A few months back I had decided to start looking for a new squirrel rifle for this fall and I had heard a lot about the 17 cal wonders out there that being the 17 HMR and the 17 Mach 2. There is a lot to take in, between the two choices. For me the choice was a lot easier because my main goal was for a good squirrel round. Something with a little more zip than my Marlin 22 long rifle. Both of these rounds would serve the purpose but after seeing what the 17 HMR did to the meat on a squirrel if not placed directly on the head I opted for the Mach 2 this little round is super fast and super flat shooting out to 100 yards. This is in my opinion the ultimate squirrel round.

I ended up at my local gun store and looked at several models ranging from $150 to $600. After looking at several models I decided on the marlin 717 M2 what a handy little gun, short and light and easy to maneuver through the woods. It is one little semi-automatic that will really surprise you when you get to the range I picked this gun up for $200 and I am very pleased with it to say the least.

The first time to the range I of course used Hornady Mach2 ammo. We have been using Hornady ammo here at Writeoutdoors for about three years now and it has never let us down and this trip to the range proved to be no different the fist time out. We ran 150 rounds through the little Marlin and not one mis-fire, jam or split cases which I have heard other people complain about with some of other brand ammo in the 17 Mach 2. We sighted in at 50 yards and this round is one flat shooter almost no drop at 100 yards.

Our next trip to range was even better by this time Carl Zeiss had sent us a Conquest in a 2.5 - 8 x 32 scope to try out. This was the clearest scope I had ever used. Crystal clear is the only way to describe it. So now we could see what this gun along with Hornady ammo could do as you could imagine as with any rifle a scope makes all the difference in the world. We again zeroed in at 50 yards and then the fun began. The ammo proved again to be very consistent with no strays and no mis-fires or jams. At 50 yards you can cover 3 shots with a dime and at 100 yards you can cover three shots with a quarter we ran another 150 rounds through the Marlin with no problems what so ever.

Here are the specs on the Hornady Mach 2

17gr. V-MAX bullet

polymer tipped

muzzle 2100 fps energy /166

100 yards 1530 fps energy/ 88

200 yards 1134 fps energy/49

AS you can see a big difference between the Mach 2 and 22 long rifle and the cost of the ammo is very reasonable at about $6 for 50 rounds which a good box of 22 long rifle can cost about the same and with the 17 HMR going for about $11 a box I don’t know how you could go wrong with the Mach 2 its fast flat and a squirrel hunters dream come true. So this fall give the Mach 2 a try and don’t forget the Hornady ammo.