Why do I need a .17?

I’ve shot my old man’s, but never killed anything with it, but he has killed a ton of stuff with his. When he goes prairie dogging he shoots 22’s out to 100 yards or so, and the 17 out to 200. Reason being he says the 17 doesn’t spook them whereas a 223 sends them all underground. After all those are cleaned out he gets out the centerfires. He has a magnum research 10-22 magnum chambered in 17 hmr, and a savage 93r17btvs

I was surprised when he said it works on yotes. He says they spin in circles for a few seconds and they are dead. He mainly hunts yotes in North Dakota, so the are big northern coyotes. I’ll keep my 223 for yotes personally.

Several comments here on how loud the 17HMR is.
One of the things I like about it is it isn't very loud. I can shoot it without ear protection (even though I shouldn't).

I stand firmly behind my earlier comments. However, I came across this today and I have to admit that I am intrigued by both the rifle and the cartridge:
https://www.cdnnsports.com/winchester-1885-hunter-low-wall-17wsm-rimfire.html?___SID=U

Dr T said:

I stand firmly behind my earlier comments. However, I came across this today and I have to admit that I am intrigued by both the rifle and the cartridge:
https://www.cdnnsports.com/winchester-1885-hunter-low-wall-17wsm-rimfire.html?___SID=U

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Beautiful rifle. I'll be taking out a 17WSM Ruger this do season. Based on my experience with the 17 Hornet and 17 HMR it should do well.

Armored farmer said:

I have a few .22lr rifles, and two nice .22magnum rifles.

What would a .17 do for me that my .22s wont?

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When we had that self-imposed ammo draught a few years back, 17 ammo was always available when nothing else was. So you could make a case for "caliber diversification" over "caliber standardization" (and, subsequently, a case for owning a heck of a lot of guns). You know, that would make a good topic of discussion on its own. Perhaps I should start a new thread.

Dr T said:

I stand firmly behind my earlier comments. However, I came across this today and I have to admit that I am intrigued by both the rifle and the cartridge:
https://www.cdnnsports.com/winchester-1885-hunter-low-wall-17wsm-rimfire.html?___SID=U

Click to expand...

The Low Walls in 17WSM have been reportedly low accuracy, which is saying something in a field of Bmag bashing where early accuracy reports were bad as well... buyer beware...

Thanks for bringing me to my senses... But such a pretty face...

I was going through log books yesterday afternoon looking for .223 load results and ran across a page where I had written down a couple of 100 yd. 5 shot groups from my 917VS back before essential tremors poked their ugly head into my life. Early morning calm day - .224 and .328 inches using Hornady 17 gr. V-max ammo.

It's louder than a 22 LR but not nearly as loud as a .223. I wear ear protection with all of them.

Hey doubleh, I have had tremors all my life and have learned to compensate for it. Now 72 years old I shoot mostly heavy barreled rifles including an Anschutz 1517MPR with which I have killed 100s of prairie dogs at distances up to 150-200 yds. With calm winds, my hit rate ranges around 90%. Because I've had to learn patience__not my strong suit__and wait for the right conditions. I've had 2 other 17HMRs, field models that are lighter for carrying but harder to hold steady. I've settled on an Anschutz 1502 17Mach2, which has a medium weight barrel for squirrel hunting. I mostly get head shots. Again patience is essential along with the right rifle and a sturdy shooting stick or handy tree. Ironically, I have a light field grade Sako FinnFire II 17HMR with which I have killed many squirrels. I think I owe this to practice and knowing my limits. I took the Sako prairie dog shooting and at the first dog town I killed 18 dogs with the first 20 shots. Not bad for a shaky old guy. Your reported groups are indeed impressive and doubt I could match them, but I can hit minute of prairie dog or squirrel eye most of the time. I think even shaky guys need an HMR.

A couple of hundred milligrams of primidone and a folic acid pill every day do wonders for me but they are never completely gone. They affect my head enough to see a slight movement with a higher powered scope. Use the steadiest rest you can and take your time does work but not as well as not having the damn things. The tired I get the worse they get.

doubleh said:

A couple of hundred milligrams of primidone and a folic acid pill every day do wonders for me but they are never completely gone. They affect my head enough to see a slight movement with a higher powered scope. Use the steadiest rest you can and take your time does work but not as well as not having the damn things. The tired I get the worse they get.

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doubleh... I know this is off topic and may be inappropriate. I may benefit from Primidone (Mysoline) and would be interested in corresponding with you privately, if you would be willing. I don't know how to do a private message on this site. Do you? I took another med for awhile and it worked, but 20% of people who take it develop kidney stones and I was in that lucky minority. Doesn't take long to choose tremors over the horror of kidney stones!! I would be happy to PM my phone number. Tom

Check your inbox and see if you have a short message from me.

Sniper66 said:

doubleh... I know this is off topic and may be inappropriate. I may benefit from Primidone (Mysoline) and would be interested in corresponding with you privately, if you would be willing. I don't know how to do a private message on this site. Do you? I took another med for awhile and it worked, but 20% of people who take it develop kidney stones and I was in that lucky minority. Doesn't take long to choose tremors over the horror of kidney stones!! I would be happy to PM my phone number. Tom

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