Educate me on .17 HMR and .22 mag

[Tyler94]

I've been tossing around the idea of a bolt action rimfire, since I've got the auto loader side covered already. What's the benefit of going with one of the "super" rimfire cartridges vs a .22lr? I'd like to use it for varmint hunting/squirrel hunting and general target shooting. Which caliber would you recommend? Thanks

[Tom-ADC]

I really like the 17 HMR have three, great little round drop dead accurate, and I see ammo all the time at the local Wally world etc.
Oh two heavy barrel Savages and a little Mossberg Plinker.

[MongooseV8]

Less drop and more range with a 17HMR. It makes clean hits much easier and consistent.

[09cs]

I really like the 17 HMR have three, great little round drop dead accurate, and I see ammo all the time at the local Wally world etc.
Oh two heavy barrel Savages and a little Mossberg Plinker.

I too see ammo way more than 22LR at shops

PS Your sig had my trying to shoo away a fly..

[Occams Rasor]

As thay say: "speed kills". 17HMR leaves the barrel at over 2500fps. Coupled with a poly tip ammo and it is devastating. on varmints. Go over to Youtube and do a search. There are plenty of examples of what this round can do.

[c good]

sorry for the thread Hi jack but look at the .17 WSM also (Winchester Super Magnum).

[leadstorm]

Consider this: the US BenchRest (USBR) created a separate division for .17 rimfires. When .17HMR came along it started blowing the .22 rimfires completely out of the water.

If you're hunting with it you are forced to consider lead-free performance. I know that 15.5gr Hornady NTX does very well in both my Savage 93R17 rifle and my Ruger Single Six revolver. I killed a jackrabbit with one shot at 190 yards with the rifle and that ammo. I could/would not have taken that shot with a lead free .22Mag.

[as_rocketman]

This question comes up fairly often:

.22 LR: HV ammo goes sonic and is no good past 75 meters or so. Subsonic is good to 200 meters and beyond but it drops an awful lot -- you'd better know your distance to target very accurately.

.22 Mag: Goes sonic at 150 meters or so. Flatter shooting but slightly worse wind-wise than .22 LR. Much more destructive than you might expect.

.17 HMR: Goes sonic at about 200 meters. Flatter shooting than .22 LR or .22 Mag, a little worse in the wind than both. Very effective on small varmints.

So if squirrel hunting is your thing, I believe .17 HMR has a prohibitive advantage over the other two. It will also do fine on targets, though personally I prefer subsonic .22 LR for paper punching.

[Izzy43]

If hunting ground squirrels then .17HMR is the better choice, if hunting tree squirrels then .22lr subsonic is the best choice. Out to 100yds a .22WMR has the best performance in the energy spec but beyond that a .17HMR is best due to better accuracy. Paper punching 0-50 yds then .22lr with match ammo is best, 50 to 100yds the .17HMR will out perform the .22lr in my experience.

Of course there are custom .22lr rifles that will best an off the shelf .17 HMR but at a much higher cost for the rifle and expect to spend $20+ for the .22 ammo to achieve that accuracy.

[Tyler94]

Any rifle recommendations?

[as_rocketman]

There's a LOT of choices.

For a working rifle (i.e., not match-grade or safe queen) I'd either go with a CZ 452 / 455 or a Marlin 917 depending on your budget. But shop around and see which one fits you.

[MongooseV8]

Tough to beat a Savage or CZ.

[Izzy43]

Any rifle recommendations?

Rocketman gave some good recomendations. I would add a Savage 93r17 to the mix. I have one and its very accurate although given a choice now I would buy the CZ after my experience with a CZ UltraLux in .22lr even though they are a little more $$$. The quality of a CZ beats a Marlin of Savage, hands down and will hold value better than either.

[Occams Rasor]

you can add the Ruger American rimfire to the list, it also now comes in
17HMR. I have the Savage 93r17. Fun gun to shoot. I think the Ruger is a tad better in quality for about the same $$$.

[Rangem4]

Tough to beat a Savage or CZ.

Boy you said it. Savage and CZ bolt action rimfires are in my inventory!