Yawn. Another HV rimfire. The .17 HMR seems to have been developed for the eradication of western ground squirrels and nothing else. It is too powerful for edible Eastern tree squirrels, cottontails and grouse, but insufficient for Woodchucks and other critters of that size.
This Eastern Hunter would like to see an updated .25 Stevens Rimfire with a 65 grain bullet at 1150-1200 fps for edible small game and a 60 grain JHP at close to 2,000 fps for critters up to Coyotes to 100 yards. A fast turkey load would be nice too.
Since so few of us hunt edible small game anymore, there will never be a market to develop such a load not to mention the expense of developing suitable firearms.
Oh well...
Would be pleased to see a larger bore RF introduced or reintroduced myself. The .32 Long is OK, but I'd like something in the .40+ caliber range, maybe 200 grains or a bit more around 1400-1500 fps.
Think what Hornady did with the .17 HMR introduction was a brilliant piece of marketing and have no issues with those that have a use for them. I don't, nor do I see any particular need for another small bore RF cartridge. They all have some catching up to do with the .22 Hornet which is the bottom rung on the ballistic ladder insofar as varmint cartridges go. Barring a significant advance in propellent performance RFs will never close the gap on any CF varmint cartridge.
