Ruger 10/22 and 17 HM2 Warnings

Warning to Left Handed Shooters:

Shooting the Ruger 10/22 left handed, with or without a 17 HM2 conversion installed, exposes your eyes, face, and body to any debris, ejected shell casings, ammo or mechanical failure resulting in case ruptures or explosions that exit the gun from the ejection port. Shoot left handed at your own risk. If you cannot accept this responsibility, return whatever 10/22 product you purchased from us within 10 days for a refund or credit. If you keep it past 10 days, you accept responsibility for your own safety by default. Always wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

Warning About Safe 10/22 Scope Mounting:

Be sure all receiver holes are plugged either with scope mounting screws or plug screws. Remember any gases or debris that exits the receiver will find its way through an open scope mount hole and follow the scope mount back to your face and eyes. Wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

Warning About 17HM2 Brass Cracks and Ruptures:

Cracks may be visible in fired 17HM2 cases. This is not unique to 10/22 conversions but also appears in 17HM2 bolt guns, etc. An unnamed source at Hornady said they were aware of this and had done tests that showed it did not effect accuracy or performance. Apparently the cases cannot be annealed during the manufacturing process. Always wear safety glasses and hearing protection.
Firing Pin Rim Ruptures with 17HM2 - This can occur with the Ruger 10/22 conversions and is caused by either too deep or too sharp of a firing pin impact, essentially cutting into the rim and creating a weak spot that can rupture with either a hole or a hole and rim split. The easiest solution is to replace the firing pin with our full width, Accuracy Firing Pin which is wider and causes far less of a cutting, distortion, or weakening of the rim at impact. Always wear safety glasses and hearing protection.
Squib Loads and Barrel Obstructions - In thousands of rounds of test firing Hornady and CCI 17HM2 ammo, we had only encountered one squib load (that we knew about) as of August of 2007. We've encountered another three more in the ammo lot numbers above. So, the possibility of them does exist. A squib load is a cartridge that is under charged or contaminated. Firing it causes a bullet to go part way down the barrel and get stuck. Sometimes the fired Squib casing will rupture or deform. Subsequent firing into this barrel obstruction can cause unpredictable and dangerous results... Such as case rupture with gases and debris exiting the receiver wherever there is an opening. On the Ruger 10/22, a squib load may fire, cycle, and chamber another round with seeming normalcy due to the light recoil. If you suspect a squib has just been fired, STOP firing and check your barrel for obstructions or a stuck bullet. Always wear safety glasses and hearing protection. 

Hot Loads and Barrel Obstructions - In thousands of rounds of test firing Hornady and CCI 17HM2 ammo, we have not encountered any hot loads (except for the ammo lots mentioned above). However, the possibility of them does exist. A hot load is a cartridge that is over-charged or a normal cartridge that is fired into a barrel obstruction. Firing it could cause a case head separation with debris and gases exiting the receiver wherever there is an opening. Always wear safety glasses and hearing protection. 

Warning About Regular Gun Cleaning - The 17HM2 bullets have copper jackets that can build up copper fouling in the bore. Left uncleaned, this will detract from accuracy and could raise pressures and cause function problems. Use a good solvent like WipeOut to remove copper fouling and keep your 17 HM2 shooting like new.

Warnings from 17 HM2 Ammunition Manufacturers - Up front, we want to state that: Our Ruger 10/22 17 HM2 Conversions would not have tested successfully and proceeded to market if it weren't for the Superb Quality of the original Hornady 17 HM2 ammunition. Hornady and CCI have always functioned the best and shot the most accurately. Both Hornady and CCI brands of 17 HM2 ammunition are manufactured by CCI and have specifically warned against firing their ammo in our Ruger 10/22 17 HM2 Conversions: "Do not use 17 Mach 2 ammunition in firearms that have been modified or altered to accept 17 Mach 2 ammunition."

Remington and Eley 17 HM2 ammunition are manufactured by Eley and carry no such warnings against use in our Ruger 10/22 17 HM2 Conversions. However, recent tests of Remington-Eley in our Ruger 10/22 17HM2 Conversions gave unacceptable results. We can't recommend this ammo and yet, this is the one that doesn't have a warning! We say Don't Use Remington-Eley in our conversions.