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Wildcatting: Whatever Happened To?

Wildcatting: Whatever Happened To?

There is no denying that the Hornady .17 HMR has found its niche in the shooting scene for those requiring a safe, fast, and flat-shooting small calibre varminter. Based on a necked- down 22 WMR case, it’s no wonder that its inception has sparked an entirely new interest in small calibre rifles. In a near parallel manner, the .22 Long Rifle (LR) case would undergo a similar miniaturisation, as the WMR did. The result was the new .17 Mach 2 that actually uses a .22 rimfire CCI Stinger case that launches a 17-grain V-MAX bullet, as does the HMR, but at 2100 fps, not 2500 fps.

Small and quick

So, why the need for a smaller velocity and seemly inferior cartridge using the same bullet?

Well, for nearly half the powder charge you still get a whopping 2000 fps plus velocity with a more efficient and convenient case design. The truth is the Mach 2 will sell as a rifle cartridge in its own right. Trouble is, the 17 HMR has proved so good as a vermin round, the sales of 17 Mach 2 rifles dwindled and ammunition is now hard to find, plus expensive. But I think it has a lot to offer and second-hand or new old stock rifles are still relatively cheap.

In Mach 2 I have used a Venom Arms custom Walther GX1 as a donor rifle, re-barrelled with a Walther Match Grade tube. A CZ 452 Varmint profile barrel and a Venom Arms custom stainless steel barrel to fit the older Sako Finnfire action. Ammunition is a bit limited with Eley, Hornady, Remington and CCI the only available, Remington and Eley have stopped production.

Some surprises

The manufacturing of differing types of Mach 2 ammo does yield surprisingly different dimensions, that can affect headspace and cause case splitting if the chamber reamer used for your rifle is different or bespoke, so care is needed. Hornady ammo was the first to come out and, as such, uses their V-MAX bullet in 17-grains and also a 15.5-grain NTX, lead-free version, which I am still waiting to get my hands on.

Velocities varied between the guns with Hornady. The best were from the Finnfire custom at 2022 fps, then the CZ at 2021 fps and finally the Walther at 2011 fps, but accuracy at under an inch at 100 yards was good for all three.

Eley averaged a staggering 2167 fps with a high of 2184 and low of 2145 fps. This is 67 fps above the advertised 2100-fps velocity in the Walther Venom, 2155 fps in the Finnfire Sako Venom and a healthy 2140 fps from the CZ Varmint. All up on advertised figures but higher pressures.

CCI

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CCI’s Mach 2 is the same 17-grain Poly Tipped bullet that has a velocity 2004 fps in the Finnfire Venom, 2011 fps in the CZ and 2015 fps in the Walther Venom. Accuracy is good in all three guns and the round is distinguished with a black tip. Remington uses the 17-grain weight, the same as the others and has an Accu Tip bullet design, but for all intense and purposes the same as the V-MAX but with a gold tip. That goes for all the ammo tested. The Remys shot a good, consistent 2007 fps for 10-shots averaged, that’s 152 ft/lbs energy from the CZ varmint but now sadly don’t list them. Best accuracy came from the Venom Finnfire custom, barrel length is 18” and an average velocity from the Hornady V-MAX load was 2022 fps, which is 78 fps less than the advertised 2100 fps.

The CZ rifle gave almost identical results to the Venom and so with 2021 fps from the Hornadys, the energy figure was 154 ft/lbs at the muzzle, dropping to 1460 fps/80 ft/ lbs at 100 yards, which is 400 fps Faster than a .22 LR subsonic at the muzzle. With my zero at 50 yards, the bullet rises 0.23” at 25, drops 0.35” at 80 and 1.3” at 100. That, in real terms, is flat and allows a hunter to aim dead on to 80 yards with only a slight elevation to connect at 100 yards on a rabbit-sized game.

100+

People will say how about beyond 100 yards? Well, at 125 the drop is 3.75” and at 150 it is around 7” below the 50-yard zero. Couple to this the reduction in energy and velocity figures of 1283 fps and 62 ft/lbs at 150 yards and it’s still capable of dispatching game, but why push it? The reason I think 100 yards is a good distance, is that although accurate at beyond that, the velocity drops off and it’s less likely to expand on impact. In fact, up to about 80 yards the 17-grain pill expanded well on rabbits, crows and jackdaws. But much beyond that there seemed little expansion and pass throughs were common, which means maximum energy transfer is denied to the hunter.

You have to remember that if the Mach 2 starts out at 2100 fps that this is the velocity of a .17 HMR at 50 yards and if you want a bit more range then that this is where you should be looking. In fact, put another way, a Mach 2, which is based on the same case as a .22 CCI Stinger, the longer case is for better feeding, has 14 ft/lbs less energy than the Stinger 32-grain bullet at 50 yards but the same at 100. But the .22 bullet smacks harder because of its weight advantage, but without the flat trajectory and accuracy of the Mach 2 round.

Advantage?

The Mach 2 is obviously a very accurate round and better than many .22 rimfires I have shot, it’s very flat shooting and, so long as you do not exceed its distance, then it’s about the perfect sub 100 yard rabbit gun. Meat damage is not as much as that with an HMR, although I would certainly restrict its use to small game although no doubt some will shoot foxes at 100 yards with it. If you truly shoot most of our game at sub 100 yard ranges and I know I do, unless I am specifically long-range varminting, the Mach 2 is all you need. Yes, its supersonic, so noisier but a good sound moderator fixes this. Wind drift, with any small light bullet, is an issue and yes at 100 yards in a 10 mph wind there is nearly 5”, another reason to keep shots under 100 yards in real life conditions.

For the hunter, trajectories are key to success and so Quick Load ballistics and QuickTarget ballistic programmes can give accurate down range predictions. I originally sighted in at 50 yards, as I found that if compared to a .22LR high velocity travelling at an average of 1250 fps the Mach 2 had 0.85” less drop at 75 yards and nearly 4” at 100 yards! That’s a great advantage. Similarly, when compared to a 32-grain Stinger at 1640 fps, the Mach 2 had 0.5” less drop at 75 yards but only 1.78” at 100. Not such a difference but accuracy from the Mach 2 was far superior to all the .22LR loads tested as a comparison.

75 yards

In fact, my now preferred zero range to get the best trajectory from the Mach 2 would be 75 yards. At these distances, you are –0.28” low at 25 yards and 0.19” at 50, so dead on in real terms. Zeroed at 75 and then at 100 yards you are only 1.02” low, so that long shot at a rabbit is a tiny elevation compensation. Just for interest at 125 you are –3.1” and at 150 –5.9”. Beyond that, forget it; OK for plinking at cans but no use in a sporting environment.

Conclusions

You can find many a Mach 2 rifle advertised in on-line websites and often a new old stock gun is languishing on a gunsmith’s shelf. Calibre popularity has always been a fickle mistress. Auctions too, like Holts, have real bargains, so why not have a custom barrel made to retro fit to a Sako Finnfire, CZ 455 or Ruger 77/22?

However, there are issues with uniformity with the Mach 2 round such as neck diameter, neck tension and crimp factors can affect bullet concentricity and pressure build up. The rim thicknesses were a different matter as most .22 LRs have a rim of 0.040” and headspaces off the rim. Therefore, any changes in thickness can cause a cartridge to be tight if too thick, or slack if too thin. Other than these issues I really like the Mach 2, as it’s an efficient and accurate albeit quirky round these days. But now totally at the mercy of available ammunition!

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  • Contacts: JMS Arms 07771 962121 Quickload/Target www.quickload.co.uk Norman Clark Custom work, pulled 17gr heads 01788 579651 Edgar Brothers CZ, Hornady 01625 613177 GMK CCI, 01489 579999 Holts Auctioneers Second-hand rifles 01485 542822
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