Hornady Announces they are Making 17WSM

[K V V]

I find it a bit amusing that some of the advertising I have seen on the wsm is marketing it as a coyote round. I find that pretty laughable. Fox, yeah. But coyotes? I have a hard enought time convincing most coyote hunters I know who shoot a 223 at minimum that the 17 rem is the be all end all coyote gun. Makes me wonder if the people that Winchester has writing their advertising have ever actually shot a coyote. That said I think the wsm could be one helluva good round for night hunting raccoons in states that don't allow center fires at night i.e. Nebraska for instance. Not sure that the coon would tell a difference between the wsm and the hmr.

[Eric Mayer]

I guess I'm one of those guys sold on the round, so I must be a little off. I do like the 5mm Rimfire as well, so that might be true...

With regards to this round on coyotes, etc. I am about 80% there on it being enough for a calling rifle. I haven't started calling this year, but last year I took a couple of coyotes and a bobcat with it while stalking in an area that holds a bunch. I'm not going to re-post all the pictures and info, but I took the bobcat at 100 yards, #1 coyote at 121 yards and the last coyote at 154 yards. The last coyote didn't twitch, he just fell over dead. Here's the link to information on that hunt: First Bobcat and Coyote - Fall 2013 - .17WSM.

Here's the one at 154 yards, still on his haunches, stone dead (there are more pics at the link above):


I also killed a gray fox with it in Texas. The one and only time I've shot an animal with the 25 grain bullet. It left too much damage on the exit side, so I will be sticking with the 20 grain this year.

Back to the effectiveness of the 17WSM in a calling rifle. Most of the coyotes I call in the high desert area of California are shot within 100 yards, so this round should perform well (so far, so good, imo). The only caveat, is that I have shot many predators with a .17 Remington, so I know where to put the bullet. However, hunters that shoot when they see fur in the scope will probably be in for some disappointment.

Eric

[hemiallen]

So, where do you place the bullet? It looks like a head shot.


My FIL and his dad killed many blacktail deer with a 22LR, they would only shoot deer that were not spooked, and put a hole in their lungs. Their knowledge was, a deer usually didn't run at the crack of a 22, so they didn't usually go more than a few steps before dropping.

This was of course when the one round, one pot to fill, was the way they lived.

Allen

[Eric Mayer]

Look where the blood is dribbling out of the fur in the picture above.

Here's a close-up of the area:


Eric

[trotterlg]

Lots of these will be bought to use in rimfire only areas, there are lots of places that are limited to rimfire, Arizona even has a lot of land that is so limited. Probably not a bad nitch market. Larry

[johno]

If only a decent bolt action came on the market, can't help but think a ruger hornet action with a rimfire bolt would probably work.

Johno

[kenbro]

Lots of people will always buy rimfires of various calibers because, for whatever reason they don't reload.
I shot .22H, 22/250 and 243 for very many years and didn't reload a single one because I had more money than time then (opposite now) and, I threw all the fired cases away.
I think the 17WSM will find a following.
Ken.

[Qaz]

I predator hunt exclusively at night and hate looking for brass. Although I have used it successfully, I believe that the 17HMR and 22mag are very borderline on coyotes within 100yds at night because of the limited lighting. I may well try the 17WSM if a good quality rifle comes out that is affordable. My best producing spots are both fairly close to houses and a 223 & 17FB which I have been using attract attention. The 17WSM with it's reduced sound signature, step up in power over the other rimfires and disposable brass may be the ticket in this situation.

[22 HORNET]

hell with the new stuff tell them to get the old stuff out. 35 gr V-MAX

[brians356]

Originally Posted by Eric Mayer

or it could be ATK (CCI). If it is the latter, we are going to see some interesting results.

I haven't followed previous developments along these lines. Could you expand on what you might expect from a 17 WSM made by CCI? Not trolling, I'm sincerely interested.