Hi, I recently purchased a Taurus tracker model .17. I plan to top this gun with a 2-6x32 Bushnell elite 3200 and use this mostly for plinking and perhaps the occasional small varmint. Does anyone have any experience with this gun or any other .17 cal pistol that could share their wisdom, ammo selection, performance on animals, or any other information I would find useful?
Taurus tracker model .17. Any wisdom?
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I'm not familiar with this cartridge in a revolver but from other experiences I would have some doubts and concerns.
First off, I have a S&W in 22 Jet which is a bottlenecked cartridge though it is a centerfire utilizing much higher pressures. This particular case shape in a revolver cylinder has had numerous problems with the case backing out when firing which then locked up the gun. This occurred with cylinders that were both dirty and too oily. The 17 HMR operates at a much lower pressure so it may not have this problem.
Second, the drop off in performance of the 22 WMR in a handgun is fairly substantial, one gets slightly less performance from the 22 mag in a 6" handgun barrel than with a 22 LR out of the typical rifle. The 17 HMR I expect would be very similar as it uses the same case and I believe the same powders. For small rests like ground squirrels and the like, I doubt there would be any noticeable difference between it and the better 22 LR rounds in effectiveness though the accuracy may be better.
Ammo is pretty much an individual gun thing. My 17 HMR rifle hates 20 gr bullets but shoots the 17 gr Federal and Remington polymer tipped bullets quite well. Others can be much less accurate.
That particular scope should work well, I find a straight 2x to be all the more I need. My main complaint is wobble and arm tremors are increased significantly with a pistol and the scope magnifies these even more. The higher the magnification, the more one notices. With a very solid rest I can use a 4x to good effect but then I'm limited in field of view and, even though I shoot and find the sights with both eyes open, it is a little more difficult to find the target in the crosshairs. Having an adjustable range should help as one can put it to where they are most comfortable and then have available higher magnifications as they need them and something that I might try if a scope floats past me cheap enough.
Other than these few concerns, possibly unfounded or immaterial for your purposes, you should have a pretty decent plinker on your hands.
First off, I have a S&W in 22 Jet which is a bottlenecked cartridge though it is a centerfire utilizing much higher pressures. This particular case shape in a revolver cylinder has had numerous problems with the case backing out when firing which then locked up the gun. This occurred with cylinders that were both dirty and too oily. The 17 HMR operates at a much lower pressure so it may not have this problem.
Second, the drop off in performance of the 22 WMR in a handgun is fairly substantial, one gets slightly less performance from the 22 mag in a 6" handgun barrel than with a 22 LR out of the typical rifle. The 17 HMR I expect would be very similar as it uses the same case and I believe the same powders. For small rests like ground squirrels and the like, I doubt there would be any noticeable difference between it and the better 22 LR rounds in effectiveness though the accuracy may be better.
Ammo is pretty much an individual gun thing. My 17 HMR rifle hates 20 gr bullets but shoots the 17 gr Federal and Remington polymer tipped bullets quite well. Others can be much less accurate.
That particular scope should work well, I find a straight 2x to be all the more I need. My main complaint is wobble and arm tremors are increased significantly with a pistol and the scope magnifies these even more. The higher the magnification, the more one notices. With a very solid rest I can use a 4x to good effect but then I'm limited in field of view and, even though I shoot and find the sights with both eyes open, it is a little more difficult to find the target in the crosshairs. Having an adjustable range should help as one can put it to where they are most comfortable and then have available higher magnifications as they need them and something that I might try if a scope floats past me cheap enough.
Other than these few concerns, possibly unfounded or immaterial for your purposes, you should have a pretty decent plinker on your hands.
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Echoing the concern about performance voiced by uglydog, the .17 HMR would really be better suited to a longer barrel, and something with no cylinder gap... something like the Ruger Charger or a bolt-action like the Savage Striker or Remington XP.
Out of a revolver, I'd stick with the .22 LR, as it doesn't lose as much performance when fired from a short barrel. If you can beg, borrow, or steal a chronograph, we'd be interested in hearing what sort of velocity you get out of a wheelgun.
Out of a revolver, I'd stick with the .22 LR, as it doesn't lose as much performance when fired from a short barrel. If you can beg, borrow, or steal a chronograph, we'd be interested in hearing what sort of velocity you get out of a wheelgun.
Thanks for your replies and opinions, I appreciate them. Now to the chrony request, I do a lot of long range rifle shooting with a 22-250 and am perhaps slightly overly precise with my loads, if there is such a thing… So I purchased a chronograph to help me see what I was really getting not just relying on the books and tables, and on a side note, what an eye opener. If you’re a hand loader and haven’t used one to test your loads definitely put that on the top of the do list. But yes, as soon as I can go pick up my gun, which should be tomorrow, I will have it on the range in a few days and if weather cooperates, set up the chrony and see what kind of speeds she is putting out.
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