In general I think it is safe to say that 17 seems to be more accurate over the 22wmr.....is that the round or is that the guns the round is used in.....I really don't know.
I have for....heck decades it seems....been saying I should get a 17.....then I say to myself, why? You have a 22mag that does all the same jobs. I have two 22mag rifles, one that german company that starts with A that I would spell just so horrid, the other a lever marlin. The marlin shoots eh ok, the bolt gun is a tack driver. I have shot 17's and been very impressed and walk away saying you know FP you should get yourself one of those.....never happens because MY 22mag bolt rifle shoots just as well as those 17's....and hits about as hard.
The best part about the .17 HMR is the trajectory, being a bit flatter than the .22 WMR out to about 130 yards or a bit beyond. Sighted-in at 125 yards, it varies less than an inch from line of sight of a scope to about 135 yards. That's the limits I'd expect of a rimfire cartridge, though I've made small game kills at about 200 yards with it, albeit with a bit of luck.
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When several of us started varmint hunting we were about 15, earning about 25 cents per hour part-time and barely a Freshman in high school. I used my brother's single-shot .22 LR Remington and saved my money to buy a .30-06 Savage about 1959, a deer rifle that cost me about $115. new, at discount. Maine was still quite rural around Central Maine Cities and there were almost no rifle hunters of woodchucks and crows. I saved more money and bought a 2.5X Weaver for $30 bucks and a Weaver top mount. It took a while to think about hunting woodchucks, since the rifle was to be a dedicated DEER weapon.
A kindly gentleman at the gun shop suggested woodchucks for practice at hunting/shooting game. He suggested a couple of good spots to hunt woodchucks and my buddy and I were hooked!! He also had a .30-06 and another of his buddies had a loading press. We were in business!!!
So, considering that my Dad never owned a gun, I didn't own any until a Savage 110, .30-06, and at about 15 yrs. old, I became a "varmint hunter". It didn't take me long before I decided that the original Savage sporter stock wasn't cutting it, so I ordered a "90% finished" Bishop stock, fitted it, sculptured it to the dimensions similar to a Weatherby, finished it and epoxy-bedded it. It killed a bunch of woodchucks and a few crows and I found myself being a varmint/deer hunter!