{"id":1378,"date":"2020-06-25T23:18:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T03:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=1378"},"modified":"2020-06-25T23:18:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T03:18:33","slug":"understanding-the-17s-by-craig-boddington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/understanding-the-17s-by-craig-boddington\/","title":{"rendered":"UNDERSTANDING THE .17’S By Craig Boddington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Legend has it that the .17s originated in Australia, during a time when they were overrun with non-native foxes, in pestilence plenty, but still with value on the fur market. The advantage to the .17 was, on fox-sized animals, the tiny, frangible bullet, pushed fast, would enter, do its work\u2026but not exit, leaving the pelt intact except for one tiny hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The African Cape fox is similar in size to American foxes. All of the .17s are excellent for this class of game because the light, frangible bullets rarely exit and do little pelt damage. The rifle is a Marlin in .17 HMR, the rifle Boddington keeps handy on his Kansas farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea migrated to North America in the 1960s, with American wildcatters developing numerous .17-caliber cartridges on various small cases. In 1971 Remington necked down the 223 Remington<\/a> case to create the 17 Remington<\/a>. It is still the fastest factory cartridge, propelling a 20-grain bullet at 4250 fps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We Americans tend to have an insatiable thirst for velocity, but the 17 Remington<\/a> has never been especially popular. Rapid throat erosion is unavoidable at such high velocity, and the 17 Remington<\/a> takes a double hit: Couple extreme speed with tiny barrel diameter, and the barrel fouls quickly. It is<\/em> extremely effective on furbearers and devastating on small varmints, but high-volume varmint shooters (as in prairie dogs, ground squirrels and gophers) quickly learned that frequent cleaning was required to maintain accuracy. Those same high-volume varmint shooters also learned that the .17\u2019s light bullets are highly susceptible to wind drift. The 17 Remington<\/a> has remained in Remington\u2019s lineup for 50 years, but it\u2019s never been a big seller, and for 30 years was the only commercial .17-caliber cartridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"These
These are most of the factory .17 cartridges. Missing are the .17 Winchester Super Magnum and .17 Mach II, both rimfires. Left to right are: .17 Remington, .17 Remington Fireball, .17 Hornet, and .17 HMR.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Only since 2000 have American shooters embraced the .17, with offerings in the last 20 years including, in rimfire, 17 HMR<\/a>, 17 Mach II<\/a>, and 17 Winchester Super Magnum<\/a>; in centerfire, 17 Remington Fireball<\/a> and 17 Hornet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (HMR)<\/a> is by far the most popular, now with billions<\/em> of cartridges sold. I don\u2019t always get things right. When the 17 HMR<\/a> was announced in 2002 I thought: \u201cCute little cartridge, but what is it for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honest, I\u2019ve asked the same question about other highly successful cartridges! The 17 HMR<\/a> is based on necking the 22 WMR (.22 Magnum)<\/a> down to .17. As another legend has it, Hornady\u2019s great engineer, Dave Emary, was playing with it in his home shop, as a present for his Dad. He took it to Steve Hornady who asked the same thing I did: \u201cWhat\u2019s it for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hornady is said to have turned it down three times before Emary convinced him\u2026and, among many successes, the 17 HMR<\/a> has been one of Hornady\u2019s most popular cartridge developments. I can\u2019t speak for my friend Steve, but here\u2019s what I missed: The 17 HMR<\/a> is fun<\/em>! With its heavier bullet, the 22 WMR<\/a> is more powerful, but, for whatever reasons that only an engineer could fathom, the 17 HMR<\/a> is, on average, more accurate than its parent. Most 17 HMR<\/a> rifles are tack-drivers. Mine, a plain-Jane Marlin bolt-action with heavy barrel, is shockingly accurate, as have been most .17 HMRs that I\u2019ve messed with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The .17 Hornet is rated at 3650 fps with a 20-grain bullet. This is fantastic velocity from such a small case, and the load chronographed right on the money!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With a 17-grain bullet at a speedy 2530 fps, 20-grainers at 2375, it offers more effective range than the 22 magnum. Like all the .17s, even light breeze blows it all over the place, but we don\u2019t think of the HMR as a long-range cartridge and, with cheap rimfire ammo, it\u2019s just plain fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Garrow
Garrow Firearms Development offers a smooth-functioning AR upper for the .17 HMR. Supplied with a ten-round magazine, it drops onto most AR lower receivers, functions smoothly, and is obviously very accurate.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"neighbor,
neighbor, Chuck Herbel, on the bench with a Garrow .17 upper on his S&W M&P AR. Due to its extreme popularity, most rifle manufacturers chamber to the .17 HMR, but a reliable AR upper is fairly new.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It quickly became popular enough that most manufacturers chamber to it, and in various actions\u2026including aftermarket AR upper receivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Donna
Donna Boddington took this excellent steenbok in Namibia using a Marlin .17 HMR. Penetration was not impressive\u2026ever since, Boddington has considered even such small antelopes the .17 HMR\u2019s upper limit\u2026and doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s adequate for coyotes.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The .17 HMR has limitations. One year I used the Marlin .17 HMR in Africa. It was perfect for \u201cdassies\u201d (properly the rock hyrax), and just right for small foxes, but penetration was questionable even on small, thin-skinned antelopes like steenbok. Over here, where most .17 HMRs are used, I keep the Marlin handy for yard-digging armadillos and such. However, pound for pound, I know of few animals as tough as the coyote, and I\u2019m convinced the .17 HMR isn\u2019t enough gun unless you\u2019re very close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Boddington
Boddington and friend Joey Meiberger with two gorgeous Oklahoma fall gobblers, taken with a Ruger in .17 HMR. Legal in just a few states, hunting turkeys with a rifle may not be the purist\u2019s approach, but it\u2019s fun, and the little .17 HMR ruins very little meat.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Purists won\u2019t like this, but several states allow use of rifles for turkeys. Especially in the fall, when turkeys are often stalked or ambushed rather than called, the accurate little .17 HMR is just the ticket\u2026with almost no meat damage. And it sure is a ball in a prairie dog town!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bill
Bill Green, the .17 HMR King, having a great time in a prairie dog town with his semiautomatic .17 HMR. Green rarely uses his centerfires; he shoots more than the rest of the group for much less cost\u2026and makes some astonishing shots with this little cartridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On what has become an annual prairie dog shoot, Bill Green is the .17 HMR King. This year, so far as I know, he never took his centerfire out of its case. The shooting was great, and he whaled away for hours with his semiauto .17 HMR. Sure, his little bullets were getting blown all over the place\u2026but he had at least as much fun as the rest of us, shot more for less cost, and didn\u2019t have to worry as much about barrel heat or frequent cleaning. As unlikely as it seems, I\u2019ve watched Bill make hits out to 300 yards and beyond\u2026much too often to consider them flukes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HMR\u2019s little brother, the 17 Mach II<\/a>, came out two years later (2004). Based on the 22 Long Rifle<\/a> case necked down, it exceeds 2000 fps with a 17-grain bullet, so is indeed \u201ctwice the speed of sound.\u201d Performance is awesome from such a tiny case, but the Mach II has not been nearly as popular as the HMR, perhaps because there were engineering challenges getting semiauto platforms to function reliably. It is accurate, but at its lower velocity has much less effective range than the .17 HMR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013 Winchester introduced their rimfire 17 Winchester Super Magnum<\/a>. With a 20-grain bullet at 3000 fps it is the world\u2019s fastest rimfire cartridge\u2026ever! The case is somewhat similar to the long-obsolete .25 Stevens rimfire, but the .17 \u201cSuper Mag\u201d is actually based on a long-existing .27-caliber rimfire nail gun cartridge, but never before adapted to a rifle cartridge. I did the first story on Winchester\u2019s .17 when it was brand new. Velocity was exactly as advertised, very<\/em> impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing, and this\nis totally unfair, is the accuracy wasn\u2019t what I\u2019d come to expect from the .17\nHMR and centerfire .17s. Unfair because I was dealing with a first run of ammo,\nprobably prototype\u2026and definitely a prototype rifle. In rimfire, the .17 Super\nMag offers the advantage of less costly ammo and, in performance, greatly\nexceeds the HMR\u2026but is not so fast as to have either the throat erosion or\nrapid fouling issues of the fastest .17s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The faster .17s are adequate for game up to coyotes\u2026but they\u2019re all a lot of fun in a prairie dog town!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The .17 Winchester Super\nMagnum has now been around for a while, and I\u2019m probably wrong about the\naccuracy. My friend Tony Lombardo carries one constantly on his California\nranch, using it for ground squirrels and other pests\u2026and swears by it. At its\nmuch higher velocity, it is perfectly adequate for coyotes, especially with the\n\u201cheavy\u201d 25-grain bullet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other two factory .17 centerfires are the 17 Remington Fireball<\/a> and the 17 Hornet<\/a>. Based on the 221 Fireball<\/a> case necked down, the 17 Fireball was introduced in the Remington XP-100 pistol which, although discontinued, was and is a popular (almost a cult) platform. Although the case is much shorter, the .17 Fireball is more efficient than the .17 Remington, reaching 4000 fps with a 20-grain bullet. This suggests that the .17 Remington case is somewhat overbore capacity (basically, trying to burn too much powder down too small a hole). Overbore capacity is not the kiss of death; many popular magnums have this characteristic. However, throat erosion is accelerated. So, if a very<\/em> fast .17 is of interest, the .17 Fireball is worth considering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Most
Most .17s tend to be extremely accurate. These groups were fired with the first batch of Hornady\u2019s .17 Hornet ammo\u2026and a prototype Savage bolt-action. All are well sub-MOA.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I have more experience\nwith the .17 Hornet, introduced by Hornady in 2012. Although based on the old\n.22 Hornet case necked down, the case is really more similar to the blown-out\n.22 K-Hornet case, with a bit more powder capacity. This makes it amazingly\nefficient; exceeding 3600 fps with a 20-grain bullet, amazing from such a small\ncase, and with accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Left
Left to right: .17 HMR, .22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR, and .22 Hornet. Easily the most popular of the .17s, the .17 HMR is much more powerful than the .22 LR, and tends to be more accurate and offers a bit more range than its parent cartridge, the .22 WMR. It is not as powerful as the old .22 Hornet because its bullets are half the weight.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Of all the .17s, only the .17 HMR can be considered wildly popular. If you want more speed, or enough power to reliably take down coyotes at a couple hundred yards, then I\u2019d stick toward the middle of the road. This steers us toward the rimfire .17 Winchester Super Magnum, or the centerfire .17 Hornet, both of which are readily available in multiple rifle platforms. Or, accept the limitations: Targets and very small game only, pay attention to the wind, and have fun\u2026just like my friend Bill Green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wholesale<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

GUN CALIBER DICTIONARY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n