Looking for a .17HMR scope? Learn a little about the history of the ammunition before purchasing. The .17HMR and the .17Winchester Super Mag are the smallest firearm caliber you can find. The .17HMR was developed by Hornady in 2002 and has been a widely used varminting , practice and match caliber. The .17HMR never surpassed the .22LR in popularity because of it’s expense (about 3x that of 22LR) .
But it is still technically the flattest shooting round out there.
The .17HMR is a great round for some varminting, but not for larger game hunting; unless you put the round into a wild boars head at 300 yards; most of the time it will take down the game. Many coyote hunters prefer the .17HMR or the Winchester Super Mag to take their game at closer ranges.
Firing this supersonic bullet at small targets like a squirrel will likely cause it to explode. The caliber is great for hunting raccoons, prairie dogs, foxes , and even coyotes if the wind is right.
The small size and shorter range limit its use for hunting small or medium-sized game. The fact that .17 HMR is more expensive than the .22LR , it doesn’t detract from the joy of putting these small projectiles down range with the ease of a .22 Caliber rifle.
The .17HMR family offers several bullet weights and velocities; depending on what you intent to shoot.
In 2007 , we at PFI introduced our first .17HMR rifle scope in a straight 6X optic with the reticle designed to be used with the .17HMR only; with no illumination. In 2009 we took the scope a step further; by popular demand , and rolled out our 3-12×42 scope offering both the reticle for the .17HMR and the .17 Winchester Super Mag! And 3-color illumination; red, blue and green.
The numbers on the right are calibrated for the .17HMR; out to 300 yards max range, and the .17 Winchester Super Mag on the left; calibrated out to 400 yards max. This to afford the shooter to shoot from zero out the max range without using “Kentucky Windage” to guess the distance.
Hornady
20 grain at 2,375 feet per second
17 grain at 2550 feet per second
15.5 grain at 2,525 feet per second
Hornady Mach 2
17 grain at 2,100 feet per second
15.5 grain at 2,050 feet per second
If you mount our scope on a .17 Winchester Super Mag then here’s some data for you Hornady 17 Winchester Super Mag 20 grain V Max Express at 3000 FPS; that’s why our reticle for this cartridge goes out to 400 yards!
I personally own a Savage .17 HMR and never get tired of shooting it with our Rapid Reticle .17HMR/WSM 3-12×42 mounted on my rifle. To commemorate the PFI 17HMR/WSM, we are having a sale on these scopes and hope that if you have been waiting to get yours; now is the opportune time to do so.
Please contact us with your comments or questions. Every PFI employee is knowledgeable shooter and happy to assist. We guarantee you will love our products, or we will take them back!