Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Varminting and vertebrate pest control. Small game, hunting feral goats, foxes, dogs, cats, rabbits etc.

Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Jakotay22 » 24 Dec 2018, 7:48 am

I have struggled to find solid information and thought this would be a place to start. My brother lives on around 20 acres in Vic with a rabbit problem. Would I be responsible to bring my 17hmr down? He does live off of a main road for what it's worth.

Let me know if that is all too vague..

Thanks.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Bruiser64 » 24 Dec 2018, 8:12 pm

20 acres is a small property. This article from Sporting Shooter May be of some use. http://www.sportingshooter.com.au/gun-l ... hooting-on . In WA the police have a table of minimum property sizes for each calibre when submitting a property letter when applying for a licence. For the 17 hmr 100 acres is the recommended size with 50 acres being the bare minimum. The main issues with a property of that size would be containing the shot on the property and not getting complaints from the neighbours. If the property is undulating and/or heavily wooded, it may be perfectly safe to shoot a hmr. A quick call to the local police station may be prudent before proceeding.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Stix » 24 Dec 2018, 8:28 pm

Well it comes down to common sense to a point...
Also depends what you call a rabbit problem...

If its genuinely infested with bunnies everywhere, then a .410 & a .22lr shootin little shorts initially, then sub hollow points as the numbers decrease & range increases might be the go.

Have you ran it past the neighbours...?

At the end of the day, you know the property so you need to excercise common sense here as a responsible firearms owner...
Im not trying to be difficult, but its not really something we can answer for you mate...

Let us know how you get on & post some pics... :thumbsup:
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 24 Dec 2018, 8:47 pm

Jakotay22 wrote:I have struggled to find solid information and thought this would be a place to start. My brother lives on around 20 acres in Vic with a rabbit problem. Would I be responsible to bring my 17hmr down? He does live off of a main road for what it's worth.

Let me know if that is all too vague..

Thanks.


As long as the property is rural it shouldn't matter what size it is. If neighbours are close though it would be a very good idea to make them aware that you'll be shooting.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by TassieTiger » 25 Dec 2018, 10:39 am

If the 20 acres is zoned rural and neighbours are with in 250m and if I were in the exact same situation in my local state and had to shoot the hmr (nothing more appropriate available) ;

Call and advise police of the weekend I intend on shooting and of any of the cautionary points you might adopt below.

Letterbox drop closest neighbours advising of the same and that youve told the police.
Depending on set up - shooting from a singular point - place some reminder flags at locations where you do not want to shoot. Whilst always knowing what’s behind your target, goes without saying - some orange tape on star droppers etc can serve you well in the heat of moment.
Download the hmr to lightest workable loads.
If possible, work some additional back drop protection, logs, sleepers, etc behind any known warrens to help catch any potential ricochets.
Highlight any points around the property that “may” be no shoot areas - concrete blocks, steel in grass, etc again, threaded rod or steel wire with orange tape is simple, easy and cheap.

Sounds like extra work but - adds significantly to the enjoyment and success.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Bent Arrow » 25 Dec 2018, 11:05 am

On 20 acres I'd be having a friendly conversation with the neighbours before I did anything else. I shoot on a large property where the majority of the rabbits are along the boundary and the neighbours house is less than 100m from that fence. The rabbits are smashing his garden and so he happily gave me written permission to shoot on his side of the boundary too I use shotguns and air rifles, and shoot with his house behind me, so I have much less concerns about richocets.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 25 Dec 2018, 1:14 pm

TassieTiger wrote:Download the hmr to lightest workable loads.


Downloading HMR is taking it to the extreme I think ;-)
I would just use a .22LR with the most accurate subsonics.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by TassieTiger » 25 Dec 2018, 1:20 pm

I’d use a .22 as well but if the hmr was the only available rifle - Maybe a couple grains out would help quash a few fears.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 25 Dec 2018, 2:28 pm

TassieTiger wrote:I’d use a .22 as well but if the hmr was the only available rifle - Maybe a couple grains out would help quash a few fears.


Pain in the arse pulling those tiny bullets and then reseating them, and doing enough to confirm the accuracy and ballistics. Buy a centrefire .17 Hornet for that stuff.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Die Judicii » 25 Dec 2018, 7:13 pm

I've read all of the above, and see no mention of the "real" suitability in your case of using the .17 HMR

I am of the understanding that this particular round was first developed at the request of the american military.
Because a lot of fresh intakes had no or little experience with firearms, they needed to address this and the ensuing safety issues.

Some of their primary requisites were as follow,

1) A small lightweight round.
2) A round that was highly frangible that would disintergrate upon impact of minimal objects such as branches etc.
3) Accurate

So really the .17 HMR is probably even more suitable on smaller holdings than the common .22 lr or .22 short.
Especially so if there is shrubbery, light tree coverage etc.

It still pays to take notice of what has been said by other members as regard to backdrop, markers, etc etc.
Common sense goes a long way.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by marksman » 25 Dec 2018, 7:42 pm

Die Judicii wrote:I've read all of the above, and see no mention of the "real" suitability in your case of using the .17 HMR

I am of the understanding that this particular round was first developed at the request of the american military.
Because a lot of fresh intakes had no or little experience with firearms, they needed to address this and the ensuing safety issues.

Some of their primary requisites were as follow,

1) A small lightweight round.
2) A round that was highly frangible that would disintergrate upon impact of minimal objects such as branches etc.
3) Accurate

So really the .17 HMR is probably even more suitable on smaller holdings than the common .22 lr or .22 short.
Especially so if there is shrubbery, light tree coverage etc.

It still pays to take notice of what has been said by other members as regard to backdrop, markers, etc etc.
Common sense goes a long way.


well said Die Judici
they are very frangible and on 20 acres if they were used with common sence would be safer to use than a 22 rimfire that is not
a safer option would be a pair of ferrets and maybe a 12 gauge used sensibly but there is no limit to the size of land you can shoot on in vic as long as it is not a populous place and you are 200 meters from the nearest house ect
it would be best to get the property owner to have a talk with the neighbours so they know what is going on
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 25 Dec 2018, 8:01 pm

Die Judicii wrote:I've read all of the above, and see no mention of the "real" suitability in your case of using the .17 HMR

I am of the understanding that this particular round was first developed at the request of the american military.
Because a lot of fresh intakes had no or little experience with firearms, they needed to address this and the ensuing safety issues.

Some of their primary requisites were as follow,

1) A small lightweight round.
2) A round that was highly frangible that would disintergrate upon impact of minimal objects such as branches etc.
3) Accurate

So really the .17 HMR is probably even more suitable on smaller holdings than the common .22 lr or .22 short.
Especially so if there is shrubbery, light tree coverage etc.

It still pays to take notice of what has been said by other members as regard to backdrop, markers, etc etc.
Common sense goes a long way.


The HMR may be less prone to ricochet or pass through barriers perhaps, at close ranges, but by 150m it's down to .22LR velocities and becomes the same for ricochet and barrier penetration anyway. If the noise bothers the neighbours and makes shooting unviable then something quieter may be more suitable for that reason alone.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Bills Shed » 26 Dec 2018, 7:29 am

Down load a HMR?????? You do realise it is a rimfire!
22 subs would be fine but richoet can be an issue. 100m head shoes with a sub is not hard to do with practice. They are my bread and butter round for small properties.
I do like to reduce a load in my 17H. I make a very short 17gn projectile that is good for low velocity with a very thin jacket and a massive hollow point into the core. The chance of a richoet is low as it is a very fragile pill, but the possibility is still there. Common sense prevails.

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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Die Judicii » 26 Dec 2018, 7:56 am

Bills Shed wrote:Down load a HMR?????? You do realise it is a rimfire!
22 subs would be fine but richoet can be an issue. Common sense prevails.

Bill


Precisely,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I was wondering when some-one would pick that up, with regard to it being a rimfire.
some of you blokes must be asleep with yer finger on the trigger. :lol:
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bigrich » 26 Dec 2018, 7:57 am

22lr hp subs , shotgun and talk to the neihbours first would be the best coarse of action IMHO. if all ya got is the hmr just be very careful about which way the muzzles facing . keep ya back to any houses and don't take any other shots outside of that requirement . if the niehbours are having issues with the rabbits as well they might be glad to get ya to clean their property up too. me and a mate got asked to take out a lot of rabbits on a big block on the outskirts of a town, but we did't take the job cause of lots of houses on the property boundry and all we had were 22lr's. all it woulda taken was one person to complain to have the fuzz on us.. the best option in this case would have bin a air rifle and talking to all the neihbours first . a lot of people don't seem to mind air rifles in this situation

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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by TassieTiger » 26 Dec 2018, 9:37 am

Bills Shed wrote:Down load a HMR?????? You do realise it is a rimfire!
22 subs would be fine but richoet can be an issue. 100m head shoes with a sub is not hard to do with practice. They are my bread and butter round for small properties.
I do like to reduce a load in my 17H. I make a very short 17gn projectile that is good for low velocity with a very thin jacket and a massive hollow point into the core. The chance of a richoet is low as it is a very fragile pill, but the possibility is still there. Common sense prevails.

Bill


Okay - I’ll take that one on the chin. I thought it was a centrefire...a small centrefire all the same but...okay, rule out that particular option - my bad.
A friend has a .17 (thought it was hmr) but maybe not...it’s fookin loud like a centre!!!!
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by TassieTiger » 26 Dec 2018, 9:57 am

Bills Shed wrote:Down load a HMR?????? You do realise it is a rimfire!
22 subs would be fine but richoet can be an issue. 100m head shoes with a sub is not hard to do with practice. They are my bread and butter round for small properties.
I do like to reduce a load in my 17H. I make a very short 17gn projectile that is good for low velocity with a very thin jacket and a massive hollow point into the core. The chance of a richoet is low as it is a very fragile pill, but the possibility is still there. Common sense prevails.

Bill


Okay - I’ll take that one on the chin. I thought it was a centrefire...a small centrefire all the same but...okay, rule out that particular option - my bad.
A friend has a .17 (thought it was hmr) but maybe not...it’s fookin loud like a centre!!!!
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Bills Shed » 26 Dec 2018, 10:24 am

TassieTiger wrote:
Bills Shed wrote:Down load a HMR?????? You do realise it is a rimfire!
22 subs would be fine but richoet can be an issue. 100m head shoes with a sub is not hard to do with practice. They are my bread and butter round for small properties.
I do like to reduce a load in my 17H. I make a very short 17gn projectile that is good for low velocity with a very thin jacket and a massive hollow point into the core. The chance of a richoet is low as it is a very fragile pill, but the possibility is still there. Common sense prevails.

Bill


Okay - I’ll take that one on the chin. I thought it was a centrefire...a small centrefire all the same but...okay, rule out that particular option - my bad.
A friend has a .17 (thought it was hmr) but maybe not...it’s fookin loud like a centre!!!!


There is a couple of 17 rimfires out there now and the 17 CF clan as well. Yes the CF is a order of magnitude in relation to noise but you can load them down a heap. With the right pill they are devastating. On small properties the 17H at full noise has been said to be "quite loud" by a neighbour, hence low velocity rounds.

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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 26 Dec 2018, 11:21 am

In vic 5 acres is the minimum to not get in trouble even if rural. Need property owner details. Ideally get neighbors permission. Be careful which direction you shooting at. Preferably use quieter ammo. And obviously read what others have said in this thread.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by duncan61 » 26 Dec 2018, 11:31 am

I did the plumbing on a rural house that had other properties near .It was on a river and all the old dead cars were pilled up along the bank.The house was up on a sand pad as the area floods in winter so I set up a bonnet at 50 metres and zeroed with .22LR Winchester Z ammo.As I was working around the house I would look over and every now and then a bunny would be out as the area was in shade.I got 2 or 3 every time I went there the closest was 32 metres and the furthest which I used a small amount of holdover on was 72 metres.The Z ammo killed them outright and was silent HMR are loud as for what they do.Get permission and get sneaky.I gave one rabbit to the Italian mother so they were happy.The only thing I did wrong was bury the offal in my water service trench and a fox dug it up that night and spread it around the back so the son thought I had just dropped it on the floor and it stunk
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Die Judicii » 26 Dec 2018, 12:45 pm

Yet another good example for the need to bring back the good old silencers.
They are almost mandatory in England where a lot of shooting is done in close proximity to houses. :thumbsup:
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by ponkychonk » 26 Dec 2018, 2:58 pm

Bruiser64 wrote:In WA the police have a table of minimum property sizes for each calibre when submitting a property letter when applying for a licence. For the 17 hmr 100 acres is the recommended size with 50 acres being the bare minimum. .


Where did you get this info from?
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Bruiser64 » 26 Dec 2018, 7:01 pm

ponkychonk wrote:
Bruiser64 wrote:In WA the police have a table of minimum property sizes for each calibre when submitting a property letter when applying for a licence. For the 17 hmr 100 acres is the recommended size with 50 acres being the bare minimum. .


Where did you get this info from?


I got it from a table I downloaded from one of the WA gun store websites. I have it at home. Send me a PM if you want me to send you a copy. I am away from home until next week though.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Sawyers » 26 Dec 2018, 11:50 pm

Bruiser64 wrote:20 acres is a small property. This article from Sporting Shooter May be of some use. http://www.sportingshooter.com.au/gun-l ... hooting-on . In WA the police have a table of minimum property sizes for each calibre when submitting a property letter when applying for a licence. For the 17 hmr 100 acres is the recommended size with 50 acres being the bare minimum. The main issues with a property of that size would be containing the shot on the property and not getting complaints from the neighbours. If the property is undulating and/or heavily wooded, it may be perfectly safe to shoot a hmr. A quick call to the local police station may be prudent before proceeding.

In theory a 17 hmr is safer to shoot on a small property compared to a 22lr as it cut downs on the chance of bullets ricocheting, with a suppressor it would be perfect small property hunting rifle
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by Sawyers » 26 Dec 2018, 11:59 pm

Die Judicii wrote:I've read all of the above, and see no mention of the "real" suitability in your case of using the .17 HMR

I am of the understanding that this particular round was first developed at the request of the american military.
Because a lot of fresh intakes had no or little experience with firearms, they needed to address this and the ensuing safety issues.

Some of their primary requisites were as follow,

1) A small lightweight round.
2) A round that was highly frangible that would disintergrate upon impact of minimal objects such as branches etc.
3) Accurate

So really the .17 HMR is probably even more suitable on smaller holdings than the common .22 lr or .22 short.
Especially so if there is shrubbery, light tree coverage etc.

It still pays to take notice of what has been said by other members as regard to backdrop, markers, etc etc.
Common sense goes a long way.

My thoughts exactly, I shoot several small properties (10 acre being the smallest) and Im looking at purchasing a 17 Mach2 as ive had 1 or 2 shots from a 22lr exit a rabbits head hit the ground and ricochete.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by TassieTiger » 27 Dec 2018, 2:34 am

Forgive my ignorance here - the .17hmr is apparently pushing somewhere around 2500fps vs a .22lr of around 1200fps standard or 1050fps for subs - how is the HMR less likely to ricochet than the slower and heavier .22 round?
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by duncan61 » 27 Dec 2018, 2:54 am

Winchester Z at 770fps is not going any where.The bunny I shot at 72 metres in the head the bullet did not even exit.I find rabbits drop dead very easy.I have shot at long range with a shotgun and found them dead without a mark on them.Even silenced the HMR will make noise as the bullet is doing Mach 2 when it leaves the barrel
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 27 Dec 2018, 3:54 am

TassieTiger wrote:Forgive my ignorance here - the .17hmr is apparently pushing somewhere around 2500fps vs a .22lr of around 1200fps standard or 1050fps for subs - how is the HMR less likely to ricochet than the slower and heavier .22 round?


The very light bullet travelling at very high speed tends to evaporate upon hitting anything at all, similar to .204. In particular, the bullet tends not to exit the animal, or at least not in one piece so pass-through is rarely a danger to anybody. A ,22LR bullet tends to go through animals up to about fox size, although the bullet doesn't have a lot of energy left when it comes out. If it's also deformed, or tumbling (the whizzing sound you hear from a ricochet indicates a deformed or tumbling bullet) then it bleeds velocity very quickly.

But that's only at close range while the velocity is still high. These very light bullets bleed velocity very quickly and are soon down below that threshold and become no more immune to ricochet than anything else.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by bladeracer » 27 Dec 2018, 3:57 am

duncan61 wrote:Even silenced the HMR will make noise as the bullet is doing Mach 2 when it leaves the barrel


Yes, a supersonic bullet will still break the sound barrier as it leaves the muzzle, but the gases that follow the bullet out are slowed and cooled in the can before being released to atmosphere.
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Re: Land size for 17hmr varminting in Victoria

Post by duncan61 » 27 Dec 2018, 8:11 am

great explanation.I found with the neck shot ducks I used to do with HMR the jacket and lead fragments were often still in the duck.I fillet the breast out anyhoo.Never plucked a duck out in my life.
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