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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.