Next caliber: Big rimfire or 30 cal centerfire

[shaman]

have a lot of 22's that shoot shorts to long rifles. I have a 223 in 20", and all sorts of stuff from there. The gun will most likely be shot in texas, which as far as I know doesn't have a rimfire only clause in the hunting manual. My 10/22 will probably get rebarreled into a 17hm2 at some point into the future. So, I post this question. For the hole left between the 22/17hm2 and the 223, do I

Get a 17 hmr

Get a 22 wmr

The void isn't that big. Get the Savage 308 and save for a .243 or other 6mm barrel

We don't have anything aside from a 30-30 and SKS for the bigger animals, hence the 6mm or 30 cal question.

The 22 wmr I am looking at will be about $400 and comes with ammo at $6 per box. My current price on .223 is $.28 per for HP, polymer tip, soft point, FMJ or frangible.

 

[Nugilum]

Do you plan on eastern or western side of Texas?

IIRC the western side is flat (aka desert motif) and the eastern side is hilly with some decent trees.

 

[22-rimfire]

It depends on what you intend to shoot with the rifle. The 17HMR is for small varmints. You can take larger varmints with the 22WMR.

If you were shooting prarie dogs, go 17HMR. If coyotes, 22WMR. Generally a rifle in 17HMR will group better. Tis a fact which is why they are so popular.

 

[shaman]

I want to be able to humanely take all of the native Texas animals. Don't see myself heading to Alaska or Africa. 22-rimfire, I have read up on the ballistics of the 17 hmr, but I am just wondering if the rimfire or the centerfire would be a better use of money.

 

[Almond27]

I voted other and am going to recommend .243 it will humanely take any animal in Texas and you could always save for a .308 barrel later on down the road.

 

[rangerruck]

actually, you go the 17 mach 2, which will not only shoot eley/remmy ammo, which is 200 fps faster than other mach2 ammo, but it will also shoot 17 aguila, which is a true 22lr cart, with a 20 grain fmj bullet. awesome!!!! mach 2 ammo is also 3 to 4 times cheaper than hmr ammo.

othwise , wait for the economy to pick back up, and get whoever first makes a 5mm mag rimfire, in rifle form. either savage or cz should be doing it, or don't wait, and get a Thompson/Center to make you a bbl, as long as possible, to max out the killer ballistics of this round. basically , it is like a downloaded 204 ruger, or put another way, it has the same ballistics/trajectory of the 17 hmr round, but with a 20 cal bullet, that has better wind ballistics, and the bullet weighs twice as much!!!!

 

[owlhoot]

You have your .22LR for plinking and such. You have the .223 for anything the .22LR can't handle. Where is the hole?

Get the .308 and all of your bases are covered.

 

[shaman]

almond, I have a cheap savage lined up so the 308 will come first, then the 243 barrel after that.

 

[Almond27]

Shaman, sounds like a good plan also .308 as someone already stated will definitely take care of all your needs. Good luck with your new rifle.

 

[cliffy]

Centerfire ammo is far more versitile than any rimfire fare, save .22LR

Even the lowly .22 Hornet is better than any rimfire challenger. Marketing and laws have kept .22 rimfires in a class of its own. Now SUPER-VELOCITY rimfires will likely screw that up! I challenge any rimfire to duplicate my best .223 loads for velocity, start at 3500 fps and work UPWARD! cliffy

 

[cliffy]

Furthermore!!!

Rimfires should be subdued 1225 fps fare. How will Anti-gunners attack 2500 fps rimfire ammo next and more strongly? What will future .22 Long Rifle loads use for bullets? You know Condor-Specific antis abhor lead bullets, even though totally off-base in logic and commonsense. How next will .22 target shooters suffer? My .22 pistol has no practical application other than the pure pleasure of shooting bullseyes at 50 foot distance. I'm actually quite good at this sport. I wish to continue unimpeded till my untimely death by foreign gunfire. cliffy

 

[shaman]

owlhoot, sorry I missed your post. That is why I am asking. For $410 I get a 77/22 in WMR, or for $350 I get a savage .308 with cheap scope and DBM.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

While I'm a huge fan of the .17 Hummer, it seems that you'd be better off getting something in the .243 win to .30-'06 range, for hunting of whitetails & hogs. I'd take a look at the .260 rem, 7mm-08, .308 win, 6.5x55, and .270 win, in case you run across a large piggie. There's a LOT to be said for the 7mm-08 as a goldilocks round for everything up to and including moose/caribou/elk.

 

[shaman]

Dr. Tad, I am with you, some peoole have said 7-08 and 260 instead of the 308 and 243. We have some 7.62x39s for the piggies that will be in brushy areas where the ballistic benefits of the 7.62x51 over the shorter x39 won't make much of a difference, and the followup shot will.