.17 VS .22

[Tank 57]

If I could only have one rimfire rifle it would be a .22lr.

This.

[Furncliff]

After two years shooting a CZ 452 Varmint in .17HMR I've decided I've satisfied my curiosity and would be willing to part with it. Great guns, but the cartridge leaves me a little cold. Flat shooting and accurate it's a good choice for varmints, but not small game (tends to explode the little critters, the.17H2 is a better choice here). For plinking and target shooting it's too expensive.

First rimfire rifle? .22 LR no contest.

[thebomb]

Got A 10/22 for my first gun as a 21 year old this time last year. I just bought a savage 17 last month. 22 uses are cheap lead slinger, variety of ammo brands and varients, semiauto, parts available on the aftermarket. Cons: in stock form less accurate at 50 yards than my 17 is at 100 yard. Knockdown power of the 22 is lame. The savage 17 came with a great trigger stock, shot a 3 shot .5 inch group at 100 yards, blows squirrels apart at shorter ranges and more than takes care of them past 100.(I got one at 125 yards Saturday in the neck and it dropped instantly.) I've shot squirell a at 100 with a 22 rarely but they typically get to a hole. For a first rifle I'd get the 22 as it is exciting to be able to shoot as much as possible, plus u will always have that gun to shoot when he can't afford to shoot when he can't afford to shoot his next gun anymore. After a year of shooting and shooting 3 times a month in every type and caliber I get more joy out of tight groups at 100 than I do slinging lead. Because of that I prefer th 17 as it shoots better groups than my m1a, ar, howa, 700, and 22's. figure out exactly what you want and go with that. If I were you I'd strongly recommend a 17 at some point even if you do decide to get a 22 first.

[Jack L]

It appears most will say get a .22 for your first rifle. I’d have to agree to that. Especially now that firearms and ammo is so costly.

Regarding the use of each. What I read here pretty much is what I find. I am out on a ranch with no worries of missing and the round hitting anything else but dirt. There is a lot of open flat acres and hundreds of squirrels. The 22 is excellent up to 75 yards and ok to 100 yards. The 150 yard shots for me anyway takes no wind, adult squirrel and a bipod. The same goes foe the .17 out to 250 yards. I never thought of shooting those distances until this year. And then I found out all it takes is practice and a scope like the Nikon Rimfire with the reticles or graduations in it to make the long shots much easier. I was amazed when I shoot the .22 at real long shots like 250 yards how far it reaches out with a little adjustment to the trajectory. That is a stretch but fun for target practice with so ay squirrels.

Again the posters are correct about one thing. The .17 makes a mess out of the meat if you plan to eat the rabbit. The .22 may take a while to kill it, maybe not depending but the meat is still there.

Getting back to the question; I really think a .22 is an excellent choice rifle, especially if you are young.. You learn so much by handling the .22. Not only safety but basic shooting skills. Also, I am now using my Henry H001 .22 lever action over the bolt action style. I love it’s accuracy and was amazed how well the Henry rifles are built for the money. Try one. The Ruger 10/22 is really fun if you miss and the squirrels scatter, the semi-auto makes it great for macking out the magazine until is runs dry in a few seconds.

I just read an article on the .22 survival rifle and how it has been a favorite among pilots as part of their emergency survival equipment in case they go down.

God Bless the rimfire cartridge. I look forward to reading more comments.

[RookieShooter]

The salesman was pushing him towards the .17 saying that once he shot one he would never want to pick up a .22 again....

Very good recommendation from the salesman.
I've been shooting .22LR all my life and never had any interest in .17HMR because of the small caliber and expensive ammo. I finally got a chance to shoot it last month and I'm sold on .17HMR because of its accuracy. You should look into the CZ 455 American Combo rifle. I have one with the following configuration (22LR, 17HMR and 22WMR). Out of the 3 calibers, I prefer .17HM and .22WMR the most.

[NytWolf]

22LR or 22 WMR? Makes a huge diff.

What's the intended use? Makes a huge diff.

I have all 3, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. If you're just plinking at 25 yards at the range, might as well save the money and get a 22LR. If you want to knock down bigger varmints or buck the wind best, 22WMR is the best of the 3. If you want the flattest-shooting round, 17HMR is king, but get some side wind and you'll be amazed how far a bullet can be blown in such a short time...

My pref overall is the 17 HMR.

I agree with speedrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrracer.

[Californio]

One of my varmint hunting buddies has a Volquartsen, the rest Savage bolt rifles. If you look at a .17HMR case fired out of a Savage bolt rifle the head is flat, I notice the Volquarten case heads are slightly bulged out. I am not sure if the case is starting to rupture or not but it has a distinct bulge in the head. Just my observation. The Volquartsen is sweet and very accurate on squirrels.

Whats the CalGuns consensus on the brouha about 17HMR ammo not being safe in semi-auto rifles?

It was a while ago but I thought there was the problem of ammo mfg's saying that they didn't advise the use of 17HMR in semi-autos resulting in some rifles being recalled and some organizations/ranges etc not allowing use of 17HMR in semi-autos.

At Appleseeds instructors are advised to advise shooters of 17HMR issues but not to bar/ban their use however instructors are not allowed to loan 17HMRs due to liability insurance issues.

Not trying to rag on anyone's rifles or choices, just trying to keep up with latest info.

My google search on 17HMR and semi-auto still throws up 2011 era articles on the recalls, not much on later developments.

Cheers
V

[Army]

My Savage is in .17MK2. While only slightly more cost than .22, it outperforms it at all logical distances. The nice kicker, is .17 Aguila shoots safely and accurately from MK2 chambers.

Ground squirrells have the nasty tendancy of losing large parts of their anatomy when the .17 hits

[Californio]

One last comment if you are in a no-lead zone. The .17HMR in my experience vastly out groups the .22LR no-lead offering. So if you might ever varmint hunt the .17HMR is the way to go but everyone should have a .22LR or several, they are fun.

[NRai2001]

Whats everyone got against squirrels?

[Californio]

On working ranches ground squirrels cause a lot of damage and many counties do not allow poison because of second kill, so you shoot them.

Same with Coyotes, if you ever saw a cow giving birth and the Yotes have already killed the unborn calf during delivery you might understand.

That is why their is no season on Varmints they need to be thinned out from time to time.

Whats everyone got against squirrels?

[OceanDreamer]

Thanks for all the help guys.

He ended up jailing a Remington Fieldmaster a couple days ago . I was Pi**ed cause I been looking for one for a while. He just happened to walk into the LGS at the right time as the owner had just put it out (it is used and the guy had just sold it to the LGS a couple days before).

Guess I will be borrowing it a lot . What I love about that rifle is it will eat shorts, long or LR's....

[quiet shooter]

17 wsn

May I pose a question for which I am confused about. I have read a bit regarding the argument that a 17 hmr is frangable and may hit a coyote's fur and explode with poor penetration....not sure if that is accurate or consistent...but if true....does this carry to the 17 wsm.....and secondly....does a 22 mag, which is just a little bigger have the same risk....or for some other reason possesses greater penetration secondary to design?

[Jack L]

May I pose a question for which I am confused about. I have read a bit regarding the argument that a 17 hmr is frangable and may hit a coyote's fur and explode with poor penetration....not sure if that is accurate or consistent...but if true....does this carry to the 17 wsm.....and secondly....does a 22 mag, which is just a little bigger have the same risk....or for some other reason possesses greater penetration secondary to design?

http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm

[quiet shooter]

thank you

http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm

Thank you Jack L.....an excellent review that answered my question. I appreciate your reply.