.17 hmr advice

[pontiacfieroguy]

considering a .17hmr and need advice

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i was at walmart today picking up some nightcrawlers and usually will look in their gun cases when im there and saw a marlin model 917v that caught my eye as well as a savage 93r-f. fom what i noticed the marlin had a much nicer stock, a much heavier barrel, sling studs already attached but no sights, the savage also had the sling studs and no sights but the stock felt cheap as though they took the stock from a $30 bb gun and slapped it on in a hurry, there was no weight to it and it felt like if i dropped it then it might shatter. im a taller guy and suprisingly both felt ok as far length but they have those stupid trigger gaurds so i wasnt able to evaluate trigger pull unfortunatly but i did work the bolt on both a few times and it is buttery smoothe on both but the savage was just a little bit smoother. both rifles were between $200-225 so the price diference will not make a differnce. i will mostly use it for killing time and paper but possibly aslo groundhog/squirrel/yotes around my place. do any of you have experience with these? about how heavy is the trigger on each? based on this information i have provided wich would you choose and why? thanks in advance.
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[HookedOnHifonic]

Originally Posted by pontiacfieroguy considering a .17hmr and need advice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i was at walmart today picking up some nightcrawlers and usually will look in their gun cases when im there and saw a marlin model 917v that caught my eye as well as a savage 93r-f. fom what i noticed the marlin had a much nicer stock, a much heavier barrel, sling studs already attached but no sights, the savage also had the sling studs and no sights but the stock felt cheap as though they took the stock from a $30 bb gun and slapped it on in a hurry, there was no weight to it and it felt like if i dropped it then it might shatter. im a taller guy and suprisingly both felt ok as far length but they have those stupid trigger gaurds so i wasnt able to evaluate trigger pull unfortunatly but i did work the bolt on both a few times and it is buttery smoothe on both but the savage was just a little bit smoother. both rifles were between $200-225 so the price diference will not make a differnce. i will mostly use it for killing time and paper but possibly aslo groundhog/squirrel/yotes around my place. do any of you have experience with these? about how heavy is the trigger on each? based on this information i have provided wich would you choose and why? thanks in advance. __________________

I would choose the Savage....because I own a Savage

[RastaMan]

buy gun or pay utility bill: yup, you'se from a southern state.

[pontiacfieroguy]

Originally Posted by RastaMan buy gun or pay utility bill: yup, you'se from a southern state.

utilities are paid as is decembers rent so that is not a problem. we got a new place the first of october and rent is reasonable plus i now have a roommate to split the bills with so its easy as pie now. i also have about 2 months bills saved so i can afford to buy myself another gun, not thats any of your business. things are finally looking up for me at this point.

[Cougar]

Originally Posted by pontiacfieroguy considering a .17hmr and need advice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i was at walmart today picking up some nightcrawlers and usually will look in their gun cases when im there and saw a marlin model 917v that caught my eye as well as a savage 93r-f. fom what i noticed the marlin had a much nicer stock, a much heavier barrel, sling studs already attached but no sights, the savage also had the sling studs and no sights but the stock felt cheap as though they took the stock from a $30 bb gun and slapped it on in a hurry, there was no weight to it and it felt like if i dropped it then it might shatter. im a taller guy and suprisingly both felt ok as far length but they have those stupid trigger gaurds so i wasnt able to evaluate trigger pull unfortunatly but i did work the bolt on both a few times and it is buttery smoothe on both but the savage was just a little bit smoother. both rifles were between $200-225 so the price diference will not make a differnce. i will mostly use it for killing time and paper but possibly aslo groundhog/squirrel/yotes around my place. do any of you have experience with these? about how heavy is the trigger on each? based on this information i have provided wich would you choose and why? thanks in advance. __________________

I thought you weren't able to buy a gun for some reason you were denied?

[RastaMan]

did you get rid of that vagina showing wife of yours?

[fugyaself]

Originally Posted by pontiacfieroguy considering a .17hmr and need advice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i was at walmart today picking up some nightcrawlers and usually will look in their gun cases when im there and saw a marlin model 917v that caught my eye as well as a savage 93r-f. fom what i noticed the marlin had a much nicer stock, a much heavier barrel, sling studs already attached but no sights, the savage also had the sling studs and no sights but the stock felt cheap as though they took the stock from a $30 bb gun and slapped it on in a hurry, there was no weight to it and it felt like if i dropped it then it might shatter. im a taller guy and suprisingly both felt ok as far length but they have those stupid trigger gaurds so i wasnt able to evaluate trigger pull unfortunatly but i did work the bolt on both a few times and it is buttery smoothe on both but the savage was just a little bit smoother. both rifles were between $200-225 so the price diference will not make a differnce. i will mostly use it for killing time and paper but possibly aslo groundhog/squirrel/yotes around my place. do any of you have experience with these? about how heavy is the trigger on each? based on this information i have provided wich would you choose and why? thanks in advance. __________________

Both are excellent rifles. The Savage can be had with a heavy barrel as well. Check out Savage and Marlin's websites for the different trim levels the rifles are available in. Walmart and any gun dealer should order whatever you want if they don't have it in.

The Savage has an adjustable trigger that is excellent and it can be adjusted to under 1lb if you like. The Marlin comes with an acceptable fixed trigger at around 4.5lb. There are aftermarket adjustable triggers for it though. If you are planning on buying it at Walmart I would demand that they take off the trigger lock so that you can evaluate them properly before buying. If they refuse go somewhere else. The Savage stocks are known for being cheap but there are aftermarket alternatives for it. You can't go wrong with either IMO.

Personally, I want a 17hm2 instead. It has less velocity than the 17hmr so it doesn't have the same range but it uses the same projectiles so it still shoots nice and flat. The hmr is around a 250yd gun and the hm2 is like a 175yd gun. If you really need the range the hmr is your best bet but if not the hm2 is far cheaper to feed. Where the hmr is around $250 per 1000 rds the hm2 is around $100 per thousand. There are only a couple manufacturers left for the hm2 though. Savage is the only budget offering. You might find a Marlin or CZ in stock somewhere though.

You do not want to shoot a yote with a 17HMR if you have an alternative. It really isn't enough gun to make it DRT(dead right there) unless you aim for the head and have some luck on your side. If you are just going for extermination without any other care it will likely do the job though. I recently shot a yote with the 22LR and chased it for a good long time before finally losing him. I wouldn't have chosen the 22LR for the job but it is what I had in my hands at the time of the opportunity so I thought I would see what it would do. The land I was hunting is used for free range cattle so extermination was my primary goal. Better for it to run away injured and die slow than to leave it to potentially kill a calf further down the road.

By the way I had the 22LR out because I remembered the grief some of the people here gave me for using the AR on jack rabbits. Well I gave the 22LR another shot and sure enough it was exactly as I remembered it. The 1 jackrabbit I got with it took like 6 shots on the run before it finally gave up and fell over. When I got to it it was gasping for air so I finished him with a 9mm to the head. I was going to give it another shot on the next rabbit but we ran into the yote instead. After that I put it away and pulled out the .243. If we ran into another yote I didn't want to just wound it like I did the first one.

[pontiacfieroguy]

can you shoot a hm2 in a hmr bolt gun?

[fugyaself]

No you cannot. You need an HM2 chambered rifle.

HMR is a necked down 22WMR. HM2 is a necked down 22LR.

[sandt38]

I have an old Marlin Lever-Matic in .22mag. I love that fvcking gun. It is truly one of my favorite rifles I own. The build quality is superb. But it is an older gun, though. I really haven't had much interaction with Marlin rifles outside of that one in several years.

By itself:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...smDSCF0114.jpg
Compare with Ithaca Model 66
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...smDSCF0008.jpg

Savages I have had my hands on felt, like you said, cheap. I have never been a big fan of their equipment. But it is hard to fvck up such small rimfires, so it may be servicable

Why a .17? Contrary to what fug says, .17s are a favorite here for Coyotes, not that I personally use them for that. They are really flat fliers, and have a decent impact, with nice range for such a small trajectory. But it is hard to swallow the cost of the ammo, as IMO such a small round is really just a plinker.

[fugyaself]

Originally Posted by sandt38 I have an old Marlin Lever-Matic in .22mag. I love that fvcking gun. It is truly one of my favorite rifles I own. The build quality is superb. But it is an older gun, though. I really haven't had much interaction with Marlin rifles outside of that one in several years. By itself: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...smDSCF0114.jpg Compare with Ithaca Model 66 http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...smDSCF0008.jpg Savages I have had my hands on felt, like you said, cheap. I have never been a big fan of their equipment. But it is hard to fvck up such small rimfires, so it may be servicable Why a .17? Contrary to what fug says, .17s are a favorite here for Coyotes, not that I personally use them for that. They are really flat fliers, and have a decent impact, with nice range for such a small trajectory. But it is hard to swallow the cost of the ammo, as IMO such a small round is really just a plinker.

It can be done but I wouldn't recommend it. I have seen what they do on a fox and I wouldn't hesitate to use one for a small kit fox but coyote is stretching it unless you have it trapped and you want a small wound for minimum repair on the hide. I'd limit it to an animal the size of a coon or beaver. It just doesn't have enough penetration with most rounds and with FMJ it will just create a tiny ice pick like wound that will seal up on its own and bleed very little. If that is what you have in your hands when you come across a yote I say take the shot but if you have the option for something better I'd switch.

Like you, I just can't justify spending that much on a rimfire with such limited use. If ammo cost was more in line with HM2 it would rock. Now that the ammo market is starting to come back down to realistic price levels similar performing .223 isn't much more and will do a much better job for the medium sized game. Steel cased 223 costs about as much as typical 17HMR loads right now.

Decide what you really want to shoot with it and go from there. 22LR for plinking. 17HMR/17HM2/22WMR for small game to about the size of a coon. 22-250/220 Swift/223/243/25-06/6mm for small-medium game on up to white tail deer if you pick your shot and use the proper projectile. The 243, 6mm, and 25-06 can be stretched to even bigger game.

[sandt38]

Originally Posted by fugyaself Decide what you really want to shoot with it and go from there. 22LR for plinking. 17HMR/17HM2/22WMR for small game to about the size of a coon. 22-250/220 Swift/223/243/25-06/6mm for small-medium game on up to white tail deer if you pick your shot and use the proper projectile. The 243, 6mm, and 25-06 can be stretched to even bigger game.

I'll second a 22-250. One of my favorite all around rounds. I could lay a round in a woodchuck's eyeball at 150 yards, and leave nothing remaining on the back side. Very fast, very flat, extremely accurate round. But it is fun for anything from a rabbit to a small fox to a big yote or really fat coon, on up to blacktails. I am not sure I would use it on Eastern Whitetails though. I seriously think a .270 is a good round, or my current favorite the .270 WSM for our whitetails. I am thinking about picking up another Tikka in .300 WSM trim. But I want to get back to work before I buy more toys.

[fugyaself]

There are just so many great small-medium game getters. The 22s can stretch to white tails in most areas if you use the right projectile and are picky about your shot but you are much better off with the .243 and bigger rounds or stepping up toa full size rounds like the .270 or .308. They would work great for yotes and other varmints too. Not too good if you plan on harvesting anything from them though. A little too much gun for going after meat or hides on the smaller critters.

[pontiacfieroguy]

Originally Posted by fugyaself There are just so many great small-medium game getters. The 22s can stretch to white tails in most areas if you use the right projectile and are picky about your shot but you are much better off with the .243 and bigger rounds or stepping up toa full size rounds like the .270 or .308. They would work great for yotes and other varmints too. Not too good if you plan on harvesting anything from them though. A little too much gun for going after meat or hides on the smaller critters.

thats the thing i want to be able to eat what i kill. i have a mosin nagant for anything big but dont want to use it where i live because it is a little too loud at night and honestly like most of our guns it will probably kill more paper than anything. i will have to look into the hm2 i am intrigued by that just because of the price point. how is the accuracy compared to the hmr?

[fugyaself]

HM2 can connect the dots just as easily as HMR. Pretty much all you lose by going with it is range and availability. The HM2 did to the 22LR what the HMR did to the 22WMR. No one bought it though. People love the HMR but the confusion between the two rounds seems to have doomed the HM2. Sooner or later companies will probably stop making them if they dont see a boost in sales. Ammo should stay available though because it uses the same components as the 17HMR with a 22LR case and primer.