Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 17 Mach2 N.E.F.

I am such an ardent proponent of the amazing 17 HMR cartridge that I had never really seriously considered the "lesser", 17 Mach2.
Then about a year ago I saw some Hornady 17 Mach2 ammo at "give-away" prices in a major store.
That got me to thinking - my thought process went like this: I love shooting Ground Squirrels and several other types of Varmints that are fully capable of being harvested with this tiny rimfire!
So heck (I continued thinking) I will buy some of these bargain cartridges and eventually get a Rifle in 17 Mach2.
So back at Christmas time I bought a N.E.F. heavy barrel single SPORTSTER in caliber 17 Mach2.
I tried to get an old but minty Bausch & Lomb American made 4 power Balvar scope (no internal adjustments!) to work on the Rifle. I had to resort to shimming and such and finally I felt heck with that, I don't want to rely on shims that are not "adjustable/correctable" out in the field.
So I mounted a 3x9 scope with adjustable objective on the N.E.F. yesterday and headed for the range!
My prior test groups (5 shots at 50 yards) with the 4 power scope measured in the mid .400"s. I was VERY happy with this.
Well yesterday I tried a new "type" of ammunition in the SPORTSTER along with the two previously tried brands.
This new ammo is the C.C.I. 17 grain V-Max stuff - the box says 2,010 F.P.S. - I don't know, I have not chronographed it as yet.
But my short range session yesterday resulted in a startlingly impressive (to me anyway!) group (5 shots at 50 yards) measuring .315"! And this was done in conditions I described as fair at best!
In the burpy winds (4 to 6 M.P.H.) this new C.C.I. ammo was really dialed in.
The other two brands of ammo I re-tried were Eley and Hornady.
The one group I fired with each of these measured .578" and .633" for 5 shots there at 50 yards.
I was happy with all of these groups but the C.C.I. was shooting just about as well as I can shoot with a 9 power scope!
I hear rumors (rather often in fact) that all the 17 HMR and 17 Mach2 ammunition is the same and manufactured by the same company (C.C.I.!) but I do know this for a fact - the Eley ammo uses a different powder in the 17 Mach2 than that of Hornady and C.C.I. - as the smell of powder from the spent cases and the smell from the action just after firing is dramatically different in the Eley!
I was also able to take first blood with the N.E.F. SPORTSER yesterday also - as I was leaving my friends private range on his cattle ranch a "flying Varmint" made the mistake of landing on a fence post top about 90 yards from me!
I simply clamped the Rifle into an "X" type Dog-Gone-Good sandbag and held just head high on this nest robber and touched one of!
The flying Varmint did a mini-poofing and toppled over never to flap a wing again!
Great day in Montana - I do wish the wind had been more calm. I have a carton (500 rounds) of the 17 Mach2 Hornady V-Max ammo and I was hoping it would shoot the best. I will test the ammo again but I only have one partial box of ammo each of the Eley and the C.C.I.
So my testing is nearly done and I am becoming more and more happy with the N.E.F. SPORSTER and the 17 Mach2 cartridge.
I can't wait for spring and the first Gophers to pop up out of the ground!
Anyone else shooting the 17 Mach2 on Gophers?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Not gophers, but I shoot alot of paper and hunt it for turkeys.

Fun little sucker.

Best -
Andy

I have the same rifle but in 17HMR and it is sweet.

FLNative: Yeah a "fun gun" I think that is a legitimate description of 17 Mach2 Rifles!
I have killed Wild Turkey with the 17 HMR but have not had a chance yet with this new 17 Mach2.
I shoot the Wild Turkey's at the base of the neck with the 17 HMR where do you hold with the 17 Mach2?
The area I live in has a bunch of Skunks that come around at night, and I plan on using the N.E.F. SPORTSTER on them - in case the County Sheriff comes and takes my Rifle some night for some reason I won't feel bad loosing this relatively inexpensive arm til court date!
Which brand/model 17 Mach2 do you own?
Which ammo do you prefer?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Same shot placement, just limit the range to 100+/- yards.

I've shot a bunch of Eley and Remington 17HM2 ammo and think that quality wise the Eley is equal to their mid-grade 22LR match-grade ammo.

My 17HM2s are 2 Ruger 10/22s with modified GM 96/22 barrels, 1 Ruger 10/22 with a lined factory barrel, 2 Savage Mark II BVSS', and 1 Savage Mark II FV. The 10/22 conversions are really fun to shoot if done right, but are potential bombs if done wrong.

Jeff

Amax155: In the past couple of years I have been asked by two friends to mount scopes on and then sight in their N.E.F. SPORSTER's in caliber 17 HMR.
Both of these Rifles shot quite well at 100 yards!
And the "single action" triggers were quite crisp and relatively light.
I was rather impressed with them and their modest price tags.
Anyway this N.E.F. of mine is the first one I have owned and I have become very happy with it.
It will go along "behind the seat" in my constant travels across Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

260Remguy: Thanks for the information and the warning.
Its appreciated and I know where to go (you!) should I have a question regarding the 17 Mach2.
Thanks again
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Not me, go to www.rimfirecentral.com, where they know more than I will ever know about the 17HM2.

Jeff

+1 to Jeff's recommendation on piles of HM2 knowledge.

As for turkeys, I hold where the neck and head meet; base of the skull; which is also where I hold when I'm archery hunting them. How's that for contrast? I won't shoot one further than 100 yds, give or take a yard or two, with the .17 and I won't shoot one further than 25 yds with the bow. Needless to say, which choice I make depends on where I'm hunting them.

Mine is a Ruger 77/17 heavy barrel, target gray finish in a gray lam stock. Great rifle, though I could do with a more dependable magazine. Had to buy two spares to get one out of the three that was dependable enough on the feeding to use for hunting.

I prefer the Eley and Remington offerings. The Reimngton is very consistent for me. Back when Federal offered it, my rifle loved that load, but they don't offer it anymore. Amusingly enough, the Hornady load shot worst in mine. I haven't tried the new CCI, but I think I'm going to after reading your experience. I've still got 650 rounds of the Remington load in my safe, but I'll try the CCI anyway and see what happens.

Best -
Andy

260Remguy: I think I am no longer welcome at the rimfire central site.
At least a few years ago I was removed from being able to post there with my rarely dissenting opinions!
No biggy - like "they" say: "I been kicked out of lots of nicer places than that"!
I am a quick learner and have a plot for my learning curve with the 17 Mach2 - I just need some more trigger time and some actual field situations under my belt.
I am sure I can answer 95% of my questions about the 17 Mach2 myself.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

FLNative: Andy, in my Ruger 77/17 V/T in caliber 17 HMR the Remington ammunition shot best in it of all the 5 or 6 brands/types of ammo I tried.
Alas I had to give up on it as it became hard to find and became THE most expensive of the 17 HMR ammo last year (2,009) - I have switched to the slightly less accurate Hornady 17 HMR ammo.
Yes, that C.C.I. stuff was used to sight in the Rifle of mine (with its new scope) and I could tell by the 3 shot groups as I moved the P.O.I. to my desired spot that it was ACCURATE ammunition!
And again I noticed the profound difference in the odor of the burnt powder with the Eley.
IF I find some more of the C.C.I. ammo I will trade my 500 round carton of Hornady stuff in on it!
I am looking at my .315" 50 yard C.C.I. grouping target right now and I can't wait to get it out on a dead calm day and fire it for group and drop at 100 yards!
I think some years ago I put a Volquartsen "sear and spring" in my Ruger 77/17 V/T (in 17 HMR) and it made a good trigger - wonderful!
I highly recommend this do it yourself addition.
I think it ran about $23.00 for those parts.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The only rifles that I've heard about being difficult with the 17HM2 are the 10/22 conversions. It looks so simple to drop a Green Mountain 96/22 barrel in and go shooting, but the pressure curve to cycle the action is quite a bit different then that for which the 10/22 was designed for.

My Savage bolt guns shoot better than they should, given the prices.

Jeff

VG:

I have two of those NEF's in 22 Win Mag and in 17 HMR...

they are indeed super accurate.. and I paid $109.00 each for them..

I was surprised that the Mach 2 was never received that well.. I certainly liked it, and kick myself for not picking up one of the Ruger bolt actions available in the Mach 2 when I had the chance.. if I would have known they were going to be discontinued, I'd have snagged it..

a friend who is a renown TC and Encore smith, I have taken him out on several varmint shoots. He had an Encore in 17 Mach 2 and that little round was definitely a big difference on sage rats when compared to a 22 LR..

I don't know if I am just lucky or not.. but I shot a box of 17 Mach 2 thru my NEW in 17HMR and it was pretty darn accurate!

I shot about 40 sage rats for 50 shots, which was pretty good considering the distances I was attempting..

Tried single shooting them thru the Ruger 77/17 I have and the accuracy was a joke.. although the rifle shoots 17 HMR fantastically..

I've always thought one of those Ruger 77/17 heavy barrels chambered for a single shot in 17 mach 4 would have been a pretty nifty set up for varmint shooting... but would love to have one of the companion 17 Mach 2 to go with it..

maybe my luck will change and one will show up in my possession..

overall the Mach 2 would be my favorite rimfire round...
as its ammo costs are where I had planned on the 17 HMR ammo prices to be, as that is what a lot of the places selling them when they came out were claiming..

Seafire: Amen to most of your wisdom there.
Could you clarify one thing - did you mean you shot 17 Mach2 ammo through your 17 HMR NEF - you wrote "17 NEW".
I am thinking if you meant 17 NEF then I should have bought the 17 HMR version of the SPORSTER?
Still thinking here and the 17 Mach2 in the 17 HMR chamber would be "heldt" by its rim in the chamber I guess - and be somewhat aligned with the 17 caliber bore?
You are always on the cutting edge of things aren't you!
I on the other hand am a traditionalist and never get the urge to strike off on my own - differences.
I guess thats what makes the world go round?
I have already forgot what I paid exactly for my NEF SPORSTER but I think it was about $25.00 more than $109.00?
Good for you.
My friend Scott here in Dillon does have both the Ruger 77/17 V/T in 17 HMR and 17 Mach2.
He told me just today (when I asked him what ammo he uses in the 17 Mach2) that its still new in the box downstairs and he has been to busy to scope it up and bring it online.
40 Gophers for 50 shots is outstanding with any gun!
Good for you.
I once went 3 clipfulls (27 shots) straight kills using my Ruger 77/17 V/T in 17 HMR.
The closest ones were right at 50 yards and the furthest were 110 yards or so.
Needless to say the wind was directly at my back.
I am already "pining" (yearning) for the return of the "Rats".
Winters can be long here in the high country.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I was looking at Green Mountain barrels web site..

Seriously thinking maybe of getting a 17 Mach 2 barrel for the Ruger 77 that I have..

I'd have to single feed it since both of mine are magnums...but then I feed a lot of bolt guns one at a time anyway..

as said above...17 Mach 2 ammo is actually on the shelves at many places.. and 22 LR isn't..

nice thing here in Oregon, we don't have to deal with the wind problems you folks in Montana have to deal with when shooting varmints.

My NEF in 17 HMR is a heavy barreled model.

I have to confess a Senior moment on this one...( insert Homer Simpson head here)...

spoke with my buddy today, recalling this...

he told me I was shooting his TC, not my NEF...

I didn't think so, so I went out this afternoon and tried a couple of shots thru it of the 17 Mach2...

well gang, looks like Alzheimers has found Seafire's address...

this post doesn't have a delete tab so I am clarifying my screw up...

talk about embarrassing.... ( insert homer simpson face here again.. )Doah!

Seafire: Exit the "embarass mode" immediately - Alzheimers is when you NEVER figure out you have made a mistake!
The "persnicketty" VarmintWife excells in pointing out these Alzheimer like moments of mine.
So clarify for me this though - were you shooting 17 Mach2 ammo then in your friends T/C 17 HMR or was it a T/C 17 Mach2.
Again no problems with red cheeks from me - I do one or two of those a DAY!
I love tiny calibers anymore - I don't really know I did not hone in on them sooner in my life?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Dale,

turns out it was a TC chambered in 17 Mach 2...

gotta run me down a 17 Mach 2...

will your buddy consider a trade for a Ruger Sporter 22.250, stainless in trade for his 17 mach 2 Ruger?

I can only hope..

In their last sales flyer, Zanders wholesale had CZ 452s in 17HM2 on close-out for $350. If I didn't already have 3 good shooting Savage Mark IIs in 17HM2, I might be tempted.

Jeff

just a thought but i think it would be VERY much not a good idea to shoot the mach 2 in an HMR chamber. think about the neck expanding, slamming into your chamber and when you eject them they would come out looking like a mini .357 mag.

not to mention the metal fatigue of your chamber after all that. and the leading/copper fouling from the bullet not being aligned perfectly with the bore.

and also burnt powder gunk keeping the HMR from chambering all the way- leading to excess pressures.

not me, man.