22mag or 0.17HMR - 2021 options

[Paul]

Hi folks,
I know there have been a few previous queries along this line, however the last was about 2019 according to the search and reading i did of the EG site. So there may have been changes in ammo etc so I'll post this query again.

I have been looking to, initially at least, replace an old Savage (Model 70) 22mag that I cant get to shoot well, has ejection problems and is an enclosed bolt. So its time has come to go.

I liked the Savage as it is super light and thought I'd use it for rabbits and foxes out to 150m. Past the comfortable limit of the 22LR. My 22-250 is a bit of overkill for that range, and as I had the Savage it would have been perfect. So once I started a search, the .17 (hmr? - the necked down 22mag) popped up. So its sort of in the mix.

So the pros an cons from previous threads seem to be:

.17 hmr
Pros - flat shooting, very accurate.
Cons - light projectile for anything bigger than a rabbit to 150m, affected by wind easily, cost of ammo(?)

22mag
Pros - more punch (projectiles usually 40 gr), ammo easy to get.
Cons - not as accurate as 17hmr (or has ammo improved?),

And before some say get a .223 and load it down, that's not my preference at this stage.

And what are peoples thoughts on options for brands in either the 17hmr or 22mag. I have a CZ 452 in 22LR, goes well, and a Tikka in 250 and .308.

Two budgets options: the $600 and $1100-1300. (to allow for Tikka & CZ

Thanks in advance.

Paul

[mchughcb]

If you want range get the 17HMR. Ammo price wise they are the same.

[bladeracer]

Of the two I would go HMR, mainly as my experience with WMR doesn't make it viable past 100m due to poor accuracy. I know people nowadays can get MoA at 100m out of some of them, but I haven't seen many of them grouping well further than that, in the field.

But where I am is virtually always windy, which would require a lot of expensive practice to get control of sufficiently to confidently use the HMR on live targets past 100m anyway.

If you have no wind, and can find a rifle that gives you field accuracy for confident head shots on foxes at 150m, go with the HMR.

Neither would be my choice though past 100m. Get a lot closer to your targets.

Have you considered .17 Hornet?

Personally, I would go CZ over Tikka.

[Shootermick]

I’ve never shot a 17 so I can’t comment on that. But I really like my Ruger American Compact in 22 mag. 18” medium stainless barrel with a Leaupold 3-9x40 on top. I don’t try to shoot it out past 100 metres, so I’m not after distance, but the little bit more reach and harder hitting makes me grab it before my 22 most of the time. Hornady 30 gr Vmax shoot really well out of it. I’m not concerned about ammo cost, as I’m not putting hundreds of shots through it either.

[womble]

I can’t get hold of any hornady vmax and I’m really devastated. It is the bomb.
Accuracy with the ballistic tip is pretty good for me. That’s in a micro groove marlin.

The other benefit to 22mag is pretty quiet subzonics.

I’ve never owned a 17hmr though. So cant compare. But is it a comparison really.

[Shootermick]

I can’t get hold of any hornady vmax and I’m really devastated. It is the bomb.
Accuracy with the ballistic tip is pretty good for me. That’s in a micro groove marlin.

I had a pretty big buy up on it a while ago, might have been a good idea by the sounds of it then.

[boingk]

One of the Hornet centerfires? 17 or 22 Hornets are top things.

[bladeracer]

I can’t get hold of any hornady vmax and I’m really devastated. It is the bomb.
Accuracy with the ballistic tip is pretty good for me. That’s in a micro groove marlin.

I had a pretty big buy up on it a while ago, might have been a good idea by the sounds of it then.

You can never buy ammo too early

[deye243]

Hi folks,

.17 hmr
Pros - flat shooting, very accurate.
Cons - light projectile for anything bigger than a rabbit to 150m, affected by wind easily,

Thanks in advance.

Paul

Just for a bit of accuracy the 22 Magnum is far more affected by the wind than a 17 hmr .
in my opinion the hmr is superior in every way it is all about projectile choice .

[bigrich]

i went with a weihrauch hw60j in 22 mag ,it can get 3/4" at 100 with no wind, sometimes even a little smaller . 1-1/4 with a bit of wind , allowing for drift isn't too big a ask once you know the rifle . for me 22mag is a 22 hornet i don't have to load for . has a bit more punch and flexability . 30gn to 50gn in loadings . i've seen good accuracy out of other peoples 17hmr , also seen they need cleaning after 30 shots as accuracy deteriorates in some rifles , split cases too .i'm happy with my mag , that's the main thing for me

[Bugman]

I had a 22mag (Savage) and a 17hmr. I kept the 17 (Sako) as my style of shooting with it was early morning and sometimes lat evening, when there was no wind. The 17, imo, was far more accurate than the 22mag.. I guess it is what style of shooting/hunting you want to carry out.

[AZZA'S HJ47]

I grabbed a 17hmr many years ago it was a cheaper Marlin rifle stainless with a bull barrel however i think this was my down fall. I've shot many critters with the Marlin over the years including many foxes and if anything pushed me to get a 17 remington. (I now own too lol)

The 17 remington gives me a more distance and less issues with drift shots out to 300m are a breeze. Great little round the 17hmr I have a great deal of interest in the round and still to this day i haven't picked up a 22mag.

[bigpete]

I'd be buying a 17wsm if I didn't already have both a 22wmr and a 17hmr left to me

[northdude]

I originally started out with a zastava 22mag nice rifle and quite accurate once i found the ammo it liked (hornady critical defence loads) then went to 22 hornet got 3 of them now

[deye243]

I originally started out with a zastava 22mag nice rifle and quite accurate once i found the ammo it liked (hornady critical defence loads) then went to 22 hornet got 3 of them now

Those hornady critical defence loads are very good in a heap of 22mag rifles .

[disco stu]

Are you planning to eat the rabbits? I've heard many people say the 17hmr destroys too much meat on them. I have no experience with this though. I guess one of the larger .22 with fmj or similar would pass through without destroying too much meat, but shock alone would kill well. If you're planning to eat them

[Bugman]

Yes. The 17hmr does pack a wallop on the bunnies so if possible head shots are the go if you want to make some bunny stew.

[bigpete]

Are you planning to eat the rabbits? I've heard many people say the 17hmr destroys too much meat on them. I have no experience with this though. I guess one of the larger .22 with fmj or similar would pass through without destroying too much meat, but shock alone would kill well. If you're planning to eat them

I've shot scores of bunnies with the 17hmr and it wrecks way less meat than a 22wmr

[disco stu]

There you go then. Plus if it's more accurate you can minimise it even more

[bigrich]

Are you planning to eat the rabbits? I've heard many people say the 17hmr destroys too much meat on them. I have no experience with this though. I guess one of the larger .22 with fmj or similar would pass through without destroying too much meat, but shock alone would kill well. If you're planning to eat them

I've shot scores of bunnies with the 17hmr and it wrecks way less meat than a 22wmr

what 22 mag ammo pete ? know a fella who reckons fmj/game points for head shots aren't too bad

[bigpete]

Are you planning to eat the rabbits? I've heard many people say the 17hmr destroys too much meat on them. I have no experience with this though. I guess one of the larger .22 with fmj or similar would pass through without destroying too much meat, but shock alone would kill well. If you're planning to eat them

I've shot scores of bunnies with the 17hmr and it wrecks way less meat than a 22wmr

what 22 mag ammo pete ? know a fella who reckons fmj/game points for head shots aren't too bad

I've had mine for nearly 30 years now and to be honest I've actually only used 4 types of ammo in.....winchester PowerPoint's ( crap accuracy ), winchester 40gn hp and its fmj counterpart ( reasonable accuracy), and hornady 30gn v-max ( exceptional accuracy ). I found all of them bar the fmj were pretty destructive on body shot rabbits,more so than the 20gn soft point ammo I use in my 17hmr. Mind you,as a general rule I head shoot 90% of the rabbits i want to eat

[bigrich]

Fmj projectiles, federal 50’s buck the wind, are accurate except they have a cannon trajectory. You can get subsonic for 22 mag as well. I don’t get the chance to do much bunny busting up in Queensland, but the 22 mag is flexible due to the variety of ammunition for my uses

[in2anity]

If I was shooting 3-position rimfire competition out to 100m under varying winds (and I regularly do that, with a 22lr running target ammo, in winds up to 40km/h), give me a 17 gr. @ 2,650 ft/s over a 40 gr. @ 1,875 ft/s any day of the week. I guarantee you the shorter time of flight with the 17hmr will cut through the wind better than ye olde 22mag rainbow.

Either way, if accuracy is of importance, the rifle itself probably plays a bigger role. It's a moot argument if the rifles in question are just of arbitrary accuracy, which many off-the-shelf sporters indeed are.

The Ruger Precision Rifle is feature rich and won't disappoint. If you are looking to improve your scores, adjustable length of pull and comp height will suddenly become important.

[bigrich]

If I was shooting 3-position rimfire competition out to 100m under varying winds (and I regularly do that, with a 22lr running target ammo, in winds up to 40km/h), give me a 17 gr. @ 2,650 ft/s over a 40 gr. @ 1,875 ft/s any day of the week. I guarantee you the shorter time of flight with the 17hmr will cut through the wind better than ye olde 22mag rainbow.

Either way, if accuracy is of importance, the rifle itself probably plays a bigger role. It's a moot argument if the rifles in question are just of mediocre accuracy, which many off-the-shelf sporters indeed are.

The Ruger Precision Rifle is feature rich and won't disappoint. If you are looking to improve your scores, adjustable length of pull and comp height will suddenly become important.

I do a field rifle comp , with a casual attitude
I have a weihrauch hw66 in a 60j stock . I love this rifle. More accurate and shoulders better than my cz452. . I’ve heard the ruger and browning rimfire are very accurate. There’s just something I like about blued steel and a barvarian stock .....

[in2anity]

I do a field rifle comp , with a casual attitude
I have a weihrauch hw66 in a 60j stock . I love this rifle. More accurate and shoulders better than my cz452. . I’ve heard the ruger and browning rimfire are very accurate. There’s just something I like about blued steel and a barvarian stock .....

The MRCA normally runs 100m walkdown-style, rimfire 3-p field competitions once every two months, to break up the intensity of Service Rifle grade, and we all love it. A welcome change of pace. I've been using my walnut LA101 22lr and have managed to take out a gold and silver gong - it's a competitive gun for field positional. Nevertheless as a regular user of 5.56mm centerfire, i know how important velocity is when battling the winds. That 17hmr would cream the 22lr at 100m i reckon - I've been eyeing them off for ages.... $$$

[Bruiser64]

I have Ruger Americans in 17 hmr and 22 magnum. I like them both. I run the Hornady Vmax ammo in both for acceptable accuracy. If I was to get a 17 again it would be the 17 WSM as it has more punch and range than the hmr. Given that you want to shoot foxes and bunnies out to 150 metres, the WSM is a better choice than either the hmr or magnum at that range. Cavedweller1959 has a Youtube video of him glass bedding his Savage WSM in a Boyds stock which really improved the accuracy. This would be something you could look at.

[in2anity]

Bruiser64 indeed the WSM will stomp on aforementioned in terms of reach, but factory ammo is also dearer. It's more expensive than cheap 223 ammo

[bigpete]

Bruiser64 indeed the WSM will stomp on aforementioned in terms of reach, but factory ammo is also dearer. It's more expensive than cheap 223 ammo

I'm really not sure where you're buying your ammo from,but in the 2 shops I frequent 17wsm is the same price as 17hmr and 22wmr....

[in2anity]

Bruiser64 indeed the WSM will stomp on aforementioned in terms of reach, but factory ammo is also dearer. It's more expensive than cheap 223 ammo

I'm really not sure where you're buying your ammo from,but in the 2 shops I frequent 17wsm is the same price as 17hmr and 22wmr....

Code: Select all

WINCHESTER VARMINT HV 2550FPS 17HMR 17GR 250PKT - $105.00

Now please, show me where I can get 17WSM for 42c / pop

Meanwhile, I can buy 55gr Norinco 223 (brass case) for $15/20 from our armorer that's "good enough" for all but the slow fire applications at 300m

Or I can roll my own 62gr 223 for 42c / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 300m, under average conditions.

Or I can roll my own 69gr 223 for 65c / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 500m, under average conditions.

Or I can roll my own 80.5gr 223 for < $1 / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 800m, under good conditions.

Horses for courses. You have to put a price on your time.

The point was, WSM is far from economical, when comparing to 223. Not a comparison between WSM and HMR (in terms of cost).

[bigpete]

Bruiser64 indeed the WSM will stomp on aforementioned in terms of reach, but factory ammo is also dearer. It's more expensive than cheap 223 ammo

I'm really not sure where you're buying your ammo from,but in the 2 shops I frequent 17wsm is the same price as 17hmr and 22wmr....

Code: Select all

WINCHESTER VARMINT HV 2550FPS 17HMR 17GR 250PKT - $105.00

Now please, show me where I can get 17WSM for 42c / pop

Meanwhile, I can buy 55gr Norinco 223 (brass case) for $15/20 from our armorer that's "good enough" for all but the slow fire applications at 300m

Or I can roll my own 62gr 223 for 42c / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 300m, under average conditions.

Or I can roll my own 69gr 223 for 65c / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 500m, under average conditions.

Or I can roll my own 80.5gr 223 for < $1 / pop that'll group into the 5 ring at 800m, under good conditions.

Horses for courses. You have to put a price on your time.

The point was, WSM is far from economical, when comparing to 223. Not a comparison between WSM and HMR (in terms of cost).

And where I've seen it for sale its ~$30/50 rounds....which is about what the others are.
As for 223,wouldn't know,haven't bought it for 20 years,always just reloaded it