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Question for Mule Deer and others

In your (MD) recent article on PD shooting. Quite a bit was said about the 17 HMR as a PD round. A picture of a CZ rifle was shown. But little was said about the rifle used.

Looking over the availability of 17 HMR rifles it seems the competition is on entry level, cheap 17's. The CZ is perhaps the best looking rifle -- in my estimation, and definitely not "Cheap".

What rifle do you use? Was it that CZ? What's your opinion on the rifles on the market?

Thanks for your reply.

Last edited by Bugger; 06/16/17.

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MIne is indeed a CZ 452 purchased the year after the cartridge appeared, and shoots very well. In fact during its in initial range session it's very first 3-shot group at 100 yards measured a little under 1/4 inch, and 5-shot groups with various kinds of ammo went 1/2" to 3/4". That said, I've never encountered a .17 HMR that didn't shoot accurately enough for prairie dogs out to 200 yards, which is about the outer edge of its range in average PD conditions. (In real calm, rare on the high plains, it's taken a number of dogs from 200-300 yards.)

All the Rugers I've seen have been accurate as well. In fact a friend in Oklahoma called a couple years ago, asking if the RAR's were actually as accurate as people were claiming, because he was thinking about getting one as a truck gun for his ranch. Now, he can afford really nice rifles, but isn't against "cheap" rifles if they work. I told him he should try one and see. Didn't hear anything for a couple of months, so called him. Turned out that by then he'd purchased several RAR's. He liked the first one so well he bought one for each of his kids too.

Have also shot ground squirrels and rodents with friends who had .17 HMR's from Anschutz to Savage. They all shot very well too. The Anschutz might have shot a little better than the others on paper, but on rodents there really hasn't been a noticeable difference between any of the .17 HMR's I've seen used in the field.



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I have a CZ 452 in 17 HMR which, over the years, has recieved the full custom treatment. It has been very accurate with a few different brands of ammo, especially since I installed a tuner.

I have been shooting a bit of centerfire benchrest this year and, when reloading, look fondly at my 17 HMR ammo which needs none of that.

It's really a delightful little gun to shoot.

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Mine is the later version 455, Have not found a better round for semi-urban chuck shooting. The .17HMR picks up where the .22lr leaves off. Shots in the 75-150 yard range are right in it's wheelhouse. That little 17gr round hits like a hammer. Big old chucks hardly quiver - maybe a tail flip or two and it's over.
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Is there a BDC or dot type scope that is a good match for the HMR? I know it is a bit redundant as around 300 would still be the maximum range at least for me.


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I use a Leupold Varmint Hunters reticle for my HMR. It seems tailor made for it in my opinions, especially when spotting your own shots.

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I have a 4.5-14 Windplex recticle Leupold with adjustable elevation turret on mine.

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I know a couple of guys in PENN that use 17HMRs for gray squirrels and love them, head shots only of course, and I dont think they use hollow points. They both use Leupold variables on them.

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Originally Posted by Tejano
Is there a BDC or dot type scope that is a good match for the HMR? I know it is a bit redundant as around 300 would still be the maximum range at least for me.




That Ballistic Plex reticle found in Burris Fullfield II scopes works perfectly with the 17VMax loads, within 1" of the hashmarks out to 250 yards. I've used it on prairie dogs out to 250 yards, myself, and made first-round hits. While not too heavy on power, it's very good for hunting purposes, not so great for target shooting.


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Thanks I am shooting a Stevens favorite now that currently wears a vintage Weaver that I may trade out for a more modern option. But then again I like the retro look. Detachable mounts maybe?


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I have been toying with the idea of doing a Nutria control hunt with one of the 17HMR rifles. Gotta be able to get the tail and hope the 17 will stop them much better then the 22 rimfire.


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I'm thinking of getting a Ruger American Predator .17 HMR and throwing the TBAC 223CB on it. Anyone shooting their HMR suppressed?


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Got my son a cheap Savage with a plastic stock. Dang thing will shoot under an inch. Came with the Accura trigger. It looks cheap ,but doesn't shoot that way.

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Originally Posted by Tejano
Is there a BDC or dot type scope that is a good match for the HMR? I know it is a bit redundant as around 300 would still be the maximum range at least for me.


I personally don't care for BDC's with the .17 HMR. They shoot so flat for the ranges that they are truly capable that BDC really is useless. Sighted at 100 yards the .17HMR is within an inch from 25 to 125 yards and at 150 you are only dropping 2". They drop about 8" @ 200 but somewhere between 150 and 200 the shots go from sure things to maybes anyway.

Last edited by centershot; 06/21/17.

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I recently had a .17 HMR threaded. Shot it this weekend with an AAC Element suppressor attached. Found it to be very comfortable to shoot without ear protection. Far more pleasant than I expected.

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Pride-Fowler used to have a 17 hmr rapid reticle scope. Spot on.......

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Picked up one of the first Ruger 77/17s that came into the local area... about 15 minutes after they unboxed it..

at the time, brand new it was $459.00....

at one of our campfire get togethers in Arizona, Paladin borrowed mine on a competition shoot between those that wanted to
do so...He and Mudhen had about 4 shoot offs for first place...

Finally someone produced a digital Micrometer out of their truck...

They were competing at 150 yds with them....Dave Bell ( Paladin) ended up winning over Ben ( Mudhen) who was shooting a Savage... the winning group was about 30 thousandths over the other... Savage vs the Ruger...

The Savage had a lot better scope.... the Ruger had a Tasco 4 x 16 on top...

but then again, both Ben and Dave are hell of a shot...

but it certainly showed the accuracy both the rifles and the cartridge could yield...


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centershot,

I actually like a turret scope with a .17 HMR, especially for ground squirrel shooting. It helps with hitting tiny targets.

By the way, have you tried A17 ammo in your rifle? I've been using it for a couple of years on prairie dogs, because it gets around 2850 in my CZ, and the difference in trajectory and power is noticeable over the standard-velocity stuff--which I still use on ground squirrels.


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Have not tried the A17 stuff, been burning through a couple bricks of standard Hornady 17 gr V-Max's. We don't have many gophers around here anymore (used to be lots of them?) so most of my shooting is stalking rock chucks on the canyon rim. Shots vary from 25 yards to 200 yards and could be that from one shot to the next. Wiley old rock chucks are about as smart as any critter I have ever hunted and they often don't give you much time. With my 17 I can hold middle and put the hurt on them unless they are out there a ways - then I can hit them with the range finder and hold over. Spinning turret would work, but I kind of like the old fashioned way - it's quick and I'm used to it.


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Yep, chucks can be pretty nervous! They're also big enough to not require as much precision as smaller rodents.

The A17 ammo shoots to exactly the same place at 100 yards in my rifle as the standard, and last week a friend and I tried some I had on hand in his Ruger while shooting prairie dogs and it did the same. He soon found, however, that it was noticeably flatter at longer ranges.


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