17 HMR vs. 17 WSM

[Wirehair]

Currently do not own a 17 cal. Looking at both the 17 HMR as well as the 17 Winchester Super Mag. Both look like a lot of fun. Primary use would be sod puppies and just plinking for fun. Like the idea that the 17 HMR is available in a semi-auto for a reasonable price, however the ballistic data on the Super Mag looks slightly better. Thoughts / suggestions on rifle option as well as scope would be appreciated!

 

[LBrandt]

I have the Savage A17. Fun little auto, but you have to get used to the delayed blow back. Its not like a Ruger 10/22 where you can really rattle them off. I put a Cabela BDC made for the A17.

 

[ktm450]

I have a Henry 17HMR, and love it.. use it for sod poppies, gophers and plinking. Put a 3x9x40 scope on it and called it good.

 

[thriller1]

I got one of the Marlin bolt actions with their version of the accutrigger. Hate it. Shoots all over the place. Ive tried several different scopes with no luck. I should probably send it in.

 

[Captain Ahab]

The B Mag will easily give you 100 more yards of accuracy. I own both. HMR will drive tacks out to about 150. Accuracy drops off a lot after that. B Mag will give you 250 yards and a bit more.

 

[DirtyMike]

I got one of the Marlin bolt actions with their version of the accutrigger. Hate it. Shoots all over the place. Ive tried several different scopes with no luck. I should probably send it in.

Hopefuly I didn’t sell you that gun. I couldn’t ever get it to group. Promptly got rid of it.

 

[Ponyroper]

Going on my third year with a BMag heavy barrel and I love it. Had a .22 WRM and tried to shoot pdogs with it and gave up. No problem hitting them out to about 125 yards but they all crawled or ran away unless hit just right. They seldom do that now with the BMag and the range is 250 yards without a problem using the 20 grain bullets. 125-150 yards are are gimme's especially if I use my range finder. I have found a range finder to be a great help because my range estimating skills are terrible and when you want to keep the bullet inside a 1-2" circle out to 250+ yards the bullet drop can be a big factor. I prefer to shoot prone pdogs at long distances because I can pinpoint the vertical position with the range finder and then don't have to worry much about wind drift because I have a larger horizontal target when the pdog is prone. Upped my hit percentage dramatically when I started doing this. Also I found the 20 grain bullets work much better on pdogs as the 25 grain bullets seem to often pass through without much shock or damage, kind of like the .22 mag bullets. No such problem with the 20 grainers.

 

[bowhunter88]

Have both an a17 and a b-mag. Haven't had a chance to shoot the a17 much. The first b-mag got sent back to savage with a terrible group, they sent me one back that had a little better group, bought a stock from boyds and it turned into a tack driver. I like using the 20 grain too. I think you lost around 300 fps going from the 20 to the 25 grain

 

[fj40]

I have the A17 and a Savage bolt action. Both are good, fun rifles bit it seems the A17 uses ammo quicker.

 

[LBrandt]

It will always be that way,:;:thumbsup

 

[thriller1]

Hopefuly I didn’t sell you that gun. I couldn’t ever get it to group. Promptly got rid of it.

I have a .17hmr in a Contender pistol with a 14" barrel and a 4x Leopold pistol scope. It will out shoot that Marlin all day long as long as I have it settled in solid. Shooting it free hand; not so much. I wonder, does TC make abarrel for the .17wsm?

 

[( deleted account )]

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I have an A17 with a Bushnell designed for the .17 trajectory. The thing has scary accuracy, ammo readily available. Never seems to fail to fire, at least with the slightly hotter ammo designed for it. Have only tried the regular .17 ammo a few times by accident and so far that hasn’t failed to fire either, even when dirty, and I’m not known for being Mr. Clean when it comes to gun cleaning. It gets filthy riding in the UTV! A bit undergunned for beaver and badger unless you keep pulling the trigger, but great for p dogs to 150-200 yards. Yeah, I should take better care of it but I bought it to use (rhymes with abuse) and like he old Times commercial “it takes a licking and still keeps kickin!”
I dont know much about the WSM but it seems new 17 rim fires are popping up regularly. Being first .17 kid on the block, I predict that the HMR will withstand the test of time, with most of the others eventually going the way of the 5mm rim fire grave.
If you want a FUN gun with lots of accuracy but not overly powerful potential at little more cost than a .22, and ammo available forever, Id personally go for the HMR.

 

[bowhunter12]

I have the A17 (17HMR) as well, fun gun to shoot. Takes the heads right of the red squirrels and stops the cottontails in their tracks (only things I've shot so far with it besides targets). Very accurate, not to expensive and the "key" is ammo is available with many options with a reasonable price tag. Also can get the 25 round mag for the A17 and have some fun, doesn't take long to go through ammo with 25 round mags. 17 WSM not as many ammo options, less availability, and more expensive.

 

[thriller1]

Sounds like you cats are gonna cost me some money with this A17 talk. That crooked Marlin may just reside in the pole barn for the rest of his life.

 

[LBrandt]

Did not know they made 25 rounders for A17. Checked Midway USA and fixed that. Got 4 coming for a little over 100 and free shipping.

 

[Wirehair]

Thanks for all great info and recommendations! Had the opportunity to put a few rounds through both the HMR and the WSM. Certainly different ballistics. Both were a blast to shoot. Found the a-17 HMR to be impressive out to 150 as others have suggested. The delayed blow-back takes some getting use to. I see a B-Mag in my immediate future and likely an A-17 soon after.
Thanks again!

 

[( deleted account )]

Question. I have an A-17.what is the delayed blowback people talk about?

 

[Wirehair]

Upon firing, a momentary hesitation occurs to keep the gun closed just long enough for pressure in the chamber to drop. Net result is slightly slower cycling of rounds. If I recall correctly, prior to this delay in cycling of rounds some 17 cal rim-fire ammo manufacturers were recommending that their ammunition not be used in semi-autos.

 

[tman]

I will put in another nod for the A17 definitely a tack driver as long as you know its not a long range gun and on real windy days them small bullets definitely drift but shoots the A17 ammo and hornady ammo just fine no cycling problems. It is by far my favorite gun to shoot.

 

[( deleted account )]

Upon firing, a momentary hesitation occurs to keep the gun closed just long enough for pressure in the chamber to drop. Net result is slightly slower cycling of rounds. If I recall correctly, prior to this delay in cycling of rounds some 17 cal rim-fire ammo manufacturers were recommending that their ammunition not be used in semi-autos.

Thanks. I wasn’t aware of that, and hadn’t noticed it. Still cycles much faster than my ancient fingers can pull the trigger. LOL
is it pressure issues why the slightly hotter A17 ammo is supposed to cycle better than regular? I haven’t had any problems with the regular ammo, though haven’t used it much mostly by mistake or when I run out of the A17 fodder. .