The boxes of ammo that I received were all marked "First Production Run". I shot two boxes (100 rounds) of the 17M2 in my new H&R/New England Firearms Sportster with a 20 inch heavy barrel and a 6-24x42 BSA Contender scope. I used both a front and butt rest.
I was a bit taken back when I pulled the first round out of the box. This little sucker is REALLY small. If you do not believe me, here is a comparison photo.
(L to R: .17HMR, .17M2, .22LF, .22WMR)
As you can see, the 17M2 is a necked-down .22LR.
I guess that I should have kept a target or two for show, but I didn't. I was too disgusted. At the most, I managed to get two or three shots to group and then the next several would fly all over the place, by as much as five inches at 50 yards. I seemed to have more fliers that I did hitters near POA. There was absolutely no sembalance of consistency.
I didn't have too much time to spend at the range so I did not take my chrono. I will make sure I take it the next time that I try this stuff out. I suspect that there might have been quite a bit of fluctuation in the muzzle velocity.
I was thoroughly disappointed in the performance of the 17M2. I hope that this is a first production run problem and that Hornady will get it fixed. Remington is also coming out with the 17M2. Hopefully, theirs will work better. It would be hard to imagine it being worse.
Since you can only shoot paper targets at the range I go to, I did not try out the 17M2's hitting power. I hope to be able to do that in a couple of weeks.
IMHO, you might want to wait while before investing any money in a rifle for the 17M2. The 17M2 just might be the Edsel of the bullet world.
aj
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p089.ezboard.com/bmilsurpafterho ... ajcarey</A>
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