.17 HMR vs 22 MAG

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biggerair

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I have been told that the 22mag has really good take down power. I read that the 17 hmr has even more take down power at even longer ranges.
Have any of you guys seen the difference ? The 17 is really a light bullet, and I am curious if it has take down power. I am going to buy one or the other so any info would be great.

Thanks
 
Define 'take down power'.

.17HMR is deadly on small varmints, but probably would not take a coyote CLEANLY ie: one shot.

.22 Mag is borderline for a coyote. Most would say it's too small.

.17HMR shoots much flatter/faster than a .22mag, but you lose the additional mass of a larger bullet. Personally, I would go with a .17HMR over a .22 mag any day of the week.
 
22mag is alot cheaper than 17hmr.. so if your worried about cost and you do alot of plinking, you may want to think that through.
 
Pros of .17

More accurate
Ideal for Varmints/rabbits, ect

Cons of .17

Not so great on animals like Coyotes (You wouldn't want to take one further than 50-75 yards)
Ammo costs a lot

Pros of 22 mag

Cheaper ammo
Good on animals like Coyotes out too 100 yards or more

Cons of 22 mag

They don't seem real accurate compared to the .17's

Bottom line; I would go for the .17 :)
 
They don't seem real accurate compared to the .17's
QUOTE]

You haven't seen the grouping my Ruger K77/22-VMBZ .22mag gets. With a 24" heavy weight barrel......it's sweet. Groups just as tight as my Savage .17.
 
I believe accuracy is more the Barrel/Rifle than the caliber. I think that there is an "old is bad, new is good" attitude attached to this argument. Both calibers are good. Just my 2cents
 
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I believe the .17hmr round is inherently more accurate than the .22WMR.
I have yet to see a .22mag that can hit ten dimes in ten shots at 100 yards, I can do this with a semiauto .17hmr.
The 100 yard world rimfire accuracy record was set with a .17hmr, record for .22WMr is not even close.
 
y2k said:
I believe accuracy is more the Barrel/Rifle than the caliber. I think that there is an "old is bad, new is good" attitude attached to this argument. Both calibers are good. Just my 2cents
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If you take a look at custom barrel makers (lilja, shilen, clark, pac-nor, ect) you will find that their accuracy guarantee is smaller for the .17 than it is for the 22 mag.

For example
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/1022con.htm#bkgrnd
 
I have been waiting for this dead horse to trot out again, so here is what I pulled out of the federal 2006 interactive cataloge. the loads being compared are the 17 vmax and tnt in the hmr and for the 22 mag the 33 tnt and the big thumper 50 gr hp

Trajectory is as expected

http://www.uc3.ca/1722traj.JPG

Energy the big surprise is the energy the under used 50 grain load carries and that the 17 catches up at longer ranges to the other 22 mag load.

http://www.uc3.ca/1722energy.JPG

Winddrift no surprise there.

http://www.uc3.ca/1722Drift.JPG

IMHO neither are coyote loads (my personal rule of thumb is 400 ft/lbs of energy at contact) but if regured by law I think the 50 grain 22 mag load would be my selection. I have had both and for my usage of gophers, 17 hmr wins hands down
 
Interesting stuff. I have not shot either but the power I have been told about in the 22 mag really makes me want one. My friend is a Butcher by trade with 10 years in the buisness. His boss has 30 years in the buisness. The 3 guns they use are a 30-06 a 8mm mauser and the .22 mag . They always 1 shot full size cows with the .22 mag. This is no B.S., Now take in mind the shot is around 30 yards but the damage from the .22 mag is crazy.
 
They always 1 shot full size cows with the .22 mag. This is no B.S., Now take in mind the shot is around 30 yards but the damage from the .22 mag is crazy.
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Yes. Crazy.
Souns like these guys need to work on their cow stalking skills. Maybe when they get another 10 years experience they will figure out how to lead the cow into the slaughterhouse before shooting it.
Personally I use .22shorts when hunting cows, the low noise means I don't spook all the cows in the area. This works fine on midget cows, but sometimes the full sized ones run a bit before they go down. I am thinking of moving up to a flatter shooting cow cartridge like the .17HM2 for those times when I need to go for a really long shot or when the cow is moving fast.
 
17HMR hands down for long range gophers,rabbits,etc. 22mag is good for 100yds or less. But accuracy seems to fall after 50yds on the 22mag. Shot both,but just my opinon.

Now for cows, pellet gun works well, but have a follow up shot for the bulls!
 
It really all depends on how much you want to spend. I have owned both a Marlin .17HMR and a 10/22 Magnum. After customizing my 10/22 magnum it shoots just as accurate or more so at 100 Yards the did the HMR.

Personally, I would choose the 22 mag. You have more choices when it comes to bullet weight and I believe it to have much more take down power then the HMR. I have shot gophers with both and the 22 mag definately put a much bigger hurting on them.

I vote for the 22 Mag.
 
Levi Garrett said:
I spent time at a friends growing up, they run a beef operation , and it was std practice to brain shoot with a 22 LR. They would put the muzzle in the right spot on the forhead, and it dropped like a hot rock. :)
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Thats right, the shot placement is between the eyes. I figured people would have a hard time with this one. :D
 
reg said:
Yes. Crazy.
Souns like these guys need to work on their cow stalking skills. Maybe when they get another 10 years experience they will figure out how to lead the cow into the slaughterhouse before shooting it.
Personally I use .22shorts when hunting cows, the low noise means I don't spook all the cows in the area. This works fine on midget cows, but sometimes the full sized ones run a bit before they go down. I am thinking of moving up to a flatter shooting cow cartridge like the .17HM2 for those times when I need to go for a really long shot or when the cow is moving fast.
Click to expand...
I will tell them that, and we will have a good laugh reading your thread and all your your experiance at hunting.
 
reg said:
I believe the .17hmr round is inherently more accurate than the .22WMR.
I have yet to see a .22mag that can hit ten dimes in ten shots at 100 yards, I can do this with a semiauto .17hmr.
The 100 yard world rimfire accuracy record was set with a .17hmr, record for .22WMr is not even close.
Click to expand...

It comes down to what you want.

Yea a 17HMR can do 1/2" groupings at 100 yards, vs what? 1" groupings of the 22WMR?

Are you shooting gophers, field mice, coyotes or canaries? Just backyard shooting? Concerned with ammo if just plinking?

If all you plan to use the rifle for is small critters and some precision targets, go for the 17HMR. If You need it against larger predators or pop cans, apples, pie plates, wood, and other targets larger than a golf ball; go with the 22WMR.

If you want apples to apples comparisons, here is a link to CCI rimfire ammo.
 
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