20gr 17HMR?
- Thread starter Grizzlypeg
- Start date
way better on long shots for ground hogs and all the ammo is made by the same company just the lable and tip colour change.A lot less make it down the hole with 20 gr they stop opening at 150 yards but tumb on impact and do the job.17 are great for punchen paper
Man I wish my walmart had 17 hmr ammo...
About a year ago maybe less I even asked to speak to the lady responsible for ordering ammo and she told me was not going to happen as soon as I said 17 hmr... not sure why??? too hard to get or something she said.
My gun prefers 17gr but I have and use both it and the 20gr. I have tired cci, fed v-shok, and hornady in my gun, a savage.
I too have noticed while the 17gr does kill, I've had small critters crawl around after being shot with it. I was very surprised too considering the amount damage the critters receive from the round. Huge wounds, tons of tissue damage.
Even if I believe the 20 gr has more stopping power or penetration I still doubt I would shoot a fox with the 17hmr at all, regardless of bullet grain... I'm sure some will disagree with me but in my fox hunting experience anything less then a head shot even with 22 LR requires chasing and searching for them, the last fox I shot I used a federal 50 grain 22mag and he was anchored on the spot with a shot thru the vitals. I was much happier with the results even compared to the 22LR. I don't have gophers here, so my 17 is mostly used on paper and the odd furry or feathered pest that moves into the house or garage.
About a year ago maybe less I even asked to speak to the lady responsible for ordering ammo and she told me was not going to happen as soon as I said 17 hmr... not sure why??? too hard to get or something she said.
My gun prefers 17gr but I have and use both it and the 20gr. I have tired cci, fed v-shok, and hornady in my gun, a savage.
I too have noticed while the 17gr does kill, I've had small critters crawl around after being shot with it. I was very surprised too considering the amount damage the critters receive from the round. Huge wounds, tons of tissue damage.
Even if I believe the 20 gr has more stopping power or penetration I still doubt I would shoot a fox with the 17hmr at all, regardless of bullet grain... I'm sure some will disagree with me but in my fox hunting experience anything less then a head shot even with 22 LR requires chasing and searching for them, the last fox I shot I used a federal 50 grain 22mag and he was anchored on the spot with a shot thru the vitals. I was much happier with the results even compared to the 22LR. I don't have gophers here, so my 17 is mostly used on paper and the odd furry or feathered pest that moves into the house or garage.
Last edited:
I'm sure I must be reading your post wrong or something, but it seems like you are saying the HMR has less killing power than a .22LR. The HMR is much closer to the WMR in terms of energy and in its own class as far as trajectory goes. I would not hesitate to put a 20 grainer in a fox any day of the week. The 17 gr with ballistic tips are designed to explode on impact for spectacular kills on small game like gophers, whereas the 20 grain rounds are designed to penetrate and expand. This would, and does make them perfect for a fox sized animal.
Tried out the Winchester Super X 20 grain ammo today in my CZ453 rifle. Results were mediocre. At 50 yards I was printing 5 shot .5" groups, but at 100 yards I was getting more erratic results. Onto trying some 17 grain. Unfortunately there isn't a great stock of 17hmr in our City. Cabellas only has Winchester left in stock. I hear Hornady, CCI and Federal are good bets, but none in stock.
