50 yard charles - .22 HV VS 17HMR

[inthedark]

Here's my take on it, ruthlessly plagiarised from an arms dealer. Accuracy kills, not speed.

[Vince Green]

The problem with .22s is wind deflection on a blustery night at anything past close range and the fox has a difficult shaped head. Very low sloping forehead. The brain is set further back than you would imagine, so you have to be very accurate. Other people have ridiculed me for saying so but I still maintain that a poor shot with a .22 can deflect off a fox's scull, espesciallly the forehead because of the slope. The other alternative is that you accidentally put a shot into the snout which results in a cruel wounding.

A heart shot with a .22 will still result in a runner (often) and you end up hunting for it in the undergrowth with torches. I have shot more foxes years ago with a .22 than anything else but if you have a "hummer" it will drop it much better.

A good heart shot Bang -dead.

[Evil Elvis]

HMR all the way, at 50 yards its devastating on foxes. If you do an engine room shot with the hmr, as someone already said the round wont exit, all the energy is dispersed on impact, I have picked them up and they slosh like a bag of water.

 

.22lr I usually only do head shots, but given the choice of the 2 Id use the hummer all day long!!!

 

But i have to say the .222 is much more satisfying to use

[Redgum]

My FEO told me that where a centrfire shot maybe unsafe a .17hmr is the best option over .22. I don't shoot many foxes, only when requested to save some idiot opening fire at 50ys with a 12gauge full of no7 shot. Have only shot one with .22lr with subs, that was about 50yds,it was an engine room shot and must have run 60yds before going down stone dead.

Since then I have used the .17hmr, devastingly accurate especially when range can be difficult to judge at night, they dont walk many paces before going down as the little bullet expends all its energy in the heart/lungs. Centrefire is best but this isnt always practical.