Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .17-HMR Long Gone!

Ya, know Tonk, you paint with a pretty damn broad brush in your condemnation of the 17HMR. It's pretty funny schit to read.

You DO realize there are other loads for the 17HMR than just 17g Vamx bullets?

Are you going to tell me a 17g FMJ or 20g XTP is going to bounce of a MT lion's (or deer or Hog's) skull?

If you are making that claim, you don't have much grey matter between YOUR ears.

I have had a hell of a time warming up to the 17 HMR...

however, that FMJ round is a whole other ball game with that round..

I wouldn't want to have to stare down a mountain line with a 17 HMR.. but if I did, I would want that FMJ bullet in there..

when I first moved to Oregon, I had to stare down a mountain lion on a road, and it was above me getting ready to pounce..it was snowing like hell at the time...

all I had with was a 22 Win Mag with a 40 grain FMJ in it..
but I aimed that rifle right at its eyeball... and then started walking right toward it..

if it had even budged an inch toward me I would have pulled the trigger..

walking toward it, it snarled and turned away and took off..

I never showed the animal any fear whatsoever...and moving toward it might or might not have intimidated it..

so I showed it no fear... however when I got home, I did immediately change my underwear...for some dry ones

I have a 17 HMR and while I do not coyote hunt with it, I feel if the situation was right I would shoot one. That being said I too have noticed a huge difference with the 17 grain Vmax and the 20 grain hollow point in terms of lethality or penetration.

I bought a 17 that resembles one of my hunting rifles so I could practice shooting in my yard without lobing lead all over the neighborhood. I had a 175 yard range set up and was able to shoot out to that range with 1 inch high at 100 without leaving a 6 inch gong at 175. It made for good trigger time.

One thing I noticed was the wind does not effect the bullet as much as others say. I have shot in 40 mph cross winds and found less than an inch bullet drift at 100. I even have a paper target pic to confirm my observation. Another thing is that 17 grain Vmax really whacks small critters with a large splash wound and an audible "whump" too. The hollow point just runs thru without the graphic hole. It also makes a pretty decent tiny little dent in a soft steel gong at close range.

I like the gun/cartridge as it provides excellent accuracy, no recoil for trainng new shooters and great for out to maybe 125yards on a prairie dog field to get the close ones. Is it a fox gun, maybe? Coyote gun, Only if perfect conditions and that is what I had? I do think the bullet is the key to lethality with this cartridge though.

I started shooting prairie dogs in 1949 with a 22 LR RF rifle, later also used a 22 WMR rifle. When the 17 HMR and 17 M2 first came out I got them and now the 22 RF rifles stay at home. Every rifle round has its limits so I also use the 17 Fireball for shots past 150 yards along with some other varmint rounds. I can hit prairie dogs at longer ranges but I like clean kills when my shooting is a bit off. I dont take any rimfire rifle out to hunt anything bigger than a jack rabbit. I dont like to be under gunned . There are a number of center fire rounds like the 204 Ruger, 17 Rem, 22-250, and 220 Swift to use on the larger varmints and preditors.

Bracer.......EXACTLY!!! Most of us who hunt big game animals were taught by our "peer's" to USE ENOUGH GUN and proper type bullet. Now I have shot P-Dogs and Ground Hogs with a .300 Win mag and 165 grain bullet in past years but having to much gun on varmints is NO SIN!!! On the other hand, hunting dangerous game with a .17-HMR or .223 certainly would be in the eyes of any ordained hunting Bishop.LOL

Now if the SCI considers using a .17-HMR or the .223 caliber proper for killing Mountain Lion or any other Lion I will still stick to my guns and use what I know to be larger in caliber and a hell of a lot more bullet weight, like 180 grains or in my case, a 265 grain bullet out the end of my Marlin .444.........Amen!

After almost a week you answered your own question, use a 17HMR for prairie dogs and not for "foxs & coons".
Use what you were taught and choose an appropriate cartridge "USE ENOUGH GUN" but dont blame the 17HMR for an application failure it works great for what it was designed to do. pick almost any centerfire and it will be better for YOUR application

Boatanchor just so you know those foxes were half grown and the 2 of those coon were not giants either, one was about 25 to 28 pounds though. YES, I made up my mind and will never again believe what someone in a gunstore rants about his new majic rifle caliber or wond. It's back to whom I brought to the dance in other words, the .222 Remmy, .243 and my 1/4 bore O6!!!

Not enough cartridge? Goodness, it's a .17 rimfire, not a .222! The only "all around cartridge" I accept as such is the .458 Win, with it I can take anything that walks. Otherwise I try to match the cartridge to the purpose. Including the excellant but tiny .17 HMR. ??

Boomtube you just ain't got enought gun!!!

Yer gonna have to get yourself one of those .475 mags or a .505 Gibbs I suspect to take care of all critters in the backyard.