.22WRM vs. .17HMR?

I bought a Bmag 17 wsm when they first came out. It’s a 2 moa shooter which is fine for what I use it for. It’s what I use when calling coyotes in populated areas, It kills them quick out to 150 yards and is much quieter than my centerfires.
 
I have used both on ontario ground hogs. Coons. Possums. Crows. Starlings. Grackles. Jackrabbits. Coyote. Ive taken fox with the 22mag but not 17hmr. In each case involving 4 legs the 22mag was a stand out winner. For birds the 17hmr was more violent.

A 30gr vmax from my 22mag did not expand at 225 yards after going thru a front shoulder of a large jack rabbit. It flattened it however. The first shot blew his lower jaw off and he was flipping in the field. Coons take the 17hmr to the chest and keep running whereas the 22mag drops them in the tracks or within 3' for shooting coyotes on frozen creeks i prefer a head shot and both work well enough. Ive had the 17hmr bounce off a coyotes head and all i got was fur shot head on facing me. The 22mag generally always exits the head. Broadside shots i can generally exit a coyotes chest with the 22mag. 40 to 50gr bullets where as the 17hmr i never got an exit and always had to follow up the dog and lost enough to sell the hmr. Ive never lost one with the 22mag
Hitting shoulders of a coyote the 22mag will break thru and into the chest cavity. Even the 30gr vmax under 75 yards. My buddy shot 3 coyotes with his hmr. 2 were shoulder shots that did not break the bone or reach vitals. One at 20 yards the other at 60 to 70 yards. Both were shot with my 2506 as they were leaving the county at full speed. His third was a neck shot and it ran about 300 yards. I couldnt take a safe shot to back him up.

I use a 17 mach2 and love it for small edible game and have shot a coyote with it right behind the ear and it was used to shoot a 65lbs beaver and it killed it outright. That said the 22mag is my choice of the magnum rimfires.
The 22mag has a very useful range of bullet weights and styles and has stayed the test of time. The hmr isnt going anywhere though
It comes down to what you want. Destroy small animals like rats and wester ground squirrels and birds id go hmr. If shooting anything bigger like a rabbit and upwards the 22mag is my choice
 
brybenn said:
I have used both on ontario ground hogs. Coons. Possums. Crows. Starlings. Grackles. Jackrabbits. Coyote. Ive taken fox with the 22mag but not 17hmr. In each case involving 4 legs the 22mag was a stand out winner. For birds the 17hmr was more violent.

A 30gr vmax from my 22mag did not expand at 225 yards after going thru a front shoulder of a large jack rabbit. It flattened it however. The first shot blew his lower jaw off and he was flipping in the field. Coons take the 17hmr to the chest and keep running whereas the 22mag drops them in the tracks or within 3' for shooting coyotes on frozen creeks i prefer a head shot and both work well enough. Ive had the 17hmr bounce off a coyotes head and all i got was fur shot head on facing me. The 22mag generally always exits the head. Broadside shots i can generally exit a coyotes chest with the 22mag. 40 to 50gr bullets where as the 17hmr i never got an exit and always had to follow up the dog and lost enough to sell the hmr. Ive never lost one with the 22mag
Hitting shoulders of a coyote the 22mag will break thru and into the chest cavity. Even the 30gr vmax under 75 yards. My buddy shot 3 coyotes with his hmr. 2 were shoulder shots that did not break the bone or reach vitals. One at 20 yards the other at 60 to 70 yards. Both were shot with my 2506 as they were leaving the county at full speed. His third was a neck shot and it ran about 300 yards. I couldnt take a safe shot to back him up.

I use a 17 mach2 and love it for small edible game and have shot a coyote with it right behind the ear and it was used to shoot a 65lbs beaver and it killed it outright. That said the 22mag is my choice of the magnum rimfires.
The 22mag has a very useful range of bullet weights and styles and has stayed the test of time. The hmr isnt going anywhere though
It comes down to what you want. Destroy small animals like rats and wester ground squirrels and birds id go hmr. If shooting anything bigger like a rabbit and upwards the 22mag is my choice
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Jeez man, wildlife deserves more respect than being used as a testing ground for marginal shots with low powered rounds.
 
I got a Ruger .22 WMR for Christmas with a Prostaff Rimfire scope. Great combo. It was a toss-up between 22LR, 17HMR, and 22WMR. I hunt mostly in the bush with some long range shots into farmer's fields. 22LR lacked range and power for anything larger than a bird or squirrel. 17HMR lacks power for foxes and coyotes. Quite honestly, I looked at the ammo shelf at Cambodian Tire and 22WMR was out of stock so I choose that.
 
Bought a CZ 455 17 HMR and never looked back. Killed yotes out to 100 yards with it and none went more than 60 yards before piling up...and yes, I can load 222 Rem ammo for almost the cost of HMR ammo today.
 
I find the comments on the 22MWR accuracy a bit surprising. My Savage 93 shoots the 30 grain tipped rounds from Hornady and CCI very accurately, and the 33 grain Premier Accutip-V from Remington even better.

The 17HMR has a flatter trajectory for sure. I suppose this gives the impression of better accuracy?
 
Both of these calibers raise an issue I have. While the 22wmr is better than the 17hmr. They both seem to miss the mark... to big for small game. Like rabbits and partridge and to small to be really effective for predators beyond 100yrds.

Seems to me for small game a .22lr rimfire and then predators a Centerfire world work out better than either the WMR or the HMR.
If I had to choose one it would be the .22WMR for around the farm kinda use.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Both of these calibers raise an issue I have. While the 22wmr is better than the 17hmr. They both seem to miss the mark... to big for small game. Like rabbits and partridge and to small to be really effective for predators beyond 100yrds.

Seems to me for small game a .22lr rimfire and then predators a Centerfire world work out better than either the WMR or the HMR.
If I had to choose one it would be the .22WMR for around the farm kinda use.
Click to expand...

I've taken well over 200 snowshoe hares with my 22WMR over the past few seasons and didn't ruin an ounce of meat.

Headshots. Very efficient, and a perfect use for the WMR, IMO.

Same with grouse. Head/neck. Zero meat loss.
 
No hesitation on my part; the .22WMR is much more useful to me. If I'm just plinking and playing, then I want a .22lr. If I were sniping ground squirrels, then I'd go with the .17HMR; it's much easier to find a pin-point-accurate .17HMR than an equally-accurate .22WMR. But my use for these guns is almost entirely larger varmints, and almost always within 100 yards, so the big .22 is my preference.

You can buy and sell and buy and sell multiple .22WMR's looking for an exceptionally accurate one...and you will find one eventually. I have had a few that were superb tackdrivers: an old HK300, a worked-over Ruger 77/22M and a CZ512. I recently got another HK300 and have high hopes for it as well. But I probably had a dozen or more others that were not up to snuff. They were still plenty accurate for shots on the vitals of a coyote or coon at 100 yards, but they weren't oh-wow-look-at-that! guns that made you smile with hair-splitting accuracy.

Almost any .17HMR (or .17HM2, for that matter) is going to impress you with its accuracy...but it won't thrill you with its killing power on critters that you weigh in pounds rather than ounces. The HM2, in particular, is superspecialized IMHO; I used this round for baited starlings at 100-150 yards and it was terrific fun. I just can't figure out anything else I do that it would be good for...and I am fairly proficient when it comes to rationalizing another gun purchase...:)

I totally agree with Angus on the rimfire vs. small centerfire idea. If you want convenience, economy, ease of use and just plain relaxing shooting, a rimfire that does what you need of it is the only choice. Plus, when you build a new back deck on your house, you can space the boards just right for empties to fall right through when you're shooting. You rake out the area underneath a couple times a year to get rid of empties, and they're never on display for the wrong people to see! :)
 
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