.22 or .17 hmr

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

[SharpShooter14 0]

Nice video, I agree with him on his 'weapon of choice' for rabbits.

[woz 260]

when i go out shooting i always take my hmr then 22-250 i cant remember the last time i hunted with my 22lr..a friend is coming over tonight so he will be using the 22lr..the chaps shooting isnt very good at all,i would be embaressed to put groups like that on the net ..BUT atleast he has done a video unlike me so i guess its easy to critasize the fella 17 HMR FOR RABBITS EVERY TIME

[dartmoorman 0]

Sorry guys, and this is only my very humble opinion. But I have been shooting rabbits for over 37 years and carry out vermin control and deer management on three farms and one estate, and I still dont think you can beat the .22lr for rabbiting. The video, again, only my very humble opinion was shite. It is easy to touch group a .22lr at 50mts with good ammo, and how can you compare the hitting power between a HV bullet (MV 2550fps) compared to the .22 subs (MV 1000fps) used here. Not to mention the fact, if you fart at a .17 it is of course. The heavier 37 grain bullet stays straighter. The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it. But for rabbits, and I am talking RABBITS here.........The good old, and proven .22lr everytime. Cheaper to buy and cheaper to run as well. Me and my little team have shot over 380 rabbits in the last 5 weeks, at a cost of approx £41.35 in ammo. How much would that have cost in .17hmr.

 

.22lr RULES FOR RABBITS.

[Finkley 1]

Sorry guys, and this is only my very humble opinion. But I have been shooting rabbits for over 37 years and carry out vermin control and deer management on three farms and one estate, and I still dont think you can beat the .22lr for rabbiting. The video, again, only my very humble opinion was shite. It is easy to touch group a .22lr at 50mts with good ammo, and how can you compare the hitting power between a HV bullet (MV 2550fps) compared to the .22 subs (MV 1000fps) used here. Not to mention the fact, if you fart at a .17 it is of course. The heavier 37 grain bullet stays straighter. The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it. But for rabbits, and I am talking RABBITS here.........The good old, and proven .22lr everytime. Cheaper to buy and cheaper to run as well. Me and my little team have shot over 380 rabbits in the last 5 weeks, at a cost of approx £41.35 in ammo. How much would that have cost in .17hmr.

 

.22lr RULES FOR RABBITS.

 

Alright DMM,

 

Damn straight a 22lr will 'touching group' @ 50m, it certainly doesn't hold as true as the HMR in wind though, the physics won't allow it.

 

The fact you shoot over much greater distances with the HMR makes it feel like it is very susceptible to wind drift, but the 22lr is nearly 30% worse at the same yardage.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Mr_Logic 5]

Sorry guys, and this is only my very humble opinion. But I have been shooting rabbits for over 37 years and carry out vermin control and deer management on three farms and one estate, and I still dont think you can beat the .22lr for rabbiting. The video, again, only my very humble opinion was shite. It is easy to touch group a .22lr at 50mts with good ammo, and how can you compare the hitting power between a HV bullet (MV 2550fps) compared to the .22 subs (MV 1000fps) used here. Not to mention the fact, if you fart at a .17 it is of course. The heavier 37 grain bullet stays straighter. The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it. But for rabbits, and I am talking RABBITS here.........The good old, and proven .22lr everytime. Cheaper to buy and cheaper to run as well. Me and my little team have shot over 380 rabbits in the last 5 weeks, at a cost of approx £41.35 in ammo. How much would that have cost in .17hmr.

 

.22lr RULES FOR RABBITS.

17HMR really wasn't designed for shooting coyotes and foxes. Talk to your local firearms department, they might grant you HMR for fox but you will at least have to ask very nicely indeed.

 

HMR is a bunny rabbit tool for longer range shooting. It holds up much better in the wind than the 22LR - bullet weight per se has very little to do with windage. Weight normally means a better ballistic coefficient which means it holds its energy, and thus velocity, better. This means there is less flight time, which in turn means there is less windage.

 

HMR has a better bullet shape than 22LR, it is going considerably faster when it leaves the muzzle as well. These things mean it flies flatter than the LR, and is less wind-affected (even than 22 Magnum).

 

HOWEVER, 22LR penetrates better, which makes it better (IMHO) on larger animals unless you're very close and the HMR can penetrate and expand.

 

Also, this side of the Pond, you can have a moderator easily and shoot subsonic ammo. This is 22LR for me - a very specific use - silence. If i don't need to be quiet, I don't use LR. You get much better performance from HMR or centrefire.

[dartmoorman 0]

Cheers guys. My main point is the fact that if you are shooting a lot of rabbits for vermin control, how much would 500 17 HMR rounds cost. I dont know, I have never bought any! I suppose being a Devonian, these things are important.

 

You must remember, a Devonian is like a Scot with the generosity squeezed out of him!

[woz 260]

Cheers guys. My main point is the fact that if you are shooting a lot of rabbits for vermin control, how much would 500 17 HMR rounds cost. I dont know, I have never bought any! I suppose being a Devonian, these things are important.

 

You must remember, a Devonian is like a Scot with the generosity squeezed out of him!

 

 

honardy v max 17 hmr are £89 for 500 ie £8.90 a box.thats the best price i can get...

 

elley 22 subs were £33 for 500 last time i had some.....we went out last night and i used my 22lr and left the hmr in the bag...after 12 mnths of just using hmr i found 22lr lacking.rabbits i would easily shoot with the hmr i didnt shoot at..and i was over and under compansating witth the lr..i found i didnt scare so much off using the lr.but i didnt get on with it like the hmr..my mate kept on about calibre limitation.i kept saying my hmr would of had that one..

[dartmoorman 0]

Thanks Woz. I was under the impression that .17hmr rounds were more expensive than that. I supose it is a case of being used to what your used to, I have just used a .22lr for years....And years! And perhaps we have smaller fields here in Devon, which I think we do, but there is just not the need to shoot much further than 75 yards. At a guess, I reckon we have an 85% head/neck kill rate from a vehicle and we do shoot a lot of rabbits. I still dont think I will be changing to a .17hmr, I dont see the need.........But I bet they are good fun!

 

GOOD RABBITING - WHATEVER YOU USE

 

My wife is Scottish by the way!

[danebrewer10 6]

The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it.

 

Are you crazy? .17 designed for coyotes? it's a small game round! same way as the .22lr will take a fox at a pinch, the .17 HMR will take a fox at a pinch, the bulllets aren't strong enough to hold together, possibly those soft point bullets, i wouldn't know, but the hornady v-max bullets that many are loaded with just fragment on impact, fine for gophers/crows/magpies etc, but not realy enough for a fox. I wouldn't want do push shooting a fox further than about 80m with the .17 even head shots. minimum for foxes and coyotes... .223 rem .22lr is great for bunnies especially in populated areas, but for ease of use, ie. less need for accurate range finding and hold over/under the .17 wins there, the wind debate is interesting, a heavier bullet needs more oomph to blow it around, but because the .17 spends less time in the air (less than 1/2) might it be blown less far? I dunno, I don't have either! but i do spend a lot of time on the net reading up on this kind of stuff, something i find really interesting here's quite an interesting review of the .17 if you're interested http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm

[dartmoorman 0]

Are you crazy?

 

The .17 hmr is not a caliber I have or ever will be interested in. But at 51, I am not to old to learn, and I hope I continue to do so. However "danebrewer10" Crazy I am not, and when you have accounted for as many rabbits, foxes, deer, pheasants, woodcock, snipe etc as I have over the years, then you can start a comment with an insult....But on the other hand, no, you should not start any comment on this superb forum with an insult. Manners my lad. Your comments a very relevant and interesting, but learn not to start with an insult. After all, believe me, you would not say it to my face!

[Deker 3,478]

Thanks Woz. I was under the impression that .17hmr rounds were more expensive than that. I supose it is a case of being used to what your used to, I have just used a .22lr for years....And years! And perhaps we have smaller fields here in Devon, which I think we do, but there is just not the need to shoot much further than 75 yards. At a guess, I reckon we have an 85% head/neck kill rate from a vehicle and we do shoot a lot of rabbits. I still dont think I will be changing to a .17hmr, I dont see the need.........But I bet they are good fun!

 

GOOD RABBITING - WHATEVER YOU USE

 

My wife is Scottish by the way!

 

£8.90 for 50 is hot, I'm paying £100 for 500 and thats not bad my way!!

[Deker 3,478]

I don't think some of you guys get out enough...17HMR is not better, and .22LR is not better on bunnies.

 

Some land favours one or the other, some neighbours want it quiet, some are closer and some further away....it isn't a matter of which is best, if you are a professional or have lots of different land I can recommend BOTH....they are different and have different good and bad points.

 

If however, I had to dump every single rifle I have (including all the centrefires) and only keep just one ..it would be the .22LR!!

[Finkley 1]

The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it.

 

Are you crazy? .17 designed for coyotes? it's a small game round! same way as the .22lr will take a fox at a pinch, the .17 HMR will take a fox at a pinch, the bulllets aren't strong enough to hold together, possibly those soft point bullets, i wouldn't know, but the hornady v-max bullets that many are loaded with just fragment on impact, fine for gophers/crows/magpies etc, but not realy enough for a fox. I wouldn't want do push shooting a fox further than about 80m with the .17 even head shots. minimum for foxes and coyotes... .223 rem .22lr is great for bunnies especially in populated areas, but for ease of use, ie. less need for accurate range finding and hold over/under the .17 wins there, the wind debate is interesting, a heavier bullet needs more oomph to blow it around, but because the .17 spends less time in the air (less than 1/2) might it be blown less far? I dunno, I don't have either! but i do spend a lot of time on the net reading up on this kind of stuff, something i find really interesting here's quite an interesting review of the .17 if you're interested http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm

 

Mate, a bullet isn't blown anywhere, it is 'dragged' or 'pulled' down wind so weight has nothing to do with it.

 

Also shorter flight time is irrelevant. The difference in time taken to reach the target compared to the time taken if there was no drag (for example in a vacum) is the key. The less variation, the less windage.

 

.204 Ruger with its 32grain load is excellent in the wind.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[danebrewer10 6]

The .17hmr was designed for shooting Coyotes and the like, and is no doubt very good at it.

 

Are you crazy? .17 designed for coyotes? it's a small game round! same way as the .22lr will take a fox at a pinch, the .17 HMR will take a fox at a pinch, the bulllets aren't strong enough to hold together, possibly those soft point bullets, i wouldn't know, but the hornady v-max bullets that many are loaded with just fragment on impact, fine for gophers/crows/magpies etc, but not realy enough for a fox. I wouldn't want do push shooting a fox further than about 80m with the .17 even head shots. minimum for foxes and coyotes... .223 rem .22lr is great for bunnies especially in populated areas, but for ease of use, ie. less need for accurate range finding and hold over/under the .17 wins there, the wind debate is interesting, a heavier bullet needs more oomph to blow it around, but because the .17 spends less time in the air (less than 1/2) might it be blown less far? I dunno, I don't have either! but i do spend a lot of time on the net reading up on this kind of stuff, something i find really interesting here's quite an interesting review of the .17 if you're interested http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm

 

Mate, a bullet isn't blown anywhere, it is 'dragged' or 'pulled' down wind so weight has nothing to do with it.

 

Also shorter flight time is irrelevant. The difference in time taken to reach the target compared to the time taken if there was no drag (for example in a vacum) is the key. The less variation, the less windage.

 

.204 Ruger with its 32grain load is excellent in the wind.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

 

no, i meant blown around as in blown sideways by the wind i always though that if you subjected a bullet or anything to a force for one second and then again for two seconds, the object that has been acted on longest by the force would have moved further? like pushing a car for one minute or 30 seconds?

 

here's to warm barrels!