Did Winchester Do This, with the .17 HMR???

[Johnny C. Kitchens]

Did Winchester actually come out with their version of the .17 HMR as this ad shows, or did they change course and decide to go with the .17 WSM???

[barretcreek]

What was the .17 RF Winchester teased us with in the late '90s?

[BadgerBob]

Didn't they have a recall on some of there HMR ammo a while back, could this be there way of taking care of the problem?

Bob

[Bill K]

I am not sure, but it is most likely to replace/improve the brass, as the old, or a lot of it, split when fired and they were getting a lot of complaints. So I believe they are trying to improve the brass, with new supplies. Bill K

[montdoug]

Am I missing something or is Winchester trying to answer a question that's never been asked??
We have 3 .17 HMR's around here starting with a CZ that was the first .17 HMR I'd heard of or laid eyes on back in 2002. At that time I bought a bunch of Hornady ammo for $6.42 a box from Mid South.
I've never had a problem with that ammo on anything that Winchester is claiming as an improvement, none of em! The CZ and both Anschutz guns drive tacks with that old Hornady 17 grain ammo and they get used a lot.
I'd bet my ex-wife's left leg that Winchester didn't build a plant to produce those polymer tipped 17 grain projectiles either so I'd bet her right one that those are Hornady V-Max's with different colored tips (happens all the time among manufacturers). I'd lay real long odds those aren't even produced by Winchester but are only badge engineered for them, I notice their performance numbers mirror Hornady's . So I'd wanna buy Winchester ammo over other proven designs why ??
Maybe I'm missing something here which wouldn't be all that unusual , seems I have heard a few things about split neck here and there but I've just never seen one.

[Alan in GA]

... an invitation to buy their ammo again if you once did and then stopped (?).

[fat cat]

Winchester did move the rim fire line to Mississippi. And unlike Remington Winchester loads the rim fire ammo. And Ive pulled Winchester 30gr. V-max 22 mag bullets and the primer is a different color. And there ammo has not improved! From what Ive seen its pretty bad!

[Gerald D.]

About six months ago someone on RFC insisted that Winchester was indeed making their own .17hmr at one of their plants (don't remember which one now), at any rate I looked up a phone number for them and gave them a call, got put through to "engineering" where a engineer proudly informed me that indeed they had been loading their own for a while. So I went out and purchased three boxes to try out in my CZ's, Anschutz 1717d and Quad, within two boxes I had all the info I needed, none shot it worth a hoot. I'd bet they're buying their bullets from Hornady too but that may be the best part of the round.

[Bayou City Boy]

Maybe the "beefed-up" brass and the "more efficient powder" advertising is in relation to the 17HMR/semi-auto issues from a few years back. Quien sabe....?

-BCB

[20 EXTREME]

When the 17 HMR first came my gopher hunting buddy jumped on one of the first Savage rifles that came to Canada. Once he got the trigger so it was acceptable, lost the safety, it outshot his 22 magnum by quite a margin. When the 17 HMR, CZ 452, became available in Canada I bought a Varmint model for my son. When I was sighting the scope in at 25 yards the first 4 shots went into the same hole but I pulled the 5th shot and wound up with a 0.224" group. Going to 100 yards I was able to consistently shoot 1/3" groups which were considerably smaller than what the Savage would shoot. I was most impressed as the only other rifle that measured up was my rem 700 in 7mm-08 with my best handloads.

Subsequent Chronograph tests showed that the Savage was pushing the Hornady 17 V-Max at about the factory listed velocity or a little better. The CZ was pushing them at over 2600 fps on reltively cool days. Upon cleaning the coated cleaning rod was snug in the barrel of the CZ but worked fine in the Savage. This likely explained the extra velocity and superior accuracy in the CZ. All was well until we got the CZ into the gopher patch on a day that the temperature was about 85-90 F. My son was shooting gophers, in fairly rapid succession, with the ammo sitting in the sun. We heard him holler and went over to find that he had been sprayed in the face with hot gases. Upon openint the bolt the case head extracted leaving the remainder of the brass stuck in the chamber. We managed to get the brass out and he continued shooting after we cooled the ammo down in my insulated lunch bucket. The incident spooked my son and the rifle was sold.

We stayed away from the 17 HMR for many years but I took a CZ 452American in trade a couple of years ago and have been pleased with it's performance. It is indeed an awesome rifle and round to use from the window of my truck. However, like the 17 HH, the factory ammo is loaded hot enough with temperature sunsitive powder, to cause problems on very hot days.