Optimal .17 HMR barrel length?

roky0702

New member
I want to get a .17 HMR for small game hunting and was wondering about barrel length. Is it an efficient cartridge out of shorter 16" barrels or does it greatly benefit from the extra velocity out of a longer barrel? I will probably get a rimfire suppressor in the future which has me leaning shorter, but with that aside, I was hoping you guys could share your knowledge and experience of the cartridge.
 
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I have 2 HMRs, a 22" Marlin and 24" Cooper. Both shoot very very well and will run hundreds and hundreds more without a cleaning. I don't know about barrel lenght vs. FPS on the HMR, never looked into it. I'm sure there is some good info out there on it though.

They sure are fun !
 
No scientific proof here but I'm betting with it being a small capacity rimfire cartridge that it doesn't greatly benefit any from the longer tube. I cut my NEF 17hmr to 16" and use my 5.56 can. Love it!
 
Bull Berry Barrels has a great write up on 17HMR velocity's on there web page. Looking at there numbers it seems you are only giving up 25fps when going from a 22" barrel to a 16" Barrel. There max average velocity was reached with the 19" barrel at 2538fps.

Personally I cut my marlin to 17.5" and have never looked back.
 
Here is some data that I posted here on the forum in March of this year:

So I recently had my Marlin 17VS barrel cut from 22" to 16.25" and threaded 1/2x28. To be honest, I was expecting some healthy velocity losses. The following data is not meant to super scientific but thought it may interest some. Your results may vary.

3/10/2015 1730 hours
Butterfield Range
68 degrees F
4300 feet elevation
Humidity about 40%

Ammunition used is Hornady 17HMR, 17gr v-max (from the same box, that was unopened to this point). Velocity printed on the box states 2550 ft/s. 10 shots suppressed and unsuppressed were fired with approximately 5 seconds between shots and 5 minutes in between the two (suppressed and non). Chronographs is an RCBS and placed 9 feet from the muzzle. Suppressor is an AAC Element 2. No cleaning at any point was performed.

Unsuppressed (in ft/s)
1. 2556 High
2. 2524
3. 2535
4. 2523
5. 2532
6. 2460 Low
7. 2497
8. 2554
9. 2555
10. 2533

Mean= 2527
ES= 96
SD= 28

Suppressed (in ft/s)

1. 2502
2. 2513
3. 2531
4. 2509
5. 2527
6. 2564 High
7. 2458 Low
8. 2547
9. 2509
10. 2540

Mean= 2520
ES= 106
SD= 28

All calculations are what was provided by the chronograph.

Overall, I am very pleased and now have a very compact and lightweight little gun that has been around since 2003.
 
I do not have any data for the 22" barrel before it was cut. I am just happy that I am still getting box velocity (well actually about 25 ft/s less on average) from a now shorter, lighter and more fun gun. It is one of my more used rifles.
 
That's good to hear that the 17 HMR doesn't suffer too much from shorter barrels. I guess it will ultimately come down to how handy I want it to be, price, and just overall quality/appearance. I'm leaning hard towards a CZ 455 American with the traditional wood stock. The cheaper Savage Tactical models with 16" barrels look enticing also. I'll keep researching, but is there anything I should know (pros/cons) about the popular 17 HMR manufacturers? CZ/Savage/Marlin/Ruger?
 
They are all good (CZ, Savage, Marlin), well almost. As I said, I have the Marlin and a buddy has the Savage. Both have been good shooters from day one, right out of the box. Another buddy has a Ruger, that both of us shooting couldn't get better than about 3" with several types of ammo. He re barreled it with a Shilen, I believe, and it shoots better now but he is still mad that my $300 Marlin does better. IMO, the Ruger is a good looking rifle, but they don't tend to be a shooter right out of the box compared to others. Again, not saying the Ruger isn't capable, just my experience (hands on, not "well I heard from a friend of a friend stuff") There is also a price difference as well. Just my .02.
 
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I have 2 17hmr's, a Savage A17 and a Ruger Compact American. I had both barrels threaded for my rimfire can, and both are deadly. I haven't really taken the time to do a side-by-side to see which is more accurate, but right now the Savage wears a better scope and I think that gives it the edge.

One to stay away from is the Henry lever action with the octagon barrel. I had one, beautiful rifle but wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn. 2.5" at 100 yds was the best it would do, most groups were worse. A buddy recently bought one thinking mine must have been a lemon, nope his is bad also.
 
I've got a Savage 93/17 that I had the barrel threaded on but I didn't have it shortened but I do have a Sav. Bmag 17WSM that is the HB SS 22in barrel model that I had shortened to 20in and threaded. I Chronographed it with my Magnetospeed and it shoots 2990-3000fps with the 20grainers. The gunsmith that does a lot of my work has a CZ 17 HMR that he cut back to 19in and he told me it shot faster after he cut it back.
 
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