CCI V-Max .17 HMR ammunition is an ideal rimfire cartridge/bullet combo for squirrel hunting. The polymer tip enhances accuracy and rapid expansion, making it easy to shoot squirrels with speed and precision. You’ll see this ammo featured in “Lookin’ Up,” a HuntStand Original Film.
Small game hunters benefit from shooting rimfire calibers to minimize meat loss. Rimfires are great for honing your rifle-shooting skills because of their low recoil and affordable ammo, and they’re an obvious go-to for plinking or killing pesky varmints.
CCI is perhaps the most reputable rimfire ammunition manufacturer, with a proven track record of consistency in both quality and availability. The company loads all the most popular rimfire rounds, ranging from .22 LR to the “magnum” .22s. In that lineup you’ll also find several variations of the venerable .17 HMR.
Extend the range of rimfire and devastate varmints. These rounds are loaded with the Hornady® V-Max® bullet, a polymer-tipped design that produces flat trajectories, extreme accuracy and explosive expansion on impact.
Will Brantley, a devout squirrel hunting veteran, is a big fan of the FMJ bullets when trying to hunt squirrels with his .17 HMR. “I like ’em because you hardly lose any meat with a good headshot, or even with a lot of body shots,” he noted, referring to the fact that FMJs essentially pinhole the squirrels because they’re non-expanding bullets.
On the other hand, I had great success in the squirrel woods while shooting CCI V-Max .17 HMR ammunition. Being new to squirrel hunting, I quickly realized how tough the shots can be. The V-Maxes expand with the slightest resistance, so it’s a nice insurance policy when I don’t make a perfectly centered headshot on the squirrels.
Coming out of the barrel at around 2,500 FPS, you can expect sub-MOA accuracy from most CCI loads in .17 HMR … if you do your job behind the trigger. With a 100-yard zero, you can confidently take lethal shots on squirrels from zero to 100 yards with no concern about ballistic compensation.
