17HMR vs .22LR @ 50M

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MartyK2500

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Many builds are capable of 1/2''@50M in .22LR, using varmint rigs and a good bipod.
I currently sport a CZ 452 Varmint with Eley club ammo, and myself getting close to the challenge.

Once challenge is done, is it possible to get even better with a .17HMR?
Had a possible deal on a Savage 93R17 TR at work, barely used.

Wondering if it can give me more at same distance, as i have a feeling it would probably give more if i chose to go play at 75-80M
 
Just jacking around with my 17 HMR (Savage 93R17 heavy barrel), shooting from a Caldwell DeadShot Fieldpod I can pick off pop cans at 200 yards with every shot. And like I say, just jacking around. I'm not a precision shooter or even a great shot by any means.

At 75 yards, same set-up, I'm nowhere near as accurate with any of my three 22 LR's.
 
I believe it, that out past 50M the 17 will perform

My cottage range so to speak, is 55M
Within this, id like to try if 17 could outperform 22

I shoot a box per visit, under 600-700/year, cost of ammo aint a big issue with so little volume
 
my guess is the 17 will absolutely outperform the 22, 17's are overall much more accurate than 22's.
 
a 17hmr should be easy to hit the 1/2 inch at 50 yards.

I am constantly in an internal fight with myself. Get a 17hmr, have better ballistics and more fun target shooting. For roughly the same price, 17 hmr and match 22lr box of 50 are on par at my lgs. 20 bucks a box.

Down side is for tree rats, I don't want to take shots at them in the tree because who knows where the 17hmr will hum off too... Also it blows the chit outa the lil guys so head shots only.

At 50 yards ive seen a 17hmr savage mark 2 lay 5 into the same hole.........

I am pretty sure this was at 100M with my 17hmr savage.... (the white square is 1 inch) even at 50 this is awesome...

This 500 buck savage in 17hmr out shot some VERY high end 22lr at all ranges.

 
Canadiankeeper said:
a 17hmr should be easy to hit the 1/2 inch at 50 yards.

I am constantly in an internal fight with myself. Get a 17hmr, have better ballistics and more fun target shooting. For roughly the same price, 17 hmr and match 22lr box of 50 are on par at my lgs. 20 bucks a box.
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Never thought about it that way!
I sold my heavy barrel Savage .17hmr about 5 years ago beacuse ammo was all over the place or it was out of stock and started reloading .223 for the same price! but now I also shoot $20/box .22 ammo out of my anschutz.

I like the little laser beams, NOW I'm thinking .220 swift!
 
I had a marlin 917V with the microgroove rifling that I stupidly traded off and have a marlin 60 22 with microgroove that shoots 1/2" groups. The 17 was definitely a more accurate rifle. Now I'm debating the 17 wsm to see what they will do.
 
sk8snwmx said:
Never thought about it that way!
I sold my heavy barrel Savage .17hmr about 5 years ago beacuse ammo was all over the place or it was out of stock and started reloading .223 for the same price! but now I also shoot $20/box .22 ammo out of my anschutz.

I like the little laser beams, NOW I'm thinking .220 swift!
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Right?! When I buy match 22lr ammo, I look at the 17hmr and always have an internal battle... The ballistics are so much better on 17! Its a tough go.

Donny Fenn1 said:
CK, where do you think 22LR go when you shoot at squirrels? At least with the 17 your hit percentage will probably be higher?
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Well I always ensure I don't see blue behind the tree rat, but even in a wooded brush. I would rather know that the 22 is not humming out of there as fast and potentially travelling out of the bush.

It seems the commonly accepted is .22 LR rounds could travel a mile if fired at 45 degrees, and were no more dangerous at that range than if someone threw it.
I don't know what the 17hmr would do. So it concerns me.

I shoot my tree rats at 50 yards and under, both deliver about the same hit percentage. (At that distance it is the shooter not the ammo/rifle capability)
 
Was kinda hoping you guys would downtalk the 17 haha
At the price i pay for match .22 ammo, not that much more for 17
My varmint 452 with under a brick of eley through, could sell quick on EE if im ready to go 17
Big decisions!
 
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I believe that the general consensus--based on many range reports--regarding .22LR vs. .17HMR accuracy is that the .22 is slightly better. But there are a number of layers to this. First, with the .22, true match ammo is available, whereas with the .17, no such quality level exists. So, when comparing accuracy, it's important to specify which .22LR ammo is being used. If we're comparing Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas+ or RWS R50 in .22LR with just about any of the available .17HMR loads, and we're also talking about rifles of similar quality--like an Anschutz 1712 or 1710 in .22LR and an Anschutz 1717 in .17HMR, or similar-quality rifles in each cartridge from Savage or Marlin--then the .22LR will come out ahead at 50 yards. I don't think there's much disagreement about that, based on the many range reports I've read, along with my own experiences with the two rounds. On the other hand, things might be much closer at 100 yards, where the .17's wind-bucking ability is superior to that of the .22LR, although the difference is far less than many think--about 1.0" more deflection for the .22LR sub-sonic load than for the .17HMR load in a 10 mph cross-wind. Interestingly, the high-velocity .22LR load deflects more under these conditions than does the sub-sonic load. So, at 100 yards, the .17HMR might shoot as tight groups as a .22LR with match ammo.

However, if we're restricting our comparison here to 50-yard group sizes, a good .22LR with match ammo will generally shoot slightly tighter groups than a good .17HMR with the available .17HMR ammunition. What a lot of us would like to see is one of the ammo makers offering match-quality .17HMR ammunition, but there's no sign that this will happen any time soon.
 
MartyK2500 said:
Was kinda hoping you guys would downtalk the 17 haha
At the price i pay for match .22 ammo, not that much more for 17
My varmint 452 with under a brick of eley through, could sell quick on EE if im ready to go 17
Big decisions!
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Don't sell the 452 in.22lr! Buy the matching .17hmr and have the set.
 
Southpender
After reviewing 17 ammo choice, i realise there isn't that much match ammo manufacturers.
If there was eley 17 available, would probably cost the same as quality .223 reloads
But... at my cottage i have noise restrictions. Centerfire rifles are too loud because of proximity of animals and neighbours.
Cabelas has some hornady Vmax 17gr in stock, thats gotta be close to match ammo

Craftsman, i never have more than 5 firearms in the safe.
What i got usually gets used quite a bit.
If i we're to keep the CZ, id probably burn a few bricks this summer
Got it on a b'ack friday special, and didnt get much warm range time to shoot more than a brick

Edit : also when speaking accuracy, i just want to specify, i am comparing cz/savages 22s and 17s.
Anschutz do not count, as it's for a field rifle, not a bench rig.
 
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My 2 cents:

1) .17HMR is hard to find at times, especially if you find that your rifle prefers one bullet weight over another
2) .17HMR is more expensive
3) .17HMR is louder than a lot of subsonic match .22 ammo that barely requires ear protection
4) .17HMR shooters WAY flatter and thus it is much easier to hit targets at unknown distances
5) .17HMR has the edge in accuracy but not by much if you know the ballistics of your .22
6) .17HMR seems to get really blown around by the wind at around 200m but then again .22 barely goes past 200m

Having said all that, I both and have found that I much prefer plinking with my .22lr. If you don't plan on shooting past 50m I would stick with the .22lr. The .17 will get boring quick at that range and finding ammo may become a problem.
 
South Pender has explained the issues involved very well. The flat shooting 17HMR would be great for target shooting if there was match ammo available, but there isn't any. Shooters are left to contend with the inconsistencies that come with non-match quality .17HMR ammunition.
 
Seems like i'm better off sticking with my .22 if shooting always at known range of 50M

I kinda like the idea of CZ455 combo, at the time i had worked hard to find CZ452 as i had read that the fixed barrel was more accurate.

Maybe i'll just shoot two more bricks, if i want to go tighter, i could try .22 ammo that cost the same as .17 ammo, and possibly install the CZ in a MDT lss 22 and play around with the torque of action screws
 
Try and buy a brick of Standard Plus. It'll be 79$ish but when you do the math each box of 50 will work out to about 8$. My Savage MKII regularly shoots 1MOA groups at 100m if it isn't too windy.
 
South Pender said:
I believe that the general consensus--based on many range reports--regarding .22LR vs. .17HMR accuracy is that the .22 is slightly better. But there are a number of layers to this. First, with the .22, true match ammo is available, whereas with the .17, no such quality level exists. So, when comparing accuracy, it's important to specify which .22LR ammo is being used. If we're comparing Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas+ or RWS R50 in .22LR with just about any of the available .17HMR loads, and we're also talking about rifles of similar quality--like an Anschutz 1712 or 1710 in .22LR and an Anschutz 1717 in .17HMR, or similar-quality rifles in each cartridge from Savage or Marlin--then the .22LR will come out ahead at 50 yards. I don't think there's much disagreement about that, based on the many range reports I've read, along with my own experiences with the two rounds. On the other hand, things might be much closer at 100 yards, where the .17's wind-bucking ability is superior to that of the .22LR, although the difference is far less than many think--about 1.0" more deflection for the .22LR sub-sonic load than for the .17HMR load in a 10 mph cross-wind. Interestingly, the high-velocity .22LR load deflects more under these conditions than does the sub-sonic load. So, at 100 yards, the .17HMR might shoot as tight groups as a .22LR with match ammo.

However, if we're restricting our comparison here to 50-yard group sizes, a good .22LR with match ammo will generally shoot slightly tighter groups than a good .17HMR with the available .17HMR ammunition. What a lot of us would like to see is one of the ammo makers offering match-quality .17HMR ammunition, but there's no sign that this will happen any time soon.
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This is 100% nail on the head , and I totally agree . I have both an Anschutz MPR in .22LR and a Savage BTVS stainless heavy barrel in .17HMR . With Match ammo , the 22LR is more accurate out well past 150 yards . The HMR has better ballistics and energy , but .22 match ammo is a LOT more consistent . The HMR would really shine with match grade ammo , but , I doubt anyone will ever offer it .
 
South Pender said:
I believe that the general consensus--based on many range reports--regarding .22LR vs. .17HMR accuracy is that the .22 is slightly better. But there are a number of layers to this. First, with the .22, true match ammo is available, whereas with the .17, no such quality level exists. So, when comparing accuracy, it's important to specify which .22LR ammo is being used. If we're comparing Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas+ or RWS R50 in .22LR with just about any of the available .17HMR loads, and we're also talking about rifles of similar quality--like an Anschutz 1712 or 1710 in .22LR and an Anschutz 1717 in .17HMR, or similar-quality rifles in each cartridge from Savage or Marlin--then the .22LR will come out ahead at 50 yards. I don't think there's much disagreement about that, based on the many range reports I've read, along with my own experiences with the two rounds. On the other hand, things might be much closer at 100 yards, where the .17's wind-bucking ability is superior to that of the .22LR, although the difference is far less than many think--about 1.0" more deflection for the .22LR sub-sonic load than for the .17HMR load in a 10 mph cross-wind. Interestingly, the high-velocity .22LR load deflects more under these conditions than does the sub-sonic load. So, at 100 yards, the .17HMR might shoot as tight groups as a .22LR with match ammo.

However, if we're restricting our comparison here to 50-yard group sizes, a good .22LR with match ammo will generally shoot slightly tighter groups than a good .17HMR with the available .17HMR ammunition. What a lot of us would like to see is one of the ammo makers offering match-quality .17HMR ammunition, but there's no sign that this will happen any time soon.
Click to expand...

At 50m, My 54MS-R with Sk Standard Plus or RWS Championship Edition will shoot with my Cooper in 17HMR using it's favorite load. At 100m , it's still pretty close, but with any significant wind the 17HMR starts to do better at 100m.
 
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