17hmr versus gophers

Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Retired and now a gopher shooter
I was out shooting in my pdog patch using a Savage 17hmr with 17gr Hornadys and 20 gr Remingtons. I was noticing that the 17grn rounds were ripping through the gopher and not causing much damage. The 40gr rounds were flippin g them up and over. I was using my lever Henry with Yellow Jackets to. All In all the Yellow Jackets casue as much or more damage than the 17hmrs. reasearch will continue :)
 
Anytime I have used the 17 on gophers, any body shot between the front and back legs, is guts all over the place. Now my ammo of choice is the 17gr Vmax. FS
 
I always got guts everywhere on gophers with my savage HMR.... With my wildcat .22 I got one to flip with yellow jackets yesterday which was a first for me at about 50 yards or so.
 
My experience is similar to Fassteel's. My .17 VMAX turned them inside out where as my .22 with Yellow Jackets stopped them in there tracks but with no real gore.
 
Now if you want to get a Paco Kelly kit and take the time to make those huge hollow points that this accessory does, then you can do more serious damage with a 22 on gophers.
I have used the NastiNose HP modifier many times and it takes the standard 22 ammo to new destructive heights. FS
 
I have no trouble puting the gophers down with my .22s....the hollow points do "open them up" when hit low. But head shots seem to remove most of the head. Either way, spread or dead...it does not matter. With the numbers I shoot, I would not be able to afford the high cost of .17 ammo.
 
I dont take the .22 out of the safe anymore since purchasing my seventeen a few years ago,a .22 has its place but the .17 is the ultimate gopher gun inside 150 yards.
 
.17 said:
I dont take the .22 out of the safe anymore since purchasing my seventeen a few years ago,a .22 has its place but the .17 is the ultimate gopher gun inside 150 yards.
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+1. I would take my .17 out over my .22's any day of the week. I sure wish my Cooper .17 HMR would be done already :)
 
Back when the .17 was still pretty new a friend and I had a Remington 597 out for the day. One shot catapulted a gopher end over end 4 feet straight up into the air. The gpher was relatively undamaged but he was dead instantly. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen shooting to this day. So comical. Getting to my point... I think the .17 is a great gopher round. I haven't had a chance to use 20grn though.
 
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I just got my .17 last fall, and used it on gopher for the first time a couple weeks ago (it sucks driving five hours to go shoot gophers!)....anyway, I don't think I can go back to the .22 LR, that HMR is just way too accurate and fun. Expensive ammo, yes, but what the heck! I like the results and the range. And in the long run, I think my buddy used up more $ on .22 shooting his 10/22, with fewer kills...the old shoot till you hit it routine......one shot with the HMR gets it done.
 
frigging awesome round, that .17. I just bought one and shot it for the first time today. I was getting 1 inch groups all day at 100 yds. It took 20 rounds to sight in,.. then it was groups I could cover with a thumb after that. Where in Alberta or Sask do I need to go to kill some gophers? Not legal in BC. I'd camp out in a grain field for a week to help control the gopher population.

Anybody have an idea WHY .17 HMR rounds are so expensive? It just doesn't seem reasonable. Really, rim-fire rounds are expensive to make? pfffft


.22 LR are great out to about 75 yrs. after that, its a waste of ammo. .22 Mag would be ok too, but it just doesn't have the FPS of the .17 The box of CCI gamepoint says; 20 grain, 2375 FPS, and deadly accurate at 100 yrs.
 
I routinely shoot gophers out past 75yds with ease with my 22... granted it doesn't do the damage that a 17 does, but I still hit em and they still aren't breathing afterwards.
 
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