.22, .17hmr, .22mag? Arrrg!

Mojo99

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I like the thought of owning a .17hmr. Heck, S.I.R. has the Savage 93R17-GV on sale right now.

But, I'm not that into target shooting and want to use it for hunting. A .17 seems kinda small for Coyote so I figure I'll be sticking with my 6.5x55 or shotgun for that. Pretty much would use it for rabbits.

Any real benefit to having the .17 in my case?
 
I would suggest a nice .223 or anything in 7.62x for coyotes but thats just me. That way you can pick them off real far and buy bulk to shoot around.
 
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i see you are from brantford a 17 has the benafit of a very small and fast bullet that will blow apart on impact if you miss your target .this is a very nice optin were we live in southern ont .thy are not very loud .and with a good scope you can shoot yotes at well over 100yards .thy are a great littel gun and a lot of fun to shot DUTCH
 
I just got a savage 93 BTV in .17 hmr.
Really accurate, and really nice to shoot, but I'm only target shooting with it now.

Easy 1/2" at 50 yards from the bench, but the wind started picking up at 100 yards when I was out. But my groups kept a very small veritcal spread even then.

If that suits your rabbit hunting, go for it. Otherwise save the ammo cost and go for a .22lr.
 
small cal rifle

if I were in the market for another small calibre rifle I'd get another 22 rifle and not a 22 magnum nor a 17 either . too expensive to shoot and you have a 6x5x55 and a shotgun already. I think it;s frontier arms that has 22s for $219 and they have a set trigger and that;s a reasonable price . or a savage if you;d like . but I;d stick with the 22 . best bang for your buck in this day and age . :dancingbanana:
 
i bought a .17 hmr, and it's alot of fun. i didnt think i'd use it for target shooting, but it's real addictive. it is expensive to feed, and ammo is a little tough to find
 
I'm finding it in several places at $20 for 50, often one store will have it for $15, and I grabbed some on sale for $12. So it's only 5-10x the cost of bulk pack .22.

Outperforms .22lr, and is much cheaper than centerfire rifle ammo.
 
My vote is for the .22 mag. I have a Henry lever .22mag and shot a rabbit on the weekend. Instant kill without the explosive damage of the .17hmr.
 
If your looking for a small cal for rabbits or squirrels. I would highly suggest the 17HM2 with head shots. It out performs the 22 easily with its flatter trajectory and distance. it can easily go over 100 meters. Its also much cheaper than the 17HMR.
If your hunting for the pot like me than head shots only. It is destructive, not as destructive as the 17HMR though.
I have the 17HMR and HM2 and some 22’s. the 22 is good for hunting for about 50 meters , a bit further than that and Im pushing my limit for accuracy and ballistic arch.
The HM2 can group well under 1 MOA at 100 with almost no holdover. Whish enables me to take head shots on squirrels at those distances.

I hope this answers your question.

Good luck.
 
This all makes the decission even harder. ;)

Dutch hunter made a point about using the .17 on coyotes. A few people that have asked me to clear out those buggers have small properties. Shotgun would work, but its loud. And I know first hand that idiots around here call the cops every time they hear BANG.
 
Let me help you. the .17 is minimal on coyotes.... I HAD one, use .223. So you mentioned rabitts. Well long range really is not an issue. Lets quit the sniper stuff. If your bunny hunting a quality .22 rifle or .22 air rifle is the ticket. A good quality .22 air rifle these days is darn near a .22 in velocity and QUIET. Did I mention cheap to shoot and accurate as hell too....Check out the Diana mod 48.
 
So far I have a 17HMR, a 17HM2, and a 22lr. They all have their uses.

I'm after a 22mag next.

I could care less what the ammo costs.
 
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