Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game 17HM2 is the best squirrel round I've found

That's all about that needs to be said after the experience I had with it this weekend.

One actually moved 3", the other just went toes up.

Why this round isn't getting more of a following I'll never know.

Under normal circumstances it's because of price and availability compared to .22LR ammo. These days that's a moot point. The shop I was in on Saturday only had .17 HMR on the rimfire ammo shelf.

How badly does a .17HMR tear up a squirrel with a chest shot? If meat damage is excessive on a small animal, I would opt to just stick with a .22RF no matter how much better a .17HMR is in terms of killing power and flatter trajectory. Head shots are great, and to hear it everywhere on the internet that's all everybody does. In the real world that ain't so, me included.

That said, I have a small Martini action that I've been intrigued about building a .17HMR on.

I dont know about back east, but the round never caugt on here and I see less rifles being manufactured for it now. I figured it would be a perfect squirrel load and that the eastern market would kep it alive.....

I have been using the HM-2 for a few years in a Kimber Pro Varmint.I always try to take shots behind the shoulder thru the lungs. The HM-2 is a sure killer but seems to cause more "shock" than a HV .22 HP. This seems to make the squirrel spasm and its claws grab the tree and hang on rather then fall. When sitting on a large limb this gives the impression of a missed shot.I think this is a great round but for gray squirrel's but a .22 Winchester Power Point is still a better round for the job. I have also used CCI Subsonic HP's with pretty good success. The HM-2 could use a 20grn. HP to improve itself as a gray squirrel round. Just my 2 cents

I like how the 17 shoots so flat, and hits hard.

Suprising

I have a T-C bull bbl HM2 and a CZ 452 HM2. Both are extremely accurate and are a dandy ground hog gun. I haven't shot a squirrel with either rifle, but the ground hogs I've shot (all at 100 and less) and crows at the same distance stay right in their tracks.

I've heard that if the HM2 had come out before the HMR the popularity roles would be reversed. The HM2 is cheaper to shoot, accurate and less noisy. Its going to be interesting to watch the acceptance as the new Winchester 17 comes into the marketplace.

Here's the little T-C carbine. That's a K10 El Paso Weaver on top. Out of some 20 assorted rimfires I have in .22 and .17 its my favorite.

Concur on the idea that this is the ultimate squirrel round. I got one in a TC contender from a guy in Wisconsin that used it to thin out the feral cats at his place, and it is a corker of a round. I don't think I'll ever be without something chambered in the HM2. Ammo? Get it off the internet, someone always has some in stock.

I use a CZ452 in late season when shots can be in excess of 75 yards. I was limiting its use until I was fortunate enough to pick up a good supply of Eley a couple of weeks ago. It is a very good long range squirrel killer and as long as shots are limited to head-shots, a good option. Not a good option if body shots are the norm.

The hornady ammo groups slightly better in my Sako quad than the CCI stuff.

CCI will group tighter, but they get flyers, so i'll take the more consistant slightly larger groups