17 Mach 2

[flatwater bill]

Saw this ammo in the store for the first time in 10+ years. Also saw a lightly used rifle. Wondering whether to buy rifle and the seven boxes of ammo......or will I be left with a wall hanger? Will production cease....again? Anyone have any experience with this cartridge? ............FWB

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I have a buddy with a Ruger 10-22 chambered in 17 Mk2. He loves it.

 

[JRWcows]

I have a few of these all bolt actions they were the first ones to be made in the 17 cal’s. Before the big craze of the 17 HMR’s.. Both are very accurate to 100 yards. The ammo for the mk2 or much 2 are available off and on.. the best way is to buy them by the brick already usually makes big runs every few years.. they’re always available I’m GunBroker..;-)

 

[Trogon]

I have a Savage Mark II, didn't like the synthetic stock so put it in a Boyd's laminate. Hornady 17 grain V-Max had the best availability and I have mostly that. A little frustrating with shooting groups, I'll have 3 or 4 almost touching at 100yards in calm shooting conditions and then one or two flyers that push it out to 1.5 inches. Accuracy seems to fall off after 25-30 rounds, so if range shooting I'll bring a cleaning rod and push dry patches through as needed. I've not used it for hunting but really should in the future. I've seen enough availability locally it wouldn't stop me from purchasing. What rifle are you looking at, @flatwater bill?

 

[flatwater bill]

They only had Savage.....a used bolt but said could order in a semi-auto and have in two days......FWB

 

[flatwater bill]

@Wyatt Smith Didn't know Ruger made one on 10-22 platform......FWB

 

[Inline6]

Lilja makes replacement barrels for three 17mk2 in a ruger 77/22. Another option, appears they see good accuracy. If we could find plenty of ammo at a reasonable price a 17WSM would be on my list.

77/22 17 HM2 In-stock! - Lilja

Varmint Taper: .920 Diameter Shank for 3.000" then straight taper to .688" at 21" (blank dimension shows 24" finish) Bull Barrel: .920" diameter straight and 21" long in .22 caliber and weight is 3 pounds 6 ounces. At times we have un-crowned barrels on the shelf that can be finished at...

riflebarrels.com

 

[rgsiii]

@Wyatt Smith Didn't know Ruger made one on 10-22 platform......FWB

I don't believe Ruger did. This is likely an aftermarket modification.

 

[rgsiii]

Saw this ammo in the store for the first time in 10+ years. Also saw a lightly used rifle. Wondering whether to buy rifle and the seven boxes of ammo......or will I be left with a wall hanger? Will production cease....again? Anyone have any experience with this cartridge? ............FWB

I have a few and like them. Right now ammo is easy to come by. Who knows what the future holds for any ammunition availability. https://ammoseek.com/ammo/17hm2

 

[Hogpatrol]

There were a couple custom outfits making 17HM2s in auto loaders but not Ruger or Savage. . There are 17HMR autoloaders made by Savage, the A17, and a few custom outfits. I have four 17HM2s, two CZs, an Anschutz and a Ruger 10/22 I heavily modified that can only shoot discontinued Eley ammo. The available Hornady is too hot. Accuracy is on par with the 17HMR at 100 yards and with this cartridge, any wind is not your friend.
Back to the op's question. it's a good round for groundhogs and other small vermin out to 100-150 yards and as @Trogon posted, they need cleaning after a box or so of ammo. Same goes for the ammo availability, load up when it's available. For Africa stick practice, I use the Ruger on the Rudolphs shooting clay birds on the silhouette berms for Africa practice.

 

[rgsiii]

There were a couple custom outfits making 17HM2s in auto loaders but not Ruger or Savage.

Actually, Savage made or makes an A17 in 17HM2. It is very likely the least accurate gun I have ever owned.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Actually, Savage made or makes an A17 in 17HM2. It is very likely the least accurate gun I have ever owned.

Interesting, I did not know that. My experience with Savage 17HMRs was they needed a couple hundred rounds through them and a dose of JB borepaste to get to an acceptable level of accuracy. On the other hand CZ and Anschutz were accurate right out of the box.

 

[rookhawk]

Saw this ammo in the store for the first time in 10+ years. Also saw a lightly used rifle. Wondering whether to buy rifle and the seven boxes of ammo......or will I be left with a wall hanger? Will production cease....again? Anyone have any experience with this cartridge? ............FWB

I don't think its a survivor in the war of new calibers. It doesn't give you that much of a bump over match 22lr ammo of which there are infinite choices. The 17HMR on the other hand is a marvelous rifle caliber that shoots like a laser to 110 yards. I'm a huge fan of the 17hmr and it seems to be the one that will survive. The 17 winchester and the 17 mach 2 are destined for obscurity.

 

[WAB]

I’d stay away from that 17 Mach 2. As has been said, it is already obsolete. As @rookhawk said, the HMR is the way to go. I have one in a t-bolt. It is a stellar rifle.

 

[rgsiii]

I think your cartridge choice depends on what you want to do. I think for squirrels and similar stuff up to 80-90 yards the 17 HM2 is a great choice. There is plenty of ammunition around now and people have been saying it was a dead cartridge at least 15 years. I have about 7 rifles in this round and only the 17A is a dog.
The 17 HMR is a great cartridge. For stuff like squirrels it is overkill in my opinion. I have three or so rifles in this round. It is about five cents or a bit more per round to shoot than the 17HM2.

 

[Hogpatrol]

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^ It's my #1 go to gray squirrel gun. As far as dead? The same thing was said about the 17HMR when the 17WSM was introduced. If any one is dead it's the 17WSM. If you check the rimfire forums, you'll find plenty of guys that love the 17HM2.

 

[thriller]

Saw this ammo in the store for the first time in 10+ years. Also saw a lightly used rifle. Wondering whether to buy rifle and the seven boxes of ammo......or will I be left with a wall hanger? Will production cease....again? Anyone have any experience with this cartridge? ............FWB

The gun works great for squirrels I have one from Kimber but the bullets suck to find. That being said I can head shoot squirrels at 75-100 yards if you buy it try to buy as much of the Hornady ammo as you can get. The CCI ammo has neck-splitting issues.

 

[flatwater bill]

Bought 5 boxes of Hornady.....for a gun I don't own.............they said they'd have 7 more boxes and a rifle soon.....hoping.......thanks for info...............FWB

 

[flatwater bill]

@rookhawk Ya, the rational part of my brain knows you are right. That small part. .....FWB

 

[flatwater bill]

@Hogpatrol Wow....you bought into this cartridge bigtime. Now I've got my toes in the water....told them I'd take a new Savage bolt gun. Havent seen it yet, but the other calibers look like Tupperware junk Still, it's cheap, and if it shoots like other Savages, then it'll be ok. About the only tags I can draw anymore are for rockchucks, and I've got plenty of them. It's a settled area, and report can be a problem. I used to use the Hornet but am scaling down. Used .22 WMR last year and shot 50 chucks at one setting with 56 shots. 3 of those shots hit barbed wire. .....most shots under 75 yards.....I'll bet that Anschutz is a tack driver...now, will a 17 grain bullet kill a 12 pound chuck? .....thanks for info.............FW Bill