FORSAKING THE 22 LONG RIFLE When the 17 HMR appeared on the market I didn’t give


it much thought since I’d always had a 22 Hornet around the place. I could load for the Hornet for a lot less than I would pay for 17 HMR ammo, and the performance of the two rounds seemed similar enough to me that acquiring a 17 HMR rifle just didn’t seem practical. Well, practical considerations went right out the window when I first saw Hornady’s 17 Mach 2 round at the SHOT Show back in 2004. That was the year the little round was introduced. For whatever reason, or lack thereof, the 17 Mach 2 cartridge just piqued my interest. I bought my first Kimber Classic Varmint rifle in 17


These Kimber Model 82 rifles, chambered in 22 Long Rifle, are favorites of the author.


even remember where I got my fluted barreled 82 but I re- member acquiring the plain barreled one quite vividly. I had told my friend Don Duff not to leave me unsupervised at the Louisville, Kentucky, gun show so I couldn’t do something stupid. This was in 2009, as I recall. Well, he did. As we were getting ready to leave the show, Don told me to meet him at a book seller’s table where he was going to pick up some books he’d purchased. Twenty minutes alone, without adult supervision, was all it took for me to acquire the smooth bar- reled Kimber – which I needed like another hole in my head. I haven’t forgiven Don yet, but truly like shooting the rifle. By the way, I no longer ask Don to look after me at gun shows.


Mach 2 at a spring OGCA show in Wilmington, Ohio, in 2005. I took that rifle west for ground squirrels and prairie dog shooting that spring/summer as well as a 1911 Kimber pistol also chambered in 17 Mach 2. (See Varmint Hunter #63). Since acquiring that first Kimber in 17 Mach 2 it has


been a continuous downhill slide into the world of the Mach 2 cartridge. We now have two Kimber Classic Varmints, two Coopers, and an Anschutz Model 1502 sporter, all chambered for the 17 Mach 2. The Anschutz actually belongs to my wife, Helen. We also converted a Ruger 10-22 to 17 Mach 2 but sent it down the road because of reliability issues. Also in the pile are two Kimber Rimfire Target 1911 pistols for the 17 Mach 2. These guns have collectively digested something north of 20,000 rounds since I began shooting the 17 Mach 2 cartridge at ground squirrels and prairie dogs … about 2,000 to 3,000 rounds a year, on average. We’ve also shot a few squirrels and some woodchucks here in the West Virginia hills with


Page 22 Winter 2013


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