Introduced by Hornady in 2002, the 17 HMR has become extremely popular and is the standard alternative to 22 rimfires for small game and small varmints. Most manufacturers who produce rimfire rifles chamber to it, and all major ammunition manufactures load ammo. The 17 HMR was created by necking down the 22 WMR cartridge, resulting in a lighter but much faster load. Most common are a 17-grain bullet at up to 2550 feet per second; and a 20-grain load at 2375. No 17-caliber bullet bucks wind particularly well, but the 20-grain bullet, though slower, holds up a bit better and tends to offer better penetration. Perhaps the greatest attribute of the 17 HMR is accuracy that is consistently good and often exceptional, effective to as far as 150 yards under calm conditions. As a hunting cartridge it should be limited to animals smaller than coyotes.
