Need help with a rimfire choice.

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Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Chappo » 06 Sep 2018, 10:48 pm

Hi, new forum user here.
For a bit about me I have a post in the introduce yourself thread.

I’d like some opinions on which rimfires you blokes might choose in my situation. I’m looking for ideas on calibres, rifle brands and ammo choices.

I regularly see hares from my back verandah and lately I’ve had alot of foxes out in the paddock too.

The problem is the shot is usually around 150yds.
I can’t move to get closer or whistle them as there is no cover and they see me and leg it.
I’ve tried waiting in the paddock in the wee hours for a 50yd shot with a 22lr with success but this wears thin on a frosty morning.

I don’t want to use anything heavier here cause the neighbours might not appreciate a centrefire going off at 6am.

I’ve done a lot of reading and looked at a million ballistic reports but only confused myself!!

I’m thinking 17hmr, 22wmr, 17 Hornet ???
Thanks in advance.......
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 06 Sep 2018, 11:09 pm

17 HMR will do the job.They make a crack but nothing like a centrefire.at 150 metres they are dead on no hold over needed
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bigrich » 07 Sep 2018, 8:19 am

Well mate, you’ve listed a 17 hornet, which is a centre fire. According to what I’ve read and heard, is about on par for range with 223 but without the muzzle blast. That would be my choice out of what you’ve listed. If it has to be a rim fire, a quality 22 mag would do it . I had a weihrauch that would shoot 1” at 100 with cci 40gr. I had a mate with a Sako 17hmr that would group 2” at 200. With no wind. 22mag has more punch at 100. Just my two cents
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Chappo » 07 Sep 2018, 8:29 am

Thanks guys.
Yeah big rich. Doesn’t have to be a rimfire, just trying to keep the noise down a bit and I don’t have experience with the less common Hornet - bee etc rounds.
I’m leaning towards 22wmr for the extra stopping power at 150yds.
Duncan, I see you’ve got a .22 Hornet. What do you think of it?
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Daddybang » 07 Sep 2018, 8:38 am

.22 wmr with 40gr rounds will more than cover the hares/rabbits at that range I've never taken foxes so can't comment on them. Wmr ammo can be a little expensive but it's not to bad :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Sep 2018, 9:24 am

I hate the idea of a rimfire more powerful than a 22LR because they are so much more expensive to shoot, costing as much or more than what you could reload a 223. You can reduce the load for a 223 or 222 so they are as quiet as a 22LR but have the ability to have a full power load and hit things at 300 metres with ease. If I were you I would look at a 204, 222 or 223.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Daddybang » 07 Sep 2018, 9:51 am

SCJ429 wrote:I hate the idea of a rimfire more powerful than a 22LR because they are so much more expensive to shoot, costing as much or more than what you could reload a 223. You can reduce the load for a 223 or 222 so they are as quiet as a 22LR but have the ability to have a full power load and hit things at 300 metres with ease. If I were you I would look at a 204, 222 or 223.


While ya dead right not everyone has the ability or inclination to reload . :drinks:
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Sep 2018, 9:59 am

Very true but anyone who will sit in a frosty paddock for hours to get a shot off at Charlie Fox is not lacking in motovation.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by in2anity » 07 Sep 2018, 10:48 am

i yu do end up reloading, 204 pills over trail boss
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Chappo » 07 Sep 2018, 11:15 am

Thanks.
I totally see your point but I’ve never been too interested in reloading and I don’t shoot that much to worry about the cost.
Was just wanting something off the shelf that is quiet enough and will put those pesky Critters to sleep. And not just give them a headache.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by in2anity » 07 Sep 2018, 11:34 am

i think the 17hmr might be your best option mate - i imagine the hornets will have a noticeably louder report not to mention be more expensive to run (factory).
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 3:48 pm

Chappo wrote:I don’t want to use anything heavier here cause the neighbours might not appreciate a centrefire going off at 6am.


I wouldn't be concerned about firing a centrefire in the wee hours. We have spotlighters shooting foxes all around here most nights and the shooting doesn't wake us up once we're asleep. One or two shots isn't going to upset anybody, unless they're city types of course.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 3:54 pm

in2anity wrote:i you do end up reloading, 204 pills over trail boss


That would be my recommendation as well.
Get a centrefire (.22 Hornet, .223Rem, .204, .243) and have somebody load you some reduced loads (or even subsonic) for it to suit the range you're shooting, or just get a Lee Loader. 7mm-08 subsonic 120gn bullets hit pretty hard without much noise.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 4:57 pm

In the 90s W.A. had high and low power licensing system where Hornet was considered low power but 218 bee was high power.To get a high power lic you needed a lot of land and good reason or join a rifle club where you could only be in possession on the way too or from said club.To get a shotgun or Hornet you needed 5 acres and not too many questions were asked.The modern A/B system is similar regards rimfire and centrefire.This ruling kept Hornet very popular here and keen shooters would get the chamber reamed to K specs and squeeze 2 more grains of powder in the case and start getting 2500fps velocity with pistol powder.My first hornet was a combo 410 shotgun/Scoped Hornet barrel interchange and I had many years of hunting small game and foxes on private properties a chest shot small roo would usually drop on the spot.my second Hornet was a brand new H/R single shot hammer rifle which I purchased as I was terminating sick cows on the dairy farm I worked on and several other farms and the Hornet would finish them off better than .22LR.It was open sights but I did at least a dozen foxes over 4 years.It was stolen at a remote Aborigional community in the Gascoyne and the little champions engraved the stock with there names so I sold it to a buddy when I came home.The Hornet I have on my licence now was part of my mates who had it taken on a domestic years ago and I put it on my licence.It is a Savage bolt action open sight and I must get a mag for it one day.When we do the ambush thing on the farm who ever does the walk up takes it as one shot is enough to brain a roo at close range and the shot flushes all the others out.I doubt it will ever get a scope even though I have a few lying around.P.S. of all the ranges I have been to and other shooters I have met no one ever said Hornet was crap.If you go to a remote country town hardware store I bet they have hornet ammo
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 5:34 pm

duncan61 wrote:of all the ranges I have been to and other shooters I have met no one ever said Hornet was crap.If you go to a remote country town hardware store I bet they have hornet ammo


I have a soft spot for the hornet, but for a reloader it's a waste, you can duplicate the Hornet with all the other .22's, as well as significantly exceed what the Hornet is capable of. I've also read that the .22 and .17 Hornets can be finicky to load for accuracy, although I've never tried myself.
If I were interested in a .17, the Hornet would be my first choice.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 8:06 pm

Sometimes in life we do things for the hell of it.I reload hornet and love the little fella.It will never catch the .222 no matter what some people claim and I soft load my .222 for about 2800 with 50g pills even a K hornet wont go that fast
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 8:08 pm

with 50gn pills.I see lighter pills will get up and boogy
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 8:11 pm

damn now I have to get these 22 Cal .224 35 gr V-MAX® and spend the weekend reloading
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Wombat » 07 Sep 2018, 8:13 pm

Well, if you are going to stick with rimfire Winchester now do subsonic 22mag ammo. That gives you a quieter option with a bit more oomph than Subsonic LR.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 8:23 pm

Wombat wrote:Well, if you are going to stick with rimfire Winchester now do subsonic 22mag ammo. That gives you a quieter option with a bit more oomph than Subsonic LR.


Not much difference in energy if both are similar weight at the same velocity. Is the Winchester a heavier bullet?
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bigrich » 07 Sep 2018, 8:36 pm

Chappo wrote:Thanks guys.
Yeah big rich. Doesn’t have to be a rimfire, just trying to keep the noise down a bit and I don’t have experience with the less common Hornet - bee etc rounds.
I’m leaning towards 22wmr for the extra stopping power at 150yds.
Duncan, I see you’ve got a .22 Hornet. What do you think of it?


i would go the 22 mag or 22 hornet. my personal opinion 17hmr projectiles are a bit light . 22 mag 40gr hp cci's were good. i think $32 for a box of 50. i've had good results with 46gr win hollow points in 22 hornet ( under a inch at 100 ) but their $90 for 50. rem hp's are next best for accuracy but their $76 a box of 50. second hand zastava 22 hornets can be had cheap and can be very accurate. if you can get them in (foxes ) and only cull now and again and want to keep the noise down 22 mag is a good choice. if you don't head shoot they can tear up a rabbit but, not good if you want the meat . if you can find a old german made krico, they can be very accurate. if you want new get a weihrauch. you wont find a better factory trigger JMHO :thumbsup:
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 10:25 pm

Not having a go bigrich but I ran a .17 HMR Ruger lever rifle with a 6x40 scope and any furry critter within 200 Metres that was body shot was massively internally damaged.I have no recollection of anything getting away.I have put 3 subsonic .22LR in a rabbit at 20 feet and it was still moving.the little 17 or 20gn pills are really moving and they have a ballistic tip.If you have not seen the results first hand its hard to believe how much killing power they have.At a station I culled roos on I would use the lever .17HMR for head shooting roos near the homestead as there was no noticable muzzle flash and not the deep crack/boom of a centrefire I used to ask the station workers but I never woke them up at 2.00am and the roos lked to hang out in the homestead paddocks maybe they thought they were safe.Ballistics on paper do not always have the same result as reality.I would not hesitate to have a .17 HMR again.I appreciate cost factors and stuff but would you buy a ferrari and put 91 octane in it to save a dollar???
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Chappo » 07 Sep 2018, 10:28 pm

Thanks everyone.
Plenty of good ideas here.
The .22 hornet might be my next acquisition.

Bigrich. The Weihrauch sounds nice, I do like my oldies though and I’ve been interested in the Brno zkw465.

To those who suggested a tamer load in a .223 I will have some mates load some for me to try when Lithgow finally send me my 102
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Chappo » 07 Sep 2018, 10:30 pm

Ps
Thanks for not letting this get into the age old “which is better, 22wmr or .17hmr” argument!!
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 10:32 pm

duncan61 wrote:damn now I have to get these 22 Cal .224 35 gr V-MAX® and spend the weekend reloading


I use them in the .223 with good results.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 10:35 pm

duncan61 wrote:Sometimes in life we do things for the hell of it.I reload hornet and love the little fella.It will never catch the .222 no matter what some people claim and I soft load my .222 for about 2800 with 50g pills even a K hornet wont go that fast


Agreed, I would have no hesitation in adding a Hornet to my collection. But for most people that only like a handful of rifles, they're better served by getting something bigger they can load down for "Hornet" use, while also having the greater abilities of the full-power load. .243 can be loaded down to do everything the Hornet will do.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by Wombat » 07 Sep 2018, 10:59 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Wombat wrote:Well, if you are going to stick with rimfire Winchester now do subsonic 22mag ammo. That gives you a quieter option with a bit more oomph than Subsonic LR.


Not much difference in energy if both are similar weight at the same velocity. Is the Winchester a heavier bullet?


A touch at 45gr V 40gr, just pointing out that if the 22 magnum was too loud there are quieter rounds available for it now.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 11:05 pm

Totally agree blade as always you have it wired.I have yet to get into trailboss loads but soon I will have all my reloading stuff back at my house.Where we collectively reloaded at a workshop my mate has passed on to the big Thailand in the sky and soon I will have to remove all the shooting stuff back to where I live.Many years ago I carefully necked out Hornet cases to .243 to make something like the 300 whisper.I never got round to getting a rifle chambered for it but now it is all doable
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2018, 11:08 pm

duncan61 wrote:Many years ago I carefully necked out Hornet cases to .243 to make something like the 300 whisper.I never got round to getting a rifle chambered for it but now it is all doable


I used to seat 139gn 6.5x55mm FMJ's into .222Rem brass, just for key rings though, it never occurred to me to actually try shooting such a thing :-)
Interesting idea though, if I came across a 6.5mm barrel.
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Re: Need help with a rimfire choice.

Post by duncan61 » 07 Sep 2018, 11:09 pm

22 Cal .224 35 gr V-MAX® in .223 would be zipping along at around 3500fps.Thats cooking.Do you remember when 3000fps sounded fast
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