HMR mmmmmmm

[Whitebeard]

I had a Ruger 77/22 mag heavy barrel with laminated stock, it just would not shoot turning in 4" groups at 100yds with the only two brands of ammo i could find
I carried out all the accurising tricks you i read about on the rifle but it made no difference.
I then came across some RWS 45 grn JHP ammo which shrunk my groups to 2" still not good enough and £18 for 50!!
Eventually i fitted a Lilja custom barrel convincing myself that this would shrink my groups down to what my HMR could do ( around .750" @ 100yds) but it didnt, it made no difference, i even began to doubt my shooting ability, reassuring myself it was okay by shooting a tiny group with my 22BR.
The fact that this cartridge did not shoot for me even in a custom barrel brought me to the conclusion that the cartridge was at fault and it just was not capable of the accuracy i expected of it.

Ian.

 

[Laurie]

There is a parallel thread to this one running on the UK Varminting forum. Same problems - case splits in ammunition as received causing powder / primer degradation and misfires / squib loads that risk leaving the barrel blocked.

http://ukvarminting.com/forums/topic/28142-word-of-warning-for-hmr-users/?hl=17hmr#entry236846

 

[Muir]

I had a Ruger 77/22 mag heavy barrel with laminated stock, it just would not shoot turning in 4" groups at 100yds with the only two brands of ammo i could find
I carried out all the accurising tricks you i read about on the rifle but it made no difference.
I then came across some RWS 45 grn JHP ammo which shrunk my groups to 2" still not good enough and £18 for 50!!
Eventually i fitted a Lilja custom barrel convincing myself that this would shrink my groups down to what my HMR could do ( around .750" @ 100yds) but it didnt, it made no difference, i even began to doubt my shooting ability, reassuring myself it was okay by shooting a tiny group with my 22BR.
The fact that this cartridge did not shoot for me even in a custom barrel brought me to the conclusion that the cartridge was at fault and it just was not capable of the accuracy i expected of it.

Ian.

I have wrestled Rugers. I don't shoot factory Ruger barrels but for one in a M96 lever gun 22WMR. It is actually accurate. Don't know what to tell you about the Lilja barrel/ammo combo. I really don't. Influencing my opinions on the 22WMR is the fact that up until the last few years, I had a wide range of ammo to try. My rifles have definite DISlikes, but I've always found a good ammo with a bit of looking. My Marlin 882SSV heavy barrel will not shoot Winchester. (In fact, few of my rifles will) but it will put Federal into .6" at 100 consistently. My CZ American is about the most tolerant, l liking anything other than Winchester and ARMSCOR -especially anything CCI or Federal. MarinePMI, my Son and I would shoot these little pests at ranges to 125 yards with WMR's and not feel the lack.

For scale, that's a Federal 30 grain HP next to it's head. That was a 90+ yard shot, and a common occurrence.
I think your experience with the 22WMR was a hard road and all up-hill. Sorry it happened.~Muir

 

[bewsher500]

I had a Ruger 77/22 mag heavy barrel with laminated stock, it just would not shoot turning in 4" groups at 100yds with the only two brands of ammo i could find
I carried out all the accurising tricks you i read about on the rifle but it made no difference.
I then came across some RWS 45 grn JHP ammo which shrunk my groups to 2" still not good enough and £18 for 50!!
Eventually i fitted a Lilja custom barrel convincing myself that this would shrink my groups down to what my HMR could do ( around .750" @ 100yds) but it didnt, it made no difference, i even began to doubt my shooting ability, reassuring myself it was okay by shooting a tiny group with my 22BR.
The fact that this cartridge did not shoot for me even in a custom barrel brought me to the conclusion that the cartridge was at fault and it just was not capable of the accuracy i expected of it.

Ian.

was this a WMR?
something not right there I would suggest.
Can't explain your results but I have identical barrels in HMR and WMR utilising the same action (Sako Quad)
shooting four kinds of HMR ammo in 17gr and 20gr I at best could get a 0.75-1" group at 100yds
only ever tried two kinds in the WMR 40gr CCI, and 33gr Remington Accu-tip

they both shoot little cloverleaf groups around or under 1/2"
This is not off a bipod and rear bag but a rucksack and car roof!

only one I have any experience of granted but if the cartridge was inherently inaccurate that wouldn't be possible surely?

 

[paul o']

Sell it horrid ammo but a good idear

 

[mathieson]

I to am pretty fed up wiyh the hmr and seldom use it anymore they never seem to shoot consistantly good groups and quality of ammo from any of the manufactures seems to vary from batch to batch have been looking at the 17 hornet as a possible replacement has anyone used one yet?

 

[25 Sharps]

I to am pretty fed up wiyh the hmr and seldom use it anymore they never seem to shoot consistantly good groups and quality of ammo from any of the manufactures seems to vary from batch to batch have been looking at the 17 hornet as a possible replacement has anyone used one yet?

Hornet Questions

 

[JH83]

I use my Annie 17hmr 3 times a week and have done for 6/7 years. It shoots clover leaf groups at 100 yards. I have had one bullet failure, which required rodding out lightly. Quite simply put; nothing else comes close. For rabbits, corvids etc 100-150 yards, and further when windless it's just point and shoot, minimal damage and noise, it's a great round. I understand there is ammo issues but it's a teething problem for what is still a young round, just as ballistic tips took a long time to gain consistency when they came out. The only viable alternatives are a 22lr, which are useless past 80/90 yards (my rapid 7 is good to 40yards!) or a small centrefire. These are noisy and expensive, especially when you are taking rabbits near houses, and only a perfect headshot will leave a usable carcass. Just my view, people get very down on it because of ammo problems which is understandable, but it really fills the gap between 22lr, and .222 etc.

 

[Muir]

I use my Annie 17hmr 3 times a week and have done for 6/7 years. It shoots clover leaf groups at 100 yards. I have had one bullet failure, which required rodding out lightly. Quite simply put; nothing else comes close. For rabbits, corvids etc 100-150 yards, and further when windless it's just point and shoot, minimal damage and noise, it's a great round. I understand there is ammo issues but it's a teething problem for what is still a young round, just as ballistic tips took a long time to gain consistency when they came out. The only viable alternatives are a 22lr, which are useless past 80/90 yards (my rapid 7 is good to 40yards!) or a small centrefire. These are noisy and expensive, especially when you are taking rabbits near houses, and only a perfect headshot will leave a usable carcass. Just my view, people get very down on it because of ammo problems which is understandable, but it really fills the gap between 22lr, and .222 etc.

That is so seriously juxtaposition to the truth. The cartridge is in it's decline.
The cartridge has been "out" since 2002 with wide distribution since 2003-4. MarinePMI and I did tests for a barrel maker using some of the first ammo -before you could even get the stuff at the stores. It was insanely consistent and accurate. The company provided us both with custom rifles and we used them on small vermin on the Mexican border and were in rimfire shooter's heaven. But....

We can almost pinpoint the month in 2004 when the quality of the ammo took a sharp turn towards mediocrity. Rabbits were walking away from solid hits that earlier LOT's of ammo would have anchored on the spot. As other companies had their name pasted on the Hornady product, the QC began to shift. One month, Winchester was the best shooting. Next it was Federal. Next it was Remington. You jumped from maker to maker chasing the idea that this LOT of ammo might be as good as the first through third production runs. In short, it was never as good as it was in the beginning and has only gotten worse. I remember the Marine smacking 8 prairiedogs out in the open under 100 yards and all but 1 of them made it down it's hole. That was it for me. I hung up the HMR's.

I think that once Hornady had the public 'hooked'** on the cartridge, they just began cranking it out, letting the QC slip to the point where the ammo eventually got dangerous. Winchester makes their own because it was Hornady ammo with their label that was the subject of the first factory recall of HMR ammo many years back. And the ammo continues to be hit and miss for quality.~Muir

(** I remember "Gun World" magazine announcing "The First True 200 yard Rimfire Varmint Cartridge!!" which was totally false: Their article spoke of hitting prairiedogs, not killing prairiedogs, at that distance. The presses hard sell took though.)

 

[JH83]

I must have been lucky!

i do remember getting a quantity of blue tipped stuff that was cheap, and that penciled through often so it was only used for head shots and practice. I have to confess my experience of the rest has been good (aside from the one failure) and I have shot thousands of rounds. I would be interested to see what sales figures are like; my locals shops still seem to sell them like hotcakes.

again, if it were to become obsolete I have no idea what I would use, I have a lovely 222 but that's a very expensive mallet to hit a rabbit with, and I don't see a hornet being much less....

I can only hope that the manufacturers get their act together! Time will tell.

 

[finnbear270]

Years ago when I had a CZ .17 HMR, I was out with a friend, He commented you'll never hit that squirrel (circa 200 yds), I promptly placed a round just under it's ear. but slowly & surely those hits became less of a guarantee, then the serious issues crept in.

 

[kes]

Has anyone tried the .17 hornet ?
I have one in CZ with a 'varmint' barrel using an N870 nightsight. Flat to 200+ yds and reloadable ammo. Works well for me but still in the early 100's of ammo. Havent cleaned it, unless wet as mentioned.