Another .17 HMR incident : HSE Informed

[Springerman]

Hi just read through all 12 pages and just to ad my two penneth using blue tip hornady had one good long hangfire enough time to lift my head away from the stock and missed my bunny but still a safe shot,then had three failed to fire at all and three more very quick hangfire's and two where main powder charge failed to burn but primer was enough to push bullet into the barrel, first one was dealt with as you would a hangfire after waiting nearly half a min ejected case but dropped it into long grass and couldn't find it at first, I still had the shot on so went to reload but felt resistance on the bolt stopped removed bolt and hey presto blocked barrel and end of session i then found case with powder still intact, second one was at the range and used a rod to push it out, i have since sent two emails to hornady but as yet i am still awaiting a reply and the last email was over two weeks ago so maybe after two weeks i ain't going to get a reply and i still have nearly two hundred rounds that i really don't want to use, and if hornady don't want to reply where do you go next?

 

[I. Farticus]

Nudging 15,000 views and 120 comments... Doesn't fill me with thoughts of "oh boy, do I want a .17 HMR!" It might be a truely awesome calibre, but clearly there are issues and if I can't trust it, I'm not going to shoot it. The .22LR is safe for now

 

[8x57]

Hi just read through all 12 pages and just to ad my two penneth using blue tip hornady had one good long hangfire enough time to lift my head away from the stock and missed my bunny but still a safe shot,then had three failed to fire at all and three more very quick hangfire's and two where main powder charge failed to burn but primer was enough to push bullet into the barrel, first one was dealt with as you would a hangfire after waiting nearly half a min ejected case but dropped it into long grass and couldn't find it at first, I still had the shot on so went to reload but felt resistance on the bolt stopped removed bolt and hey presto blocked barrel and end of session i then found case with powder still intact, second one was at the range and used a rod to push it out, i have since sent two emails to hornady but as yet i am still awaiting a reply and the last email was over two weeks ago so maybe after two weeks i ain't going to get a reply and i still have nearly two hundred rounds that i really don't want to use, and if hornady don't want to reply where do you go next?

Your contract wasn't with Hornady it was with the person that you purchased the ammunition from. Take the remaining ammunition back and demand a replacement or refund as the goods were not of merchantable quality. Any replacement ammo should of course be from a different lot/batch. If the retailer messes you around and tries to involve his supplier go to trading standards.

 

[bongo]

I totally agree with the OP further investigation is required into ammunition batches that are dangerous, or could lead to the potential serious injury or incur death of someones life
If the manufacturers Hornady are aware of the occurrences then a factory recall of all faulty goods made should be issued.
I have also had something very similar happen to me ,only I did manage to do a final check before engaging the second round.
I use .17 hmr hornady red tips

On Misfiring, I ejected the round ,The head or tip of the bullet became dislodged from the case after ejecting the case ,expecting the bullet to be intact,this was not the case.
The bullet tip was still in the barrel

I luckily had a rod in the car and dislodged the bullet tip and still keep it as evidence if required.to prove the ammo is faulty

The report was made to the gunshop and the answer that I recieved back was ,"nothing to do with me mate" its a manufacture issue

Now I treat each round with caution ,pre inspecting the neck for any damage before I load into the mag

Keep us all posted on what the manufacturer or importer intends to do

Good Luck

.. +1 upto "nothing to do with me mate" In my case i rang the RFD and explained he said bring in the rifle and he would sort it with the supplier of the ammo EDGARS , but as im around the corner from them i by-passed the rfd a 40mile round trip and went in direct to EDGARS (pre-arranged) Who checked the rifle over ordered a new stock and gave a ample amount of replacement ammo and could not of been more helpful . So the point is that they do accept responsability .

 

[Redleicester]

I don't see why people are still messing with the 17HMR. This has been a problem for years and it isn't getting any better by all accounts.~Muir

It's been quite interesting reading through this thread. Just to respond the above, as a new FAC holder and new member: I went to several shops asking daft newbie questions about fox and rabbit control and all of them without hesitation recommended .17HMR. Further, when I had my interview, the officer also heartily recommended it as the "right" calibre for what I want to be doing, without any hesitation or equivocation. From those conversations there were more cautionary tales about .22 ricochets and being careful,about that with the .17HMR being lauded as a "safer" round.

As ever, any accident or dreadful damage always provokes caution, but until this thread (and a couple of comments elsewhere) I had no idea of the "massive" problem, nor have some very helpful salesmen, or an officer given any sort of suggestion there are any problems.

One wonders at the failure rate of firearms / rounds versus the volume manufactured... I can't help but think that shocking or not, the only percentages are frightfully low, no matter what internet reportage might have one believe.

 

[Cyres]

Not sure if I ever replied but I have never had a reply from the HSE. I am informed if you have issues these must be raised through your local Trading standards officer.

I wouldn't buy a .17 HMR


D

 

[wivenhoe65]

It's been quite interesting reading through this thread. Just to respond the above, as a new FAC holder and new member: I went to several shops asking daft newbie questions about fox and rabbit control and all of them without hesitation recommended .17HMR. Further, when I had my interview, the officer also heartily recommended it as the "right" calibre for what I want to be doing, without any hesitation or equivocation. From those conversations there were more cautionary tales about .22 ricochets and being careful,about that with the .17HMR being lauded as a "safer" round.

As ever, any accident or dreadful damage always provokes caution, but until this thread (and a couple of comments elsewhere) I had no idea of the "massive" problem, nor have some very helpful salesmen, or an officer given any sort of suggestion there are any problems.

One wonders at the failure rate of firearms / rounds versus the volume manufactured... I can't help but think that shocking or not, the only percentages are frightfully low, no matter what internet reportage might have one believe.

There are an awful lot of us still using our HMR's quite happily , i would say that i am more careful using it but that's the point - caution , i inspect all rounds before using them , i have found none yet with split necks out of the box - probably lucky that i have not bought any of the badly made batches , plenty of split necks after firing though .It fills a niche for me ,if i had a bad experience i might change my mind - but until then it just too useful.

 

[Redleicester]

That's the thing, all the farmers and gamekeepers around me swear by their HMRs, with nary a bad word said about them.

 

[bobjs]

I have to say in all the time and ammo I ave used in my hmr's over the years I have only had one bad round of ammo that I can recall,

I sold my last one a long time ago and got another a few months back to do a job, and still no issues, it's now up for sale on a couple of places as I no longer need or use one, but it's nothing to do with the ammo problems just the plain and simple fact that I don't need it,

And if I could hold on to it I would as I think it's a cracking wee round of ammo that has a spot in some cabinets,

Bob,

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Having had a HMR explode on me I can tell you it ain't nice. However, I still have one and currently I am running through a really crap load of ammo. About 10% are squibs. So
1. If when I pull the trigger nothing happens then it is mag out, bolt out and check up the spout to make sure there isn't a blockage. To be fair, even with good ammo and knowing it is because I am out of ammo, I still do the above check....... Just to be sure.
2. Always, always, always carry a cleaning rod to remove the bullet.

I love my HMR, it is a fantastic rifle, but at the moment the batch I am going through is a pain.
I must have a look for bad necks, bit difficult to do at 2 am in the morning out in the field. Lol

 

[NorthDorset]

Having had a HMR explode on me I can tell you it ain't nice. However, I still have one and currently I am running through a really crap load of ammo. About 10% are squibs. So
1. If when I pull the trigger nothing happens then it is mag out, bolt out and check up the spout to make sure there isn't a blockage. To be fair, even with good ammo and knowing it is because I am out of ammo, I still do the above check....... Just to be sure.
2. Always, always, always carry a cleaning rod to remove the bullet.

I love my HMR, it is a fantastic rifle, but at the moment the batch I am going through is a pain.
I must have a look for bad necks, bit difficult to do at 2 am in the morning out in the field. Lol

And quite right too!

What ammo are you using?

I use a rotation system in my ammo cabinet and I'm into several hundred Hornady before I change again and all I can say out of the first hundred they are "sweeeeet!" Entire 10 round mag into a half inch black spot at 50m whilst zeroing the Vortex scope I have mounted on mine recently.

 

[25 Sharps]

I have just bought a .22Hornet to replace the WMR I sold recently, I kept the HMR over the WMR purely as I preferred the 452 varmint HMR over the 452 american WMR that I had. My initial HMR experience was not great my first shot on quarry (81st with the rifle) was a squib and lodged in the barrel, fortunately having read threads like this one my immediate reaction was to check for just that.

I now check every round under a magnifying glass and over 600ish rounds from various brands I have found about 5 split necks. I can honestly say the HMR won't be coming out too much now I've got the hornet, I'll keep it as a backup and for the couple of permissions that are rimfire only but i'd rather spend time loading a wind stable round than checking for splits in 1 that I can only use in calm conditions.

 

[rodp]

With all this rumpus over HMR going on if anyone feels the need to get rid of theirs then I'm looking for one.

I would think with all the bad press I should be able to get a CZ or Savage complete with mod and scope relatively cheaply

I have the slot, so let's see what turns up

 

[bobjs]

With all this rumpus over HMR going on if anyone feels the need to get rid of theirs then I'm looking for one.

I would think with all the bad press I should be able to get a CZ or Savage complete with mod and scope relatively cheaply

I have the slot, so let's see what turns up

Well I have one but it's not cheap, and I have had one misfire in 10 years so the hype stops here

452 cz Varmint 20"
New unfired dm 80 calibre spacific mod
1 x 5 shot mag
bushnell sportsman 4/12/40 plex boxed bikini covers
scope rings for the above
shot just under 250 rounds
trigger done to my liking
550 17, Grain ammo
spare right hand stock


£540

Bob.

 

[rodp]

Seen it on here and other forum Bob, too expensive for what i want. Shame really as I go through Tidworth now and again to my brothers in salisbury.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I was out with my .17 Fireball recently.

My shooting buddy asked "Do you regret getting rid of your HMR?"

Funny thing was, it took me a second or two to remember that I'd ever had one!

But seriously, if I didn't reload, and if I were regularly shooting more than a couple of dozen rounds a night, and if I needed more accuracy than the .22WMR could provide, and if ranges were greater than the .22LR or FAC air could stretch to... I might consider getting another.

 

[bobjs]

Seen it on here and other forum Bob, too expensive for what i want. Shame really as I go through Tidworth now and again to my brothers in salisbury.

no worries bud

just dropped it to £500 collected on that other forum, not seen a lot of action but I am not selling it for nout

have a good one bud

bob.

 

[rodp]

Think the problem you have Bob is there's several about that are £150/£200 cheaper, they're just too far away for me. They may have a few minor dings etc but that doesn't really matter for a rifle that's going to be leant against stone walls etc.
I can wait, not in a rush

 

[The Singing Stalker]

And quite right too!

What ammo are you using?

I use a rotation system in my ammo cabinet and I'm into several hundred Hornady before I change again and all I can say out of the first hundred they are "sweeeeet!" Entire 10 round mag into a half inch black spot at 50m whilst zeroing the Vortex scope I have mounted on mine recently.

Im using hornady at the moment. Think I just got a bad batch because usually I would have 1 every three or four months. Not 5 in an evening.
When I buy the next lot I will check them in detail.

 

[NorthDorset]

That is an astounding failure rate in any ammunition. Thank goodness I have seen anything like that!

Stay safe.