.22lr VS .17HMR

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37ChrisAK

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Hey all, I’m trying to decide on a good plinking and varmint rifle. In comparison to each other, price point of ammunition aside, what are people’s overall preferences? I prefer plinking at distance and understanding I’m not going to hit those 3-4-500 yard ranges, the .17hmr has me interested but is it that much better than a good 22lr and good ammo?

Thanks!
 
Hey all, I’m trying to decide on a good plinking and varmint rifle. In comparison to each other, price point of ammunition aside, what are people’s overall preferences? I prefer plinking at distance and understanding I’m not going to hit those 3-4-500 yard ranges, the .17hmr has me interested but is it that much better than a good 22lr and good ammo?

Thanks!
 
Hey all, I’m trying to decide on a good plinking and varmint rifle. In comparison to each other, price point of ammunition aside, what are people’s overall preferences? I prefer plinking at distance and understanding I’m not going to hit those 3-4-500 yard ranges, the .17hmr has me interested but is it that much better than a good 22lr and good ammo?

Thanks!
 
Both rimfires, but that's about where the similarities end. To answer the question, it would be good to know what kind of "varmints". Anything bigger than a squirrel and I'd suggest 17HMR over 22LR. In fact, for an all-around varmint caliber out to 100-125 yards, 22WMR might be worth considering instead. Doesn't normally compete with 22LR or 17HMR in terms of accuracy potential, but hits harder than both and would be the minimum I'd consider for things like groundhogs/coyotes at the distances noted.

What's easiest to buy/be accurate @ 100 yards right away=almost anything 17HMR.
 
My first rimfire rifle was a Savage in 17 hmr. Bought it with a flat of ammo. Sold it after about 200 rounds. Didn't hate it, didn't love it either. My thinking at the time was "why spend extra on rimfire ammo when I can spend more and step up to a 223 Rem?"

A month later I got a CZ 452 in 22lr with a flat of CCI minimag.... loved it's accuracy.

Years later I inherited a 22 mag... Didn't care for it at all..

Forever I will stick to 22lr ... a vast selection of affordable and often available ammo.
 
Munkey1973 said:
My first rimfire rifle was a Savage in 17 hmr. Bought it with a flat of ammo. Sold it after about 200 rounds. Didn't hate it, didn't love it either. My thinking at the time was "why spend extra on rimfire ammo when I can spend more and step up to a 223 Rem?"

A month later I got a CZ 452 in 22lr with a flat of CCI minimag.... loved it's accuracy.

Years later I inherited a 22 mag... Didn't care for it at all..

Forever I will stick to 22lr ... a vast selection of affordable and often available ammo.
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Seems like .22LR is the way to go! Thanks!
 
.22LRGUY said:
Both rimfires, but that's about where the similarities end. To answer the question, it would be good to know what kind of "varmints". Anything bigger than a squirrel and I'd suggest 17HMR over 22LR. In fact, for an all-around varmint caliber out to 100-125 yards, 22WMR might be worth considering instead. Doesn't normally compete with 22LR or 17HMR in terms of accuracy potential, but hits harder than both and would be the minimum I'd consider for things like groundhogs/coyotes at the distances noted.

What's easiest to buy/be accurate @ 100 yards right away=almost anything 17HMR.
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I like the WMR but for the accuracy factor, how much of a difference in accuracy would there be in comparison to the other 2 calibers listed? I'd like the accuracy to fairly good as the biggest use for the rifle will be for distance plinking.

Thanks
 
We shoot a couple thou rounds a day when gopher shooting’s hot. 22lr for 95%, 22 hornet for rest. This year I used a 17 rem for a 100 rds. 22 is so much cheaper and I reload my hornet for less than 17 hmr. If you need more than the 22 go CF, judo. Good luck.
 
They all have their pros/cons. Based on my first-hand varminting experience (keeping in mind I don't test/try everything on everything at all distances). All bullets are impacted by wind.

22LR-probably the highest accuracy potential with the right gun/ammo/technique, but power/range limited if you're wanting to dispatch varmints. Anything bigger than a gopher I'd say it's effective range is under 100 yards. "Right ammo" meaning that you have to work with 22s and test every ammo type you can-it won't shoot them all equally well.

22WMR-hardest hitting if big varmints are in the plans (groundhog/coyote). I've shot lots of groundhogs with 17HMR and plenty made it back to their hole. Never had one run after getting smacked by 22WMR. Not even one. For larger varmints, it's plenty accurate.

17HMR-most likely to have the best 100 yard accuracy out of the gate, and still some punch at that distance. There are only about 3-4 factory offerings ammo-wise worth trying (CCI/Hornady basically) unlike 22, where there are dozens.

Honestly OP-I consider "long range" for a 22 to be about 100 yards. By the sounds of things, you may be wanting a 22LR but have hopes of it being capable/accurate further than possible? I try to remember that the most accurate 22LR offerings are subsonic loads (about 1050fps) and being shaped like a beer can basically, you need to keep expectations realistic. I usually shoot 22LR @ 50 yards, and if that sounds too close/too easy, try putting them through the same hole at that distance and report back.

You may be better served by a .223. Anywhere I can hunt with 22WMR=223 is an option too. Those magnum rimfires (ammo) are pricing themselves out of popularity a bit.
 
I shoot rabbits from 25-125 yards with my CZ 455 in 17HMR. Trajectory is flat over that range. Takes the back side of their head completely off.
Very accurate. More expensive to shoot (well depends on the 22LR brand) but I'm not plinking, I'm hunting.
 
I’ll give you my take on it. I’ve owned a few 17 hmrs years ago and liked them but sold them not long after due to price of ammo back then. It was $14 a box back then. Now that it’s like 22-30 a box and I got myself another cz in 17hmr. I have fired many thousands of 22lr rounds over the years but I haven’t fired much 17 hmr ammo. Now that I have one I have to say it’s ALOT more fun shooting with the 17 hmr. It depends tho on your uses. For gophers and pests I would definitely choose 17hmr over 22lr. Kills them so much quicker in my experiences. If all you wanna do is shoot targets on paper and plink alot then 22lr is the one to go with. 17hmr is just too costly for me to plink with it. I use it for the occasional varmints and a soda can here n there to see the explosiveness of the little round. For paper targets 22lr is better because you can get cheaper ammo and shoot more for less money and you can also get very consistent match grade 22lr target ammo but that’s where cost definitely goes up for the 22lr using match grade ammo. So yeah…. If you want more explosive fun and varmint shooting then 17hmr. I’ve used my 22lr for gophers too and it works well but not as good as thr 17hmr especially with how little it drops. To me the 17hmr is a 200 yard max cartridge on gophers. It performs best within 150 yards. 22lr doesn’t loose it’s speed as quickly tho as the tiny 17hmr bullet does. If you wanna plink at longer distances then I’d go for 22lr and a target rifle or heavier barrel 22lr. It’s quite fun lobbing those 22lr bullets at 300-400 yards. I’ve been able to hit smaller targets at those distances pretty repeatedly with 22lr. I have not tried that with a 17hmr tho. I’ll have to try tho. The tiny 17 hmr bullet gets pushed around a lot tho by wind. I’d go 22lr if that’s what you wanna do. You will definitely get a lot more trigger time with the 22lr to gain good shooting skills if money is an issue at all. So thats also a big deciding factor. Sorry for the long winded response. Hope it kinda helps.
 
I shot 300m pretty well every time I'm at the range with my .22

I also reload .223 so I have no need for a 17hmr, I have had one when it first came out but sold it after a few boxes of ammo

***edit** LOL, is there 3x of this exact tread?
 
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37ChrisAK said:
Hey all, I’m trying to decide on a good plinking and varmint rifle. In comparison to each other, price point of ammunition aside, what are people’s overall preferences? I prefer plinking at distance and understanding I’m not going to hit those 3-4-500 yard ranges, the .17hmr has me interested but is it that much better than a good 22lr and good ammo?

Thanks!
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Yes.
 
22lr has higher accuracy potential largely due to there being much more consistent ammo available. And many companies offer match grade 22lr barrels, so you have a better chance of getting a tighter shooting gun.
My 455 varmint 17hmr is quite accurate, but it's not quite as tight shooting as my 457 MTR or Kidd-barreled 10/22 out to 100m.

Plinking - 22lr all day. Cheaper to shoot, match ammo available, precision rifles/builds are common.

Varminting - there's a case to be made for the 17hmr if you can tolerate the cost of ammo. Its laser flat out to 125y, with a fair bit more energy than 22lr. I like it because I only need to think about wind drift for most shots. Muzzle blast and recoil are a small fraction of a 223. Wind drift with the 17hmr isn't bad at all out to 100m, but past that it gets taken for a ride. A good 22lr is better at LR/ELR. The two ranchers whose pastures we gopher hunt on have specifically asked us to not use 223 due to sound and potential ricochet risk, so that could be something to think about. My buddies and I absolutely hate sitting next to a 223 in a gopher patch, so if you hunt with buddies that could be a thing.
If cost is a concern at all, 22lr is the one to go with. It's a great round to learn drop and wind on.
 
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