.17 HMR for Appleseed ?

[Bikerdad61]

Wife and I have decided to take a weekend in October Appleseed class. She is either going to use a 10/22 or her Colt M4 .22 Caliber. I understand the advantages of using a semi auto rifle over a bolt gun, but I have a Savage 93R BTVS in .17 HMR with a scope that I love to shoot. Is .17 HMR caliber allowed in the rim fire shoots ?

 

[Mango]

From the appleseed website:

"** Due to a gun industry safety bulletin, .17HMR semi-autos are not recommended. (.17 HMR Semi-Auto Firearm Safety Issues)"

 

[Bikerdad61]

From the appleseed website:

"** Due to a gun industry safety bulletin, .17HMR semi-autos are not recommended. (.17 HMR Semi-Auto Firearm Safety Issues)"

My 93R is a Bolt action, not a semi auto.

 

[42769vette]

Your going to burn threw alot of ammo at a Appleseed. For that reason I would take a 22lr. There will be next to no preformance advantages to the 17 over the 22lr at 25 meters.

I just did my first Appleseed last weekend and one thing I learned is Im no slower on a bolt action than I am a semi auto.

 

[spitfire51]

To the best of my knowledge, all .17hmr semi-autos have been recalled by their manufacturers, so there should only be bolt-actions left. I believe there was also a batch of ammo that was recalled, although the reason why escapes me. You can bring it if you choose.

 

[lucky4034]

Yes... you can use your BOLT ACTION .17hmr savage!

But like Alan said... you are better off with a .22lr for a lot of reasons.

1. Expense... 1 brick .22lr = $25 vs 500rds .17hmr = $140
2. Bolt action is fine... but semi-auto is much easier for Appleseed. Especially your first Appleseed. I have shot rifleman with both a Semi-Auto and a Bolt Action. But I'm glad I started with semi-auto for a lot of reasons. When they teach you NPOA (Natural Point of Aim) it is easier to understand and experience with a semi-auto. And considering that NPOA really is the key to shooting well at an Appleseed... I'd definitely recommend a semi-auto if you got it.

3. That BTVS savage is a heavy barrel isn't it? The shooting positions are only assisted by a sling and hoisting a heavy barrel (or a heavy rifle in general) is going to make for a long day and is going to be difficult when shooting standing. For someone shooting their first time... IMHO the lighter the rifle the better.

This is not to say that you can't use your boltie... just that it isn't going to make things easy on you and if you are busy focusing on the difficulties you are having with your rifle... it might detract from the training.

With that said... my 2nd Appleseed I purposely brought a bolt action to see if I could do it. Next time I will probably be looking at bringing a single shot cricket or going with iron sights just to keep things challenging!

Hope this post helps... and most of all... HAVE A BLAST! The program is excellent... oh... and the shooting is good too

 

[lucky4034]

sorry... just read your post again.

Yes you can shoot .17hmr and can likely shoot just about any caliber within reason. I believe the original course was designed to be shot with a M1 Garand in .30-06