22mag or .17hmr?

[herm21]

Which one is better 22mag or .17hmr? I own a .17hmr and it is a beast for beign a very small caliber.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

They accomplish the same thing. Performance is so close, any discussion of which is better is simply for the sake of discussion.

 

[2FNSLO]

Depends

On what you are doing with them. Well, not really. They are pretty close. The 17 will shoot a little flatter, but the 22 has a little more energy depending on the bullet being shot. I have the hmr now, but hope to have a 22 mag soon. I'll have to get back to you about which is more accurate I guess.

 

[cland]

I'm going to guess which one is easier to get cleaning patches for, is easier to get a patch and ramrod down the barrel & etc. Ammo is high for either.
But I personally choose the .22Magnum...

 

[sbarkowski]

.22 mag for extended range knock down power and .17 HMR for accuracy.

 

[Eric F]

I have looked into this over and over, bottom line 22 mag is cheaper all the way around has more power by methos of weight *speed/1000 which is the power factor formula widely accepted by many shooting sports to determin fairness. The 17 mag may well be accurate but at 100 yards what are we really talking about I mean really 1/4 inch or less from similar guns I guess it depends what you really want hunting I say go 22 mag paper target stuff go 17 mag

 

[Dirty Dawg]

I have one of both. As far as accuracy, I'd say they are about the same. But since the 22 mag is a Marlin bolt action with a scope and the 17hmr is a Henry lever action with iron/fiber optic sights, I use them differently. Kinda depends on what I want to do. The 22 mag is a turtle plunking machine but 17 hmr is more fun to shoot.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The .17 will usually be more accurate and makes an outstanding crow rifle to 150 yds. or so. The .22 mag. is better for bringing down critters under 100 yds. or so.

 

[oklahoma caveman]

iv got a ruger m96 22 mag . it is plenty accurate, i wouldnt trade that gun for any .17 hmr made, although i am plannin on aquiring a .17 mach2 in the future

 

[ArmedBear]

i am plannin on aquiring a .17 mach2 in the future

That's getting harder, from what I can tell. The 17M2 has not enjoyed the overwhelming commercial success of its longer brother.

 

[Runningman]

Which one is better 22mag or .17hmr?

Every rimfire shooter should have at least one rifle in each caliber. My 17 HMR is a little more accurate than my 22 mag. But the 22 mag seems to have more thump on bigger critters.

 

[skinewmexico]

So how does the new 22mag BT ammo work?

 

[rangerruck]

go here, and judge for youself...
http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm


ballistically speaking, the 17 has it all over the 22mag, once you get past about 80 yards. the hmr is going faster at 100 yds, than a 22 mag is at the muzzle...
drop from a 100 yds zero, is only about 7 inches at 200 yds.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Yeah, but the ammo cost for 17 HMR is still close to double what 22 mag cost's. I'll keep the 22 mag, I don't have any desire to go beyond 100 yards and with the new 30 grain bullets, the 22 mag gets pretty close to the 17 hmr.

 

[ken22250]

for target work, .17, for hunting, .22, ive seen woodchcks shot in the head with a .17HMR only to have the opposite eye blown out, and keep enough life to crawl down the hole and die a horrible death, i no longer hunt with my .17, i didnt take that shot, but i have taken the same shot with diffrent results.
ken

 

[Pat4x4]

I keep hearing how the 22mag has more "drop power" and "Ummph" I will agree it has more over all energy in Ft pounds at a certain distance but the 17hmr is a super destructive round when it hits a target with non solid bullets.. the damage it does VS. 22Mag in my opinon is much greater.. Just my experiance.. either way though a well placed shot will do the trick with either

 

[stalkingbear]

I've tried both and for hunting critters the size of yotes, or for edible small game with fmj bullets,the .22mag wins hands down. I've seen too many centerpunched yotes run off with .17 holes in them.

 

[db_tanker]

I have both...glad I have them too.


The 17 is in a 21" Contender and it shoots boringly accurate with even a fairly mild wind up to 15 mph...after that you have to compensate, at least with my experience.

my 22 mag is a Marlin 925M bolt and it shoots almost as boringly accurate.

Hunting game? I would go with the 925...hunting paper? no question the Contender.

BTW, has anyone had any experience with the effect of the 20 grain solids in the 17? dunno if it was mentioned in a previous post, TL;DR.

D

 

[patsygarret]

for me the 22 mag hands down, I use mine for coon hunting and a buddy uses a 17 hmr. we see coyotes frequently and with a vital shot i have never lost a yote with it, but have seen the hmr lack enough penetration to damage vitals. but the hmr does have great accuracy.... just get both.