Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR Upper Review
November 29, 2022The new 17 HMR upper from Bear Creek Arsenal performs way above its price point. Great accuracy and reliability for a reasonable price.
One of the great things about the AR-15 platform is the ability to change calibers by changing the upper. The versatility of the platform is one reason for this firearm’s popularity. Bear Creek Arsenal added to that versatility with their new 17 HMR uppers. Since 17 HMR is one of my favorite calibers, as soon as they were released, I got my hands on one to try out. Watch the video above for range testing and accuracy.
17 HMR History
I first shot the 17 HMR in 2013 and have been in love with it ever since. It’s a fast and accurate rimfire cartridge that’s great for practice, new shooters, and hunting. The 17 HMR (Hornaday Magnum Rimfire) was introduced in 2002 as a fast cartridge with lots of potential. In a 16-inch barrel using the Hornaday VMAX, the 17gr bullet has an average muzzle velocity of 2500 FPS, which is more than twice what a 22LR produces.
My first 17 HMR was a Savage 93R17 with a threaded barrel for a silencer. Around this time, Texas made hunting with a silencer legal, so I was keen to take the 17 HMR with me as a second rifle to the deer stand. I planned to shoot raccoons, foxes, coyotes, hogs, and whatever other varmints showed up to ruin my hunt.
This strategy has worked well for almost a decade. With a silencer, the 17 HMR performs very well. While you still hear the sonic crack, virtually all the noise at the muzzle is gone. My friends have told me that it sounds like I’m shooting from 50 yards down range.
Hunting with 17 HMR
I can shoot varmints and not scare off the deer in the area when I use a silencer on my bolt-action, Savage. I consistently use it for shooting varmints off my feeder and have had deer show up within minutes. One time I shot a fox, a hog, and a deer within three minutes of each other. This was one of the reasons for my excitement over the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper.
Many people think that if you have a suppressed rifle, you can shoot as many animals as you want, and they won’t react. This often comes up with wild hogs, where people think they can shoot an entire group without any running off. If this were true, Texas wouldn’t have the hog problem we do. They would have all been eradicated by now.
A few years back, I wanted to figure out what an animal hears after a suppressed shot. We shot a hog and put it at 100 yards with a sound meter 3 yards away. No matter what caliber we shot, from 300 Win Mag to 22LR, the sound of the bullet hitting the dead hog was louder than an unsuppressed 22LR. The animals hear the impact on other animals and take off, but most will return. However, expect hogs to be wary if their neighbors start to drop.
Another great reason to take a 17 HMR with you to the stand is to scare off other animals you don’t want to shoot. I have hunted several places where there are species that we can’t hunt, like javelina or goats. A 17 HMR shot on a corn feeder leg or a nearby tree will scare them off so the deer can come in. Once in West Texas, I did that when I needed to move some javelina off. The deer were about 20 yards away, watching the javelina eat all the corn. After I put a round in a nearby tree, the javelina took off, and the deer moved in.
Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR Upper Features
Bear Creek Arsenal offers several different versions of the 17 HMR upper. When I first ordered mine, the only options were 16-inch and 20-inch barrels. They now offer 10.5-inch and 7.5-inch barrels, too. The upper I use is a 16-inch with a heavy-weight barrel in black. It features a 1:9 twist barrel, which most manufacturers use for their twist rate. At the front of the barrel is a long spiral flash hider.
The upper includes a 15-inch MLOK handguard with Picatinny at the front and back of the rail but not in the middle to reduce weight. There are also four quick-attach sling swivel mounts, two on each side at the front and back.
The upper receiver itself is not a standard upper receiver. It is side charging on the right-hand side and is a billet receiver. Where the charging handle would usually be is a screw that has one side milled flat. This screw keeps the side charging handle from slamming into the back of the receiver. One side is milled flat so that it will fit on your lower, and you can adjust the alignment.
The bolt carrier of the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper is unique in a few ways. It is all one piece and designed specifically for this upper. There’s no separate bolt like a regular AR-15. In this upper, the carrier is also the bolt. The gas key at the top of the carrier is turned backward and hits the screw at the back to keep the charging handle from hitting the receiver. The bolt carrier can only be removed by removing the bolt for the charging handle and the screw at the back of the receiver.
The Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper includes a buffer that is 1.5 ounces and a buffer spring that I’m sure is a different weight from a standard AR-15. The magazine weighs 4 ounces loaded, and the complete upper weighs 4.5 pounds.
Bear Creek Arsenal 17HMR Upper Testing
When I first received the upper, I put it on a Griffin Armament lower and was surprised at how snugly everything fit. The upper has tight tolerances; there wasn’t any play between the upper and the lower. I tried the upper on a few other lowers, and they all fit very well.
The handguard fits tight on the upper as well. I took it apart to see how they had assembled the upper. Remember that this is a straight blow-back upper, so there is no gas tube or gas block. What I did find interesting is there is a hole in the upper for a gas tube. I wonder if this is just a holdover from the other uppers or if the hole is intentional since the upper receiver is built for the 17 HMR with the screw in the back.
The only part of the upper not made by Bear Creek is the magazine, which is made by Black Dog Machine and holds 10 rounds. Looking on the Black Dog Machine website, I saw they make a 14-round mag, so I’ll pick one of those up. The magazine gave me zero issues during testing. There is a last-round hold open on the magazine; however, you still have to rack the bolt on empty. The bolt doesn’t hold open far enough to chamber another round. I didn’t have an issue with this. It’s just something to be aware of.
After putting on the Griffin Armament lower, a Bowers Group ICON silencer, and the ATN X-sight 4K, I was ready to shoot. Right out of the box, I was impressed with how well the Bear Creek 17 HMR upper performed. I didn’t put any lubrication on the bolt and had zero issues with cycling or ejecting. My first zero was 50 yards, and I shot a five-shot group under a quarter of an inch. Impressive indeed.
After zeroing at 50, I moved out to 100 yards and shot several 10-shot groups that were an inch or less. One thing I noticed from previous range trips with my Savage is that 17 HMR is much more consistent than 22LR, but it is still rimfire, so there will be some quality issues compared to centerfire. This showed up in a couple of different lots of ammo where the group size would open up to about 1.5 inches for a 10-shot group. After testing several brands and lots, I can confidently say that the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper shoots 10-shot groups under an inch at 100 yards. I was able to do this a dozen times more. The best group was .5 inches for a 5-shot group at 100 yards.
I tested the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper using mainly 17gr Hornady V-MAX, but I also used the 20gr Hornady XTP, Winchester 15.5gr NTX, CCI 20gr FMJ, and Federal 17gr TNT. The best performance was with the Hornady V-MAX, and this was consistent with my other testing on the bolt gun.
What I found interesting about the ammo for the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper is that Bear Creek recommends the 20gr CCI, Federal, or Winchester. My thought is that since I’m using a silencer, the pressure might be a little higher, which could improve cycling using the Hornady V-MAX. Also, most semi-auto 17 HMR rifles need the CCI A17 to cycle the action since this ammo is designed explicitly for semi-autos. But it’s not included on Bear Creek’s list of recommended ammo. Although I didn’t test it, I’m sure it will work fine for cycling.
As far as reliability, I had the same issue happen two times. I shot at least 250 rounds, and twice, the empty brass didn’t eject all the way before the bolt came forward and caught it. Keep in mind that I didn’t lubricate the gun this entire time. Other than that, there were zero issues.
Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR Upper Review
I’m happy with the Bear Creek Arsenal 17 HMR upper and would not hesitate to buy one again. This is an excellent upper and performed well. I couldn’t find any faults, and I was trying hard. Between running it with no lubrication and hunting, it ran as you wanted it to. The accuracy is great and beyond what I expected for a $350 price point. The fit and finish of the upper are good, too. As my first product from Bear Creek, I’m pleased.
I plan to use the upper for more things in the future, so if anything changes from a reliability or performance standpoint, I’ll update the article (but I don’t expect ever to have any issues). I highly recommend this upper to anyone who enjoys shooting at the range, plans to do varmint hunting, or wants to introduce someone to shooting.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.