17 hmr, not much use?

[andyf 144]

I have just traded my 17 hmr (I had it for nearly 2 years), as I have found it is not much use to me, the only thing it could do that my other rifles cannot is take out long range Crows and Magpies lured onto a dead rabbit. (Long range for me means between 100 and 150 yards).

The ammo is expensive, and for obvoius reasons can't be reloaded, sure it kills Rabbits but leaves copper jacket shards all over the place inside the carcase. Its not powerful enough for Fox, I shot a couple with it and neither went down on impact, and both were still alive when I got to them and I had to shoot them again to finish them off, oh dear!

I also have a .22 Rimfire and a .270 Centrefire and I bought the 17 to try and get something in between, now I have got a Ruger Number 1 in 22.250 to replace the 17, I have had a 22.250 before so I can be sure it is vastly better than the 17, reloading makes the 22.250 ammo less than double the price of the scrawny 17 crow basher.

The 17 does what it says on the tin alright, accurate yes, but not enough power for anything but non edible vermin.

What do you think?

[leadpig 0]

shoot the rabbits in the head

good calibre for those that cant get centrefire

[mickyfinn 1]

I have CF rifles and also 17hmr,great little round,never had probs with dropping fox,as long as its less than 100 yds and placed well. smashing cal,and would never get rid, always has a place,for my hunts.

 

Mick

[cyclonebri1 8]

I have just traded my 17 hmr (I had it for nearly 2 years), as I have found it is not much use to me, the only thing it could do that my other rifles cannot is take out long range Crows and Magpies lured onto a dead rabbit. (Long range for me means between 100 and 150 yards).The ammo is expensive, and for obvoius reasons can't be reloaded, sure it kills Rabbits but leaves copper jacket shards all over the place inside the carcase. Its not powerful enough for Fox, I shot a couple with it and neither went down on impact, and both were still alive when I got to them and I had to shoot them again to finish them off, oh dear!

I also have a .22 Rimfire and a .270 Centrefire and I bought the 17 to try and get something in between, now I have got a Ruger Number 1 in 22.250 to replace the 17, I have had a 22.250 before so I can be sure it is vastly better than the 17, reloading makes the 22.250 ammo less than double the price of the scrawny 17 crow basher.

The 17 does what it says on the tin alright, accurate yes, but not enough power for anything but non edible vermin.

What do you think?

 

 

That's the whole point, there is no other tool as suitable/affordable for this, out of range for the .22, and too costly and noisy for a centrefire. I find it a fantastic gun for anyone like me who does not require the added clout of centrefire calibres and the hassle of reloading

[langouroux 14]

are you gonna sell it?

[flytie 1]

If you reload, how about a Hornet? The more I see of them the more i like them, there is nothing cheaper to reload, easy to moderate and very effective.

 

ft

[Alycidon 2]

Hornet is indeed a very sweet round but is a bit fiddly to load, probably around twice the grunt of an HMR. My force have now stated that they will not authorise HMR for fox, a wise choice as its a head shot or nothing really unless close.

 

A

[leadpig 0]

also i dont consider 18p per shot dear for hunting

[mattydski 560]

probably around twice the grunt of an HMR

 

To be fair, it is a little more than twice the grunt..

 

.17hmr

Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy

17 gr (1.1 g) 2,550 ft/s (780 m/s) 245 ft·lbf (332 J)

20 gr (1.3 g) 2,350 ft/s (720 m/s) 250 ft·lbf (340 J)

 

22 Hornet

Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy

35 gr (2.3 g) VMax 3,060 ft/s (930 m/s) 728 ft·lbf (987 J)

40 gr (2.6 g) SP 2,826 ft/s (861 m/s) 710 ft·lbf (960 J)

45 gr (2.9 g) SP 2,787 ft/s (849 m/s) 776 ft·lbf (1,052 J)

50 gr (3.2 g) SP 2,713 ft/s (827 m/s) 817 ft·lbf (1,108 J)

55 gr (3.6 g) SP 2,652 ft/s (808 m/s) 859 ft·lbf (1,165 J)

 

I have always shot .22lr, and do well with it, but I do see the place for the .17hmr as an extended range, flat shooting vermin round.

.22 Hornet is also something which appeals to me. If only it were a little better supported by RFDs.

 

Hornet is definitely a good entry level fox calibre for short to medium range..with the odd long range vermin thrown in.

 

But both, in my opinion, fail short of a total bunny killer, which, for bang for bucks, is .22lr

[Lewdan 17]

Hi mate, i used to have a a cz in .17 hmr, but changed it last year and got a .22k hornet dont get me wrong the 17 was a cracking little round for rabbits ,crows out to 100yds +, But i found it was not so effective on a fox at these ranges ok if you got him in the head no problem, but to do this on a regular basis, if and when when it presents itself is not always easy and gives little room for error. My .22k hornet has 3 times the energy of the 17 with a 35 or 40gn ballistic tip bullet, and opens up the killing range to about 200yds with either head or heart/ chest shots and even at this range makes a big hole. i reload my ammo to give a muzzle velosity of about 2900fps with 40 gn head.

Dont be put off --the hornet rounds are easy to reload, cheap because of the small amount of powder used. the rifle can be moderated very effectively, and has hardly any recoil. excellent mid range fox round

i agree with Mattydski .22 lr is the tool for rabbits up to 80yds or so & hornet for all legal quarry up to 200yds

as you can tell i am now a Hornet fan.

 

Hope this helps

[dixyhmr 62]

I couldnt imagine being without the HMR.

 

You say youve got a .22-250 instead, but you cannot really draw a comparison for the two as they are worlds apart.

 

I like the HMR more than the .22lr but I can see what you are saying. My mate calls it an in-between calibre as in his opinion its a bit much for bunnies, and not enough for fox which is pretty much along the same lines as what you are saying.

 

Horses for courses mate at the end of the day. If we all agreed on the same things and all had the same opinions the world would be a very dull place !

 

Hope you get sorted out and find the right calibre for you

[andyf 144]

If you reload, how about a Hornet? The more I see of them the more i like them, there is nothing cheaper to reload, easy to moderate and very effective.

 

ft

The Hornet has cases like Eggshell, reloading is fiddly and needs .223 not .224 bullets, but apart from that it's an OK round, the .223 is much better though, still has small rifle primers but much more robust and easier to source cases (Lapua do .223) bullets etc. Also the hornet is hard to find in new rifles, I can only think of Anshutz at this time?

I chose the 22.250 because I've had one before and I know how good it is, that said if a .223 Ruger No1 had come up I would have had that as an alternative because I'd be happy with either.

[niffkin 1]

Hi

 

Im fairly new to 17HMR calibre and from what i have found i am very pleased with its results.

 

As in terms of pest control ie Rabbits and corvids then its fantastic accuracy and flat trajectory is excellent .

 

Now for its bad points yes it does leave a lot of carcass damage to rabbits and is prone to wind and the ammunition is expensive.

 

I would never use it to kill a fox as i beleive it is not a suitable calibre to despatch a fox effectively.

 

BUT when i aim at my intended quarry and i pull the trigger i know that the ballistic bullet wont ricoche and safety is always a must.

[andyf 144]

Hi mate, i used to have a a cz in .17 hmr, but changed it last year and got a .22k hornet dont get me wrong the 17 was a cracking little round for rabbits ,crows out to 100yds +, But i found it was not so effective on a fox at these ranges ok if you got him in the head no problem, but to do this on a regular basis, if and when when it presents itself is not always easy and gives little room for error. My .22k hornet has 3 times the energy of the 17 with a 35 or 40gn ballistic tip bullet, and opens up the killing range to about 200yds with either head or heart/ chest shots and even at this range makes a big hole. i reload my ammo to give a muzzle velosity of about 2900fps with 40 gn head.

Dont be put off --the hornet rounds are easy to reload, cheap because of the small amount of powder used. the rifle can be moderated very effectively, and has hardly any recoil. excellent mid range fox round

i agree with Mattydski .22 lr is the tool for rabbits up to 80yds or so & hornet for all legal quarry up to 200yds

as you can tell i am now a Hornet fan.

 

Hope this helps

Agree with you! 17hmr has it's slot no doubt, but not with me, I have had a .223 and a 22-250 before so I still have the reloading dies and the other bits needed for reloading either calibre, so that is were I started looking.

Also the 17hmr shot rabbits to a mess and full of copper 'bits', all this 'head shot' stuff is fine, but out of my truck window, at night, with the engine running, raining, and blowing a hooley and 5 to 10 seconds to get a shot away, yeah right! fantasy stuff that.

All Rabbits need is the good old .22 rimmy, no need for anything else.

I have always liked the look and feel of the Ruger Number 1, I shot one in America last year in 30-06 and thought it was excellent, also I'm left handed so an ambidextrous rifle like the Number 1 is a great help.

One problem is Ruger have their own scope mounting attachment design, meaning you can only use Ruger rings or as I did get the 'proper' matching Leupold version from USA, couldn't get them in the UK (I have a 30mm tube 6,5>20x50 VX3 LRT Varmint Ret) $136 for the pair, (ouch) but if that's the only pitfall I'll be happy.

[leadpig 0]

we dont have anything bigger than hares to shoot over here so i dont really need hornet(although i still want it )

i got the hmr as the police here prefer you to have them over 22lr due to ricochets and because of how flat it shoots.

ive nothing against 22lr and have a empty slot for one