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Today was the first day I really got down to business with this new rifle. It sports a BSA Sweet 17 scope and I was shooting 17GR. Hornady ammo.
Wow.
I was shooting at around 125 yards and it's an absolute tack driver. I've shot the same .22 rifle with a Weaver scope for 50 years at this range and I'm not too bad with it but the new .17 is so much more accurate I could hardly believe it. Way fun.
I love+hate my .17HMR heavy barreled varmint rifle. I love the accuracy (most of the time), but hate the "flyers" that I got CONSTANTLY (about 1 in 5-6 loads) when the cartridge was new; thankfully, they seem to have improved QC on the ammo a LOT lately, have been having far fewer weird flyers with newer ammo lately :)
What's a varmit? You shoot vomit 125 yards? Wow! Why would you shoot vomit? It's not like its going to jump up and hurt you; just don't get too close to it. :)
Nothing beats a 6.5mm Swedish Ackley Improved or a .25/06 with handloads at 880 yards though... but you sure go through a lot of powder.
Me handloading? Nobody wants that. People from the neighborhood leave ammo on my front porch just so I won't be thinking about messing with powder...
I purchased one last year(i think) anyway i love mine, i just had to purchase a better clip cause the one that came with mine did not hold the shells well and they would flip out of clip.
I only use it to thin out the turtles in my ponds so they don't take over.
Love my 17hmr. Picked up a 7mm STW lat week and cant wait for my dies and Berger bullets to come in.
Yeah the .17 HMR is sweet. Fun and cheap to shoot. I definitely have had the fliers issue too; while it's improved, that 17-grain little pill just doesn't buck much of a breeze.
The 17's are really fun and a great small round. You should try the 20gr, it is a bit more reliable. I recently bought a Cooper in 17Fireball, it is a Varmint Extreme with several upgrades, it is a great round.
I have had my Henry Varmint Express .17 HMR for 3 years. So far Henry 6 vs Coyotes 0. Most recent was a couple weeks ago. I tolerated them for several years, firing over their heads or using birdshot when they came too close. When I watched them repeatedly try to lure my 90 lb airedale beyond the invisible fence, in broad daylight, I declared open season. A cattle rancher from Florida told me about the .17, and I always wanted a lever action rifle. I need to put a better scope on it but it still does the job it was meant to do.
Savage used to make junk when I was growing up now I went out and got a model 10 predator hunter 22-250 and a 17. Both are some tack driving machines! Went east of the mountains sage rat hunting last weekend and most shots were out about 110 yds and I would not have bothered with the .22. The farmer did not allow centerfire so the .17 was the choice. I would not know about cheap though, just got a good sale for $8.99 a box of 50.