Just a word here, gentlefolks. Over here in yUK, over the past few years, we have been having a LOT of trouble with this little round. Most of the .17HMR guns over here are used on what we call pest control - vermin like crows, rabbits, but mostly foxes, the only predator over here now that the Romans have killed all the bears. As such, the guns are about 99% fitted with moderators so that the mostly night-shooting doesn't spook cattle or sheep.
So?
Soooooo, if you have a misfire or fail-to-function cartridge, you are still going to get that firing-pin click, regardless of whether or not the bullet has actually left the barrel. With that extremely effective mod fitted, that's all you are going to hear anyhow. Recoil with a ten-pound rifle/night-sight combo is virtually non-existent, especially through a few layers of outdoor clothing.
This, you would agree, is NOT a good thing, and has led to a large number of damaged rifles, although, thankfully, AFAIK, no injuries apart from a shake-up and wake-up. Three of FIVE CZ rifles in ONE dealership waiting collection had the magazine blown out of the action, with distortion of the trigger plate. In each case I looked at, there was an obstruction about six or seven inches up the bore from the chamber. Not wanting to compromise any investigation, that's as far as I went.
Another problem was finding a box of fifty containing many, sometimes as much as half, of the rounds with split necks. Obviously they were not fit to shoot, and were returned post haste.
I'm not going to go public with the brand-name invariably associated with this unpleasant occurrence, but PM-ing me will get it if you don't already know, but would like to.
I stress that I have no dog in this race. I'm a target shooter, and I can only have a lead or FMJ cartridge calibre that is used for this purpose. .17HMR - a violently expanding little game shooting cartridge - is not any kind of a target round here in yUK.
tac