Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 17 HMR - Warning & Recall

Saw this on the Remington website - I hope the copy procedure works here:

PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING
AND RECALL NOTICE

17 HMR AMMUNITION AND MODEL 597� HMR SEMI-AUTOMATIC



"DO NOT USE REMINGTON 17 HMR AMMUNITION IN SEMI-AUTOMATIC FIREARMS.

DO NOT USE THE REMINGTON MODEL 597 HMR SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE.

Remington has been notified by its supplier of 17 HMR ammunition that 17 HMR ammunition is not suitable for use in semi-automatic firearms. The use of this ammunition in a semi-automatic firearm could result in property damage or serious personal injury.

If you have a semi-automatic firearm chambered for 17 HMR ammunition, immediately discontinue use of Remington 17 HMR ammunition. If you have any Remington 17 HMR ammunition that you wish to return to Remington contact the Remington Consumer Service number below. Do not return the ammunition to the dealer. Remington will provide you with a $10.00 coupon for each complete box of 50 rounds of Remington branded 17 HMR ammunition you return to Remington. This coupon will be good for the purchase of any Remington ammunition at your local dealer.

In light of the ammunition manufacturer�s notice, it is very important that you immediately stop using your Remington Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle. If you own a Remington Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle and wish to return it to Remington please contact the below Remington Consumer Service Number. In return for your Remington Model 597 17 HMR synthetic stock semi-automatic rifle, Remington will provide you a coupon valued at $200.00 good for the purchase of a replacement Remington firearm. If you have a laminate stock Remington Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle, Remington will provide you a coupon valued at $250.00 good for the purchase of a replacement Remington firearm. Remington will also reimburse you for the actual postage to return your Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle to Remington.

Please allow up to 6 weeks after Remington receives your Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle or your Remington branded 17 HMR ammunition for the appropriate coupons to arrive. Instructions for redemption of the coupons will be contained on the coupon.

For any consumer questions or instructions on how to return of your Model 597 17 HMR semi-automatic rifle or your Remington branded 17 HMR ammunition, please contact the Remington Consumer Service Department at 1-800-243-9700, Prompt #3.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Safety First
Always observe the ten commandments of safe gun handling and wear approved eye and ear protection anytime you are shooting".
End of recall warning notice.

Sheesh! I am not sure what is what but I am trying to spread the word. I have shot Remington 17 HMR ammo in my 17 HMR bolt action Rifle and in my S&W revolver since that ammo became available with nary a problem?
I wonder what is what?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It's a .17 caliber thing probably.

VG; Near as I can tell from a little idustry "inside" info, its a semi-auto thing...the Remington 597 was a real POS and has been discontinued..
And Mag research has had a couple of their 17 HMR semi-autos go wonky...and I don't think its because of Remington ammo... scuttlebutt is that the 17HMR at times scoots the blowback bolt back so fast that the gases aren't done expanding first, and the back part of the shell is now exposed before the bullet leaves the barrel...makes it go "poof"!
Someone else may be able to confirm or deny this...cause I don't have it in writing, but Ive seen a couple of the guns, and boy, did they go "poof!"
Ingwe

Ingwe: I was "in on" an incident this spring where a Magnum Research 17 HMR "blew a case"! I was sitting across the front seat in a Chevy Suburban when the driver seat shooter "blew this case' as he was shooting at Ground Squirrels.
I felt the explosion on the back of my neck. Luckily the Magnum Research shooting friend of mine wore glasses!
The base of the 17 HMR case rim had seperated in a blackened ragged line around about half the case! And the case head/base was rounded in a convex shape.
The gas came around the bolt somehow and impacted us!
Plus it was noisey as all get out and scared me!
Then later in the spring I was along on another Varmint Hunt where 3 17 HMR cases "blew" having been fired in two different CZ Rifles!
It was Hornady ammunition being used in both the CZ bolt action Rifles!
Along with these three case ruptures a fourth case rupture had occurred in one of the CZ's prior to the Hunt.
So, that ammo was boxed up and sent back to Hornady for inspection.
One of the CZ case ruptures caused eye damage to one of my friends even though he was wearing his eyeglasses.
The gas hit his face and ran up his cheek to his eye. Redness of the eyeball and swelling of the cheek and eyelids occurred in that one CZ bolt action incident.
Yikes - I just have never had a problem with my 17 HMR's and various munitions I have used.
Hope no one gets hurt.
I have heard rumors of a 17 HMR ammunition recall but do not have any particulars - this from about a half year ago.
Be careful out there.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG; That scenario with the Mag Research you were in on is exactly what Ive been privy too...
One freind sent his Mag Research in for repairs after that, and they offered him a whole new rifle...in .22 mag.....said they hadn't ironed the kinks out of the .17HMRs at that point and didn't want to issue anymore till the problem was solved....
Ingwe

Ingwe: Thanks for that update!
I had been very impressed with the Magnum Research Rifle in caliber 17 HMR until that "rupture" happened.
We (there were four of us along on that trip) thought it was perhaps a "thinner than specification" piece of brass at first.
Very un-nerving that incident.
Well lets hope they get the "semi-auto" 17 HMR situation resolved.
I have Hunted for several years with two fellows who each own Volquartsen semi-auto Varminters in caliber 17 HMR and to date I know of NO similar incidents that have happened with these two Rifles!
Yikes.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Very interesting. It appears there can be problems with semi-auto and bolt action HMR's and yet the recall only relates to semi-auto.

This is going to run and run.

Over the years I have experienced occasional burst case rims on .22 LRs. They get your attention. Rimfires are no joke. Safety precautions, including protective eyewear, are always a good idea.

Paul

Sold all my 17 HMR's and ammo. Stick with a proven varmit rig the 22WMR, safe in bolts and semi guns.

Jimmyd223: Where you been - haven't seen or heard from you in a long while.
Hope all is well wit'cha!
You are right about one thing - the 22 Magnum has been used in quite a number of Rifles for quite a long time with NO problems (that I know of anyway!)!
But the 17 HMR is so far and away superior to the 22 Magnum when it comes to accuracy, flatness of trajectory, straightness of flight in the wind and in lethality on Varmints that it will live on long after the 22 Magnums (the ones that are left!) are defunct!
Its just a fact of life - one that I celebrate (safely in my guns!) every chance I can get.
By the way I got to stock up on some Hornady 17 gr V-Max ammo the other day for $9.99 for a box of 50 (no sales tax in Montana!)!
Jimmyd223 I have shot 22 Magnums of various types not only in semi-autos and bolt guns like you mention but also in lever actions, pump actions, over and unders and in pistols - the 22 Magnums were just a small step up from the 22 L.R. as compared to the emphatic and dramatic increase in range, lethality, accuracy and in ballistics that the 17 HMR now represents as "King" of the rimfires!
I do HOPE that this 17 HMR "unsafe in some arms" situation is quickly solved.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG, been doing fair, have been in SE Idaho near Soda and Lava Hot Springs since March 1 st work on the pipeline. Got back home on Tues due to so Medical problems which put an end to my work for awhile.
You know I just have to jerk your chain when it comes to the 17HMR but as you safety is the first concern with any firearm or ammo and as such I hope this problem is resolved.

Best to you , jimmyd223

Rem in not making any fiends on this one !
Their buy back offer is a joke. They are tring to blame the ammo,it's all made at the same place.

It's a 597 17 HMR = POS thing!

I do know one guy, no kidding, who sent in a blown up 597 HMR and Remington actually sent him, at his request, a new 700sps! Not too shabby...but that shows you how anxious they are to get the 597s off the street, and happy customers...
Ingwe

Wow ! not a bad deal there.
My buddy had a case blow on his. Blew the mag out the bottom in pieces ! I told him about the recall, so he called.

He has the lam wood one. Paid 389.00 for it and will only buy it back for $250. He told them it blew a case and they said quit shooting it. And he said make me a better deal and they said no way !
He told them too get bent and said He'll join the law suit!

Apparently they have hardened their response between those two incidents!
I'd tell 'em to get bent too....
Ingwe

Did I understand correctly or incorrectly that ATK is the only actual manufacturer of 17HMR there is? Like perhaps up in Lewiston?

Interesting thread to me, since I had a Volquartsen semi auto do this to me several years ago. Fine gun, and I burned the ammo through it like nothing else, until one day a round appeared to go off without being fully in battery. Popped the magazine out the bottom and shot some gas back at me, but nothing serious. The gun was undamaged except for the mag, which I replaced. Although I have shot the gun since, I don't trust it and switched to a bolt for shooting the 17. I blamed the gun, but perhaps its really the ammo.

Was just talking to the Remington rep about this today, he said yeah,597s are a POS ( Big News there!) but that he had also seen this happen with Volquartsons, Magnum Research, and anything somebody tried to make semi-auto in a 17HMR. What Ive seen/heard mirrors this,the round was never meant for a semi-auto, and doesn't work well, or safely in one....Its not the ammo...its the gun(s). Mag Research has pulled in the reins on the 17 HMR and I don't know about Volquartson..
Ingwe

Yeah, its too bad cause semi autos are a gas to shoot with this round and accurate as anyone could want. I tarted mine up real nice, and now it just sits in the safe unused. I can't bear to toss it, and I can't sell it to anyone cause of what happened. I guess the lesson is to wait on new fangled gadgets until all the kinks are worked out.

I took tons of heat when I dared suggest those guys converting ruger 10/22's into 17HMR's were dangerous.
autos are fun, but, it does build quite a spike of pressure, certainly on a heavily fouled barrel. was it bullbery, or someone who did a work up on the pressure spikes in various ammo?