Ruger American 17HMR

[TXGunNut]

I was inventorying the 17HMR in my ammo dump and it concerned me that I had almost 700 rds of Hornady and Winchester ammo on the shelf and my 597 in 17HMR is going back to RP, coming back as a 22WMR. Houston, we have a problem.

Was knocking around Cabelas unwinding after a crazy day and found a beautiful 54 (?) Winchester with a custom walnut stock and octagonal barrel. Very nice, but pricy. Found a Savage 93R17 with a scope package but didn't much care for it. Looked at a clearance rack full of Ruger Americans in 22LR and several CF chamberings but no 17HMR. Wandered over to the gun counter and looked at other Savages in bolt and semi-auto. Then I looked at the Ruger American 17HMR bolt gun and really liked what I saw. Well thought-out and actually pretty pleasant to look at. Barrel was reasonably heavy, trigger quite nice and it fit me quite well.
Problem Solved! Didn't even notice it was on sale until it rung up, pretty sure that wasn't the price on the tag. Brought home a new rifle for less than the price of a 8 pounder of IMR4350 and a couple thousand primers (also on sale). Life is good on my little spot on the prairie!

[Bzcraig]

I'm really starting to get interested in the .17's but think I'll probably go with a 17 Hornet, will definitely have to save up cause there aren't many platforms for it. Never had a CZ but that's the direction I'm leaning.

[TXGunNut]

Now there's an interesting possibility, Bzcraig. My shooting buddy is a 22 Hornet fan and I've enjoyed his adventures with it. Quite honestly I just wanted a rifle to shoot up the ammo (and hone my shooting skills) so was really leaning towards a single-shot rifle until today. If I had a longer-term attitude towards this cartridge and rifle something from CZ would be near the top of my list. 17HMR ammo seems quite plentiful today but the 17 Hornet is intriguing, is it factory loaded or formed from 22 Hornet brass as a reloader only proposition?

[northmn]

17 Hornet is now chambered in more than one rifle and is factory loaded. Pretty hot number really. Enjoy your 17.

DP

[TXGunNut]

17 Hornet sounds like a little hotrod, will put it on my research list. Thanks.

[TXGunNut]

Got my new little Ruger outfitted with a full-sized Nikon Buckmaster scope from my "Takeoff" shelf. Doesn't look as silly as I thought it would. Word to the wise: scope mounts for the centerfire Ruger American do not work on the rimfire versions. I don't much care for the 3/8" claw-type ".22" mounting system but little else is easily available. There's something stubborn in that little bore, very much like my 597 a few years back, that so far has required the sacrifice of quite a pile of little round patches and they still come out dirty. Got the low-comb butt stock swapped out for the high-combed one so all it needs is a clean bore and a quick redneck boresight job and it'll be ready for a range trip. Ammo's already in the range bag.

[TXGunNut]

Shot my new little Ruger American today, not bad. This little rifle is going to make me step up my shooting game a but, it seems. Trigger finger still having nerve issues but it seems to be improving.
Was only able to shoot it @ 50 yards but if I kept the barrel cool it had no trouble staying under an inch. I was clearly the weak link here, trigger was quite nice and the takeoff-shelf scope was clear and adjusted in nicely (in spite of my math errors). Only issue is it's amazing how much fouling can accumulate in that tiny bore. Good thing I picked up a fresh package of patches @ Cabelas tonite, lol.
Still no 22 mag ammo on the shelf or on the Cabelas or Midway site. I think when that 597 comes back from RP with a 22 mag bbl it will be trade bait.

[TXGunNut]

Ruger is a pretty good little shooter! I really tightened down and squeezed a few sub-MOA groups out of it @ 100 but I'm barely an MOA shooters most days. A good rifle shooter could do much better, I'm sure. Bore gets dirty quick; groups grow significantly after about 40 rounds. I think I'll use this rifle to work on my bench shooting technique. Not bad for an inexpensive little rifle.

[35 shooter]

Glad to hear a good report on your ruger. Sub minute of angle at 100 yds. is head shooting on squirrels at that range. Our woods here are full of them hhhmmmm!

[Hardcast416taylor]

Last week on an on line auction site locally, 10 boxes of Win. Supreme 17 HMR ammo went for $164.95. Since I don`t buy this ammo I don`t know if that was a good price or what.Robert

[TXGunNut]

Sounds like retail to me, Robert. Mine seems to like the Hornady better, I like the old $8.95 price tags.

[35remington]

Compared to locally that's a bit high.

[TXGunNut]

I guess I better shop around a bit, I think it's coming down a bit. Seems I can't find 22 Mag for any price around here, bet the shelves are full lots of places.

[TXGunNut]

Wow, that little rifle is a shooter! Mirage was a beast today but I had some really good groups today. Tossed one round out of a group that looked like 1/2" @ 100 yards, 3 out of four in that group were touching. I'll shoot a ten round group someday but for now this little rifle is helping me become a better rifle shooter.