.17 HMR or .22 mag

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I have seen some autopsy pics of a hog hit with a 17 hmr, using a 20
grainer game point; entrance, hole through the ribs, tops of lungs, heart, turned to cottage cheese, exit hole through ribs, bullet frag inside far side of skin.
I know another dude who is a sherriff deputy in a nearby county who uses the 17 for culling varmint game. He told me he vaporizes a yote about every other day, and the longest dead right there shot he took on one,
was 165 yards.
 
RainDodger
yup
they say there is no inherently accurate cartridge, but in my book, the hummer is about as close as it gets
about as much fun as an old fat man can still have sitting down (without a S&W k-frame revolver or Colt 380 in hand, standing up)

reason enough, whether you hunt or don't

I own the same Savage rifle by the way, with a real similar non-elite class Bushnell on it, about same price, no bi-pods, two small sandbags under the fore stock and careful slow breathing is as good as it will ever get for me

(would love to see what it really could do with a real rifleman behind the trigger, but too embarrassed to ask the one guy at our little local range who shoots some real nice 308s and an Annie hummer, to really find out)

plain spooky for a $400 rifle with ~20 cents per round of non-handload ammo

PS to Clone
guys like rangerruck ain't talking baitshop talk
read his other posts
he is real well accustomed to putting them where they count
guys like me prefer 22WMR and 20-something centerfire for larger than tree rats
YMMV
 
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Not really. The XTP holds together and works well on the bigger stuff. Haven't had a coyote tote one off yet!
Click to expand...

Haven't seen any XTPs around here in .17HMR; hell I didn't even know they made one. The LGS, big box shops, and Wally World only carry CCI TNT and Hornady V-max. Probably explains why the guys at the gun shop were talking about ordering ammo online: you can't find much diversity of hot rimfire ammo around here.

Still, I'll keep my .22 Mag. It does what I need and then some :cool:
 
Buzzard,
it's a little bit like 9mm, you know
"it's not your grand-father's Oldsmobile"

my old boat '88 455-V8 was not, nor was my buddy's Cutlass..
(and I do miss 'Old Blue')

it ain't your grand-daddy's 9 mm no more. and it ain't your grand-daddy's 22WMR either
real improvements do come s-l-o-w, but they do come
(dunno if the 22 WMR poly-Vs are, or are not what is claimed, but it ain't like they ain't trying, and 22WMR does more than it did way-back-when, and always could do more than credited for)
 
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I have both and love them both. I have found that the .17 is marginal on bigger varmints like large raccoons and marmots. It kills them, but not as fast as the .22 mag. The .17 is better at exploding small varmints while out for general pesting in desert. My .17 is insanely accurate and extremely fun to shoot. I know that some folks have taken pigs and such with the .17, but I would not try that based on my experience. I have to say get them both, but I know that is not an option for most folks. I would say for pure fun, the .17 wins hands down, for shooting bigger things go with the .22 mag.

Have fun either way!

Matt
 
the hmr, zero'ed at 100 yds, will only drop 7 inches at 200 yds, with half the windrift of the 22 mag. that is really all you need to know.
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That is true for small game, but for larger pests within a shorter range I would go with the .22Mag. That said, for anything that I would be inclined to reach for a rimfire to dispatch, the .17HMR is more than sufficient; they make centerfires for anything else.

As far as the rifle, I really want one of the new Savage 93R17-TRs (or perhaps the TRR, haven't decided yet), though they are a little out of your budget (MSRP is set at about $475.00). Any of the heavy bbl Savages will group pretty darn good though, I just like the TR/TRR stock.

:)
 
why not use the .22 hornet, I love this round, got one, BUT you ever check out the price of ammo for this round, (factory loads). plus the availability.
 
my cow pastures are overrun with hogs, all sizes and it is so much cheaper to use a .17hmr, sometimes I drop em in their tracks, if they run they are gonna die in the brush, so what, I got so many tearing up my pastures I cant bale hay. just another dead pig sooner or later, it is so much cheaper than using my .308,7-08, or 6.5 Swede. same result sooner or later and my Savage 93 with a Simmons 5 x 20 x 50 cheapo scope does the job, saves me money for cow feed.:evil:
 
Alright TxPatriot, your the Man! I agree that the pigs in TX are out of control and you can go broke trying to kill them all with a centerfire. I would love to shoot hogs with a .17 just to prove to myself that it works and be forced to eat my hat. I am jelous about your hog shooting, but sorry for your plight. We kill hogs up around Telephone and the corn farmers want to pay us for our time. Maybe I need a different perspective on the .17.
 
Please pardon my ignorance... but why not use the 22 Hornet?
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Because .17HMR rifles are less expensive and typically more accurate. I don't know where you can get a $300 Hornet that will shoot half-MOA. Factory ammo is insanely priced and unlike some, I actually value my time so $13/box without sitting at the loading bench is okay with me.
 
for pig "pest control", the 22 WMR should do at least as well
but, then, again, the new poly-V WMRs do tend to be a tad pricier than 17HMR, whilst the solid WMRs tend to be a tad cheaper, leastways on-line

hmmm.... getting paid bounty to "hunt" pigs, talk about a good deal !
gosh I sometimes do miss Texas
 
As far as the rifle, I really want one of the new Savage 93R17-TRs (or perhaps the TRR, haven't decided yet), though they are a little out of your budget (MSRP is set at about $475.00). Any of the heavy bbl Savages will group pretty darn good though, I just like the TR/TRR stock.
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Whittaker's has the TR for $389...That's where I got mine.
 
Please go with .17, too many folks using that terrible, wimpy, inaccurate .22 mag and ammo is always hard too find...

.22 mag is my favorite critter slapper, I have been shooting this one for 15 years. This is just it latest "outfit". Sub MOA at 100 all day.

When shooting tree rats just hit them in the head as you should with any round. Beside the little sock puppets are fun to scare you wife with.

Stone cold killer :evil:

100_0337.gif
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I ended up going with the Marlin 982VS in 22 mag. I handled a lot of guns and this one just felt right. I intend to use this more for hunting than just target shooting but it will see plenty of range time. Plus there is little difference in ammo cost around here.

Although I will probably end with a .17 in the near future anyway.
 
Here's my 93FVSS with Weaver V16.

It's been a really good shooter.

93FVSS.jpg
[/IMG]
 
My shooting buddy and I had this discussion and set out to test them. He shoots the .17 and I have a couple of .22 mags.
His .17 is flatter shooting, but the .22 mag hits much harder, especially at longer range.

My choice would be the .22 mag. There is a larger bullet selection and you can shoot from 30 to 50 gr projectiles.

My Anschutz 141M .22 mag will shoot MOA with most ammo but they aren’t cheap or easy to find.

However, my other rifle, a Marlin 882SS, is probably one of the best values out there. It’s a stainless .22 mag with composite stock, detachable magazine and comes standard with Williams Fire Sights. The trigger is decent and so is accuracy. I paid $189 for it at Walmart a few years back. If you don’t want to spend a few hundred dollars, try one of these Marlins. They are great general purpose rifles for the money and you’ll love the Fire Sights if you decide not to scope it.
 
I like both rounds and hunt with either one depending on the animal and range I'm shooting. As for the 17HMR vaporizing a coyote at 165 yards... that may be a bit of a stretch. I'd use a .22WMR on coyote when under 100 yards, but the 17 is a bit too light IMHO. The 17HMR is devastating when up against ground squirrel, and similar sized varmint out to 150 yards. My rifle prefers the 17 grain ballistic tip. I'm glad to have both calibers available in my gun safe for hunting small game and varmint. They both have their place. The new ballistic tip .22WMR ammo has breathed new life into my rifles as well giving me a flatter, longer shooting rimfire magnum. The 17 still outdistances it and is more accurate, but the new round is a big improvement over the older deigns. Life is good.
 
Acmax; don't sweat it too much; while I prefer the 17, we are really talking
about small diffs here, and besides, Marlin has made the best entry level 22 mags for years in my opinion. Very few can compete with it for under 400 bucks. Youwould have to go old school brno or cz, or a old h/r or even a Kodiak if you could find one. So good choice, and kudos to you sir.
I await your first group pics, and also your first varmint pics with it.
 
I like both. They are like different size screw drivers.

I use .22LR for the bulk of hunting, but the 22 magnum and 17HMR play there part in my battery as well.

The 22 magnum is the ticket for close to medium shots on the larger items like large raccoons, fox, or coyotes.

The 17HMR is the pill i choose for longer shots on animals up to the size of ground hogs, as well as for crows - the small light frangible bullet is what I need for something large yet lightbodied. These pills also shed there energy far quicker should I miss.
 
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