Have owned and hunted with rifles in .17 Mach 2, .17 HMR, .17 Hornet, .17 Fireball and .17 Remington. Liked them all, but for MY purposes eventually winnowed them down to a .17 HMR and .17 Hornet, because:
1) If I hunted tree squirrels more the .17 M2 would be my choice, but here in the open West a rimfire .17 is most useful for ground squirrels, whether prairie dogs or smaller species--hence the .17 HMR.
2) Loved the .17 Fireball for prairie dogs and larger varmints, but after trying the .17 Hornet found I could not tell the different between the Fireball and Hornet in the field--and the Hornet used 2/3 the powder.
3) Also really liked the .17 Remington, but eventually decided the .204 Ruger filled the same slot better--again, for MY purposes.
In general, most people who've never tried any .17 don't grasp how effective and useful they can be.
