Q: I own a Remington Model 504 rifle chambered in .17 Mach 2 for which I am finding
it hard to get ammunition. My local gunshop doesn’t stock any saying that there’s no
demand for it. After making a lot of phone calls I managed to get some from a big
Sydney gun shop. What happened to the Mach 2? My rifle delivers sub MoA groups
for five shots at 100 metres and kills rabbits and foxes very convincingly. Is the .17
HMR all that much better?
Noel Harris
A: I tested the Remington Model 504 in February 2005 and found the Mach 2
performed exceptionally well. Hitting 2100fps with a 17gn V-Max bullet the Mach 2
was a little brother to the .17 HMR. It was based on the .22 LR Stinger case, beefed
up slightly and necked down to .17 calibre with a 20 degree shoulder, whereas the .17
HMR used the larger .22 Magnum case to gain an extra 450 fps and 50 percent longer
range.
There’s quite a difference in performance which makes me wonder why
Remington went to all the trouble of developing the smaller Mach 2. According to
Hornady, they began work on the Mach 2 in late 2002 right after the .17 HMR hit the
market, but they should have known that speed sells, and it would take a miracle for
the Mach 2 to circumvent the phenomenal sales figures enjoyed by the .17 HMR. With
ammo only slightly cheaper than its larger sibling and such a big difference in velocity,
the .17 Mach 2 was doomed never to get off the ground.
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