Which 17Mach2 ?

[Shrubdog]

Dear Keystoners:
Shrubdog met an older gentleman today in a gun store in NH. The fellow was looking for a "plinker" for himself before his Parkinsons sets in, it was a memorable conversation. I knew he knew much about guns and shooting soon after we began to talk. He had high praise for the caliber 17mach2, gave me a mini-lesson about it and its evolution. When I asked him to compare different makes and models, he started talking about choosing a gun like choosing a female partner; how she feels, which one you like, how you interact, etc, etc. This didn't help me compare the Savage and Marlin on display, but it was still a great conversation. I thanked him for his wisdom and shook his hand, he held on for a long time, accentuating the passage of his knowledge to me. It reminded me of my youth in Mt. Carmel, learning from the gun elders there in the '60s. I hope his Parkinsons is delayed for a long time.
Which make and model 17mach2 do you recommend for accuracy, quality, reliability...etc? Comments on a scope for the gun are appreciated, too. Thanks. Shrubdog.

[Holleta]

Dear Keystoners:
Shrubdog met an older gentleman today in a gun store in NH. The fellow was looking for a "plinker" for himself before his Parkinsons sets in, it was a memorable conversation. I knew he knew much about guns and shooting soon after we began to talk. He had high praise for the caliber 17mach2, gave me a mini-lesson about it and its evolution. When I asked him to compare different makes and models, he started talking about choosing a gun like choosing a female partner; how she feels, which one you like, how you interact, etc, etc. This didn't help me compare the Savage and Marlin on display, but it was still a great conversation. I thanked him for his wisdom and shook his hand, he held on for a long time, accentuating the passage of his knowledge to me. It reminded me of my youth in Mt. Carmel, learning from the gun elders there in the '60s. I hope his Parkinsons is delayed for a long time.
Which make and model 17mach2 do you recommend for accuracy, quality, reliability...etc? Comments on a scope for the gun are appreciated, too. Thanks. Shrubdog.

Shrubdog, I'm going to wander in a different direction in your best interest. In my opinion, the 17 Mach 2 is a worthless or near worthless cartridge as long as the 17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire) is still produced. The 17 HMR does everything the 17 Mach 2 does and much....much more. My pick is the Marlin 17 HMR bull barrel bolt.....testing by gun mags and my experience has found the Marlin to be a hair more accurate though the new Savage 17 Accutrigger is quite sweet...haven't tried Marlins version of the Accutrigger yet. Let the flames begin.

[Shrubdog]

Holleta:
Thank you for your opinion, your frequent posts suggest you know what you're talking about on guns. Shrubdog will walk more slowly through the .17 caliber debate. The greater cost of the HMR ammo was a consideration, but now I'll look for info and opinions on all aspects of the two calibers. Thank you very much, this is why I depend on the PFOA for advice up here in VT. Shrubdog.

[Pukindog]

The .17 HMR is better in all respects except for one: noise. the HM2 is much quieter. Major consideration squirrel hunting in populated areas. Come to think about it my HM2 is more accurate than my HMR. Could be the rifle, don't know. .17 HMR is a CZ, the ,17 HM2 is a Kimber.
Jeff

[Tomcat088]

Shrubdog, I would pretty much agree with what Holleta told you, although I wouldn't call the .17 Mach 2 worthless. The .17 HMR is a .22 mag bullet that is necked down to accomodate a .172 caliber bullet. The .17 Mach 2 is a .22 LR that is necked down to accomodate the same .172 caliber bullet. Generally the .17 Mach 2 is moving 450-500fps slower than the .17 HMR, and still about 800fps faster than a 40 grain .22 lr. Now in terms of price, both are MUCH more expensive to shoot than a .22lr. But, the .17 Mach 2 is a little cheaper to shoot than the .17 HMR. The .17 HMR is around $10-11 for a box of 50, and you'll see the Mach 2 for around $6.50-7 for a box of 50.

Most people who are shooting the .17 HMR are doing it for some sort of hunting. Sure some people shoot it in competitions, but the benefits of the bullet really show when you're using it on animals. Then that ballistic tip is WAY better than the traditional .22 lr. When you look at this application, the .17 HMR carries MUCH more kinetic energy downrange with less wind deflection. Realize that because the bullet is so light (usually a 17 or 20 grain bullet), it's not all that great in windy situations anyway. When the wind is blowing, I take out a .22 or .22 mag instead of the .17, because I can deal with the drop, but gusty wind makes things complicated.

My main question to you before I'd make any suggestions is what do you intend to use this rifle for? Do you want to shoot paper and competitions with it? Do you intend on hunting with it? Do you just want to learn better marksmanship with a small caliber rifle? If you're just going to be shooting paper, I would honestly recommend a nice accurized custom 10/22, over the .17 HMR. The reason being that you won't see all of the benefits (the bullet design) of the .17 HMR or the .17 Mach 2, and you won't get to shoot it as much because of how much it costs. Now if you intend on going hunting or using it on animals, I'd recommend the .17 to you because of how devastating it is. When you compare the hunting aspect of it, there really isn't that much of a comparison between the Mach 2 and the HMR, the HMR surpasses the Mach 2, with the exception of the cost. Weigh those factors heavily and if you'd like to see a bit more on some comparison of .17 loads and rifles for accuracy, etc. Here's a link to a site that I felt was pretty thorough on many things, for the general shooter. Best of luck to ya, and feel free to contact me if I can help you with any other questions. http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm