.17 HMR Rifle? Almost!

Taurus .22 Win Mag

Note: I originally wrote this for my website years before the .17 Winchester Super Mag.

When the .17 HMR cartridge was introduced a few years ago it renewed my interest in rimfire cartridges. This new rimfire cartridge would fire a .17 grain bullet at 2550 fps. almost as fast as my .22 Hornet centerfire.

At that time I had a TC Contender Carbine with a .22 Hornet barrel. I seldom hunted with it, but took it along in the truck when going to the farm. I liked having a varmint rifle with me. It was accurate, easy to shoot, but I was getting bored with it, and with reloading the ammunition for it.

When I originally bought the Contender it was a 10" barreled handgun chambered for the .22 long rifle. Some years later I changed it into the carbine by buying the carbine stock, and a 21" .223 barrel.

Next I decided I needed the Hornet barrel for some reason. I also had a 21" barrel in .410 shotgun and a barrel chambered for the 7-30 Waters which took a few deer. I could have simply added a .17 HMR rifle barrel for the Contender, but I was ready for a change.

My new big idea was that I would buy a large tool box to carry everything I wanted to take when going to the farm. I could simply grab that toolbox and go. I thought about a .17 HMR handgun for the toolbox. But handguns are difficult to shoot well, so I quickly switched back to thinking about a .17 HMR rifle.

The short little Taurus M62 take-down carbine caught my eye. Loosen one screw on the frame and this little carbine is two pieces about as long as a long barreled handgun. The M62 Taurus was a copy an old Winchester pump but available in .22 long rifle, .22 mag. and .17 HMR rifle or carbine.

The .17 HMR rifle ammo is noted for accuracy, but I knew the M62 would not be a best choice to utilize that accuracy. It's a top ejection pump action, not an especially accurate rifle, not a great trigger, and it doesn't readily take a scope. But I simply wanted one... I also wanted to try the tang mounted peep sight option.

A reason for taking a gun to the farm was that I sometimes see a coyote, bobcat, skunk... "But!" I reasoned a tiny 17 grain bullet at 2550 fps. is not a great coyote round, actually no rimfire is a great coyote round in my opinion.

The fast and accurate .17 HMR ammo would blow up a blackbird, a ground squirrel, a crow... But after thinking about it the cartridge didn't seem like a great choice for bigger pest.

There was another choice in the M62; the .22 magnum. Actually the HMR is based on the same brass. I never remember being excited about the .22 mag. not even when it was new. But I thought I should consider it. I started comparing the ballistics of the .17 HMR and the .22 WMR.

I remembered long ago the then new the .22 magnum ammo pushed a 40 grain bullet at 2000 fps. Now the charts now say only 1875 fps. Not the first time I've noticed an older cartridge loose some zip :-) Why? To help sell new cartridges and guns, maybe.

Anyway, 1875 fps. is close to half way between a High Velocity 40 grain bullet in the .22 long rifle, and the 17 grain bullet at 2550 fps from the HMR.

There are several .22 mag. loads at 2200 fps. with a 30 grain bullet which is almost twice the weight of the 17 grain HMR. There is one load with a 50 grain bullet, and one bird shot load. Still, I believe the standard 40 grain load is likely to be the best for most uses.

I quickly realized the old .22 magnum would probably be a little better coyote load, and more versatile than a .17 HMR rifle. I bought a stainless steel M62 Taurus carbine in .22 mag.

I've never shot a coyote with it, but it was devastating on the few critters I did shoot. I never really tested the accuracy. I believe the standard 40 grain bullet .22 WMR load is a better choice than the .17 HMR for bigger pest up to about 100 yards. I wouldn't suggest using either at greater distance.

I tried the shot shells for the .22 magnum and even took a couple of blackbirds flying at close range with the shot loads. I really liked the M62 and the .22 mag, but I have to laugh at myself sometimes; I had a case of "I want a new gun" I didn't 'need' the gun...

If I wanted a more serious rifle for smaller pest and a little longer range I would choose an accurate bolt-action or single shot with a scope in .17 HMR. For small game I think the .17 Mach 2 could possibly even beat the king of rimfires the .22 long rifle. But, "as it is", I doubt that the Mach 2 cartridge will last long.

IMO a low cost load is needed in both the .17s for plinking, it could then "beat" the .22 long rifle. It could even be an alternative to a pellet rifle. If Hornady, CCI, Federal... would make a simple lead bullet version of the .17s at around 1200 fps. (Don't hold your breath waiting for it!)

Note: The new .17 Winchester Super Mag has now changed the rimfire "game". This cartridge shoots a slightly heavier 20 grain bullet at a reported 3000 fps. If this cartridge has the accuracy of the other .17 calibers, it will likely be the new choice for many varmint hunters.

This new .17 rimfire should be deadly at considerable range for any small pest and more capable on larger critters such as coyotes. I often wondered if the .17 HMR would stand the test of time, but I never expected it to be "gunned down" by an even faster rimfire round.

 

Posted with Blogsy