.17 HMR Rifle; Almost!

When the .17 HMR ammo was introduced a few years ago it renewed my interest in rimfire cartridges. This new rimfire cartridge would fire a .17 grain bullet at 2550 fps. almost as fast as my .22 Hornet centerfire.

At that time I had a TC Contender Carbine with a .22 Hornet barrel. I seldom hunted with it, but took it along in the truck when going to the farm. I liked having a varmint rifle with me. It was accurate, easy to shoot, but I was getting bored with it, and with reloading the ammunition for it.

When I originally bought the Contender it was a 10" barreled handgun chambered for the .22 long rifle. Some years later I changed it into the carbine by buying the carbine stock, and a 21" .223 barrel.

Next I decided I needed the Hornet barrel for some reason. I also had a 21" barrel in .410 shotgun and a barrel chambered for the 7-30 Waters which took a few deer. I could have simply added a .17 HMR rifle barrel for the Contender, but I was ready for a change.

My idea was that I would buy a big tool box to carry everything I took to the farm. I first thought of a .17 HMR handgun for the toolbox. But handguns are generally harder to shoot well.

The short little Taurus M62 take-down carbine caught my eye. Loosen one screw on the frame and this little carbine is two pieces about as long as a long barreled handgun. The M62 Taurus was a copy of the old Winchester pump and available in .22 long rifle, .22 mag. and .17 HMR rifle or carbine.

The .17 HMR rifle ammo is noted for accuracy, but I knew the M62 would not be a best choice to utilize that accuracy. It's a top ejection pump action, not an especially accurate rifle, not a great trigger, and it doesn't readily take a scope. I wanted to try the tang mounted peep sight option.

One reason for taking a gun to the farm was that I sometimes see a coyote, bobcat, skunk... "But!" A tiny 17 grain bullet at 2550 fps. is not a great coyote round, no rimfire is a great coyote round.

The fast and accurate .17 HMR ammo would blow up a blackbird, a ground squirrel, a crow... But I knew the M62 pump gun, even in the accurate .17 HMR would not be super accurate; especially without a scope.

There was another choice in the M62; the .22 magnum. Actually the HMR is based on the same brass. I never remember being excited about the .22 mag. not even when it was new. But I thought I should consider it. I started comparing the ballistics of the .17 HMR and the .22 WMR.

I remembered long ago the then new the .22 magnum ammo pushed a 40 grain bullet at 2000 fps. Now the charts say only 1875 fps. Not the first time I've noticed an older cartridge loose some zip :-) Why? To help sell new cartridges and guns, maybe.

Anyway, 1875 fps. is close to half way between a High Velocity 40 grain bullet in the .22 long rifle, and the 17 grain bullet at 2550 fps from the HMR.

There are several .22 mag. loads at 2200 fps. with a 30 grain bullet almost twice the weight of the 17 grain HMR. There is one load with a 50 grain bullet, and one bird shot load. Still the standard 40 grain load is likely the best for most uses.

I quickly realized the old .22 magnum would be a better coyote load, and more versatile than a .17 HMR rifle. I bought a stainless steel M62 Taurus carbine in .22 mag.

I've never shot a coyote with it, but it was devastating on the few critters I did shoot. I never really tested the accuracy. I believe the standard 40 grain bullet .22 WMR load is a better choice than the .17 HMR for bigger pest up to about 100 yards.

I also tried the shot shells for the .22 magnum, and even took a couple of blackbirds flying at close range. I really liked the M62 and the .22 mag, but I have to laugh at myself sometimes: I didn't 'need' it.

If I wanted a more serious rifle for smaller pest and a little longer range I would choose an accurate bolt-action or single shot with a scope in .17 HMR.

For small game I think the .17 Mach 2 could possibly even beat the king of rimfires the .22 long rifle. But, "as it is", I doubt that the Mach 2 cartridge will last long.

A low cost version is needed in both the .17s for plinking, it could "beat" the .22 long rifle. It could even be an alternative to a pellet rifle. If Hornady, CCI, Federal... would make a simple lead bullet version of the .17s at around 1200 fps. (Don't hold your breath waiting for it!)

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