17 hmr

udtjim

udtjim

Joined
Sep 4, 2007
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Has anyone found a bullet for this that does not destroy so much meat? I don't have one but have used one belonging to a friend. Great little varmit round but unless you can make all head shots, the bullets he uses are really destructive. I have a 22 Mag rifle and a .22 rimfire. Have not jumped on the 17 HMR yet.
 
Here are the specs below from Cabela's, I put my notes on the end of each line. All CCI loads.

The .17 HMR 17-grain Speer TNT® Hollow Point has a 2,525-fps muzzle velocity and delivers about 179 pounds of energy at 50 yds. - Good for small game, not as violently disruptive as the polymer tips, but still pretty reactive at short range.

The .17 HMR 17-grain V-Max has a 2,550-fps muzzle velocity and delivers about 185 pounds of energy at 50 yds. - These violently explode and do the most damage from what I have seen in action.

The .17 HMR 20-grain Gamepoint has a 2,375-fps muzzle velocity and delivers about 193 pounds of energy at the muzzle. - I use these for short range, these are ideal for a bit larger game, stopping around the Coyote mark.

Your best bet within 50 yards is the bottom load. The best past 50 is the top load.

The best overall high damage round is the middle load. It produces a short and wide wound. "Little pink clouds" on small game. I wouldnt try to take game with a 17HMR unless it was past 50 yards, or rabbit sized. Squirrels, chipmunks, and birds will just explode when hit in the body. That being said, you can knock a birds head off at 100 yards with the right setup with relative ease.
 
Any 17 grain bullet at over 2000 fps is frangible if it hits something substantial. They disrupt instantly, and even at long range.

Very cool round, but you have to know what to expect.
 
It's clearly not a tame round in any form......that's the whole point of it.........maybe ya need to get the tamed down 17 HM2:

17hmrdp2.png
 
I think you are better off with the 22 mag. The heavier bullet weight, at the expense of velocity, allows for more penetration and it is available in FMJ. The hollow points are still very destructive if that is what you are looking for.
 
udtjim said:
Has anyone found a bullet for this that does not destroy so much meat? I don't have one but have used one belonging to a friend. Great little varmit round but unless you can make all head shots, the bullets he uses are really destructive. I have a 22 Mag rifle and a .22 rimfire. Have not jumped on the 17 HMR yet.
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Short answer is no I've shot about every single brand possible and they pretty much all shoot the same. I prefer 17 hmr as a bugout last ditch gun over 22 magnum. For is accuracy and stopping power of two legged animal, if you have seen what the round does to flesh, you know what I mean. One of the potential problem with the round is that at some point it may be discontinued. Since some gun manufacture have discontinued making rifles and some manufactures have slowed down their manufacture of said round. This is what my local gun shop told me. I would have loved it if ruger produce a 17 hmr auto like their .22
 
Taurus has a compact 9 shot .17hmr revolver that is really cool, and fairly new to the market. I want one. Those NAA heavy bbl .17hmr rifles are sweet too. Tackdrivers from what I hear. I dont own a .17hmr yet so I dont know about ammo, interested to hear though.
 
They are pretty good for bring home 1/2 of rabbits.:D I think they are intended more for varmits although a FMJ should help. Thanks guys. I really like the old 22 Magnum and have had that for for almost 40 years. It is the old Mossberg 640K Chuckster. My hunting buddy just bought the Ruger Lever action 17 HMR. He is going to try calling raccoons. He saw a video of it somewhere.
 
The real problem IMO with the 17HMR is that it shoots a 17 grain bullet (smaller diameter than a BB), @ 2550 FPS. Any bullet that small is going to get very, very little penetration because it explodes on contact. That is great for prairie dogs, etc... but very poor for larger sized animals.

The 22 mag is much more versatile. At it's lightest bullet weight (30 grains @ 2200 FPS) it does tremendous damage to small mammals, but is also enough to kill a coyote. On the heavy end of the 22 mag spectrum you could go with a 50 grain @ 1650, when more penetration is needed.

The 22 mag just has a lot more versatility than the HMR.
 
hannibal lecter spyderco said:
For is accuracy and stopping power of two legged animal, if you have seen what the round does to flesh, you know what I mean.
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I agree completely. Getting hit anywhere with that round would be very very nasty.

I have a new Savage Accu-Trigger 93R17 with a 6x18 scope on it, and I'm a big fan (I broke the barrel in slowly, it shoots really well).
 
I recently sold my CZ 452 in 22 mag. I'm getting a 17 HMR to bust Armadillos. Anybody tried one on a 'diller yet? Sounds like an excellent Diller Killer. :D
 
Farnsrocket said:
Yeah, pretty sure it's just a an aftermarket 17HMR barrel put in a 22 mag rifle and you're good to go!
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Well the gun is something I'm not concerned with since I don't expect mine to go down, you could always mod 22 magnum. The ammo is going to be an issue though. Great ammo but damn expensive, when you compare it to other rounds out there, thats what killing 17 hmr not the performance of the round.
 
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