CCI Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary of the 17 HMR

Twenty years ago the Product Development team at CCI set out to create several loads for the then-brand-new 17 HMR cartridge. Introduced in 2002, Hornady – working with both Marlin and Ruger – released the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, or the .17 HMR, as it has come to be known. It was created by necking down the .22 WMR to hold bullets of 0.172-inch diameter. In 2003, CCI released several loads in this cartridge to help fill the need in the marketplace for more options, many of which are now a standard within the industry.

“17 HMR has devastating terminal effect, is flat shooting, and highly accurate, maximizing effective range of rimfire ammo,” said Mike Overberg, CCI’s Director of Factory Operations. “All of our .17 HMR products were designed and engineered to maximize the effectiveness of this small, fast, and powerful rimfire cartridge; especially when it comes to hunting small game, shooting varmints, and drilling targets.” 

Currently, CCI manufactures seven different 17- or 20-grain loads in different product packaging options in 17 HMR. This includes A17 Varmint Tipped, Gamepoint, Full Metal Jacket (FMJ), V-Max, VNT, TNT and TNT Green. With the most popular being VNT for varmint or target shooting, and Gamepoint for small game. CCI VNT loads feature a Speer bullet with an extremely thin jacket and polymer tip that team up to offer flat trajectories, superb long-range accuracy, and explosive terminal performance on impact. It is the perfect combination for hunting varmints or shooting at the range. CCI Gamepoint features its iconic Dimple Tip which allows the bullet to expand like a big game bullet for maximum energy transfer. The accurate, powerful load also minimizes meat and hide damage.

“It’s nice to stop, reflect and acknowledge twenty years of producing 17 HMR,” continued Overberg. “I was a rimfire production line supervisor in 2023 when we first started building this cartridge, and I remember having to figure out how to keep our headers running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep up with demand. Our CCI 17 HMR loads have been a staple to our overall CCI product line for two decades, and we look forward to many more years of manufacturing quality rimfire ammo in this excellent little cartridge.”

---

If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, we’d love to hear them. Email us at FirearmsNews@Outdoorsg.com.