Commercial .17 caliber market: Saturated?

[Tommie]

I'm a disciple of P.O. Ackley and a confirmed sub-caliber loonie. That being said it's becoming apparent that things have run their course in the commercial market. Here's how I see it:

1) 17 Rem. Brought sub-cals to the mainstream. Was,is, and will be a niche chambering.
2) 17 HMR. Wildly successful rimfire. Here to stay.
3) 17 HM2. Coat tail rider of the HMR. Rifle manufacturers dropping it quickly.
4) 17 Fireball. Remington tried to cash in on the great 17 Mach IV. Declared dead.
5) 17 Hornady Hornet. Commercialized 17 AH. One stumble after another.
6) 17 WSM. Shades of the 5mm Remington rimfire?

Again, I love the tiny bores. I wish every one of the above could have made a giant splash, but several are victims of a circus of errors and seem doomed an early demise.

Hope I'm wrong though.

 

[Eddie Harren]

Go to www.saubier.com and discover a whole herd of "small caliber loonies".

 

[Tommie]

Go to www.saubier.com and discover a whole herd of "small caliber loonies".

Been a member of Jim Saubier's site for years!

 

[thekriebles]

Go to www.saubier.com and discover a whole herd of "small caliber loonies".

+1 for the above mentioned site. It has a ton of info for the small caliber and unique sub-caliber wildcats.

 

[tuck2]

I have tried the 17 HM2, 17 HMR, 17 Hornet, 17 Fireball and 17 Rem rifles. Should a company come out with a quality accurate 17 WSM rifle and quality ammo I ll give it a try.. Its more 17 caliber rifles than I need but they all are fun for shooting prairie dogs. There are a number of wildcat 17 caliber cartridges but I m not getting them. Is the market saturated ? Yes

 

[Rupe]

I have been shooting a 17 Mach IV in a TC Contender carbine format for quite a few years. Last year I had a barrel made by Bullberry in that chambering for a Contender pistol. Both are extremely accurate and deadly on our PA groundhogs ! Really enjoy them.

Chuck - Rupe/PA

 

[snert]

All are niche guns for PD's. I would like to see more 20 cal commercial rounds...say 2o vartarg, etc

 

[mshelton]

I was disappointed in seeing the HM2 fade away, always thought it would be a great pistol round.

A scoped Ruger MKII or III can shoot 3-4" groups at 100yds with decent ammo, was hoping to see one in HM2 and figured it would cut those groups in half, making a great little critter getter for the truck.

 

[moorepower]

I have a 77/22H/17HH with a PacNor supermatch, and I love it. The rotary mag feeds perfect, it is very accurate, and it is a laser. It is much quieter than a .223 so the dogs stay up longer.

 

[SShooterZ]

Having a .17HM2, .17HMR and .17Fireball I think the only thing I'm missing is the .17 Remington. For PDs though, the .17FB and .17HMR are just excellent fun little rounds.

I know lots of folks that shoot coyotes with the .17Rem, just not sure I would go smaller than a .20 Cal.

But to the OP, yeah, I would agree that the .17 market is getting pretty flooded. I wish they would focus more on the existing like .17HM2 instead of trying to release new like the .17WSM.

 

[moorepower]

I'm a disciple of P.O. Ackley and a confirmed sub-caliber loonie. That being said it's becoming apparent that things have run their course in the commercial market. Here's how I see it:

1) 17 Rem. Brought sub-cals to the mainstream. Was,is, and will be a niche chambering.
2) 17 HMR. Wildly successful rimfire. Here to stay.
3) 17 HM2. Coat tail rider of the HMR. Rifle manufacturers dropping it quickly.
4) 17 Fireball. Remington tried to cash in on the great 17 Mach IV. Declared dead.
5) 17 Hornady Hornet. Commercialized 17 AH. One stumble after another.
6) 17 WSM. Shades of the 5mm Remington rimfire?

Again, I love the tiny bores. I wish every one of the above could have made a giant splash, but several are victims of a circus of errors and seem doomed an early demise.

Hope I'm wrong though.
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I have to think the 17HMR would qualify as a giant splash.

 

[Ackman]

I'm a disciple of P.O. Ackley and a confirmed sub-caliber loonie. That being said it's becoming apparent that things have run their course in the commercial market. Here's how I see it:

1) 17 Rem. Brought sub-cals to the mainstream. Was,is, and will be a niche chambering.
2) 17 HMR. Wildly successful rimfire. Here to stay.
3) 17 HM2. Coat tail rider of the HMR. Rifle manufacturers dropping it quickly.
4) 17 Fireball. Remington tried to cash in on the great 17 Mach IV. Declared dead.
5) 17 Hornady Hornet. Commercialized 17 AH. One stumble after another.
6) 17 WSM. Shades of the 5mm Remington rimfire?

Again, I love the tiny bores. I wish every one of the above could have made a giant splash, but several are victims of a circus of errors and seem doomed an early demise.

Hope I'm wrong though.

Doesn't really matter what the factory makes or what others shoot. I've shot 17's since the mid 80's, never anything factory, and they were around long before I discovered them. Whether something's commercial or not is irrelevant.

 

[xswanted]

Unless more companies start producing and can make 17WSM ammo readily available I'd say that one is already on the way out.

 

[Phil]

Don`t forget the .17-222 / .17 Tactical / .17 PPC / .17 Javalina and many others that are LOTS of fun to play with.........

 

[GrocMax]

Hands down favorite for PD's is still the 20 Prac (or similar). Airtime and explosions (good velocity), velocity AND bullet BC for the 39-40's, low recoil- see all the hits, flat shooting, stays shooting for a couple hundred rounds, barrel life good.

But when there's a bunch of dumb teenagers and kiddos out there its a blast to pick them off on the run at 75-150 yds with a 17HMR.

 

[ericbc7]

If CZ comes out with a 17 WSM I will buy it up to $800

 

[coonhunter70]

If the 17 WSM were a 20 WSM then I'd have one.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

1f the 17 WSM was a 19 Calhoon, I'd think about it.. Out of all the 17's listed above I only see the HMR and 17 Rem surviving

 

[rickiesrevenge]

If the 17 WSM were a 20 WSM then I'd have one.

Isn't that the 5mm Mag?

 

[WyleWD]

Doesn't really matter what the factory makes or what others shoot. I've shot 17's since the mid 80's, never anything factory, and they were around long before I discovered them. Whether something's commercial or not is irrelevant.

+1 on Ackman's post.

They are an addictive caliber, and an amazingly effective round. I haven't owned a bolt 223 since I started to use the 17 Rem for varmints and predators. No need.

If there were more chucks and coyotes around here I'd own a couple more 17 center fires in a heartbeat. WD