.17HMR V .22 RF Info please.

[Frenchieboy]

Ok Guys, I currently have a Winchester.22 (Model 290 Semi Auto) and a BSA 22-250, both of which I am quite happy with. Most of my shooting is for rabbit and fox on the hill farms around Lancashire.

I have been reading a lot about the .17 HMR where many clain that it is more accurate and has more "stopping Power" than the .22RF so I am thinking about getting a variation and having a .17HMR added to my ticket but before I do there are several questions I would like advice on:

What is the (Average) cost of .1`7 HMR ammunition compared to .22 Subsonics please?

Is the cost of a moderator for a .17 HMR similar to that of a .22RF?

Are the police likely to give me an addition of a .17HMR alond with my .22 being as they will both be for "Vermin Control"?

 

Your advice would be helpful, Thanks.

[robmiller]

£10-£12 for 50.

Longer range ability of shots. More averse to being affected by wind etc with it being a smaller round.

Yes they would grant you a variation if you put it down for long range vermin control and the .22 for short range.

Whole range of mods available equally priced to ,22

[natcot]

I have been reading a lot about the .17 HMR where many clain that it is more accurate

 

The claim that the .17 HMR is more accurate than the .22LR is somewhat misleading, it's the fact that the HMR is so flat shooting, thus very little height adjustment is needed when shooting at sensible distances. If you can hold a rifle steady then both are very accurate but the HMR will forgive poor distance judgements, hence people claiming it's more accurate.

 

Having shot with a friends HRM for a couple of years now we are finding that we take the 22lr a lot more these days. The HMR is just too loud for some of the areas we shoot, and when you firing upwards of 50 shoots per night it can be a bit too much, especially when the sound bounces of trees etc!!!

 

Cost wise is nearly three times the amount, but it is very much 1 shot = 1 rabbit, no need for follow up shots etc.

[docholiday]

You can use the same mod on the .17 as the .22

Doc

[George1990]

You can use the same mod on the .17 as the .22

Doc

 

Most of them. Some are calibre specific, like the Wildcat Whisper

 

I find I can get tighter groups with the HMR than the .22, as well as it being more sympathetic with ranging. I feel it's more down to the land you shoot which calibre you go for. I shoot on big arable fields, and smaller fields around horses. I do use the HMR in these fileds, but the .22 is more appropriate as it's quieter, and it depends whether the land-owner minds.

 

Also, if there is little cover available, like on the arable fields I shoot, the .22 would be a restriction. I sit up in the corner and wait, and with the HMR can easily shoot out to 150 yards and beyond. At this range the rabbits aren't too wary.

 

You may have Fox added to your certificate if you go for the HMR.

[WGD]

Yes they would grant you a variation if you put it down for long range vermin control and the .22 for short range.

 

the .17 will give you longer range, but will work equally well at short range.

 

Rather than range, I used the lack of availability of sub-sonic ammo for the .17 as justification for getting a .22LR at the same time and both were granted no problems.

[Dougy]

Worth thinking about,,

 

I have one spot of land that has a boarding kennel very near, to use the HMR there would not do me any favours on that permision. The 22LR and subs will be used on there

You may be able to get it passed for fox depends on the FLO some do some dont. It is a nice little round to use,good fun

 

Mine will be going out tonight anyway

[cooter]

The biggest plus with the .17HMR over the .22LR is that once you hit them in the kill zone, and even if you are unlucky enough to hit them in the gut, with the HMR they are dead.

 

I shoot both, and the LR is a very capable round, and excellent fun, with a low ammo cost which allows plinking, but if you are looking at a purely pest control (you ain't gonna eat the things ) then the HMR is the kiddie.

 

I shoot the HMR in and around a riding school, and a stables, and the horses give it about as much time as they do the bird scarer. Even the riding schools owner was amazed at how the horses didn't react to the shots.

The LR seems to disturb them more, or that could just be the ugly geezer in full cammo behind the trigger , but as you have to get that bit closer to the bunnies with the LR it means you are really in amongst it and already spooking the cattle.

 

I shoot most bunnies from 100yds and over.

I just walk into the middle of the field, get comfortable, and wait (and yes I have fallen asleep a few times on a sunny day ), then pop them as they come out.

Big numbers every time, and never a runner.

 

Compensating for the wind comes with practice, but I find that a ten mph wind gives me around one inch at 100yds, still more than enough accuracy to engine shoot a bunny, it's blustery winds that give you a problem.

 

Most forces will grant a variation for an HMR over an LR because of the reduction (I would say lack of but personal experience tells me not to) richocet, so there should be no need to write about long range vermin etc. but a phone to your FLO will give you the correct information.

 

Ammo is three times the price of subs, but the results are far better.

 

Just my experience and oppinion.

 

HTH

 

B

[Paddy Galore!]

most firearms officers prefer the 17hmr as there is less chace of ricochet, i was very impressed with mine, only disadvantage is they tend to vere off course easily, long grass is a problem. otherwise a good caliber. 22 lr a bit slower but no less accurate, also several different types eg, shorts, cb longs ,subs, velocitors etc etc...

rabbits tend to be inedible and unsaleable when shot with 17 hmr, your choice...

sak mod will do for either caliber as they're only rim fires.

[cooter]

sak mod will do for either caliber as they're only rim fires.

 

A SAC on an HMR will last a 1000 rounds if you are lucky, mine lasted less than 600 before the first set of baffles burnt out, and the groups became more like a shot gun.

 

Buy a DM80 or a Whisper as they are calibre specific, and will last the distance.

[George1990]

I eat all the rabbits I shoot with the HMR. Headshot - no meat damage. Side on chest shot - no meat damage. tTe meat is on the saddle and the back legs so it's not a problem.

[Billy.]

This thread must come up every day...

 

Right, here's my opinion.

 

When I got my .17 I thought it was the mutt's nuts.

 

What's it doing now? Sat dormant in the cabinet, because my .22LR is a far superior rifle.

 

[robmiller]

What power scopes would you guys advise to put on an HMR?

[Frenchieboy]

This thread must come up every day...

 

Right, here's my opinion.

 

When I got my .17 I thought it was the mutt's nuts.

 

What's it doing now? Sat dormant in the cabinet, because my .22LR is a far superior rifle.

 

 

I'm not faulting you nor am I saying that you are either right or wrong but just to help make the decision please can you explain why you feel that the .22 is superior please.

[Lloyd90]

I love my 27 HMR its a great round. But I wish Id also kept my 22lr It was just soooo cheap to shoot

[Billy.]

I'm not faulting you nor am I saying that you are either right or wrong but just to help make the decision please can you explain why you feel that the .22 is superior please.

 

The 17 is a noisy gun. Even with a sound mod, you have a horrible crack from the bullet. If you find that your rabbits easily spook, you'll manage to either clear an entire field from the sound or put them all on edge.

 

If you put a decent sound mod on a .22LR, you'll only hear the firing pin clicking. I'm not saying this is the reason it's a better rifle because of this...

 

The ammo is far far cheaper and gun shops will always have some sort of .22 ammo, but there really aren't that many different .17 rounds. It also seems apparent that a lot of people are suffering from an issue with the .17 cases splitting due to bad manufacturing of the breech.

 

There are a few more bits, I'll try and write them later, but I'm at my desk at work and I have the boss breathing down my neck!

[fullbore]

They are no different to other calibres of rifle, just because they are both rimfire. Each has it's place. Yes the 17 is more expensive to run than the 22, and noisier, while a moderator doesn't slence the gun down to the level of a 22 it makes the noise directionless, and the rabbits don't know where the shot comes from, only this weekend I took 3 long range bunnies sat beside each other that were out of range of the 22. They both have their place, so I use each rifle in that place so I wouldn't be without either

[al4x]

don't get me wrong Harford but from your tally you'd have used about 3 boxes of ammo so about £36 at worst so cost isn't the issue.

 

Noise wise the .22lr isn't silent despite how quiet the gun is the noise as it hits the rabbits head is a pronounced noise and usually scares the rabbits anyway. I've emptied two magazines without moving before with the HMR when we had lots of bunnies and they just don't know where the noise comes from. Ok if you've lamped the ground a lot then possibly they get lampshy but we tend to shoot them which stops them getting shy

 

I guess some depends on your kind of shooting but ours is from a vehicle so we don't use the stealth approach and the range is very useful at night if we can see a rabbit we can usually shoot it. Have to say there aren't many who leave the HMR in the cabinet and use a .22 in preference as the range and hard hitting ability of the round usually means why take out something with half the effective range. Just depends if you need to be really quiet or not

[cooter]

I use the LR and the HMR, and they are both excellent tools.

 

The OP asked if it was worth putting in a variation for an HMR, and the answer is YES.

 

As for scaring the bunnies with one shot.

I did this at the end of last week.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlbTe5TXBZU

 

The reason they popped their heads up in the first place is because I hadn't chambered a round and the click made them aware of something, but the one that legged it came back just after the buzzard left.

 

As other have also said, I have emptied two mags on a number of occasions before they decided it was probably not safe to be out.

 

I use my LR almost as much as the HMR, and I love the thing.

I have head shot bunnies up to 112 yds with it, but most times as soon as you hit one the rest are gone.

 

If I am out lamping then I always take the LR.

It is quiet, it is light weight, and up to reasonable lamping ranges it is excellent.

 

They both have their place, but as a pest control tool you can't better the HMR.

With practice, and calm conditions, you can get good groupings out to 200 yds, and it will still have the legs to clean kill a bunny at that distance if you choose to do so.

 

Cooter

[Billy.]

Al4x, just to set the record straight, I have probably shot about 5,000 .22lr rounds this year and 1500 .17hmr rounds. Just because my tallys don't seem that high, doesn't mean I just shoot pests. I hardly get a chance to go out pest controlling. However I can spend an afternoon target shooting, as there are never any bunnies about in the day.

[al4x]

ah targets are another matter not worth wasting a decent varmint round on them. I thought we were talking vermin shooting

[njc110381]

A SAC on an HMR will last a 1000 rounds if you are lucky, mine lasted less than 600 before the first set of baffles burnt out, and the groups became more like a shot gun.

 

Buy a DM80 or a Whisper as they are calibre specific, and will last the distance.

 

I fired 2000+ HMR rounds through my SAK then stuck it on my Hornet for a bit too. It was fine. I'd have taken it back for a refund as it sounds like it was faulty!