Personal Opinion. My journey to find the perfect 22. I ended with a 17HMR.

.22LRGUY said:
Now...just WHAT are you talking about CK? :) There is arguably no better place TO own a laser of a 17HMR~SO many targets! :)
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Haha, life upgrade ! About as in depth as I will post about my life outside of guns on the internet! lol

Daver_II said:
I have the same 93R17BTVSS

Love it..
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Right?!

GD7 said:
My do-it-all rimfire is a 17 HMR as well. I went through dozens of rimfires (even a pair of 17 M2's) before finding "the one", so I know the struggle. I don't even own a single 22lr anymore, as embarrassed as I am to admit it!
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Yea, I have some 22lr ammo... No 22lr fire arm though :S lol
 
In the spring we shoot many gophers a day. I don’t think I could do a 1 day let alone a 3-4 day. A case (5000) costs <500, a case of 17 run 2000. We also shoot cf from sweged 22 shell w/lead core so our cost is much less the 36 cents.
 
a j cave said:
In the spring we shoot many gophers a day. I don’t think I could do a 1 day let alone a 3-4 day. A case (5000) costs <500, a case of 17 run 2000. We also shoot cf from sweged 22 shell w/lead core so our cost is much less the 36 cents.
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Not sure exactly what you are trying to say. I think you are speaking to the mass volume you shoot it makes more sense to shoot 22LR...

Agreed, if I shot a lot also. I am only allowed 5 tree rats a day, 10 in possession. Im not out west where 2-3 hundred shots are being taken at gophers.
 
Very enjoyable read! I shoot .22s from the bench at paper targets 50 yards away--the only "small game" I shoot is the occasional house fly that lands on one of my targets. But I enjoyed reading of your rimfire journey. Thanks for posting!
 
Mike112288 said:
How are you guys reloading 204’s and 223’s for less than the cost of 17 hmr? Last time I reloaded for a 204 I had it was like 60+ cents a shot I believe. Fill me in here as I would like to reload for my 223 if I can actually reload cheaper per shot than a 17 rim fire
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.22 cal 50 SP = 20 cents
400 primer = 5 cents
26 grains CFE 223 = 16 cents

Not counting brass, which for .223 is dirt cheap and reuseable... total of 41 cents per squeeze... even cheaper if I compare "apples to apples" and use reduced loads at 17 HMR level.

The current retail price on HMR is 50 cents per squeeze...

I can load my .223 down to .22 LR levels with 45 grain SP's or up for 300 yard coyotes with 60 VM's... at lower cost than HMR... where is the HMR advantage?

I enjoyed every HMR I built... but I didn't kid myself that it made sense... "gun love" doesn't have to make sense.
 
I shoot a 20 Vartarg , cheep to shoot and deadly accurate
32gr z-max - 19 cents
Fed match primer- 6 cents
18.8 gr H4198 - 12 cents
Lapua brass - 5 cents, (I can reload them at least 20 times but more likely 25 or 30 times)
Total - 42 cents per round
This is a fast accurate load, 5 shot groups at 100 yards ussually in the .2 or .3s some smaller but rarely larger.
Value of shooting a gopher at 150 yards with a 32 gr bullet travelling at 3800fps and watching it explode with lots of red mist and body parts flying 3 feet in the air, PRICELESS.
 
r204 said:
I shoot a 20 Vartarg , cheep to shoot and deadly accurate
32gr z-max - 19 cents
Fed match primer- 6 cents
18.8 gr H4198 - 12 cents
Lapua brass - 5 cents, (I can reload them at least 20 times but more likely 25 or 30 times)
Total - 42 cents per round
This is a fast accurate load, 5 shot groups at 100 yards ussually in the .2 or .3s some smaller but rarely larger.
Value of shooting a gopher at 150 yards with a 32 gr bullet travelling at 3800fps and watching it explode with lots of red mist and body parts flying 3 feet in the air, PRICELESS.
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lol yes not so good for the squirrel in a tree you want to eat though!
 
Canadiankeeper said:
lol yes not so good for the squirrel in a tree you want to eat though!
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Frankly, neither is HMR... they can make a real mess too. My 453 with CCI Subsonic's does a clean job... you can even take photos of your game bag without declaring them an "R-rated" horror show.

If only HM2 had caught the public attention it deserved... it really has alot going for it.

But to clear up a possible misunderstanding... earlier in the thread, I was not advocating smallbore centerfire rifles for squirrel hunting. I do carry TB reduced loads for grouse and hares when coyote hunting, but would not intentionally seek out tree bound squirrels as targets with those rifles.
 
View attachment 137267

Doesn't look to bad, head shots are key. Cant always get one but I wouldn't say this is R Rated. Still tons of meat on the lower ribs and legs to salvage when you need to take a boiler room shot.

Side note, the one on the right was at the bottom of the bag... Got a little blood on him. So he looks wet... lol

Yes a large reasoning behind the 22/17 cals was small game hunting. So it really does cut out the CF rifles that can be used with low power loads. Hence how I landed on the 17 HMR
 
I do think the 17 hmr and 22 are prob a safer option when shooting up into trees but for anything else at the prices their showing above^ for reloading then I prob had better buy me another reloading kit. I sold mine Long ago. Should not have sold that Hornady lock n load kit &#55357;&#56897;. A cheap lee kit will prob be good enough for me uses
 
I have that exact same .17hmr but mine wears a Vortex Viper 4-16x44 HS LR. it's a bloody laser beam.


Canadiankeeper said:
View attachment 137267

Doesn't look to bad, head shots are key. Cant always get one but I wouldn't say this is R Rated. Still tons of meat on the lower ribs and legs to salvage when you need to take a boiler room shot.

Side note, the one on the right was at the bottom of the bag... Got a little blood on him. So he looks wet... lol

Yes a large reasoning behind the 22/17 cals was small game hunting. So it really does cut out the CF rifles that can be used with low power loads. Hence how I landed on the 17 HMR
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I have had many HMR's and HM2's and they have all been silly accurate... but they are all gone... they simply fill too tight a niche between LR and smallbore centerfire.

The red rifle below is an HM2 and the most accurate rifle I have ever owned... I took out four grouse with four shots through the eyeballs from 75 to 85 yards out with it.

The two on the bench are HMR's...

The black Tacticool rifle is a Savage 93 HMR.

The lowly H&R pair are an HM2 and HMR... and both were very accurate.
 
hoytcanon said:
Frankly, neither is HMR... they can make a real mess too. My 453 with CCI Subsonic's does a clean job... you can even take photos of your game bag without declaring them an "R-rated" horror show.

If only HM2 had caught the public attention it deserved... it really has alot going for it.

But to clear up a possible misunderstanding... earlier in the thread, I was not advocating smallbore centerfire rifles for squirrel hunting. I do carry TB reduced loads for grouse and hares when coyote hunting, but would not intentionally seek out tree bound squirrels as targets with those rifles.
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I think if the 17 mach2 came first it would have done better. Bringing the faster hmr first was a mistake. A rim fire shooting accurate jacketed 17 bullets faster than a 22 Lr would have been a success either way. Sell many then bring out the faster version and the market would jump on it. My thoughts anyway. I love the mach2
 
Hoyt. You should have bought shares in Boyd stocks. How many do you figure you've owned over th years?

I'm still disappointed I missed that Apple jack mach2 in the EE
 
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