Uses for .17HMR?

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"Varminting" is what I bought mine for...haven't used it for anything else. Inside 300 yards it is the laser beam of death for prairie dogs! I am more impressed with that round every time I break it out.
 
I've only used mine on varmints and the results were devastating on them. I have a buddy that's tried shooting small game but said the damage was excessive and lost too much edible meat so gave it up.
A very accurate caliber though until the wind picks up and they'll drift with it a lot. The ammunition is rather expensive too for them.
 
shooting bumblebees maybe. dragonflies is sporting too.
 
I bought my CZ in .17 HMR for varmints but took it to the
squirrel woods with me once. Hit one in the head and it
destroyed about half the squirrel. Imagine it would do the
same on rabbits.
So it's coyotes, groundhogs, p-dogs for mine.
When the wind is not moving too much.

Chuck
 
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I never much saw the real purpose of the .17. IMHO it is not as accurate as a .22, a LOT noisier, ammo is more expensive - even today with the .22 shortage going on; the holes the bullets make are not visible at a 100 yard distance, so you need to physically check your target - can't even see the holes through a spotting scope.

If I need something hotter and more powerful than a .22 LR I go to a centerfire cartridge.

One of my shooting bud's has the same CZ 453 American as I do except mine is a .22LR and his is a .17. We jokingly compared them over a week's hunting trip while we were not in the Fields and I am glad I bought the .22LR version. Not withstanding the current .22 ammo shortage, what he pays for 200 rounds I can get a Brick for.

My feeling is that 10 years from now most guys won't even know what a .17 is, while the .22 LR will aways be around. My opinion is that they came out with the .17 more for marketing/sales than the actual need for it. You know, just like Marlin came out with the .444 Marlin - not saying it isn't a viable cartridge, but what was wrong with the 45-70?

Well, just my opinion of course........
 
I've talked to several farmers who like the 17 for pest shooting around the buildings. It's quiet enough to not panic the animals and doesn't ricoche (sp). For squirrels head shots only. I'm told anything behind the neck and all you get is the hams. At about 20 yds. it will make a rocket out of water bottles if you only fill them about a third of the way up then hit them about an inch above the bottom.

My CZ was a no excuse gun. If you didn't hit where you pointed it wasn't the gun or ammo. One inch ten shot groups at a hundred was the norm. As a hand loader price was the only problem for me.
 
chief38 said:
I never much saw the real purpose of the .17. IMHO it is not as accurate as a .22, a LOT noisier, ammo is more expensive.
Click to expand...

I'll give you the $$$ argument, but my Savage will stack round after round into one ragged hole at 100 yards all day long: it gets boring. I don't need earplugs, and it will just flat out hit anything inside 300 yards (windy days excluded!). I really like it. I've not tried the Mach II.
 
Un-opened cans of Diet Coke are AMAZING!!

What would happen if I taped a MENTOS to the can, as a target?? :eek:

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:D
 
I really have no idea what the 17 HMR is good for but I bought one anyway. Living here in the east my Kimber 17 mach 2 will dispatch squirrels and rabbits with ease at about 2/3 the cost of the HMR. Both are extremely accurate.
 
I had planned on buying a high quality 22 rifle when the hmr came out.I thought it was a silly round initially,but it grew on me,so I bought a ruger 77/17.Shortly afterward my sisters place was overrun with prairie dogs and I put it to work.I have taken a few rabbits with it too,but they need to be a good 100 yards away,and head shots only.
 
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While more expensive to shoot, (not so much nowadays with
the rising cost of .22LR) my CZ .17 HMR will out shoot any of my
.22LR rifles and gives me a lot longer range and flatter trajectory.
Its just a neat little round. If you use it for Varmints up to Coyote
sized game its a flat out stomper. Try shooting Coyotes at 150-200
yards with a .22LR

Chuck
 
The .17 HMR can make a squirrel's head totally disappear. Also trash birds like starlings pop like feather covered balloons.
 
I got a great deal on a used Savage for my son a few months back. It is deadly and deadly accurate at 200 plus yards. I'm not too happy with the availability or price of ammo, but it's a total riot to shoot.
 
Mine is great for making key chain ornaments. I scotch-tape dimes to a board, set it out at the 100 yards marker, and proceed to see how close to the middle of the dimes I can drill little .177 holes. Granted, the holes are a bit sharp on the reverse side, so a file smooths off that sharp edge and they make nice little bragging-rights objects on a key chain. That little 17 grain bullet likes calm wind though.
 
My son-in-law and daughter have a little place in the country. He keeps a CZ 17HMR by the back door to deal with assorted unwanted critters that come around. He's taken coyotes, fox, raccoons, skunks, magpies and a few others with it. He likes it way better than the 22 LR. i have one too, and I can't even begin to tell you how many prairie dogs I've busted with it.
 
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