When: 10/22/2005
Where: Central California
Weather: Hazy Sun, Mid/Low 80's, Light wind
Firearms: CZ Model 452 American
Caliber: 17HM2 (17 Mach II) Rimfire
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm writing this short report in the Rimfire Forum, only because the report and the hunt speak more of the caliber used, than the animals killed.
I headed up with my buddy, Tom, to a Central California Ground Squirrel spot where we met up with Bill D from the Go Go Varmint Board. We had just received permission to shoot a property that, up until now, had not been shot. Once we finally gained access, the morning had already slipped away with only a handful of shots fired. We setup our benches with a Walnut grove as a backstop, but as we realized earlier that morning, they were in the middle of harvesting the nuts so our shooting "lanes" were severely limited at times. The shooting was slow at first, with most shots being approximately 125 yards. The backstop was a berm that bordered the southern edge and was littered with holes. Bill and I were shooting CZ Model 452 American rifles chambered in the 17HM2 caliber. He was shooting CCI ammunition and I was shooting Hornady ammunition. Tom was shooting a Marlin lever action .22 Magnum using CCI HP ammunition.
The shots ranged anywhere from 50 yards out to the 125 yard berm. The hold-over on shots out to the berm was a couple of inches, but I zeroed 1" high at 50 yards. The wind deflection was not too bad, so the hold was only an inch or so, depending on the breeze at the moment. I'm not going to compare the 17HM2's ballistics to the .22LR in detail, within this report, as that has been beat to death in various forums on the internet. Instead, I am going to report on the kills made by this caliber and try to dispel some of the myths put out by folks who have probably never used the cartridge.
In the first location, the killing was pretty easy with the 17HM2. When the bullet connected, it made an audible "pop" and was followed with the classic "tail wave". We had only a few run off, but those were normally the fault of bullet placement. Anything hit in the boiler, died on the spot.
At one point during the day, I walked up to speak to the guy running the harvesting operation at the Walnut grove next door. I borrowed Tom's .22 caliber pellet rifle, hoping to kill some of the Ground Squirrels that had taken over the land-owner's front yard. I came to find that he too was carrying a pellet rifle, shooting the Ground Squirrels that were crawling on or around the equipment they were using to shake the trees and collect the nuts. After a few minutes of talking to him, we had permission to shoot within the grove as well.
I headed back to our setup and shot for a bit until I realized that the harvesters had called it a day. Bill and Tom were shooting squirrels with the pellet rifle, so after a bit I headed into the grove with my CZ HM2. I skirted the trees as I entered the grove, seeing squirrels running everywhere. I dropped a couple right off, but looked down the grove and saw hundreds more. I walked down some more and sat down next to a tree using a bipod to balance my rifle. The shooting was pretty fast and furious. Most shots were within 75 yards, which is where I found the 17HM2 to perform flawlessly if I did my part. I dropped a total of 25 in a matter of minutes. One group of 12 died within feet of each other. I had a total of one squirrel run off and one other needing a follow-up shot (I had creased it's spine with the first).
Below you will find links to pictures that show each of these 12. Because of the soft dirt, you can see for yourself how far the squirrels went before they died. Only two traveled anywhere and that was within a foot or so. These are not small ground squirrels, as the picture with the boot right below will show. That is a size 12 boot, next to an
average sized ground squirrel:
After a little bit, Bill and Tom came up to join me and we shot a bunch. At the end of the day, Bill spent some time shooting in the grove and got in some pretty fast and furious shooting. When Bill finally came back, he had a huge grin on his face! He and his CZ 17HM2 cleaned up!
Here is a shot with us next to a small group of Bill's ground squirrels:
Final thoughts about the 17HM2 (17 Mach II):Over a hundred 17HM2 Ground Squirrel kills later, I can speak as someone who is educated about the performance of this cartidge.
Everyday on the internet I read about how this caliber is "dead" or "dying". These posts cannot be from people who have consistantly shot this cartridge. On the other hand, I read the glowing reports from folks like me who have shot the caliber and who are amazed by the accuracy and killing power it possesses. I'm sorry, but when it comes to killing small varmints, it blows the doors off the .22 Long Rifle. Ballistically, it is also a superior cartridge because it takes the guessing away on hold-over. Sight-in at 50 or 100 yards and the hold-over issue goes away. The 17 grain bullet is far more explosive than the standard 30 or 40 grain hp offered in the .22 Long Rifle.
Folks who have not tried the 17HM2 should and folks who bash the cartridge really don't know what they are talking about.
Eric A. Mayer
Here are the kill shots:
The 17hm2 - Results From The Field, A Short Report - By Eric A. Mayer
Oct 23 2005, 07:07 PM
