17 HMR SCOPE
- Thread starter nmkid
- Start date
B23
Gold $$ Contributor
The first couple years after the 17 HMR was introduced I was a 22mag loyalist and foolishly scoffed and made fun of the 17 HMR and their itty bitty teeny tiny little boolits. I couldn't take hearing about the damn things anymore so I bought one, a Savage no less which is one of my least favorite gun manufactures, with the sole purpose of proving to myself what "I thought" I already knew about it.
Welllll, long story short it took my all of about five minutes shooting sage rats to completely change my mind. I still hate Savage rifles and I'm convinced their design team are actually a bunch of anti gun people but I quickly sold any 22 mag rifles I had and I've been a 17 rimfire fan since. For my rimfire rifle uses, shooting sage rats, the 17 HMR and 17 WSM are easily my favorites.
Once you get the trigger in your A17 fixed and if it shoots anything like mine I'll be surprised if you don't really enjoy the rifle and the 17 HMR cartridge.
It’s a major leap in performance. The HMR punches way above its weight class. 100 yard shots are a total no-brainer. With a little sandbox time you’ll regularly connect at 200.
Kittitas George
Gold $$ Contributor
That Long Range reticle in my opinion is great. Not 'busy' like the 'Varminter' or ' B &C'. I used it on a 22 LR and a 17HMR. I wish I had it in my fixed 12Xs. Good glass and good triggers are critical for successful shooting. Quality equipment is cheaper in the long run. I just installed two Bausch & Lomb scopes I've had for 60 years ($100 new) on old Mod-70s. I hope to get out and shoot a few rock chucks with the 25-06.On my current 17HMR, I used the scope taken off my CZ 452 Varmint 17HMR and re-installed it on my Anschutz 1517D HB HMR. After two seasons of rat shooting with the Annie, I sold the CZ.
I use this rifle for both sage rats and rockchucks, and the Leupold VX2 4-12X is plenty for both critters, but I limit my shots at rockchucks to 200 yard head shots only to prevent crawl-off's. This scope is a Leupold catalog item, and has their LR reticle witch is a fine duplex and two vertical dots for LR holdoff. Works very well for what I do.
My take on scopes is get the best glass you can afford, as your eyes will thank you in the end.
SPRING'S A COMIN'!!!!
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
I have an inexpensive (read not super accurate) 17HMR that I bought in about 2010 ish for my kids. I put a then available Bushnell 3200 10X with plex dots on it. It has decent (not great) glass, has good tracking and it has the dots for quick holdover. I always liked a 10X for under 300 yard groundhogs and light CF calibers, and found this to transfer well to the 17HMR. I probably should have shot it more. It has not had a round fired in years. But I still think that scope is about perfect for the application. Just enough power, not too much, click or hold over, small enough but not too small.
jepp2
Gold $$ Contributor
When I read about folks talking about using a 17 HMR the most often thing they say is the bullet drop. I shoot prairie dogs all day long between 150 and 200 yards with wind. Look at this chart to compare drop with wind drift.
My hold for wind is often 14 inches or more. To consistently make hits, I need a scope that has a reference I can depend on. I most often use the Sightron STac 4-20x50 MOA-2. I use more scope on my centerfires, but this one works well for me.
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
Nothing can be further than the truth on this. When you're sitting in a hot rat patch for hours on end, your eyes will appreciate fine quality optics.
I've learned to live by the "Buy once & cry once" MO when purchasing optics because if you trade up later, it will cost more in the long run.
Isn’t that essentially Rick’s point?
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
I went back and reworded my comment because looking back it didn't come out right. I agree whole heartly with him on superior optics being easier on the eyes when glassing for several hours in the field and its the reason why all of my varmint rigs have scopes with top shelf glass [Leupold, Zeiss, Swarovski].
That way, if you get a better scope later, you will have an extra scope and a reason to buy another rifle........
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