar point as you a few years back. I had groundhogs digging under my out buildings. I wanted to shoot at them but not shoot my buildings, so I wanted a frangible bullet where a miss would not result in a ricochet. The ranges were short, (across my yard) with several other buildings. I did not want to commit a lot of $$ to the project. Luckily for me, I had a TC with synthetic stock. I put a Leupold scope on it and have been very happy with it. I have several other .17's (.17 AH, .17-.223 and .17 Fireball) but that little TC has it's niche.
 
Yup. I figure as soon as I am out of college I can spend more time and money on my centerfires but for now the rim fire looks pretty good. I know when I get my own reloading set up and don't have to rely on Dads I am going to get a little .17 centerfire.

Boy oh boy last night I found out just how much the wind messes with the .17! Just a small Breeze was blowing me all over.

I am watching the Sunday ads if I can pick up a .17 on sale I'm going to have to do it.
 
Originally Posted By: the noobieI didn't know marlin made one I will have to check them out.

I notice that there is a small variety of ammo for these guns. Is there really Amy difference in the different bullets that are offered?

How does the .17 compared to .22 mag? I see more .17 ammo on the shelves so that's why I am curious

I have 17HM2, 22LR, 17HMR, 22WMR, and 17WSM, and for what it's worth, flip a coin between the 17HMR and 22WMR and you'll be happy. The 17's that I've had have been a TOUCH more accurate, but the 22WMR's have been very accurate also. Obviously the LR case pair are the weaker set, and the WSM is the powerhouse, but there's not a huge difference in real effectiveness for me in the field under 100yrds on small game.

The different bullet weights seem to make a difference, but almost all of them are REALLY explosive, at least the loads I've used in 17.

Regarding the comparison for 22mag, it's a smaller case capacity, and a lot lighter bullet. It's flying faster, so it's a little more explosive and a TINY bit flatter shooting, but I haven't seen that matter much at range except for on paper.

If I want to kill something at long range, I throw 50grn Federal 22WMR at it, not 17HMR.

Here's something I put together a few years ago comparing the two:

22WMRvs17HMR.jpg


At 200yrds, there's only about 7" drop difference, but the heavier 22WMR packs a lot more punch (TKO Factor graph), and the energy is about the same by 200 also.
 


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