second hand .17hmr ... avoid ?

[zzr1100]

i was told today by a gunshop to be very careful when buying a used .17hmr coz apparently they are often not cleaned properly... and therefore there is a copper build up issue .....
correct me if im wrong ... but a damn good clean with the right solvent after purchase will sort this ,, did he just want to sell me a new one .,.. or does he have a point ??

[Graham M]

Perhaps he just wanted to sell you a nice new (more expensive) one from his own stock instead of a S/H one


G.M.

[zzr1100]

kinda what i was thinking Graham ...

[judders]

Sounds like BS to me.

[Mr_Logic]

Sounds wrong to me. I'd avoid HMR anyway, pointless little calibre. Too noisy for large volume bunny bashing, expensive and only gives you 120 yards really anyway.

The 22 Hornet on the other hand, and its 17 cal relatives can be reloaded cheaply, do 200+ yards on rabbits and 200 on a fox, and pack a thump when they arrive. Much more useful.

I sold my Hornet only because my volume of rough shooting dropped and I found I was just using my 222 all the time. Hornet was a wonderful rifle. As quiet as HMR (I tested that), cheaper to shoot as reloading, and was capable of a half-inch group at 225 yards. Much better than HMR!

[zzr1100]

Sadly my permission is only cleared for rimfire ... And the police in their wisdom will not let me use .22lr on fox ... So it's .17hmr or buckshot !

[Mr_Logic]

If you have a chat they might well let you have a Hornet. They can be used anywhere a rimfire is safe; they have a similar level of drop but break up better on impact. It would doubtless be a different question if you said 223 et al. But Hornet is very different...

[DaveB]

With 17 HMR, I'd be more worried about improper cleaning having damaged the rifling, rather than copper fouling. But if there is copper fouling, a good solvent will clean it out OK.

Nothing at all wrong with .17 HMR, I love mine.

[Sandgroper]

When they said no to 22lr for fox did you ask about 22 WMR instead?

A comparison between the 17 HMR and the 22 WMR http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm

[the running man]

Not about to get drawn in on the vs question, my experience of folk claiming .17HMR as a fox batter are usually to tight to go buy a proper gun.....i wish the authorities would rule that .17HMR for fox is not on.....that will then hopefully allow a few folk such as yourselves to get a .223......ps .22 wmr is good on fox, not the best in my opinion but better than .17HMR. ...