Have owned and hunted considerably with the .17 Mach 2, .17 HMR, .17 WSM, .17 Hornet, .17 Fireball and ,17 Remington. Am now down to a .17 HMR and .17 Hornet.
Might still have a .17 M2 if the ammo had stayed readily available--and hadn't gone up in price to near .17 HMR. The .17 WSM is a good round, but not that much zippier than the .17 HMR with CCI A17 ammo.
The negative myths about the .17 Remington are BS, but decided the .204 Ruger was a better cartridge for that size of case and recoil.
Loved the .17 Fireball so much I used it as my primary rodent rifle for several years, but after a year of shooting the .17 Hornet found I couldn't tell any difference in the field. Brass for the Hornet was far more available and affordable, and the Hornet only uses 2/3 the powder.
