AusVarmint

G!day all,
Ive been thinking of getting a rifle for use on small properties, the 17mac2 seems to be the go has anyone used ,one how do they perform.

Regards Rolfy.

17 HMR!
IMHO they easily kill foxes n rabbits within 100m. Foxes with appropiate shots.
Havnt regretted buying a HMR whatsoever.

Spit,Spit!!!!

With the price of HMR ammo it would be alot cheaper to go with the 17 Fireball!

17 Fireball is a factory round now!

Glenn

The hm2 is gaining in popularity with rabbit shooters in the UK as hm2 ammo is half the price of hmr stuff over here.

stillair1 wrote:The hm2 is gaining in popularity with rabbit shooters in the UK as hm2 ammo is half the price of hmr stuff over here.

its definately not half the price here mate.

to be honest i'm surprised to hear someone mention the 17mk2. i own a 17 hmr and a 17fireball and reloading for the fireball is way cheaper and you get more bang for you buck. i've had a few horrors with 17 hmr on foxes and i'm sure a with a bit more grunt and bullet weight the fireball would have done it.

in my opinion (and i'm saying this wondering if i should sell my 17hmr now) 17 rimfires are overly glamorous cartridges that don't really suit this country. fenring will be all over this i'm sure but what i've done with my hmr i could have done it with a good 22lr or i should have used a centerfire.

yeah its a laugh to knock a crow from a tree at 200 paces but be realistic and ethical about you hunting.

if its a really small property then stalk in and use a 22 with sub sonics. you'll get more bunnies that way rather then scare the rest off with noisey 17 rimfires and i've been there too.

my 2 cents

Andrew I have an Anschutz (that should read had).And love the rifle it has good optics and head shots to reasonable distances are easily taken.I have head shot Foxes at 100 metres and dropped them on the spot.And have shot them at 30 and watched the acrobatics then had to shoot them again.This has occured more often than the bang flops.Rabbits are a given most of the time but I have seen more than one crawl of.
I think the best thing that could happen for the HMR is the end of the patent period and we get some more ammo manufacturers.That way quality should come up and price go down.

AK

I have both 17M2 and 17HMR.
The quality of the ammo for the 17M2 was pretty shit, in particular the stuff coming from CCI or Hornady (both made in the same factory). Their is better ammo from Eley and Remington (believe they are a same factory arrangement too). In Australia we see CCI, Hornady and Remington, but Parrabellum Import is bringing Eley in in the first Quarter of 2010 (Jan-Feb). When on the phone they said it should be here around Feb and could be as cheap as $13/box, i doubt the price could be that low but 17HMR sells for around $190/brick in QLD but $240/brick in Vic. Once Eley is here i will by a case (if the price is that low).

The 17M2 is 50yrd less than 17HMR, by this i mean the 17M2 is doing the same speed at the muzzle as the 17HMR is doing at 50yrd. Up to 75m it is a real good rabbit gun, and seems to hit harder than a 22LR. I have stopped using my 17HMR and am using my 17m2 til i run out of the current ammo, only 40rounds left.

MISSED wrote:Andrew I have an Anschutz (that should read had).And love the rifle it has good optics and head shots to reasonable distances are easily taken.I have head shot Foxes at 100 metres and dropped them on the spot.And have shot them at 30 and watched the acrobatics then had to shoot them again.This has occured more often than the bang flops.Rabbits are a given most of the time but I have seen more than one crawl of.
I think the best thing that could happen for the HMR is the end of the patent period and we get some more ammo manufacturers.That way quality should come up and price go down.

AK

i'm not saying the 17hmr isn't sucessfull in its own right but sit it in a gunsafe between a very used 22lr and a 17fireball leaves me wondering why i still have/need it. i'll use what ammo i still have and pass it on to next punter.

i see you "had" a very nice 17hmr.

one big gripe is that they are shit house in the wind.

cam_mackps2 wrote:I have both 17M2 and 17HMR.
The quality of the ammo for the 17M2 was pretty shit, in particular the stuff coming from CCI or Hornady (both made in the same factory). Their is better ammo from Eley and Remington (believe they are a same factory arrangement too). In Australia we see CCI, Hornady and Remington, but Parrabellum Import is bringing Eley in in the first Quarter of 2010 (Jan-Feb). When on the phone they said it should be here around Feb and could be as cheap as $13/box, i doubt the price could be that low but 17HMR sells for around $190/brick in QLD but $240/brick in Vic. Once Eley is here i will by a case (if the price is that low).

The 17M2 is 50yrd less than 17HMR, by this i mean the 17M2 is doing the same speed at the muzzle as the 17HMR is doing at 50yrd. Up to 75m it is a real good rabbit gun, and seems to hit harder than a 22LR. I have stopped using my 17HMR and am using my 17m2 til i run out of the current ammo, only 40rounds left.

ballistically speaking the 17mk2 doesn't carry more energy then high velocity 22lr ammo like super speed or cci stingers. doing the numbers of the top of my head but i think it's a fair way off.

and 75yd isn't a tall order for any 22lr. i've stretch sub-sonics out that far plenty of bunny topling power.

Yeah mate it is still in the safe just now Mrs Missed owns it.

I have a 22lr ,17 HMR, 17 REM and a 204.The 17 Rem is going to Shanes next month to get turned into a 17 Machball.So to me the HMR is not really needed.If Eley is coming into the country it can only be a good thing.

what sort of ammo are eley offering. i'm over 17gr vmaxs.

andrewk wrote:what sort of ammo are eley offering. i'm over 17gr vmaxs.

Eley are only doing 17M2 with 17gr V-max. The 17M2 would, i believe, lose too much if you went to a 20gr at 200fps less. I doubt it would expand at all after 75m.

andrewk wrote: ballistically speaking the 17mk2 doesn't carry more energy then high velocity 22lr ammo like super speed or cci stingers. doing the numbers of the top of my head but i think it's a fair way off.

and 75yd isn't a tall order for any 22lr. i've stretch sub-sonics out that far plenty of bunny topling power.

From CCI's website

Stinger
Muzzle 50 yards 75 yards 100 yards
191 119 96 81

17M2
Muzzle 50 yards 75 yards 100 yards
152 112 96 82

Not alot in it after 50yrds but at the muzzle it is 3/4 the energy. The 17m2 would still shoot flatter.
When you know the trajectory of a subsonic you could stretch out shots, i have made some 100-130m shots using subs but it is alot easier and cleaner (and messier ) to use something bigger.

Hmm.... 17cals huh.... for me.... ultimate 17cal would be the 17Ackley Hornet... one day I will have one!

20Vmax, under 13 grains of powder for 3700+fps.... What there not to like!

CHeers

I have one along with 2 HMR's, 2 22mags and a handful of 22lr's and have to say it is my favourite as a pure rabbit rifle.
Accuracy is as good as the HMR, price of ammo is almost half the HMR, trajectory is similar to the 22mag, recoil is non existant. If you think a 22lr or 17HMR have no recoil try a 17HM2 the crosshairs dont even move when you fire a shot.
Only faults I can think of are ammo is a bit dear for plinking and I haven't seen the velocities claimed, average vel of the hornady ammo in my gun is just under 2000fps.
But as a rabbit hunting rifle it is just about perfect. I am yet to have a projectile exit on a shoulder shot or front on chest shot so although energy figures are similar to 22lr it delivers 100% of its energy to the target.

G!day all,
Thanks for the response and I hope you all had a good Christmas day yesterday.
I,m not interested in a 17 hmr as I already have a 17 remington that does it all better and cheaper. I'm interested in the 17 mac2 because I think it would be better suited to small properties, the lighter projectile should be less likely to Rick O'shea as it's travelling faster than a .22rf .
Regards Rolfy.