[gbusmech]

Every local store that sells ammo is out of damn near everything except .17's, there are piles of them everywhere and the price as prices go these days seem reasonable enough. Is there a reasonably priced .17 rifle that the members here can recommend?

 

[ozzy]

Any rifle in that caliber is great.

 

[TheOldRedneck]

Savage makes several and their trigger is hands down one of the best out of the box factory triggers. Accuracy for the cost of the guns usually is excellent. When used for what the 17's are suited for they can't be beat. I shoot the 17's in both factory rimfires and centerfires . The 17 caliber barrels are much better than they were years ago when Remington came out with their first 17 caliber centerfire. Some of the most accurate handguns and rifles I own are 17 caliber.

 

[dahed]

I bought a Marlin 17V about 7 or 8 years ago trying to "keep up with the Jones' " and it was a closet queen for nearly 5 years (it was a year before I even shot it.) Well, I took it out to the range last year and ran several mags thru it. It is now one of my best 'fun guns' to shoot and I look forward to a trip in SD this June to pop some P'dogs and 'yotes. You are lucky on the .17 ammo. It has been scarce here.

 

[shiftace]

Savage.

I have been thinking about getting one of these too. Fleet Farm here in Fargo has the Savage 94 (?) for sale all the time. Usually runs about 194 bones. Has the accu-trigger and all.

Let us know if you get one.

 

[guesser]

If I was going to step into a "17" it would be either a 17 Hornet or a 17 Fire Ball. The rimfire ammunition is just too expensive; and that is not a new consideration on my part. I did not buy a 22 Magnum in 1959 when it was introduced simply because of the ammunition price and I have stayed away. Hand loading either of the two I listed would be cheaper than buying 17 HRM and the performance level of either of the center fires exceeds the rimfire by wide margins.

 

[ccviper]

I take it you are talking about the HMR and not the Mach2? I have 2 HMR guns, both Savage and they are all that and then some. That being said, I have 5 Nach2 guns that get used more than any other gun I own. I do a lot of squirrel hunting and it does more damage than a 22 but not as much as a HMR. They don't really have the power for coyotes though I have done it. They have won me many a shootout at the sportsmens club, to the point they no longer allow 17s to shoot with the 22s. That being said, unless you like making one tiny little hole out of 10 shots at 50-100 yds, they are not too fun after a while. Too monotonous. CZ is far and away the best gun you can get, IMO. They are tack drivers and have the sweetest triggers. But pricey. Savage is probably the best deal. Almost as nice as the CZ but not as nice. Marlins are great shooters but all the ones I have shot seem like someone has put some grit in the trigger, not real smooth. Can you tell I like these little rounds?

 

[pt1115277]

I've had a Savage 93r17hmr for about 6 months now.They are very good rifles at an affordable price.If you go with the Savage look into a DNZ scope mount.
Out of the box it is a sub moa rifle.The barrel is mounted on pillers and should be free floating from the factory.Mine shoots so well I would not bother bedding it.

It is a very easy rifle to shoot well and about as much noise as a 9mm.13-14 dollars for 50rds of HMR maybe a little high for some,but they are still readily available not to mention stable prices.

 

[chicharrones]

13-14 dollars for 50rds of HMR maybe a little high for some,but they are still readily available not to mention stable prices.

Just like the .22 WMR, in a rifle it is a "poor man's centerfire" with reach well beyond the .22 LR. I like the .22 WMR and I'm sure I'd like the .17 HMR if I had one.

 

[Fishnc13]

I like my 17hmr. It does has a purpose as a fun gun at least around here. Iv used it for squirrels and the fmjs are reasonable for the purpose. WHat I really love is popping crows in the fields with the vmax rounds.

 

[RonPT24/7]

I was visiting a local owned gun shop this morn and mentioned about the 17 MHR and if he had one i could see ? He told me no and i mentioned i heard it was a popular gun for varmint shooting . He told me people were not liking the .17 MHR so much now and they were going back to .22mags . He said when you shoot into bush piles or heavy grass the bullet blew up before it hit the varmit and sometimes caused ricochet . Anyone heard anything about this on a .17 ??

 

[texastaurusguy]

I've thought about the same thing gbusmech. I've seen so much 17 HMR sitting on shelves that it might be nice to have one to take to the range, where I could replenish my ammo supply after the range session. Maybe that will be my next rifle.......

 

[Wingshot]

Great topic! The .17 has been kind of a wild card wish list caliber for me. I'm curious what the dope is on the .17 Hornet and I believe there is a new or newer .17 on the market now? Can any of these be a reliable yote killer out to say 300 yards? I know, a lot of questions but Gbusmech started it.

 

[texastaurusguy]

Great topic! The .17 has been kind of a wild card wish list caliber for me. I'm curious what the dope is on the .17 Hornet and I believe there is a new or newer .17 on the market now? Can any of these be a reliable yote killer out to say 300 yards? I know, a lot of questions but Gbusmech started it.

I am not sure about killing coyotes with it - seems too small a caliber, but if properly placed it sure would do the job. It would be devastating on the hordes of prairie dogs in west Texas though.

 

[gbusmech]

Well now that I have pondered this a bit I went to Meijers and bought every box of .17HMR they had, over 2000 rounds. Been looking at a few new rifles and possibly a TC too. I'll let you all know the outcome of this endeavor but I'm already stocking up on ammo in anticipation of a crow hunt....

 

[atomiccat2002]

They are coming out with .17 win super magnum, Maybe your should wait and get one of those

First Look: .17 Win Super Mag

 

[elPescador]

Savage Model 93R17......hands down !
Have a look at a trustworthy review:

Savage Model 93R17 .17 HMR

Although, unless you can afford a s**t load of
available ammo, I'm not sure I would buy a gun
just for/from the availability of ammo.....BUT,
I have had much less of a reason to do so myself.
If you can.....then do !!!!!
.17hmr is not cheap ammo......but if you have never
fired it, you are in for a wonderful surprise......
kick-ass accuracy.
And the Savage 93 is awesome !
And I'm not prejudiced....I only have a couple.

 

[TheOldRedneck]

The 17 in the hornet and other cennterfire cases is a different animal. Being able to load bullets that run from 15 to 30 grains at velocities of over 4000 fps the center fire rounds have much better ballistics out past 300 yards. The new 17 hornet has a little less case capacity than the old wildcat 17 AH many of us have shot for years. I shoot the 17/223 and 17 Remington as well as some other 17 wildcats. The 17 hornet is probably the most shot. It is easy to form cases for, cheap to load for and the report is not much louder than the 17HMR. I shoot a lot of the HMR ammo in revolvers and it works well out of barrels as short as 6 inches. A rifle in 17 hmr that stays in an out building has taken crows and even coyotes, but 100 yards is about the limit on how far I shoot coyotes with it because the little bullet out of the hmr is losing energy fast at distances past that and coyotes can be tough. For what it is made for the 17 hmr is as good as it gets.

 

[chicharrones]

I was visiting a local owned gun shop this morn and mentioned about the 17 MHR and if he had one i could see ? He told me no and i mentioned i heard it was a popular gun for varmint shooting . He told me people were not liking the .17 MHR so much now and they were going back to .22mags . He said when you shoot into bush piles or heavy grass the bullet blew up before it hit the varmit and sometimes caused ricochet . Anyone heard anything about this on a .17 ??

We don't have many longish range varmint shooting areas in this part of Texas, so I haven't heard that personally. From what I've seen, .17 HMR rifles usually sit on a rack for a long time around here in normal times. I don't know why that is. In my case, I didn't get a .17 HMR due to me already having a gun in .22 WMR (ammo compatibility reasons) and I hate cleaning .22 sized bores already, so I didn't want to go even smaller.

 

[olfarhors]

well I have a Savage 93R17 and love the lil caliber, now NO its not going to knock elephants down but then thats not its design purpose.
neither is it designed to penetrate armor!
basically if you read most all accounts of competition this round has virtually ran the 22 WMR off the ranges, first its bit flatter shooting, has no recoil and mostly has a smaller diameter projectile so you can shoot smaller groups.
Now on a widy day then that plays havok with the little round.
would i personally use it for Coyote?--No!!!
I would grab a 243 for that myself.
the 17 grain bullet is fast but doesn't retain enrgy well at longer ranges so the solid core 20 grain would be a better choice in that case, but inside 150 yards and anything considered reasonabally calm wind and the round is a tack driver.
the really good thing around these parts is that you can buy ammo pretty much anywhere.
MY problem is that i just don't have an area to really stretch the gun out at distance and off a really good rest around here.
heres some pics and the one time that i did get to really test it on a 500 yard range and from a baggged prone rest.
not to shabby of a round in my opinion.
10 shot groups from prone bagged rest, BSA Sweet 17 trajectory scope, rifle came from factory with a less than 2 1/2 pound trigger pull.