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17 hmr


gary pierce
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5 minutes ago, gary pierce said:

i have a 22 rim fire lm thinking of getting a 17hmr as some of my ground has flint and the 22 ricochets any help regards.

Don't think an HMR is immune from ricochet, it's better, due to the frangible bullet, but the same care needs to be taken.

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.22lr is very prone to ricochet because its a heavy lump traveling relatively slowly, the hmr tends to break up but not always so precations still need to be taken.

I think the hmr has had its time of being flavour of the month.

It's noisy, expensive to feed (getting on for £20/box now) and is limited in what it can do.

It's not a foxing round. Sure, it will kill them but if you are foxing you really should be looking at .22 c.f. of some description. 

So that makes it a rabbit gun.

I think .22lr is good to 80 yards for a reasonable shot, further if you are confident in pushing it.

.17hmr reasonably 120? I know people will shoot it further but a rabbits head at more than that is very small. And hitting them in the front end with the hmr makes a mess.

So if you have a lot of rabbits between 80 and 120 yards, you don't want to eat them or you are a very good shot, noise isn't a problem and you don't mind paying 3-4 times as much for ammo then it's a good tool. Oh, unless you are in a particularly windy area.

Pretty limited as far as I'm concerned.

Thoughts?

 

Edd

 

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Any bullet will rico given the right surface angle/surface etc etc BUT the 17 HMR has probably the best record.  I don't think Gary mentioned foxes and I agree, not a choice.

I am a great fan of the 17 HMR, it is so surgical out to 150-200yrds ...cost? ...how much is a packet of fags these days and a pint of beer ?  Due to it's accuracy very few rounds are wasted once you have it zeroed in and that depends on what you are using it for it will do the job on small verminous things, fur or feather.

I have a 22RF for mainly those jobs where I want as near silent conditions as possible .... I haven't worked out yet how to silence the THWOCK!!! as the bullet arrives ....

to day on the squirrels on pheasant feeders and able to tidy up nine without the pheasants being concerned and quiet enough that a nice tasty young muntie buck made an offer I couldn't refuse. (just happened I had the 22 Bench Rest with me as well).

You will enjoy the 17HMR.

 

Edited by Walker570
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10 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

.22lr is very prone to ricochet because its a heavy lump traveling relatively slowly, the hmr tends to break up but not always so precations still need to be taken.

I think the hmr has had its time of being flavour of the month.

It's noisy, expensive to feed (getting on for £20/box now) and is limited in what it can do.

It's not a foxing round. Sure, it will kill them but if you are foxing you really should be looking at .22 c.f. of some description. 

So that makes it a rabbit gun.

I think .22lr is good to 80 yards for a reasonable shot, further if you are confident in pushing it.

.17hmr reasonably 120? I know people will shoot it further but a rabbits head at more than that is very small. And hitting them in the front end with the hmr makes a mess.

So if you have a lot of rabbits between 80 and 120 yards, you don't want to eat them or you are a very good shot, noise isn't a problem and you don't mind paying 3-4 times as much for ammo then it's a good tool. Oh, unless you are in a particularly windy area.

Pretty limited as far as I'm concerned.

Thoughts?

 

Edd

 

I thought this. My hmr sits in the cabinet. Thinking i should sell it. The 22lr is my go to rifle. Ive often shot rabbits to 100yrds. Its just soo quiet. Id rather swap the hmr for a wmr. More clout and consistent ammo. 

Each to there own.

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I would agree with some of the second half of your post edd distances i would say are further for both calibres and the both calibres arent

true foxing guns however both are capable at acceptable ranges for surprise foxes , l have both and go through bouts of using one for a good while before deciding i like the other one better, however if it was a choice between the two i would keep the .22

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If your looking to kill rabbits to eat ..eg head shot...then buy a FAC air rifle and learn to stalk.  If like me your expected to kill vermin be it rabbits, squirrels , magpies, crows on the deck then the 17HMR is the tool.  I leave my carcases for the ever increasing numbers of buzzards and red kites..whilst they are stuffing themselves with one of those they will hopefully leave the game birds alone.   The 17 HMR also opens them up ready.

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31 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

.22lr is very prone to ricochet because its a heavy lump traveling relatively slowly, the hmr tends to break up but not always so precations still need to be taken.

I think the hmr has had its time of being flavour of the month.

It's noisy, expensive to feed (getting on for £20/box now) and is limited in what it can do.

It's not a foxing round. Sure, it will kill them but if you are foxing you really should be looking at .22 c.f. of some description. 

So that makes it a rabbit gun.

I think .22lr is good to 80 yards for a reasonable shot, further if you are confident in pushing it.

.17hmr reasonably 120? I know people will shoot it further but a rabbits head at more than that is very small. And hitting them in the front end with the hmr makes a mess.

So if you have a lot of rabbits between 80 and 120 yards, you don't want to eat them or you are a very good shot, noise isn't a problem and you don't mind paying 3-4 times as much for ammo then it's a good tool. Oh, unless you are in a particularly windy area.

Pretty limited as far as I'm concerned.

Thoughts?

 

Edd

 

The first bullet point is a fact whereas the rest are opinions and there's nowt wrong with that. However, a second fact is that the HMR is less affected by wind than a subsonic LR.

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3 minutes ago, wymberley said:

The first bullet point is a fact whereas the rest are opinions and there's nowt wrong with that. However, a second fact is that the HMR is less affected by wind than a subsonic LR.

Yes of course but surely you are not comparing like for like? There are very accurate supersonic .22lr rounds that I would happily shoot in a good barrel up to 100-110yds. There are no .17HMR subsonic rounds of which I am aware so then it’s all about energy down range.

I enjoy pest controlling with my mate and his .17HMR, but It is noisey and wind does effect it. I am thinking I may get a .22WMR from which the HMR emerged. One of my ‘keeper mates described it as “a solution to an unknown problem” which FOR ME sums it up. I know lots of folks swear by them and by god they are accurate when set up. 

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THe HMR was my first rifle so I’m probably a little bit biased but I do love it. Touch wood I’ve never had any of the ammo problems that were widely publicised early on and I’ve shot a lot with it. I’ve cleaned it maybe a handful of times and that’s only with a bore snake and it’s still as accurate as the day I bought it. If you’re wanting to eat the rabbits you shoot then you’ve got to head shoot them, you can chest shoot them but you do run the risk of rupturing the guts because that little bullet explodes! I’ve shot a lot of foxes with it, it’s not the best tool for the job but it is an adequate tool for the job. Shoot them in the head and they fall over. Chest shooting them is an option but the tiny bullet doesn’t always drop them on the spot and they will run. The bullets will bounce, not as regularly as a 22 but the they still do ricochet. And I’ve found they will ricochet off bizzare things - one zinged off a cow pat one day! Overall it’s a handy little gun to have in the cupboard and I wouldn’t be without it. 

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Have both a 22 and a 17 HMR as well as centrefire rifles. 17 HMR gets the most time out of the cabinet. I would say its hard to find a specific use case for the 17, a 22 lr is cheaper and quiter, a 22 hornet has more range punch and range, but what the 17 HMR does is a little bit of everything adequately. Its the Skoda Yeti of calibres.

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