Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Any bought a .17 Mach 2 due to the .22 rimfire shortage?

I know .17 Mach 2's aren't common anymore, but last year I bought a like-new CZ off the Campfire classifieds. Now, I had plenty of .22 rimfire on hand before Obama Panic II started, but am also feeling kinda smug now because (as friend pointed out at the Bozeman gun shows yesterday) .17 Mach 2 ammo is now cheaper than .22 Long Rifles!

I see the 17HM2 ammo pretty often, but not the rifles. Wouldnt
mind having a Marlin with a bull barrel.

I already own a machII and ammo.

Dink

I bought one of those CZ M2's last year came with a Nikon scope and 2000 rounds of ammo 500 each of CCI, Eley, Rem and Hornady very nice shootin little rifle I'm afraid to say what I paid for it people will think I stole it. And plenty of ammo for it on the shelves here to

Yeah, I had quite a bit of ammo on hand already, as I had a T/C Contender carbine barrel for the M2 for a number of years. But I found bricks of Hornady at another local gun show this winter for $50.00, which beats what .22 LR is going for--if you can find any.

.17 HMR and .22 Magnum are also pretty available around here, and reasonably pricesd, but I already had plenty of those on hand. In reality I didn't really need the Mach 2--but the price was too good to pass up!

Did you see any .22LR at the show? Was it priced at a ridiculous rate?

Only subsonic stuff--but I didn't to the show until 11:30 Saturday, and wasn't looking for .22 Long Rifle ammo. I'm sure the Friday night crowd cleaned out what little was available.

What's the MO with the .22LR manufacturers? Do they have constant production during the year, or do they ramp up production and inventory for big spring shipments?

And I said "they".. isn't cci the main builder for all the brands in the USA?

CCI makes a lot of .22 LR (as well as Shorts, Longs and other specialized stuff), but so do Federal, Remington and Winchester. CCI does make most of the .17 Mach 2 and HMR, though.

I wouldn't doubt that all of them ramp up production during certain times of the year--and I'm sure they're all going balls to the wall right now. I visited the CCI plant a couple years ago and they said production went on 24 hours day during a week during Obama Panic I, though I seem to remember they took a little down time on weekends for maintenance.

It was interesting watching .22 LR bullets being spit out in a literal stream by a long line of machines.

Kokomo, Indiana gun show today: Old, unopened boxes of Federal bulk ammo, 550 rounds for $75.00. Dusty, and the cardboard was all a little mashed. The guy wasn't selling any, at that price.

I had a .Mach 2 and I loved that thing. Absolutely loved it. But the GD thing kept blowing ammo so I had it rebarreled to the LR.

So I got a pile of Mach 2 ammo and no rifle... I have officially gone and FM!


Travis

And sure as hell if you get rid of the ammo, you'll find a good .17 M2 rifle for a steal!

I finally gave up a few years ago, and almost never get rid of ammo, dies, bullets, etc., even if I don't have a rifle in that chambering anymore. Have had to restock too many times!

I have 2, in 17hm2. T/C Sporter semi auto and a 77/22 w/GM barrel. I'm down to about 3000 rds of ammo for 'em.....

Deflave, I have a NIB Savage MK2 I am selling, and conversely, I would be happy to take the ammo off your hands. I already had 3 hm2s when Salesman of the Year part 2 took place. Have only shot a few rounds of it, but have quite a few more ready to go.

Huntsman,

How's that T/C Sporter shoot? I had one in .22 LR for a while, and it was pretty darn accurate.

simply amazing...

I also have the Silver Lynx in .22. Most accurate semi auto 22 I've ever had, to include a pair of 10-22 Targets both blue and stlss...

Yeah, I sold a customized heavy-barreled 10/22 because my T/C Classic .22 outshot it!

Only .22 rimfire local Gander Mtn had last Thursday was Federal Ultramatch. It was $24.99 for 50 rounds. Could pretty much buy a M2 rifle AND ammo and come out ahead if you shoot very much.

No .22 S/l/lr anywhere around Omaha. Not much 17HMR either. Plenty of .22 MRF and Hornady brand 17HM2.

I'm a 17HM2 fan, currently have them in Marlin, Ruger (x3), and Savage (x4) rifles. The Marlin 917M2S is my favorite factory specs 17HM2, but almost anything you rebarrel with a GM 96/17 or 77/17 barrel will shoot.

The only inaccurate 17HM2 or 17HMR that I've seen were both light/sporter contour Savage bolt guns, a Mark II FNS and a 93R17 FNS, the rest have all been shooters, if you're shooting Eley ammo. The 10/22 conversions are fun to shoot, but it takes a little practice to get the right balance of recoil spring and bolt handle weight to keep from bulging cases on a regular basis. 1 of my favorite "woods loafing" rifles is a 10/22 conversion with a RBIBBZ laminated mannlicher style stock and a relined factory barrel that currently has a Weaver RV9AO mounted. With a little practice and a little luck, you can shoot black walnuts as far as you can see them.

I traded 10K round of Aguila .22 LR ammo last week for a Ruger #1 in 7x57 with a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36, a Winchester 290, and a H-S Sentinal MkIV 3" satin/brushed nickel.

I gave a Sako Quad, but no barrel in .17 M2. Have a Lilja 22LR and the stock.17HMR. I have noticed that the .17HMR is available but little to no 22LR. .17M2 is the same none around my parts. Down to the last brick of 22LR and I just bought a S&W 617.. Put the 17HMR barrel on the Sako, I am impressed, very accurate. I hope this situation changes soon..