17hmr or 22lr?

crunchiespg

crunchiespg

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im thinking of getting a CZ452 American.
but i cant decide on 22lr or 17hmr..

i already have an old marlin .22lr and dont plan on buying many rifles. i only want one more rimfire and then an Accuracy international AW in .308 for long range target stuff.. and thats it. i wont be shooting deer or anything like that. (plus the AI is going to cost me so much i cant/wont spend anymore on others!)

the only things other than targets i will be shooting are gophers.

so the 17hmr appeals as its a nice accurate gun to improve my target shooting leading up to the AI .308. but a .22lr is nice as the ammo is so cheap..

my marlin is an OK shooter, about 1 inch groups at 50m with a bipod.. but i definately want another rimfire so my dad or wife can shoot the marlin with me when getting gophers.

so what do you suggest? i could shoot a .22lr all day for the price of 50 rounds for the 17hmr. and the 22 CZ's are so accurate i could still do some good shooting... but maybe the 17hmr will be good to shoot up to say 150m to improve my shooting a lot more than the 22.... and then use the marlin for plinking?? am i silly wanting another 22? my concern is i end up liking the CZ a lot more than my marlin, and then having to spend loads on ammo if i got a 17hmr, cos i no longer want to shoot the marlin much..

help me in my dilemma! thanks!
whichever i buy im going to mount a Schmidt Bender 6x42 on it.
 
One can never have enough 22 rimfires. I have six. All action types except a pump (it's on my list). You stated cost of ammo.....17's are super accurate from what I have seen. But all day cheap fun is the 22. The big plus to a 22 is ammo can be found anywhere, 17 HMR may not be as easy to get. Since you are in Cochrane, Calgary gun stores aren't far away. But if your out shooting far away from the big city you may not find 17 ammo if you run out. Just my 2c
 
M77 said:
One can never have enough 22 rimfires. I have six. All action types except a pump (it's on my list). You stated cost of ammo.....17's are super accurate from what I have seen. But all day cheap fun is the 22. The big plus to a 22 is ammo can be found anywhere, 17 HMR may not be as easy to get. Since you are in Cochrane, Calgary gun stores aren't far away. But if your out shooting far away from the big city you may not find 17 ammo if you run out. Just my 2c
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getting ammo isnt a problem. Cochrane Canadian Tire sells 17hmr ammo.

and im in calgary all the time, and will soon be living in Calgary anyway..

i just cant decide if the 17hmr will be so much better of a longer range target rifle it will help me practice longer range shooting but still a lot cheaper than a .308...
 
It really depends on volume. I know guys that go out and shoot 50-100 gophers and think its great. For me thats a wreck. Around Cochrane if your in the right place you could shoot 100 in an hour. On my week trip to SW Sask. I shot 3000 rnds(22 cal) and never took the 17 out of the case. If you get into it seriously you'll have one of each-----Cowboy
 
The 17HMR is really affected by wind even out to 100 yards. If you're serious about looong range shooting then it might be perfect for you because you'll have to learn to read and compensate for the wind. Where I live it's never a steady wind, but rather a relentless gusting wind so the HMR becomes quite frustrating - so much so that I plan to put mine up in the EE this spring. I've never owned one, but the .22 Mag might be a great compromise between the two.
 
I'm having the same delema. I can decide between he 22LR or the 17HMR either. but i also have to decide between cz 452 and a browning t-bolt. The only thing turnning me off the 17 HMR is the price of the ammunition
 
CanFire said:
The 17HMR is really affected by wind even out to 100 yards. If you're serious about looong range shooting then it might be perfect for you because you'll have to learn to read and compensate for the wind. Where I live it's never a steady wind, but rather a relentless gusting wind so the HMR becomes quite frustrating - so much so that I plan to put mine up in the EE this spring. I've never owned one, but the .22 Mag might be a great compromise between the two.
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i was thinking that too. but if you look in the rimfire section data charts, according to them the 17hmr is less effected by wind than any other rimfire... so they must be wrong i guess...
 
You might as well buy a .223 and handload if you are thinking about the 17hmr. The ammo for it isn't too cheap.
 
Another tidbit to consider is .22lr can be had in varying levels of quality and price. You can buy a 525 round value pack at Walmart for $16, or you can buy 100 rounds of target ammo for $8.

I personally love having that opportunity for choice. .17hmr is weighted more towards the high end...with a severe lack in the cheap end.

If you're saving for that fancy Accuracy International, maybe another .22 wouldn't be such a bad idea? ;)
 
My Marlin 17v shoots like a laser. It is better than my Green Mountain 10/22 for about half the cost.The ammo is more expensive but it is very accurate.Good luck .
 
I have a couple of .22's and a ruger 77/17 that is so much fun to shoot you almost forget about the cost of the ammo. It will shoot 1/2 inch at 100 yards and bust fist size rocks at 200 yds all day. With a 4-12 scope on it I can see the air move when I shoot it. It is a hoot. Nobody believes you can get that kind of distance and accuracy out of a rimfire.
 
wel, after a lot of thought and research im going to get a CZ 452 American in 22lr. and then a CZ 527 in .223...

ive discounted the 17hmr, it is neither cheap enough to shoot all day, nor is it that long range..

i can buy .223 ammo for the same price as 17hmr. and i can reload it in the future. and the .223 will have 3x the range..
 
One thing to consider about the cost of .17hmr ammo vs .223 ammo. The 17hmr ammo is very accurate. You're paying for target grade/varmint grade ammo. The "cheap" .223 ammo is not target/varmint grade. The costs change substantially when you go to the target/varmint grade stuff.

If it's varmint shooting then I would even consider the .204 instead of the .223.
 
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The new 30 gr. 22 mag ammo is rated at 2200fps. And shoots like a lazer out of my CZ452
 
crunchiespg said:
wel, after a lot of thought and research im going to get a CZ 452 American in 22lr. and then a CZ 527 in .223...

ive discounted the 17hmr, it is neither cheap enough to shoot all day, nor is it that long range..

i can buy .223 ammo for the same price as 17hmr. and i can reload it in the future. and the .223 will have 3x the range..
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Good choice and you'll enjoy reloading.
 
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