17hmr vs 22lr vs 22wmr

Jdiep

Jdiep

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HI I'm looking at getting a bolt action rifle either in 17hmr or 22lr or 22wmr. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? 22lr is cheap ammo I know that. I am mostly just target shooting. Let me know thanks!
 
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If you want to target shoot gophers, .17hmr all day long you will never want or miss a .22 and will wonder how you have ever been without such a piece of equipment. If you want to just target shoot paper then get a .22, unlike the HMR or the wmr not only will it be cheaper to shoot but you can get match ammo, plus the variety of ammo available lets you experiment and find what your gun likes best and is most accurate with, ending up with it being more accurate to shoot than the other two.
 
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.22, cheap ammo that lets you shoot all day. .22WMR, good groups at 100 yards, can be used for medium size game effectively, ammo not stupid expensive. .17HMR, shoots a fricken lazer beam, poi at 100 is damn near the same as at 50. Ammo is more expensive and the wind has a big effect between 50 and 100 yards. Round is devastating on small game from what I've read....
 
There are pros/cons to each...but the biggest "cons" to the 22WMR and 17HMR these days is cost, and availability. The issue with price is that it's pushing into centerfire territory price-wise (thinking .223) while offering nothing .223 doesn't kind of do better. (with added noise) I love all 3 to be honest, but personally think that you'd (meaning "I'd") better have a hunting job in mind if I'm reaching for the 17HMR. Punching holes in paper @ around $0.50 a shot with an HMR loses it's luster fast for me. However, the caliber even does that well.

I think a good .22 rifle, or several, is a "must" in the collection. They're what I reach for most.
 
An important advantage of .22LR is that you can get match ammo for it, and in a good rifle it can make a real difference between OK groups and very good groups. Another advantage is in price. Even good match .22LR ammo is no more expensive than .17HMR or .22WMR. For magnum accuracy, .17HMR trumps .22WMR.

Mr. Friendly said:
realistically, depending on what you're shooting, .22LR can be as little as $0.06/round whereas .22WMR is about $0.17/round.
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Where are you finding .22WMR at $8.50 for a box of 50?
 
Depends on the application really. For getting lowest trigger time/cost and just punching holes in paper 22lr cant be beat. For shooting varmint and such 22wmr for 50-100yrds and 17hmr past that. Heres some rough numbers from good write up i found for 17hmr vs 22wmr.

Trajectory

.17 HMR, 17 grain V-Max = +0.1" at 50 yards, 0 at 100 yards, -2.6" at 150 yards, -8.5" at 200 yards.
.17 HMR, 20 grain XTP = +0.6" at 50 yards, 0 at 100 yards, -4.1" at 150 yards, -13.1" at 200 yards.
.22 WMR, 30 grain TNT = +0.8" at 50 yards, 0 at 100 yards, -5.8" at 150 yards.
.22 WMR, 40 grain JHP = +0.9" at 50 yards, 0 at 100 yards, -5.7" at 150 yards.

Energy

.17 HMR, 17 grain V-Max = ME 245 ft. lbs., 185 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 136 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 99 ft. lbs. at 150 yards, 72 ft. lbs. at 200 yards.
.17 HMR, 20 grain XTP = ME 250 ft. lbs., 187 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 137 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 99 ft. lbs. at 150 yards, 72 ft. lbs. at 200 yards.
.22 WMR, 30 grain TNT = ME 325 ft. lbs., 200 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 120 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 80 ft. lbs. at 150 yards.
.22 WMR, 40 grain JHP = ME 324 ft. lbs., 230 ft. lbs. at 50 yards, 162 ft. lbs. at 100 yards.

Killing power loosely based on OGW numbers (weight of game for yardage)

.17 HMR, 17 grain = 7 pounds at muzzle, 5 pounds at 50 yards, 3 pounds at 100 yards, 2 pounds at 150 yards, 1 pound at 200 yards.
.22 WMR, 40 grain = 17 pounds at muzzle, 9 lbs. at 50 yards, 5 pounds at 100 yards, 3 pounds at 150 yards, 2 pounds at 200 yards.

"After researching and writing this article, I have reached a conclusion about these two cartridges. I would favor the .22 WMR for shooting small game and varmints within 100 yards, and the .17 HMR if shots often run much beyond that distance."

http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm
 
At the moment, I am on a one man gopher shoot. I switch from .22 to .17HMR to .22WMR and some 12ga. .22 gets the nod mostly, but it is amazing what a .17 will do. .17 & .22 WMR are priced right off the map now. Sad that I can shoot 50 rounds of 12 ga. for the same cost as either. I love the bark and recoil of a .22 mag, and the CZ 455 Canadian I use is lazer accurate.

Buy one of each! :)
 
The 22lr can be much cheaper to shoot, and a quality gun with match ammunition will generally be more accurate than the 22WMR, and just as accurate s the 17HMR. The 17HMR definitely has the flattest trajectory, and is least effected by the wind. For paper shooting 22lr all the way, for small game, the 17HMR, I can't come up with a use for a 22WMR, so I don't own one.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
yeah, the recoil of the .22WMR is excessive. :cool:

realistically, depending on what you're shooting, .22LR can be as little as $0.06/round whereas .22WMR is about $0.17/round. :yingyang:
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Yes, that felt recoil in a .22WMR hunting weight rifle is sooo excessive.
Especially when those gophers are on the receiving end of it.

.22 is cheaper and generally easier to come by than the .22WMR ammo.
The cost of having fun has risen steadily in the last 10 years.

I used to be able to buy a box of AE Hollow Points for $15.oo a brick it is now like $30.oo for .22 LR.

I like the PoP of a well placed shot on a gopher in .22WMR but .22LR is just as satisfactory .. at the end of the day run what you brung and have fun with it.

Rob
 
Thought I should add~before I got a .223, I'd hear guys say "you can reload for less than the cost of 17HMR" and that used to bug me. I wasn't into reloading, didn't want to spend $500 to get INTO reloading, huge learning curve (I thought)...thought .223 was more noise/power than required, etc. etc. I soon realized that anywhere you could make 17HMR-level noise, .223 was just fine. I turned away from HMR for a long time, got rid of my 22WMR...and ran a .223 exclusively for varmints, and still do here in Ontario. HOWEVER...17HMR and 22WMR fill an interesting, but narrow spot in the spectrum of hunting calibers. HMR is flatter-shooting, but less useful in my experience on varmints with any size/mass to them. Positively explosive on things like gophers, but get over about 5 lbs. and bullet choice/shot placement become very important, very fast. I've seen it play-out dozens of times, so I won't budge on that opinion. They will take things like coyotes if you're using 20gr. HPs, have perfect shot placement, the coyote is very close, sitting still etc. etc...but I don't consider that a good endorsement for the caliber. I consider 17HMR a very poor choice for coyotes.

22WMR packs WAY more punch, but it is inherently less accurate. A little more forgiving too with respect to shot placement. I was always amazed at how vastly different 17HMR and 22WMR hits on big varmints was, with a definite nod to the 22WMR in terms of effectiveness.

The magnum rimfires have their place, and do a small number of jobs exceedingly well. Too pricey (in my opinion) to make it a fun paper-puncher. A 22LR offers allot of great ammo choices, and allot of (very) low-cost shooting time as well. Not bad on small game if you use an effective ammo and have lots of trigger time=good shot placement.
 
grauhanen said:
An important advantage of .22LR is that you can get match ammo for it, and in a good rifle it can make a real difference between OK groups and very good groups. Another advantage is in price. Even good match .22LR ammo is no more expensive than .17HMR or .22WMR. For magnum accuracy, .17HMR trumps .22WMR.

Where are you finding .22WMR at $8.50 for a box of 50?
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I was wrong...it's $17 for a box of 50. thought it was 100. :(
 
Had a 22 Mag for a while and on gophers devastating but a bit pricey. 17 more effected by wind and only light bullets. .40gr 22 mag I found more thump and better for bigger game than gophers. .22 mag almost as accurate as 17 in my CZ 455. But overall I'll take .22LR. I found some Winchester .40gr Hp Hiper Velocity 1435fps that hits the little critters with authority. Reasonably accurate but no Eley. They are all good but .22LR overall takes the cake.
 
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SUPER TENERE said:
Had a 22 HMR for a while and on gophers devastating but a bit pricey. 17 more effected by wind and only light bullets. .40gr 22 hmr I found more thump and better for bigger game than gophers. .22 HMR almost as accurate as 17 in my CZ 455. But overall I'll take .22LR. I found some Winchester .40gr Hp Hiper Velocity 1435fps that hits the little critters with authority. Reasonably accurate but no Eley. They are all good but .22LR overall takes the cake.
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Hornady never made a 22 cal mag. 17 hornady mag and 22 winchester mag.
 
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