So what level of accuracy should you expect from the .17 HM2? It will vary a bit from lot to lot from the same manufacturer, but when the more accurate lots are fired in a match-grade barrel, they will average 0.25 to 0.38 inch at 50 yards and 0.50 to 0.75 inch at 100 yards. It is not unusual to see individual groups fired with the .17 HM2 run considerably smaller. The smallest 100-yard group I have fired with one of my personal rifles was with Remington ammo, and it measured 0.26 inch.

When discussing the pros and cons of the .17 HM2, I must not overlook the safety factor. Whereas the bullet of the .22 LR has a tendency to hang onto most of its original weight and ricochet off into the wild blue yonder, the bullet of the .17 HM2 disintegrates into extremely small pieces upon impact so long as the range does not greatly exceed 125 yards.

During one of my test sessions, I filled 2-liter plastic bottles with water, aligned them three deep at 100 yards, and shot them with Hornady's .17 HM2 loading and the CCI .22 LR Stinger load. The .17-caliber bullet went to pieces inside the first bottle with only a single small jacket fragment making its way through the near side of the second bottle and coming to rest inside it. The 32-grain bullet of the Stinger completely penetrated all three water-filled bottles and disappeared into the dirt backstop.

As I see it, the .17 HM2 has only two things going against it. One is the fact that it heats up a barrel much quicker than .22 LR ammo. This only becomes important when you are defending your position from stampeding flickertails.

The other knock against it is cost. The least expensive .22 LR high-velocity ammunition I could find locally was Federal American Eagle at $1.20 per 50-round box, although I have seen it for less than a buck a box in discount stores. Moving on up to top-of-the-line loadings, such as Federal Game Shok, Winchester Power-Point, and CCI Mini-Mag, we arrive at $1.80 to $2.05 per box, while CCI Stinger ammo runs around $3.60 per box (those prices are bound to zoom upwards with the alarming increase in the cost of lead). In comparison, CCI and Hornady .17 HM2 ammo I priced in several stores ran from $5.70 to $6 per box, while Eley wore a $7.20 price tag.

All things considered, I believe our newest .17 will see the most use as a serious small-game cartridge, whereas the .22 LR in its many forms will still rule over casual paper punching and other recreational shooting. That is okay by me since it was never meant to replace the .22 LR anyhow. Rather, it was designed to fill performance slots not filled by its parent cartridge, and it does an outstanding job of that. No battery is complete without rifles chambered for the .17 HM2 and the .22 LR.