The Ultimate Squirrel Rifle
The Mach2 had a great start in life, and because manufacturers could easily convert their 22LRs to the Mach2 just about every gun maker came out with something chambered in the cartridge. But alas, it turned out that semi-automatic weapons could (and some did) have a problem with the cartridge, one that could cause damage to the weapon. In addition case necks might crack on some of the earlier releases of ammo.
When this news became known most manufacturers ceased production of 17 Mach2 products. Although the problem was only with semi-autos, most firearm makers must have decided that the cartridge was not worth the risk, as production of most guns stopped. CCI and Eley were the two original manufacturers of ammo and Eley has stopped production.
The good news is CCI has committed to continue producing the ammo, and Savage offers two models of their Mark II rifle at a very reasonable price. And if you save up a little more money Cooper and Anschutz also chamber for the 17 Mach2. Word has it that, on occasion, CZ makes a special run of Model 452s, but this could not be verified. So, although the Mach2 hit a snag in its early life, it is not a fatal one. Everyone I know who owns a 17 Mach2 loves it, so I suspect it will regain its popularity.
Tristan showing off his 50 yard target.
But back to the issue at hand… the ideal squirrel rifle. I decided to do my part in spreading the word on this fine little cartridge. The first was to get my ten year old step-grandson Tristan to realize that the 17 Mach2 is the perfect squirrel cartridge. He was ripe for the picking… his dad and granddad were hunters and hunting was already in his blood.
So I asked him if he would like to bag a squirrel at fifty yards. The conversation went something like this; "Wow… what would I shoot it with?". Wherein a nice little CZ rifle with a Nikon 4X scope was handed to him with the comment; "I think you could drop squirrels at a hundred yards with this." With a very big grin he replied, "Gee, really? That's a long way off to hit a squirrel." Then I suggested we go to the range one day when the weather is good so he could try the rifle to see what he thinks.
The first nice day we packed up the CZ rifle and a couple of boxes of CCI ammo and headed for the range. The two of us had been shooting before and I knew he handled guns with care, so I mounted a Harris bipod on the rifle and set things up at the bench. Before turning the rifle over to Tristan I decided to check the scope by shooting a group at a hundred yards. But when I looked through the four-power scope I could not even see the small bulls-eye so another, larger target was mounted. Even then the cross hair in the scope was so wide it covered the black bulls-eye.
It was quickly obvious that hunting squirrels at a hundred yards with a four-power scope is not a good idea. But what the heck… guessing at the point of impact I let loose five shots and moseyed down to the target to see if it had been hit. The result was a five-shot group that measured about two-inches. The target stand was moved back to a more realistic fifty yards and the rifle was turned over to Tristan.
He latched on to the rifle and settled down to show his stuff. A group of targets had been tacked to the stand and Tristan started addressing them in logical order, five rounds to each target. In a few minutes he looked over at me like I was supposed to read his mind. Of course I knew what he wanted… to go check the targets. So when the range was 'cold' we headed down to see the results.
His eyesight is much better than mine, and he started grinning before we reached the target stand, giving me an indication that he was pleased. Sure enough, he had done some mighty fine shooting, with groups averaging less than an inch, and right on the money. Of the fifty or so rounds fired all but one would have dispatched a squirrel.
After shooting at standard targets, the ones with bulls-eyes, Tristan wanted to try a target that was the image of a squirrel. The new target was mounted at fifty yards and he settled into position at the bench. Slowly and painstakingly he squeezed off five shots. When the fifth shot was fired he became very anxious to check his target, so we ambled down the range to take a look. All five shots were well placed in a group measuring 0.982-inches, and any of the shots would have been fatal to a tree rat.
I looked at Tristan and jokingly asked why he had aimed for the gut rather than the squirrel's head. With a big grin he said it reminded him of the time he brought a bag of five squirrels to his Poppa, and a couple of them were gut-shot victims. As he pulled one of the gut-shot squirrels out of the bag his Poppa began to heave and said, "Throw that darn thing down the hill as far as you can throw him".
When this news became known most manufacturers ceased production of 17 Mach2 products. Although the problem was only with semi-autos, most firearm makers must have decided that the cartridge was not worth the risk, as production of most guns stopped. CCI and Eley were the two original manufacturers of ammo and Eley has stopped production.
The good news is CCI has committed to continue producing the ammo, and Savage offers two models of their Mark II rifle at a very reasonable price. And if you save up a little more money Cooper and Anschutz also chamber for the 17 Mach2. Word has it that, on occasion, CZ makes a special run of Model 452s, but this could not be verified. So, although the Mach2 hit a snag in its early life, it is not a fatal one. Everyone I know who owns a 17 Mach2 loves it, so I suspect it will regain its popularity.
Tristan showing off his 50 yard target.
But back to the issue at hand… the ideal squirrel rifle. I decided to do my part in spreading the word on this fine little cartridge. The first was to get my ten year old step-grandson Tristan to realize that the 17 Mach2 is the perfect squirrel cartridge. He was ripe for the picking… his dad and granddad were hunters and hunting was already in his blood.
So I asked him if he would like to bag a squirrel at fifty yards. The conversation went something like this; "Wow… what would I shoot it with?". Wherein a nice little CZ rifle with a Nikon 4X scope was handed to him with the comment; "I think you could drop squirrels at a hundred yards with this." With a very big grin he replied, "Gee, really? That's a long way off to hit a squirrel." Then I suggested we go to the range one day when the weather is good so he could try the rifle to see what he thinks.
The first nice day we packed up the CZ rifle and a couple of boxes of CCI ammo and headed for the range. The two of us had been shooting before and I knew he handled guns with care, so I mounted a Harris bipod on the rifle and set things up at the bench. Before turning the rifle over to Tristan I decided to check the scope by shooting a group at a hundred yards. But when I looked through the four-power scope I could not even see the small bulls-eye so another, larger target was mounted. Even then the cross hair in the scope was so wide it covered the black bulls-eye.
It was quickly obvious that hunting squirrels at a hundred yards with a four-power scope is not a good idea. But what the heck… guessing at the point of impact I let loose five shots and moseyed down to the target to see if it had been hit. The result was a five-shot group that measured about two-inches. The target stand was moved back to a more realistic fifty yards and the rifle was turned over to Tristan.
He latched on to the rifle and settled down to show his stuff. A group of targets had been tacked to the stand and Tristan started addressing them in logical order, five rounds to each target. In a few minutes he looked over at me like I was supposed to read his mind. Of course I knew what he wanted… to go check the targets. So when the range was 'cold' we headed down to see the results.
His eyesight is much better than mine, and he started grinning before we reached the target stand, giving me an indication that he was pleased. Sure enough, he had done some mighty fine shooting, with groups averaging less than an inch, and right on the money. Of the fifty or so rounds fired all but one would have dispatched a squirrel.
After shooting at standard targets, the ones with bulls-eyes, Tristan wanted to try a target that was the image of a squirrel. The new target was mounted at fifty yards and he settled into position at the bench. Slowly and painstakingly he squeezed off five shots. When the fifth shot was fired he became very anxious to check his target, so we ambled down the range to take a look. All five shots were well placed in a group measuring 0.982-inches, and any of the shots would have been fatal to a tree rat.
I looked at Tristan and jokingly asked why he had aimed for the gut rather than the squirrel's head. With a big grin he said it reminded him of the time he brought a bag of five squirrels to his Poppa, and a couple of them were gut-shot victims. As he pulled one of the gut-shot squirrels out of the bag his Poppa began to heave and said, "Throw that darn thing down the hill as far as you can throw him".
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