22 Mag VS the 17

[titan69]

Which is better & explain why you like your choice please. Thanks. I been wanting to get 1 of these, but would like to hear opinions.

[qwagoner]

I have three HMRs and three Mags (two pistols) but I find myself reaching for one of the HMRs far more often. They are just flat out more accurate than the mags are. In my guns they are anyway. The little 17s may not have the “thump” that the 22 magnums do but they make up for it in the accuracy and trajectory department.

In choosing it would boil down to whatever traits you value most. Remember that just because the 17 will likely hold the accuracy edge that doesn’t mean that the mags are inaccurate. In a good rifle the mags are more than adequate. My custom bull barreled 10/22 magnum will MOA at 100 yards on the right day. On the other hand my Volquartsen HMR has printed a number of half-inch groups at the same range. The 17s are easier to shoot well at longer distances do to their flatter trajectory. I will go out on a limb and say that their accurate range extends further than their terminal performance does.

Good hunting.

Q,

[lb]

I will go out on a limb and say that their accurate range extends further than their terminal performance does.

Good hunting.

Q,

Quinton, what are you saying? 100 yards on coyotes?

[qwagoner]

There you are jerking my chain again Leonard. LOL For the record NO I do not in any way recommend the HMR or Mag for coyotes. I have killed them with both (head shots) and I watched Lance center punch one perfectly on a 60-yard frontal shot. The coyote ran about 120 yards or so in a half moon and then pile up. R Shaw and I have killed a half a dozen grey fox with the HMR in Texas also BUT I made two nice shots on bobcats with the little .17 and I never saw them again.

I would rank them good for coon and grays for short range calling applications but that is about the its of it. Unless you are hunting in areas where safety is a great concern or you are in a rimfire or shotgun only area. I wouldn’t even consider either of them for coyotes.

This topic and testimonial is usually a queue for someone to leap out of the shadows and report outstanding successes with the .17 hmr fallowed by a stern lecture about shot placement (as if it is not important with any other gun) and then go on to say that it is not for everybody. It is only meant to be used on coyotes by the elite marksmen and callers (like themselves of course) of the world. Mere mortals need not apply. Knock your self out!!

Good hunting.

Q,

[walkercoonhunter(Aaron L.)]

well i have had very bad luck with my 17hmr with grey fox...i have shot probually round 10-15 with it and the only ones i have got is the ones shot in the head...the good chest or lung shot and they run...reds is bang flop with it...so i have my doubts if this is even a good idea to even think about for yotes....just my observations....

[lb]

Quinton, I knew the answer, so I guess I was jerking your chain? But, you know how it is? I hate to see anybody misinformed about rimfires for predators.......except (of course) for those experts you were talking about.

Good hunting. LB

[qwagoner]

Leonard, next time please feel free to take it upon yourself!! LOL

Good hunting.

Q,

[17HMR]

I sure wish they would come out with a 25 grain bullet for them, I found the 17 grain bullet lacking a little in the killing power, then I found they had 20 grain bullets out, and they seemed to close the gap between the 17 and the 22 mag and make them about even. I think a little heavyer bullet would make the 17 one heck of a 50 yard and under coon gun.

[richc]

I think the ammo company's should start offereing something like a 40 grain Nosler ballistic silvertip in a .22 magnum loading. It would overshadow the Hummer by miles.

[titan69]

Thanks for all these replies, sounds like a 22 mag is the way to go. I'd like to try some k9 calling & you just never know what may some in. For that reason, I'd like something thats going to get em even with a shoulder shot. Sounds like the 22 Mag has more impact over the 17.

[lb]

For what? If you can read, there is first person account, telling you that........ canine's with a rimfire (any rimfire) is strictly a close range, head shot situation. The head of an animal is the first thing that moves, before legs or body, while that slow bullet is in flight. It's a small target, under field conditions. I didn't see where Quinton suggested a shoulder shot as a good choice, and he knows a lot, Amigo.

The concept is, get a centerfire; Hornet, 218 Bee, maybe the 19 Calhoon, but something with more authority than a rimfire. That's if you want dead, recoverable animals, more often.

Good hunting. LB

[qwagoner]

I guess I have just shot too many coyotes with a .220 swift to down grade to a rimfire. In my situation it seams like a great burden or handicap. I have seen quite a few coyotes take shoulder shots with lighter bullets like 40 and 50gr V-Maxes excreta that required a second shot. Not so much on broadside shots but on coyotes that are quartering towards you. The point of the shoulder is covering up the center of the vitals. It really does take a good bullet with a fair amount of energy and velocity to penetrate into the lungs on that kind of a shot.

Even headshots can be tricky. “Brain shot” is more of a correct term. I have and I know a lot of other people have shot coyotes square in the face with swifts, 22-250, 223s and the like only to have a very live coyote on there hands. The muzzle and jaw is all bone and cartilage. With varmint type bullets a lot of times there is nothing left of the bullet to make it into the brain. In fact one of the bobcats I shot down in Texas was a head/face shot. The cat jumped about 5 feet in the air and hit the ground running. Had I grabbed my swift rather than the HMR I would have skinned that cat!! It was shooter error. If I aimed a little higher I would have made a brain shot. If I had made the same hit with my swift it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference if I were an inch low. If If If… LOL

Even on good chest shots coyotes have the potential to run a good long ways before collapsing? Some times they may die like they were hit with the hammer of Thor also. I have shot a lot of coyotes just back of the lungs with my swift and they will spin and carry on for a while or they will make a mad death run and make it 100 yards or more. The same shot with a rimfire would have resulted in a lost coyote. Like everyone else I like to think I am a pretty fare shot but I will be the first to tell you my bullets don’t always hit where I want them too. The extra firepower that a good center-fire caries is no excuse for sloppy shooting habits but it does act as a small insurance policy for bullets that might happen to go astray.

I would like to do a side by side comparison on the 22 mag VS. the 17 on different mediums. I know that at 30 yards or so a .17 will pop holes in a “T” post and the mag will not. This is not an indication of better penetration though. Wet news paper may be a better indicator. Even if the penetration would be at or near the same the Mag may get the nod because of a wider wound channel? Still, coons and gray fox are as large of animals as I would want to tackle with either one. Which one is the best for coon and fox? That might be like asking what is better on coyotes, a 22-250 or a .220 swift? LOL

Good luck..

Q,

[rk660]

what Ive seen of .17 hrm on coon is unless head shot is taken, they many times keep running. Ive seen them shot out to around 80 yards and good blowup on head, killing instantly, but bet you push past that much im guessing you will see more surface blowup and not a kill shot from the 17. my mag kills pretty clean on headshots out to 100 yards, but is losing accurcy to make head shots past 100 yards

[robertw]

I don't know squat about the 17 but with the 22 mags I preferr the semi auto Marlin & Ruger. Most of my calling is coons and I often have coons appearing along ways from where they are suppose to be at. I need knock down power and accuracy out to 100 yards. The 22 mags do this fine, especially in the timber where there is little or no wind. The semi auto allows me to engage multiple targets and still kill a tree limb or two.

I have shot a "few" (maybe 6-8) incedental coyotes with the 22 mag and have yet to knock one down with the first shot unless it was a head or spine shot. With chest & body shots with the 22 mag on coyotes it takes two to three hits to put them down.

If the coyote is spinning and biting at where the bullet struck I keep pulling the trigger when using the 22 mag. I have seen to many run over the hill after being solidly hit.

[thorsmightyhammer]

My limited experience with the 22 mags and the hmrs(mostly at the range) is the hmr is more accurate at longer range but the mag will handle winddrift better.

I'd like to see them come out with a heavier bullet for the hmr as well.

[markymark]

I don't think either are a good choice, Like Lb said start with the 218 bee or the Hornet. I have an Ackley Improved Hornet in an Anshutz pistol and a Kimber it's a nice little p shooter. But hey what do I know.

[rk660]

For night hunting around, level or report is an issue also. No one notices a mag a 1/4 mile away much at night, centerfires, even hornets get a tad loud. Most night coon hunting is under 50 yards anyways.

[redsnow]

Don't want to drag the thread off track, what's wrong with a 22 LR. ? My 541-T Rem. will do ALMOST everything that a mag or 17 will do, and if I want to plink, ammo's $1.59/50 rounds. If I'm hunting critters bigger than a pigeon, I'll pull out the .222 or 22250, or something bigger. Lots of good shooting 22's on the market.

[blakcoyote]

Heres a .22 cal bullet,don't know if it's from a long rifle or mag.But either way this was just under the skin when I was fleshing out this coyote.I called him in this past winter and shot him with the .243.But anyway this bullet was at the front shoulder and just penetrated the skin.It was an older wound.




Rimfires just don't cut it for predators IMO.

[lb]

...but, the hard heads never get it.