Rumors of demise of of the 17 Mach 2 exaggerated?

I noticed a few tidbits on the internet from a few years back about "reintroducing" the Mach 2...I guess Savage decided to chamber the A17 for it? I ran across ammo for it online, which was a little surprising, and at a pretty reasonable price, all things considered.

I used to have a Mach 2 Contender barrel, maybe it was before the introduction of the HMR. I also had a Handi chambered for it for a brief period. I thought it was an interesting round but basically useless unless you had reason to get rid of pests. I did like it for short-range accuracy, though. Flatter than the 22LR and very quite out of a longer barrel.

I've been thinking about a rimfire Contender barrel in pistol length and it crossed my mind that it might be sort of cool to revisit this round. A scoped 10" or maybe a little longer could be pretty cool for target and plinking. I had figured that it was essentially obsolete once the HMR took over but maybe there's a critical mass of firearm offerings that will keep the ammo in production for a while.

Anyone had experience with it in pistol length barrels? Or longer barrels, for that matter?

JA
I like the round so much that I have it in a 14 inch pistol barrel and a 18 inch carbine. I think about letting the 14 inch barrel go from time to time and shooting the 18 inch one as a pistol and carbine depending on how I feel at the time. But rifle Scopes on a pistol is still a concept I can't get use to. And since I spend so much time behind the handguns with pistol scopes I think I shoot them better than as a rifle.
They are very destructive on squirrels but head shots at 40 to 50 yards with the carbine gives me a smile in the fall woods.

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Originally Posted by Kylongrifle

...And since I spend so much time behind the handguns with pistol scopes I think I shoot them better than as a rifle...

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I know what you mean...From the bench, at least, I can lock down a pistol on a rest or bipod so that it feels dead solid and the crosshairs look like they're glued to the target. Seems like no matter what I do with a rifle, it's hard to get it quite as steady. :)

I've been thinking about a 10" because it seems handy for plinking or woods walking but I'm sure 90% of the rounds down the tube would be from a bench and into a 100 yard target. A 14" or 15" with a nice scope is probably my best bet. From that point it's a matter of figuring out whether I'm better off with a good 22 LR barrel just for the sake of saving the cost of ammo. Seems a little boring though. :D :D :D

Attachment 10395
12 5/8” OTT 17 mach 2 contender and savage bolt 17hmr

had em out not too long ago. Fun guns.

Not sure about the shorter barrels but the 14 inch has just enough weight with a wide flat forend mounted to it , it rest on the sand bags and barely moves when fired. In the back yard my favorite targets are just the colored push pins from the dollar stores. I'll place about 10 to 15 on a sheet of note book paper and shooting at 50 yards. Hunkered down on the sand bags with my left hand pressing downward on the scope I can actually watch the push pins turn into a colorful splattered holes. A big enjoyment for the fun factor of the 17 mach 2.

Probably the only thing funner on the backyard range is shooting 22 LRs CCI quiets thru the 10 inch barrel suppressed at steel targets. ,Click---------tink :)

I have never owned or fired a 17 Mach 2 but I always thought it would be the quintessential squirrel round. If I ever get one it will probably be a carbine barrel.

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Originally Posted by BobT

I have never owned or fired a 17 Mach 2 but I always thought it would be the quintessential squirrel round. If I ever get one it will probably be a carbine barrel.

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I like the idea of a carbine as well, but I've been looking for examples of velocity tests with various length barrels and it looks like somewhere in the range of 14+ inches, the drop in velocity from carbine lengths is insignificant. A nice accurate long pistol barrel could make for some pleasant and rewarding range sessions. :) I do remember that when I had a carbine length barrel, it was very quiet.

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Originally Posted by J A XSP

I like the idea of a carbine as well, but I've been looking for examples of velocity tests with various length barrels and it looks like somewhere in the range of 14+ inches, the drop in velocity from carbine lengths is insignificant. A nice accurate long pistol barrel could make for some pleasant and rewarding range sessions. :) I do remember that when I had a carbine length barrel, it was very quiet.

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If I do get one it will be threaded and I suspect very quiet also :becky:

I maintain an interest in .17 rimfires, while Ido shoot a .17 Remington in a 14" Contender. For a pistol, a 14 or15 inch barrel is about right. I prefer a rifle scope on mine.

For quite a while, the mach2 became my go-to number one first choice when sneaking around in the squirrel woods....i ended up with a 14" stainless wearing a Burris 3-9xAO, and also a 20" fluted bull carbine, topped with a 4-12x...both barrels by Match Grade Machine.

My squirrel hunting spots have increasingly been invaded by hogs, and even with head shots the mach2 wasnt quite up to snuff for piggies, so i haven't carried it as often the last few years, but when we are in pig-less areas, the mach2 is still a favorite.

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Originally Posted by FyrepowrX

For quite a while, the mach2 became my go-to number one first choice when sneaking around in the squirrel woods....i ended up with a 14" stainless wearing a Burris 3-9xAO, and also a 20" fluted bull carbine, topped with a 4-12x...both barrels by Match Grade Machine.

My squirrel hunting spots have increasingly been invaded by hogs, and even with head shots the mach2 wasnt quite up to snuff for piggies, so i haven't carried it as often the last few years, but when we are in pig-less areas, the mach2 is still a favorite.

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Speaking of pigs a good friend of mine had an extremely bad run-in. I always felt terrible about it because I was responsible in large part for it happening.

He always had trouble with pigs and he'd just shoot 'em with whatever he had handy. He could shoot out his window at a feeder he kept for deer. I had given him a little Handi rifle in 17 Mach2 and he was absolutely tickled pink with it. He had any number of great rifles sitting around at his disposal but he really loved that the little Handi was a gift and he carried the damn thing everywhere with him. He came up on a pig or saw one out the window and nailed it with the 17 and it went down right away. He didn't think a thing about it and walked over to where the pig lay. It turned out that the pig wasn't down for good and got up and attacked him. All he was carrying was that single shot 17 and it took him quite some effort to get it loaded and put another round where it would stop the pig. He'd tripped and fallen and the pig tore him up pretty good before it was all over. In a way I'll never forgive myself for starting that whole thing in motion.

So far nove have tried to chew on me, but twice in the last year i've rang their gong with a mach2 headshot; one dropped & flopped but got up & wobbled off, never to be seen again. The other one, which was much larger, took off like a scalded cat & didnt even slow down.

Seems like the sure way to see pigs lately is to have the wrong gun in hand.