The .17 hmr - my favorite caliber

[Spencer4006]

So ive shot .17's more than anyone i have ever talked to. Approx 500-750 rounds per week for more than a year (even a few 1000 round days). My favorite thing people say is that the .17 hmr has no balls. That is completely false. Ive taken more oyotes with it in 6 months that are one shot drops than any other caliber i own. And something a little different, i have shot all kinds of random objects to test its penetration as a shtf round. Here is a picture that really says it all:

This is a close up picture of an abandoned hippie schoolbus bumper.
On the left is the impact of a .45 acp out of a 16.5 in barrel mauser i built, and in the right, a .17 hmr impact...

And here is a fishing weight i shot with an ntx hollowpoint .17 hmr at 100 yards:

I wish i had some game pictures to show for but i dont believe in photographing the dead... I just dont feel right doing it unless they get stuffed and put on my wall lol.

Seiouslyly tho, this little cartrige has some serious balls for its size.

 

[arjay]

My favorite pd round.Fairly cheap and quiet.At what range are you taking coyotes?

 

[pownal55]

I don't have a 17 hmr but I do have a 17 mach 2 that impresses me to no end. A little less punch for a little less money.

 

[Spencer4006]

The .17 hmr is insanely potent and i am in the process of building a .17 hmr ar15 to skirt the CA assault weapon regs in CA. A rimfire is not an assault weapon so i do not need a bullet button and there is no such things of evil features. It uses proprietary mags that are smaller in physical soze than an ar mag. Im extremely exited to build it and see how it performs as a SHTF Rifle.

 

[Spencer4006]

My favorite pd round.Fairly cheap and quiet.At what range are you taking coyotes?

I try to stay within 75 yards but have done a couple spine shots out to 100-125 and still was just as effective. The .17 hmr allows me to be accurrate enough to shoot the spine of a squirrel right behind the skull at 100 yards.

This is my current .17 hmr:
its the only one with a scope attatched in the pic. The .45 acp mauser is the one with the funky lookin camo stock

 

[SweetMK]

I like shooting it when I want to make a lot of noise!!

This gun is insanely accurate!! I shot the center can of 3 sealed 12 oz cans of Coke, setting side by side about 2 inches apart, at 40 yards.

The center can exploded, but, the shrapnel drained all 3 cans.

I did it twice, I was impressed!! I drank the rest of the Cokes!!

 

[Spencer4006]

How the hell did you find one of them beauties? Ive been trying to find one since i got my mossberg 817... Gahhh im jealous!

 

[SweetMK]

How the hell did you find one of them beauties? Ive been trying to find one since i got my mossberg 817... Gahhh im jealous!

I walked into a LGS, it was on consignment. (2 years ago)

I made an offer, they made a phone call to the owner, and 30 minutes later I left with it for $400 out the door!!

I must have had good karma that day.

It is a little tamer with Mach2, but, still a lot of fun.

 

[Spencer4006]

Im not a huge machII fan only because of the sheer explosive energy the HMR has. The oicture of the fishing weight also has the actual projectile stuck in the weight. It fused and there no copper even visible.

I inadvertently killed a bird by shooting a steel plate at 300 yards. The .17 hit the steel plate and turned into shrapnel and the bird attempted to fly and just went to the ground. By the time i went over to see what happened the bird was dead. It really was quite amazing but a complete accident.

Yes the .17 is accurrate at 300 yards for target shooting and even on squirrels if you can make a long bomb like that. Takes lots of practice and with mil dots, works great. It is fairly cut and dry. 2.9 mils at 300 yards with a 100 yard zero and 20 gr ammo that has a bc of .183. I can get sub 2.5 inch groups. I really dont know anybody else who is as obsessed with the .17 hmr as i am. Hopefully someone can prove me wrong lol

 

[bloo]

Took 6 ground hogs out to 100 yards this year with my 17HMR. Just plain fun to shoot. Everything explodes when hit and targets are cheap. We have a place in town to drop off yard waste. Been going there before each trip to the range to pick up hard green tomatos. And because the critters eat whats left you don't have to pick them up. Also use potatos small oranges and green apples.

 

[Spencer4006]

I took more coyotes this year with my .17 hmr than my buddy did with his .243 win ar-10, i hunted with him on almost every hunt too. We found that with larger less frangible bullets containing more energy, we would get more runners after being shot. A .17 HMR landed within 3 inches of the base of a coyote skull was always an instant drop. I always use spine shots and 17 gr vmax or 20 gr xtp's for spine shots. Coyotes dont have thick necks and that mixed with the hydrostatic shock destroyed the spinal chord without necessarily getting a direct hit to the vertebret unless using the xtp's. I got good enough with my .17 hmr that i can always hit the spine of a coyote. I dispatched a good amount of very sketchy yotes at close range too. When predator calling, we could get some of the rabid ones within 25 yards without them even caring where we were. I took a couple with headshots at that range but i never aim directly for the skull. I would aim for where the skull meets the spine. Sever the cerebellum and blow out a bit of the skull at the same time. There is never a more dead coyote than that.

 

[5Wire]

5 rounds at 50 yards.

 

[Big Fred]

When the .17 was brought out I always said it was an answer to a question that never needed asked. I always said I could do more with my .222, and reload for it for the price of .17 ammo. Well................On a whim one day I bought a Savage heavy barrel, thumbhole stocked .17 that was on sale and put a 6x20 target scope on it. I now have a new respect for that caliber and the Savage. The accuracy is amazing on a breeze free day. I use it for groundhogs in the field behind the house. I can shoot out to around 125 yds. and usually shoot over a dozen hogs a year with the little .17.

 

[arjay]

^^^ This^^^ Until I came across a Ruger with a nice walnut stock....Added a Burris 3x9 and a bipod
Great little pd gun,lightweight,fairly quiet.Accurate out to 250 or so on those rare,calm days.

 

[Spencer4006]

If you learn how the .17 acts in high winds, you can accuratly shoot it then too. Doping wind is the biggest piece of that, and it is possible with the .17. I hunt squirrel and coyote in 10-20 moh winds in the high desert successfully with my .17. You cant always find a windless day to hunt so i learned to shoot in high winds to gjve me more chances at taking game efficiently.

 

[arjay]

Yep -10 mph breeze at 100 yds= one pd and so on

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I inadvertently killed a bird by shooting a steel plate at 300 yards. The .17 hit the steel plate and turned into shrapnel and the bird attempted to fly and just went to the ground. By the time i went over to see what happened the bird was dead. It really was quite amazing but a complete accident.

Yes the .17 is accurrate at 300 yards for target shooting and even on squirrels if you can make a long bomb like that. Takes lots of practice and with mil dots, works great. It is fairly cut and dry. 2.9 mils at 300 yards with a 100 yard zero and 20 gr ammo that has a bc of .183. I can get sub 2.5 inch groups. I really dont know anybody else who is as obsessed with the .17 hmr as i am. Hopefully someone can prove me wrong lol

So let me get this straight. You can consistently group in less than 2.5" at 300 yards AND you killed a bird with splatter from a hit at 300 yards on a steel plate.
Impressive

I took more coyotes this year with my .17 hmr than my buddy did with his .243 win ar-10, i hunted with him on almost every hunt too. We found that with larger less frangible bullets containing more energy, we would get more runners after being shot. A .17 HMR landed within 3 inches of the base of a coyote skull was always an instant drop. I always use spine shots and 17 gr vmax or 20 gr xtp's for spine shots. Coyotes dont have thick necks and that mixed with the hydrostatic shock destroyed the spinal chord without necessarily getting a direct hit to the vertebret unless using the xtp's. I got good enough with my .17 hmr that i can always hit the spine of a coyote. I dispatched a good amount of very sketchy yotes at close range too. When predator calling, we could get some of the rabid ones within 25 yards without them even caring where we were. I took a couple with headshots at that range but i never aim directly for the skull. I would aim for where the skull meets the spine. Sever the cerebellum and blow out a bit of the skull at the same time. There is never a more dead coyote than that.

So hydrostatic shock will destroy the spinal chord without a direct hit? I didn't realize that.

If you learn how the .17 acts in high winds, you can accuratly shoot it then too. Doping wind is the biggest piece of that, and it is possible with the .17. I hunt squirrel and coyote in 10-20 moh winds in the high desert successfully with my .17. You cant always find a windless day to hunt so i learned to shoot in high winds to gjve me more chances at taking game efficiently.

And all of this in gusting 10-20 mph winds????
Great horney toads boy-you don't need to be wasting your time here-your country needs men like you!! I've never heard of such fine shooting before in my life. Good on ya!
It's a shame you don't photograph the dead as I would love to see some pictures of the animals you've dispatched.
Welcome to the forum, you can teach us a lot.

 

[Spencer4006]

Mock me if you wish but ive shot thousands of rounds of .17. Its just about knowing the carious drifts. I never use the adjustment turrets on my scopes for windage or elevation. Just kentucky style wind doping. Make a mistake with a turret and you miss your mark at longer ranges. I dont like the extra variables. If i miss my mark, its usually by enough to nt hit my target but i always get a good enough idea on where i need to aim to place the bullet accordingly.

Ive spent thousands of dollars on .17 hmr ammunition in the last year specifically because of how it reacts in wind. If you dont challenge yourself youll never become a better shooter. A cartrige that reacts poorly in high wind is only going to Force you to shoot better and more accurratly with other calibers too, only i did not expect it to become my favorite round.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Do you know Gecko45 by any chance????

 

[Spencer4006]

Wait wat? Geko45? Whats that