How Deadly Is 17 HMR? (Super Small Varmint Round)

Explosive Ballistic Testing: How Deadly Is the Tiny .17 HMR Varmint Round? – Gelatin Explosions, Meat Target Destruction, and Full Human Dummy Lethality Breakdown with Slow-Motion Impacts

In-depth lethality test of the super-fast .17 HMR rimfire cartridge – one of America's favorite varmint rounds – fired from a classic Henry lever-action rifle. Garand Thumb puts two popular loads through rigorous, methodical testing: CCI TNT jacketed hollow point and Hornady V-Max polymer-tipped, clocking over 2580 fps for hyper-velocity performance that dwarfs standard .22 LR.

First, standardized 10% ballistic gelatin captures insane temporary cavities with violent explosions and fragmentation in ultra-slow-motion at 110,000 fps using a Phantom high-speed camera – revealing shallow penetration but massive energy dump as rounds yaw, disintegrate, and shred tissue simulant.

Next, Paul Harrell-inspired meat targets with real ribs, oranges for lungs, and ground beef simulate organic destruction: rounds punch through bone causing jacket separation and fragmentation, absolutely obliterating simulated organs with shredded fruit and embedded shards – proving .17 HMR performs even better in real tissue than gel.

Final worst-case scenario: shots into a full human ballistic dummy with skeleton – CCI TNT shatters the sternum, rips through heart and aorta, lodging near the spine for proven fatal potential on vital hits despite limited depth.

Compared side-by-side with .22 LR for penetration and wound trauma, this raw testing exposes why .17 HMR dominates small varmint hunting like ground squirrels and whistle pigs with explosive kills, while larger calibers remain superior for defense.

No hype, just repeatable data, chronograph numbers, and on-screen details for serious shooters seeking truth about rimfire terminal ballistics.

Must-watch for fans of detailed ammo testing, high-speed ballistic footage, varmint rifle performance, slow-motion bullet impacts, and real-world terminal effects comparisons.

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