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.17hmr Or .22 magnum?


Cal
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Hi all,

Was thinking about a .22 Magnum, for long range bunnys. (130yds and under)

Plus the odd fox at close range.

I have read that the .17 hmr is out selling the old .22 magnum and is a better round.

I am confused as what to get :rolleyes: , any suggestions?

I thought that the .22 magnum was very popular?

One thing that concerns me is wind, will the .17 be more effected by this, then the .22?

Thanks for any info. :thumbs:

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Hands down .17HMR... the .22 magnum was popular, about 5 years ago.

Saying this I did pick up a anschutz .22 magnum this week for £60 it top condition :rolleyes: , so if you are looking for something that will keep its value dont go for the magnum, my local RFD said they havent sold any magnum ammo in a long time, its now becoming obsalete in the shops. However, i love the sound it makes... the problem i see with the magnum round is that you have the same bullet size as a .22lr but you have twice the casing, so twice the powder and i find it a bit pokey...

They are both capable of the quarry stated, but if it were me i would go for the .17HMR.

Gibby

Edited by gibby
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The .22 mag should be better with wind.. but 130yards is something else.. even a .223 will be affected at that range by wind.

 

Go for the .17... much more exciting! and quite possibly a lot more choice.

If you read around, youl see Axe and a friend of his were shooting a 17 in the snow.. so it must be alright :rolleyes:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Of course youre still confused, that's life; you will be shooting for several years before you know what's good and what's not & learn by personal experience not by what people tell you.

 

One thing I can tell you is that .17 are **** in windy conditions and if you want to eat the meat no good to man nor beast. It also scares everything off for miles around. You can't silence something going mach 2...

 

If you use a moderated standard .22 LR with subsonic you will kill a lot more bunnies with it, you can use high velocity if you want to take bunnies at 100yds plus but you don't need a magnum rimfire although a .22 hornet can be handy for close range foxes.

 

Because of the relatively poor trajectory of a rimfire round, 150 yard rabbits would be damn good shooting regardless of type of round - you have to zero for the distance you are shooting at regardless of what calibre you choose.

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dont buy a .22 mag they are noisey, expensive to run (for a rimfire), generally dont seem to shoot very well, arnt good for foxes past 80 or so yards

 

and i just dont like them, if your going to go supersonic get a .22 hornet or .222/223 dont mess around with a larger rimfire unless you cant afford centerfire ammo. If you have to get a big rimfire get a HMR and just dont go shooting on windy days. Windy days are for pigeon shooting anyway :rolleyes: what are doin with a rifle :rolleyes:

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i regular shoot up to 100 rabbits a night with a .17 hmr, and sak mod. if noise was a issue i dont think i could do this. will your issuing force give you the 17 for fox.

as its not a foxing tool, and the 20grn ammo is no better at flattening Charlie than the 17grn bt,s. strong wind is a problem over 100 yds. but how many really windy nights do we get. i dont eat bunnies any more, but if i did. at 100 yds you can take there eyes out, (after a bit of practice). its a good round. but it does have limits.

it would be a lot safer than the magnum,i have never had one bounce, but lads on here have.but i only use 17 grn ammo now.

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the wind thing is always the argument against the .17, but its also used against it when comparing with the .22LR, If you compare like for like so 75 yards max which is pretty much what the .22 is accurate to then the .17 isn't affected that much at all. But if you start taking long shots so 150-200 yards then it is. We were playing with mine at the weekend in @ a 20mph crosswind and at 200 yards we were geting a foot of deflection as it was onto very dry drilling you could see nicely what was happening. But still you could hit a stella can after two shots to see what was happening try that with your .22 :rolleyes:

But brought back to 100 yards it was perhaps 2 inches of drift which really isn't that much in the real world and easy to compensate for, it just means you leave the long shots if its really windy

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Wind? Just learn how to shoot! :rolleyes:

 

Only joshing - wind from the left etc... wait for the wind to drop and pull the trigger. Or get used to that much wind is that much drift. Breezy (whateverthatmeans) is 2 inches at 100 yards with my rig.

 

No breeze is shots in less than a 10p piece at 100 yards. Great fun!

 

RTD

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  • 2 weeks later...
the wind thing is always the argument against the .17, but its also used against it when comparing with the .22LR, If you compare like for like so 75 yards max which is pretty much what the .22 is accurate to then the .17 isn't affected that much at all.

.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :thumbs:

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.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :)

Really!!! :thumbs: :blink: :D

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pity you could'nt try both (sako quad etc) .22 magnum's are very effective, had one couple of years ago, and they are hard hitting wee things, a bit noisey though, something you should really try yourself before you form an opnion, saying that by the time you buy ,try ,decide it's ok but you fancy a .17 , trade it in for one ,you have lost as lot of money, think your rfd is right though. 017hmr's are the in thing at the moment, though wind drift is supposed to be a problem, and with the weight of the bullet you can see why, I am bad enough at guessing range without having to factor in wind speed, everybody says 17's have a big grin factor, which you cannot ignore.

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.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :lol:

I think you mean feet not yards . :):lol::oops:

Edited by JJaxeman
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the wind thing is always the argument against the .17, but its also used against it when comparing with the .22LR, If you compare like for like so 75 yards max which is pretty much what the .22 is accurate to then the .17 isn't affected that much at all.

.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :oops:

I can spot a whind up merchant a mile away :lol: ...............75 yds for a .22lr is a fair and accurate comment Where CONSISTANCY is Concerned :) ..............The gun is capable of alot more unlike the ammo being put down the barrel :lol:

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At one stage I considered a .17 for shooting Grey crows. Where I shoot it is hilly and this can be a bit*h with the .22Lr. So I and going for .222. Will be better in wind, do greys and fox. I use Lazzers in my 22LR for shots up to 70-100 yrs and they are spot on, wind permitting.

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the wind thing is always the argument against the .17, but its also used against it when comparing with the .22LR, If you compare like for like so 75 yards max which is pretty much what the .22 is accurate to then the .17 isn't affected that much at all.

.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :lol:

:lol: hmmmm!!!! annie oakey eh?:lol: love to be as good a shot as you 150+ yds on rabbits with a .22lr is this common practice or am i just a ****e shot :*) as for a hit or miss at that range what happens to the bullets that miss :) Ah well the few rabbits i shoot is probably nothing compared to some of the hot shots :oops:

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the wind thing is always the argument against the .17, but its also used against it when comparing with the .22LR, If you compare like for like so 75 yards max which is pretty much what the .22 is accurate to then the .17 isn't affected that much at all.

.22LR only accurate to 75 yards... don't be ridiculous.. I zero at 100 yards and shoot to 150+ as for 2" of drift that's a hit or a miss when taking a head shot at a rabbit! Of course you could always peirce it's ears... :oops:

well if you can do that with a .22 just think what you'd be capable of with a .17 :lol:

 

300 yard shots on rabbits would be an everyday occurence by the sounds of it :)

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I dont agree , the .17 hasnt been produced to take down animals the sizes of foxes. Sure its a flat trajectory round for longer distances than the .22 mag but is hell in the wind, but it lacks the punch and penetrating capabilities of a .22 mag. Sure the 22 mag round is more expensive round but is more capable of takeing down foxes humanely than a .17.

 

But saying all that the .17 HMR is a good round in its own right, good for crows, squirrels and bunnys, but not a fox round in my book.

 

Also if your gonna go for a fox round, go for the .22 hornet or a centerfire.

 

All the best

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