My Christmas Present Last Year
Last year my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a varmint rifle. Knowing she wouldn't know what a varmint rifle was, I told her specifically I wanted a .17 HMR Henry Frontier Model rifle.
I love the classic look of this rifle, reminding me of the old west. I also wanted this particular rifle because of the octagon barrel. I have my grandfather's antique .22 single shot lever action rifle with an octagon barrel so this gun has a sentimental attraction as well.
If you're not familiar with the .17 HMR, it's comparable to a .22 WMR, commonly referred to as a .22 Magnum. The difference is the .17 HMR has a higher muzzle velocity and longer range. The .22 Magnum makes a better varmint gun for under 100 yards but for the .17 HMR is a better gun for over 100 yards. Although the .22 Magnum is better under 100 yards, the .17 HMR is still a good choice.
My wife went to the local outdoors shop that I frequent in November to buy one or order it if they didn't have it in stock. They didn't have one in stock telling her they were back ordered and wouldn't be available until April. My wife went ahead and ordered the gun with me getting an I.O.U. for part of Christmas. This was fine with me since I wouldn't be out in the winter to hunt varmints anyway.
Now in August I still have no rifle and my local outdoor shop now can't give me a delivery date on the rifle. Lately I've been looking online at various vendors and can't find anyone with access to this rifle. With so many varieties of rifles available most gun shops only carry a few Henry rifles and the .17 HMR being a very popular caliber, just taking the time to pop into a few gun shops is a long shot. It may be time for me to consider moving to the .22 Magnum instead of the .17 HMR and see if my luck improves.
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Gun control at its slowest! Very unreliable retailer or manufacturer?
You huntimg squirrels, rabbits, pheasants?
And what is all this gollbity gook in that reply????
Mostly want it around for shooting varmints that irritate, which can include squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, etc. Pheasant, I would hunt them to eat but the varmints listed above are tasty also.
The availability of this gun is suffering from the popularity of the manufacturer and the popularity of the caliber I want. The rifles just aren't easy to find. Henry rifles also represent a little bit of history with the original being patented in 1860.
The stuff in the reply, who knows what that is. I think they should invest some time into forming sentences that transmit a concept or thought rather than just confusing people.
Oddly, we have a racoon influx in the neighborhood. Giant racoons. Or, so I've been told.
The neighbor across the street has put himself in charge. Traps and a pellet gun or something. More odd, no one else is complaining. He swears they are so big they won't fit in his trap. We saw one this summer.
I look all ways when out, just in case.
I am sure your present is worth the wait. At least you are on the list.
Raccoons can get large in the city. I trapped one that had been living underneath my deck that was large enough to damage my trap. Found out after I transported him to the woods that I was supposed to call animal control for them to take care of it. Oh well. I gave him a nice home with a creek running through it and cornfields close by, he should be happy.