17hmr wsm and hornet

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  • Ggreen

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    I'm looking into buying a 17 for gun stuff and reasons that I build up in my head to be important when really I just want one because of reasons....

    What are your experiences? Has anyone had all 3 or fired all three that would like to make a recommendation? I'm thinking I want a 17wsm as the rifle prices seem right and ammo isn't crazy, but the knee jerk is to just spend the money and get a 17 hornet, because reasons...

    I only have personal experience with 17hmr and it is positive enough to get me searching for a tiny magnum.
     

    Clay Pigeon

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    I have shot 2 of those. I shoot with a friend that shoots 5 or 6 different centerfire 17's.
    I would get the 17 Hornet. Its easier to find in most cases and if you reload you can just form it from 22 hornet brass, if 17 brass cant be found.
    Its a smoking little cartridge.
    The new little 17 magnum will push a 20 grain bullet 3000 fps
    The 17 hornet will push a 20 grainer 3600+ fps.. Big difference at 200 yards.
    Plus you can reload the hornet. If not you can sell the brass, hornet brass is easy to get rid of. Good Luck in your choice.
     

    Sniper 79

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    I recently picked up a 17HMR. Very impressed and no longer own any 22 rim fires. Would love the opportunity to shoot a super mag or a hornet.

    Only complaint about the HMR is wind. Last range trip had a slight cross wind. Had to favor RH side of target and I couldn't consistently connect at 150yrds.

    Lots of fun!
     

    yetti462

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    I am a fan of the 17wsm. I have the bmag and after putting a boyds thumbhole stock on it I like it. The AE 20grainers group the best out of my rifle, the other brands are not bad, the AE is the tightest.

    It is cheap to shoot. I get the AE for $12.99/50.

    It is a killing machine. Coons are bang/flop no exit with the 25 gr. Fox bang/flop, the 25gr will exit but not much damage. Coyote run about 20yds. no exit. It is one of my favorite rifles.

    After Christmas I plan on getting a Savage A17. I don't have a 17hmr and need one to fill out my rimfire collection.

    Forgot to mention: The rifle I have has the standard barrel. I saw on another site where wallyworld was clearing out their bmags, might check there, people were getting one for less than $200.
     
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    Woobie

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    At the top of my wish list right now is a CZ 527 in 17 Hornet. Well, that or a Swiss K31.


    But I reload, so that makes it very attractive to me. Very efficient little cartridge. And deadly. There are some videos out of ground squirrels being split in two at 100 yards.
     

    two70

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    Why not a .17 Fireball or .17 Remington? The fireball would be my choice if I were going the centerfire route. I had a .17 HMR and sold it but would like to get a .17 WSM to replace it eventually.
     

    Woobie

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    I like the fireball and the Remington ideas. The hornet fills a niche, though. It comes within 400fps of so of those two, but uses a fraction of the powder with the attending reduction in report and cost. All in a cartridge that is still reloadable.
     

    two70

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    I like the fireball and the Remington ideas. The hornet fills a niche, though. It comes within 400fps of so of those two, but uses a fraction of the powder with the attending reduction in report and cost. All in a cartridge that is still reloadable.

    I was actually intending the questions of the OP, sorry for the confusion. If I were looking for a .17 at the moment I would probably search for a CZ in .17 fireball since I like oddball rounds, CZs, and powder is really cheap in any cartridge that size. That being said and in response to your post, I have a K31 and love it. I wish I had bought several more when they were still under $200.
     

    Woobie

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    I was actually intending the questions of the OP, sorry for the confusion. If I were looking for a .17 at the moment I would probably search for a CZ in .17 fireball since I like oddball rounds, CZs, and powder is really cheap in any cartridge that size. That being said and in response to your post, I have a K31 and love it. I wish I had bought several more when they were still under $200.

    Well, dang it. I'm sorry I misunderstood you. But I like the suggestions anyway. That 17 fireball is really cool. And just to totally hijack the thread, are you reloading for the K31 or using milsurp?
     

    ws6duramax

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    I am a fan of the 17wsm. I have the bmag and after putting a boyds thumbhole stock on it I like it. The AE 20grainers group the best out of my rifle, the other brands are not bad, the AE is the tightest.

    It is cheap to shoot. I get the AE for $12.99/50.

    It is a killing machine. Coons are bang/flop no exit with the 25 gr. Fox bang/flop, the 25gr will exit but not much damage. Coyote run about 20yds. no exit. It is one of my favorite rifles.

    After Christmas I plan on getting a Savage A17. I don't have a 17hmr and need one to fill out my rimfire collection.

    Forgot to mention: The rifle I have has the standard barrel. I saw on another site where wallyworld was clearing out their bmags, might check there, people were getting one for less than $200.

    +1 For what he said .

    The WSM is a freaking awesome rim fire round . I have the Bmag as well in a bull barrel and it shoots right at and under 3/4'' @100yds all day long . I used this year on a P-dog , what a blast . Many kills at 200(+) . Longest at 255 .

    It doesn't like the wind , but what 20gr bullet does . Put a suppressor on it and your smile gets even bigger .

    I too shoot the AE ammo . I've caught it on sale for 10.49/box , so it cheap fun . Plus you can't hardly beat the accu-trigger in such a cheap gun .
     

    Clay Pigeon

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    Why not a .17 Fireball or .17 Remington? The fireball would be my choice if I were going the centerfire route. I had a .17 HMR and sold it but would like to get a .17 WSM to replace it eventually.

    I like the fireball and the Remington ideas. The hornet fills a niche, though. It comes within 400fps of so of those two, but uses a fraction of the powder with the attending reduction in report and cost. All in a cartridge that is still reloadable.

    I shoot 221 fireball and it fills a huge nitch all the way up to 223, my friend shoots 17 mach 4 and thats in essence a fireball. Out of all the op is looking at the Hornet fills the bill the best. The new 17 super easily can go buy the wayside like the 17M2
    and you will end up with a rifle you cant get ammo for. Hornet brass is available again and just buy a case and pack it away.
    If you look at the ballistics with the super its just not that much different than the 22 magnum. And 22 mag ammo has always been around.
    One thing to remember with small brass like the Hornet, if you hot rod it our you will
    blow the primer pockets right out them.
    The firehall will tolerate more abuse because it has more brass around the primer pocket.
    And if you look at charts i believe with the 17's you will get less drift down range because they get there faster more efficiently.
     

    jamesb

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    I guess it depends on what you want to do with it and if you want to reload or wildcat. I shoot 17hm2, 17hmr, 17 squirrel, 17 AH and 17 fireball currently. If I can find a cheap 17wsm and 17 rem barrel I will have one of those also.

    Use
    I really like the 17HM2 as a range gun and for tree rats. Straight shooting out to 100 yards so I can always hold dead on. If needed can push it out to 150 on tree rats. The 17hmr fits the same bill but will give you about 50 more yards and I would use it on bigger game like ground hogs within a reasonable range.
    The 17 squirrel is a great round. It can be loaded hot to push range and fps or down loaded to mimic an 17HM2 to use as a small game gun. Same for the 17Ah (basically the same as a 17 hornady hornet), it will just give you more fps and range.
    The 17 fireball can be downloaded to 17AH level but it shines at high speed, you can push them over 4000 fps.

    All the 17's are made for taking pelts without a lot of damage, just use the appropriate one for the size of the animal and range.

    Ammo availability.
    17HM2 is hard to find and can be anywhere for 10 to 20 bucks a box of 50 anymore.
    17squirrel and 17AH you will need to make brass or buy it from someone who makes it for you. They are pretty easy to make and the parent case is the 22 hornet so lots of that brass around. You will also need to reload.
    17 Fireball is another you will need to reload for, also 17 fireball brass is getting harder to find. You can make it from 221 fireball or 223 brass. You also will need to reload as factory loaded ammo is also hard to come by. I think herters or WSM is making it.
    17 rem is a barrel burner. Again, reloading or making brass comes in handy because this is another round that is getting harder and harder to find.

    Of the current production ammo 17hmr is easiest and most economical to shoot. Unless you hunt in a rimfire only area, you are better going with the 17 HH over the 17wsm. Early batches of the 17HH had primer pocket issues but they have solved that now.

    In my opinion it comes down to if you want to reload or not. If you reload I would go with the 17HH, it can do everything the 17HMR and 17wsm can do and more. If you do not reload I would go with the 17HMR because it is a proven round on several proven platforms.

    Here is a link to a good article on seventeen over at saubiers
    Saubier.com

    If you want even more info on 17 you can get Todd Kindlers book from the woodchuck den, the sensational seventeens.

    Or maybe 17 Squirrel will pipe in.

    Jim
     

    Clay Pigeon

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    I guess it depends on what you want to do with it and if you want to reload or wildcat. I shoot 17hm2, 17hmr, 17 squirrel, 17 AH and 17 fireball currently. If I can find a cheap 17wsm and 17 rem barrel I will have one of those also.

    Use
    I really like the 17HM2 as a range gun and for tree rats. Straight shooting out to 100 yards so I can always hold dead on. If needed can push it out to 150 on tree rats. The 17hmr fits the same bill but will give you about 50 more yards and I would use it on bigger game like ground hogs within a reasonable range.
    The 17 squirrel is a great round. It can be loaded hot to push range and fps or down loaded to mimic an 17HM2 to use as a small game gun. Same for the 17Ah (basically the same as a 17 hornady hornet), it will just give you more fps and range.
    The 17 fireball can be downloaded to 17AH level but it shines at high speed, you can push them over 4000 fps.

    All the 17's are made for taking pelts without a lot of damage, just use the appropriate one for the size of the animal and range.

    Ammo availability.
    17HM2 is hard to find and can be anywhere for 10 to 20 bucks a box of 50 anymore.
    17squirrel and 17AH you will need to make brass or buy it from someone who makes it for you. They are pretty easy to make and the parent case is the 22 hornet so lots of that brass around. You will also need to reload.
    17 Fireball is another you will need to reload for, also 17 fireball brass is getting harder to find. You can make it from 221 fireball or 223 brass. You also will need to reload as factory loaded ammo is also hard to come by. I think herters or WSM is making it.
    17 rem is a barrel burner. Again, reloading or making brass comes in handy because this is another round that is getting harder and harder to find.

    Of the current production ammo 17hmr is easiest and most economical to shoot. Unless you hunt in a rimfire only area, you are better going with the 17 HH over the 17wsm. Early batches of the 17HH had primer pocket issues but they have solved that now.

    In my opinion it comes down to if you want to reload or not. If you reload I would go with the 17HH, it can do everything the 17HMR and 17wsm can do and more. If you do not reload I would go with the 17HMR because it is a proven round on several proven platforms.

    Here is a link to a good article on seventeen over at saubiers
    Saubier.com

    If you want even more info on 17 you can get Todd Kindlers book from the woodchuck den, the sensational seventeens.

    Or maybe 17 Squirrel will pipe in.

    Jim

    Jim, did you ever find the brass you were looking for awhile back ?
    Squirrel was banned awhile back, some here didnt seem to understand his humor or how giving or a man he is.
     

    DRob

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    jamesb is dead-on reference .17 FB. Brass and ammo is not available anywhere and I've heard Remington will not be producing any more. I love the round for prairie dogs but you do have to reload it. If I wasn't so heavily invested in .17 Fireball, I would jump on the Hornet.

    I am a fan of the .17 rimfires also but with HMR & HM2 I just don't see a niche for the WSM. YMMV.
     

    Ggreen

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    I was down to two choices, both savage's one in 17hmr with a thumbhole stock and a b.mag I ended up with a b.mag. The price was right and my stepdad has an hmr so the wsm just seemed more interesting to me. Now to pick out a scope and get it fitted with a boyds stock. Thanks for all the comments everyone I'm excited to be a member of the 17 club now.
     

    jamesb

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    clay pigeon, That is a shame about Squirrel, man had a lot of knowledge to give. He was also willing to help anyone out. When I started out with making 17squirrel he offered to meet up and talk me through it and gave me some brass to start out with, both 22 hornet and already formed 17squirrel to use as reference.

    Ggreen, the B-mag should do you fine, before investing in a new stock I would make sure you have a shooter, I know the first gen b-mags had bolt issues. Rimfire central has a 17WSM forum, both for guns and another for ammo.

    Jim
     

    two70

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    Well, dang it. I'm sorry I misunderstood you. But I like the suggestions anyway. That 17 fireball is really cool. And just to totally hijack the thread, are you reloading for the K31 or using milsurp?

    On the K31, I have strictly reloaded for it and have never actually fired any of the milsurp ammo in mine. I had some trouble reloading for it initially because my dies were meant for the older version of the 7.5X55 round but once I bought the correct dies it was pretty easy to get good accurate handloads.
     

    sgreen3

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    Ive tossed around the the idea of picking up a WSM for a while, but always seem to talk myself out of it. I know they had accuracy issues, but I think that was attributed to ammo but not entirely sure. However I know a few more manufactures are making ammo for the caliber now and with the addition of the heavy barrel model perhaps the accuracy issues will be non existent now. Let us know how your shoots!
     
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