I picked up a Ruger M77-17HMR when they first appeared around 2002 or so? Gun shop in Tucson, Jensens had exactly one, came with a free box of ammunition, which wasn't available at the time, had to wait three weeks before getting any.
I decided to use that little rifle almost exclusively for the first month of my calling season to be able to make an informed opinion of how it performed on predators. I shot 28 coyotes with it that first month, and had 4 run offs. It is definitely a surgeons tool when it comes to coyotes, the least bit sloppy and it doesn't have enough azz to slow them down.
Where it shined was for fox, I found it to be perfect for our gray fox in southeastern Arizona, great little cartridge in my opinion.
