need to make the decision... 22LR or 17 HMR!

[Lloyd90]

I got my FAC Application and need to decide what calibre to go for! My friend BOTCH uses a 17 HMR and loves it! I have been shooting with him a few times and its a cracking rifle ( Hes got the CZ 452 varmint with 16" barrel!) Although the things that put me off with this rifle are the extra noise it creates ( not too much of a problem ) and the extra cost of ammo!

 

I dont want an arguement but if people could give POINTS on WHY they prefer either rifle it would be much appreciated! Also how much is a box of 50 22LR rounds ? I think its like £13 for a box of 50 HMR!

 

Cheers for any help all

[harv]

cant put my finger on why but hardly touched the .22 since getting the marlin .17.

i think to be confident of hitting the quarry from short distances to way further out than the .22 gives me much more options for one in the pot.

i havnt noticed any arguable problem with the noise over the .22 as they both make the same thud on impact.

[Evilv]

I'm a recent HMR user and the round is astonishingly good, but I still like my 22lr. The luxury of just pointing the gun right at rabbits between 30 and 120 yards is something I'm not used to. I shot a few rabbits last night at between 90 and 120 yards all instant kills with dramatic damage from the Hornady 17 grn varmint bullet. It does make a hell of a mess of them though if you wanted to sell them or eat them.

 

The eleys sub .22LR is a great little round though for work up to about 60 yards and dirt cheap. Completely silent really and very effective. Why not put both on the ticket and get both as and when you can afford it?

 

I got my Hornady varmint express for £10 a box by haggling and buying 500 at once. The dealer wanted to charge £12.50 and I just said, 'I can get them for £10 a box. Match the price and I'll buy a good few'. He got his calculator out and a book with costs in it, did a few calculations and said, fair enough.

 

As for noise, where rabbits are already gun shy, they'll run at the whisper of an eley sub. Where they aren't, as long as they can't see or smell you, they'll sit tight. I'm shooting an un-silenced HMR which is pretty loud and I often shoot groups of rabbits with it at about a hundred yards when they are stting out on a warren. They just sit there while their mates explode and roll over. Quite amazing, really.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Evilv

[Admiral Von Tirpitz]

17 HMR !

 

After 6 months research and with a blank certificate for for a .22, I arranged a change of calibre with the police for a 17HMR and have been extremely pleased. Using Federal V Shok rounds and they are as good at 30 yards as they are at 150yards, straight shoot at the animal within those ranges and it packs amazing punch. There is crack compared to a friends .22, but he agrees the 17HMR is so much better all round, he also has a 223 and 243 and says if he was reduced to one rifle, he would keep the 17HMR over all the others. Good Scope and Moderator is a must.

 

Best price in Suffolk/Essex area for rounds I found is Essex Shooting Supplies in Easthorpe in Colchester, its on a farm and bit of a struggle to find even with sat nav, but worth a trip. Think they were less than £12 for 50.

 

Admiral

[wannabefisher]

get both

 

for me there is only one real difference - cost

 

if .17s cost the same .22 rounds, no one would use .22s

 

Well apart from not being able to have a semi auto in .17, but (I speak from experience here!) a semi that doesn't cycle correctly at least 24/25 times is a real pain!

[Lloyd90]

Ruger do a semi auto 17 HMR with 9 shot rotarry clip based on the 10/22!

 

Hmm I did think of putting down both and buying another when I can afford but then the question still stands, which to get first ? lol!

 

Plus it said somewhere although you dont have to buy right away you do need to buy within reasonable time or the calibre will be taken off your ticket! What counts as reasonable time ? Couple of weeks ? Couple of months ? 1 Year ? 2 Years?

 

It doesnt help when the police are vague in regulations! lol! Cheers for the tips so far, the only real issue to me also wannabefisher was the cost of the rounds, if they were the same then yes Id go straight for the 17 HMR!

 

Although I have been told they move ALOT in the wind, I feel both 17 HMR lovers over exagerate how good they are and 22 lovers over exagerate how bad they are and cost! lol! Cheers for the help so far! Keep it up please!

[Dave-G]

I have FAC air, .22LR and 17HMR.

 

The LR gets the least use. It's sometimes brought into use in places where I want to be more discrete than usual, and for the sheer cheapness of the shooting. I use the 17HMR almost every outing.

 

£13 a pack of 50 seems very expensive unless you don't mind giving all that support to your local dealer. I pay £100 a brick of remmies in Leicester - and £80 at a gunshop in Cornwall, possibly because they sell so many more than in Leicester so buy in larger volumes?

 

The price of the bullets is subjective in the overall pursuit of my hobby - it produces the required results in a more predictable and safer way. The end result is I'm less likely to harm something unintended from a follow through... or whatever.

 

My reasoning is that most 40 grain lumps of lead go somehere else after passing through Mr. Bunny, whereas only some PARTS of the 17 grain HMR round may go elsewhere.

[wannabefisher]

Ruger do a semi auto 17 HMR with 9 shot rotarry clip based on the 10/22!

 

yup and AI do a semi auto .50BMG - as far as I'm aware you or I can't have them on our FAC though!

 

I'm going to reiterate my point on the cost - if it isn't a big deal for you then go for the .17, but if it is going to stop you shooting when you want to because you wil worry about the money then go for .22

 

Regarding safety, I'm sure .17 is safer on the whole, but IMO it's not a very good reason for one over the other - imagine how many .22 bullets have been fired in this country over the last 50 years - how many ricochet accidents have you heard of? I'm sure there are some, but as a proportion of shots fired, it must be vanishingly small.

[Lloyd90]

Why cant you get a semi auto HMR on your ticket ? I know if you want a semi auto centerfire you have to request it specifically but Ruger 10/22 is allowed so I dont see why a 17 HMR semi wouldnt be! Not trying to start an arguement just noting that I thought you could get them ( Someone here actually got a 10/22 in 22 WMR theres a post in the gun section!)

 

 

Anyways think Ill probally go for the 17 although depends on how the 22 handles, going to shoot both on tuesday

[Baldrick]

Bigthug, do yourself a favour and brush up on your firearms legislation. I'd love to see the look on your FEO's face when you tell him that anyone can have a semi-auto centrefire. What utter, ignorant rubbish. Nobody, civilian or military, is permitted to own a semi-auto centrefire rifle in the UK. Semi-auto .22RFs are permitted, nothing else.

 

Before I applied for my SGC and FAC, I made sure that I knew the law, and knew what I was talking about, so that the FEO and fellow Shots wouldn't think I was lazy, or thick.

Edited August 31, 2008 by Baldrick

[Poacher]

Get a .22lr first, learn to shoot with that, then get a .17hmr and you'll appreciate it more

[Lloyd90]

Baldrick I have to refer you to this post I made a while ago this is what gave me the impression that a centerfire semi auto was allowed!

 

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...%2015&st=15

 

Specifically if you go to the second page and look at Sussex Lad's Post you will see that he has a AR 15. A semi auto centerfire! This is also confirmed by Sandersj89.

 

If im wrong I appologise, theres no need to be all high and mighty call people names lol! If im wrong then im sorry. Isnt this why this forum is here ?

Its a legit question man just relax!

 

Although where did you hear that semi auto centerfires are not allowed ? Yes Im fairly new to shooting but I HAVE tried and made an effort to read up on regulations and such. I dont think I ever encountered this particular regulation so my appologies!

[Trussman]

It's not a semi, it's a single shot straight pull

[JohnGalway]

While a picture paints a thousand words the caution to never judge a book by it's cover should follow.

 

SL's AR is a straight pull, not a semi automatic, to the best of my knowledge but I'm pretty sure I'm correct on it.

[JohnGalway]

Snap @ Trussman

[CharlieT]

Bigthug

 

The post you cited referred to a "straight pull" which is not semi auto. Don't be fooled by the look...............its only cosmetic.

 

Do a little research before putting pen to paper.

[Trussman]

Snap @ Trussman

 

Yep, we were about 30 secs apart

Edited September 1, 2008 by Trussman

[Guest topshot_2k]

17 HMR without doubt, i got mine 2 years ago and removed my .22 as i no longer had a need for it. My .17 HMR has killed many rabbits/crows/magpies and 2 foxes :yp: B)

[Evilv]

Nobody, civilian or military, is permitted to own a semi-auto centrefire rifle in the UK. Semi-auto .22RFs are permitted, nothing else.

 

Before I applied for my SGC and FAC, I made sure that I knew the law, and knew what I was talking about, so that the FEO and fellow Shots wouldn't think I was lazy, or thick.

 

 

Better tell that to the British Forces then. After all they have been equipping their guys with assault rifles - the L1a1 (SLR 7.62) from the late 50s to mid eighties and since then, the 5.62 mm SA80. So do the cops (semi auto carbines at least). I don't see either going back to bolt action somehow.

 

On the topic - the only advantage I have found to th e HMR is that it costs about three times as much. On the other hand, .22LR has a long and noble pedigree going back to the black powder .22 short of 1857. The versatility of being able to shoot cheap .22LR subsonics at 1080fps that are almost silent, or a 1640 fps stinger from the same gun can be very useful. For small game and vermin you have to be able to work out holdover at different ranges, but for the HMR that isn't an issue at practical ranges which is nice if you're a lazy *** like me.

Edited August 31, 2008 by Evilv

[Trussman]

Members of the Armed forces and Police are issued their weapons, they don't own them.

[Lloyd90]

So he has a AR 15 but has to pull back the ( cocking handle or whatever it is ?) before each shot ? Essentially making it a bolt action in ways ? Ah cheers for that blokes, although you surely understand how a person with limited experience whos new to shooting could make that mistake haha! B)

 

As already stated my apologies for being mistaken! :yp: cheers for the help btw, think I'll probally end up with a 17 HMR!

[Evilv]

Members of the Armed forces and Police are issued their weapons, they don't own them.

 

 

Since out of uniform, a military man is a private citizen like any other, and subject to identical regulations, it would serve no purpose to mention 'military' in the context of a discussion of gun ownership rules unless you were discussing the rules imposed on the armed services as military organisations. Nobody here could possibly have had the idea that an ex-soldier, airman or sailor would have different rules applied to his private possession of firearms. Hence my interpretation of the post.

[tinytim38]

go for the 17 HMR but if your not convinced you can buy my .22 set up its really nice!!

[Baldrick]

Although where did you hear that semi auto centerfires are not allowed ? Yes Im fairly new to shooting but I HAVE tried and made an effort to read up on regulations and such. I dont think I ever encountered this particular regulation so my appologies! :yp:

 

Before you start jumping to conclusions, why don't you have a read of the Home Office Guidance to the Police, pinned as a sticky on this forum? It'll hopefully enlighten you on a few important issues relating to fireams ownership and use, such as no semi-auto CFs, no rail-launched missiles, flamethrowers being strictly frowned upon etc. It might even help you with your application.

 

Evilv, having done my time following the flag, I added the 'civilian or military' comment to minimise any potential for ambiguity: I have spoken to several deluded youngsters who think that military service equals ownership of a military weapon, or acts as a quick route for ownership of civilian firearms. Incidentally, you're not just subject to identical regulations as a soldier/sailor/airman, when compared to a civvy - you're subjected to additional regulations. And the SA80 is 5.56mm.

[Evilv]

Although where did you hear that semi auto centerfires are not allowed ? Yes Im fairly new to shooting but I HAVE tried and made an effort to read up on regulations and such. I dont think I ever encountered this particular regulation so my appologies! :yp:

 

Before you start jumping to conclusions, why don't you have a read of the Home Office Guidance to the Police, pinned as a sticky on this forum? It'll hopefully enlighten you on a few important issues relating to fireams ownership and use, such as no semi-auto CFs, no rail-launched missiles, flamethrowers being strictly frowned upon etc. It might even help you with your application.

 

Evilv, having done my time following the flag, I added the 'civilian or military' comment to minimise any potential for ambiguity: I have spoken to several deluded youngsters who think that military service equals ownership of a military weapon, or acts as a quick route for ownership of civilian firearms. Incidentally, you're not just subject to identical regulations as a soldier/sailor/airman, when compared to a civvy - you're subjected to additional regulations. And the SA80 is 5.56mm.

 

Thanks for the correction Baldrick - 5.56mm indeed. I'll remember that. You are absolutely right and that four-hundredth of a millimetre is important I am sure, and in keeping with your exactitude, I propose that we stop being sloppy and call the 17HMR by its proper name, the .172 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, or better still, since we live in the EU and should be using the metric measurement system, it should be called the 4.36879 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, or for the lazy and slipshod, the 4.37 HMR.

Edited August 31, 2008 by Evilv