Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 17 Mach 2.... ?

Thinking i would like to play with one....Anyone shooting one religiously or ?

I had one in a CZ 452 varmint a few years ago.

plenty accurate fairly quiet also. shot a lot of squirrels and such with it but overall just kind of left me unimpressed and ammo got hard to find so the rifle went down the road

Accuracy in the bolt actions vs. semi's or not so much ?

Probably my favorite squirrel rifle. Absolutely electrocutes them, but not overly destructive if a body shot is taken.

I have a CZ452 American in a 17HM2 and with Eley ammo it's wickedly accurate, or at least that's what the dead ground squirrels would tell me if they could still talk. Thankfully I have cases of that 'magic' Eley 17HM2 ammo, so those gophers had better keep their heads down.

Love that round. I have 2, a Sako Quad and a CZ 457.
The Sako I've put a 22lr. back on when I got the CZ. The CZ has a Lilja Varmint Taper barrel on it and is incredible accurate.
My favorite round to shoot out of both of mine is the 20gr. sp made first by PMC and now Aguila.

I've got a CZ 452 chambered for it. It is far and away the best tree squirrel rifle I've ever had

I love the MachII. It is extremely accurate.
I have several :
*) Winchester 1885 single shot , falling block, vey accurate.
*) 2 Sako Quads With the Burris Dedicated scopes ( which Elk Ivory acquired for me , very thankful.)

*) The most accurate at all , if one can tell the diff, a 1700 series Annie , heavy BBL, with a Burris scope . Kinda heavy but scary accurate. Want to kill something a little bigger .....shot it in the eye.

Do not have any experience with semi's.

love mine....

Everyone likes a little pussy ....in the morning.

The 17HM2 is my favorite cartridge for shooting fox squirrels and might well be the best cartridge ever designed for shooting tree squirrels.

I have several rifles chambered for it, both factory and parts guns. Even the least expensive Marlin and Savage is close enough to the Anschutz 1502 accuracy wise, with the right ammo, that the average shooter probably wouldn't notice the difference.

From my POV, The 17HM2's biggest weakness is that the long discontinued Eley ammo was match grade accurate and none of the CCI and Hornady ammo seems to be quite as accurate in any rifle that I shoot it in. That isn't to say that CCI and Hornady ammo isn't accurate, just that in most cases it isn't quite as accurate as the Eley. The most recent 17HM2 ammo that I've purchased, CCI with a yellow tipped bullet, is the most accurate ammo from CCI or Hornady that I've seen. Close to the Eley, but still not Eley accurate.

The 17HM2 is a niche cartridge that shines within its performance window, but it will never be as fast as the 17HMR and many people judge these two cartridges by their velocity numbers alone.

The only semi-auto 17HM2 that I've shot have been Ruger 10/22 conversions that balanced on the knife edge of safety. If you want to do more research, there is lots of 17HM2 information, both real and imaginary, on RFC.

Great squirrel round. Have a Marlin that is scary accurate

I know where a marlin 717? semi auto is for sale, is it worth 5-600 hundreds bucks they want for it?

Elkivory: I currently own and shoot 4 (four) heavy barrel Rifles in caliber 17 Mach2 - and it IS nearly a "religious" experience enjoying the fun and accuracy and lethality this tiny little imp of a cartridge provides me.
My group of heavy barrel 17 Mach2's consists of an amazingly accurate Anschutz 1502, and an amazingly accurate Kimber SVT (Silhouette/Varmint/Target with Leupold 6.5x20 EFR scope), a Marlin 917 M2S and a humble but still very accurate N.E.F Handi-Rifle Sportster.
I have also shot, to a great extent, my friends Ruger MK-II pistol that was converted to 17 Mach2 - a more fun pistol would be hard to come by!
All the above are just great fun to shoot and again are amazingly lethal on small game and Varmints (both feathered and furred). To date I have killed one Badger (large boar) with the 17 Mach2 and it was dispatched with one shot to the Adams Apple area at 80 yards.
I have several "spots" to Hunt Ground Squirrels near ranch houses and the 17 Mach2 is used here exclusively as it is rather quiet and the 17 Hornady projectiles I use do NOT ricochet!
The only drawback to the 17 Mach2 is the current PRICE of 17 Mach2 ammo - my local gunshops have it on the shelves at $10.99 per box of 50.
I am so thankful I put in a lifetime supply of Hornady 17 Mach2 ammo back when it was MUCH cheaper than it is now.
I say go for it (17 Mach2) - with gusto.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

260RemGuy: I concur on the amazing accuracy that can be obtained with the ELEY 17 Mach 2 ammo.
Back when it was available I sighted my Kimber SVT heavy barrel Rifle in with it and the short lived accuracy with that gun was profound!
Sadly once I discovered it (the ELEY 17 Mach2 ammo) then they soon quit making it.
I have relayed this instance on this forum before when the topic of 17 Mach2 accuracy comes up.
One still winter day several years ago my friend and I were sighting in some rimfire Varmint guns prior to the spring season.
My friend was shooting a heavy barrel CZ in 17 Mach2 with a 6x18 power scope on it.
He was using the ELEY ammunition and I measured one of the five shot groups he shot there at 100 yards that was just a hundredth or two above .25"!
I offered to buy that CZ Rifle right then and there, even though I had serious mental aversion to its bass-ackwards safety.
No sale.
Long live the 17 Mach2.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I had two CZ 17Mach2's. They were fantastic shooters with the Eley ammo. I sold them both after Eley stopped loading the ammo because I was worried about the long term availability of other brands.

A number of years ago I had the good fortune to buy several cases of Eley mach II from a GS in EauClaire , WI at their cost.It was not selling at the time .

Later I started to acquire the rifles. I did the same with .17 Whizzum.

I had a couple of the 452s in 17HM2 and 22LR. While they were accurate rifles, I never warmed up to the stock geometry and the backward safeties, so although it is unusual for me to sell guns, rather than having them gather dust on a shelf, they went away. The Anschutz 1502 and Marlin 917M2S get most of my 17HM2 work, with the Anschutz being a little more accurate and the Marlin is stainless so it gets the call when the weather is anything less than perfect.

I will say for the record that the only 17HM2 that I've owned that wasn't a particularly good shooter was one of the non-cataloged run of Ruger Americans that SAS had made up for Whittaker Guns in Owensboro, KY, back in 2019. It certainly wasn't Darrick's fault, but since I wasn't the only person who had a problem with a rifle from that run, it appears as though Ruger just didn't get those rifles right.

Regards:

Academy currently has Hornady on sale, $7.99 / 50:
https://www.academy.com/p/hornady-v-max™-17-mach2®-17-grain-rimfire-ammunition-50-rounds

I have a Volquartsen Summit straight pull carbon barreled 17hm2 and a CZ 452 American.

I shoot Eley and Speer ammo.

Favorite rifles.

Timeltel: Thanks for that heads up - I just now got it, went to check and sadly they are out of stock.
Will keep an eye out - that is a great price.
Thanks again.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Regards VarmintGuy:

Scheels sometimes runs a sale on VNT @ 6.99 / 50. Currently 9.99.

https://www.scheels.com/p/cci-vnt-1...ch-ammunition-Rimfire#start=26&sz=24

I've two rifles in .17hm2, both like the VNT, ordered four bricks the last time they dropped the price.
Good luck!

Timeltel: Thanks again - I will keep an eye out for when I get through a Montana town (no sales tax) that has a Scheel's store in them.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Love the 17Mach2. Mine is a Sako Quad and by far the most used barrel on that rifle. As others have said, it’s the best tree squirrel cartridge ever.

Having experienced the whims and wishes of the rimfire market in the past (think 5mm REM MAG Rimfire) I made sure to lay in a good supply of ammo years ago. A while back, a guy at our gun club had several thousand rounds he’d bought accidentally (thinking he was getting 17HMR . He gave them to me for a good price and now I probably have a lifetime supply. That said, I still pick up 509 rounds occasionally when I see a good deal.

SDH has an article on it, in part anyway, in the May/June SA.

I have a Ruger 77/17 mach2. My favourite squirrel rifle. Super accurate.

Louiethedrifter: Is your Rifle a factory stock model or did you convert?
I have forgotten if Ruger had a factory offered Model 77 in 17 Mach2
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Mine was factory. I did change the trigger spring

I remember when CDNN was closing those out for a song and I chose not to sing, a dumb move.

I chose to buy a GM stainless fluted barrel instead of sing.

I just procured a Ruger 77/17 HM2 from here on the fire in the heavy barrel target grey/laminate variant. Have only shot about 60 rds through it but was able to shoot a .263” 5-shot group @ 50 yds with the Hornady 17 gr. CCI was not quite as consistent but still quite good. It was too windy to shoot great groups as the targets were moving in the wind. Looking forward to wringing it out in calmer conditions and taking it out to 100.

I was alternating between the new to me Ruger and my T1X 17 HMR and the noise level is very noticeable. The mach2 was hanging in there on accuracy though. Am looking to lay in a supply of ammo when I catch a deal.

Strosfann: I would say that IS a "great group" (.263"!) there at 50 yards with your Ruger 77/17 Mach2!
Good for you - let us know how it does when the wind calms down.
Which scope do you have on that 77/17 Mach2?
Enjoy that nifty Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy: I pulled a B&L Elite 4-16x50 AO scope off my .223 in order to test drive the rifle. Haven’t decided what will live on it long term. Would like something a little smaller with a more fine duplex or perhaps a ballistic reticle. I have some good spare scopes on the shelf but none with AO.

Agree that group may be tough to top even given the conditions. I had several groups that were one ragged hole with a mild flyer that stretched out the caliper. Have a feeling it has more to do with the ammo than the rifle. The seller advised it shot outstandingly well with the Eley but I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole when the current production Hornady shows promise.

This pic

Probably my 4th M2..or so......Savage...CZ....

Ruger 77 w/Lilja barrel & Vortex glass

Keep it on the kitchen table for needed duties

Have plenty of Eley ammo to last all my days

Great cartridge

Fast & quiet

I have Weaver V16, 4-16x42AO, scopes on my Anschutz 1502 and Marlin 917M2S that seem to be in sync with the size of the rifles, the cartridge, and the distances that I shoot fox squirrels and paper.

260Remguy: Those Weaver V-16 scopes are just about perfect in my experience for rimfire accuracy and Colony Varmint shooting - I have a BUNCH of them on my guns in both the Du-Plex reticle and the fine crossharirs fine dot reticles.
Shot some Snowphers yesterday with the fine crosshair and fine dot V-16 (17 HMR Rifle).
Wish they were still made.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The Weaver RV7, RV9, and V16 were really good, but often under appreciated, scopes. I bought several of each when Natchez as closing them out a couple of years back.

Strosfann: I am a firm believer in LOTS of scope power for my rimfires - and for adjustable objective scopes on rimfires as well.
My ultra-accurate Kimber 17 SVT (Silhouette/Varmint/Target) has a Leupold 6.5x20 E.F.R. variable scope on it - this 17 Mach2 is just absolute death on Ground Squirrels!
To WAY out there! I use the Hornady 17 grain V-Max ammo in this rig.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Oh my !🥰

Hoping to find the 77/17 walnut / blued model ,but just dont pop up often !

If there is a more fun gun to have on a PD town when the pups first come up I'd like to know. I'd buy several. 150 yards on a really calm day with no noise or recoil is a new experience for lots of folks.