Best caliber for furbearers?

22-250 is king!

New member
I'm looking to buy a new rifle for beaver, muskrat, coons and also the ocasional groundhog or crow.
I was thinking of buying a 17 HMR, but I'm not real impressed with the ballistics and dont know about the performance on bigger stuff like beavers.
What about the 17 rem Fireball, anyone own one? 20 gr bullet at 4000 fps sounds nice.
Opinions please.
 
22mag. Im guilty of shooting my fair share of beavers with the mag and never had a single problem with it anchoring them.

What part of ky are you in?
 
For what you want it for a good 22 Hornet would be hard to beat, look at the CZ rifles. The 17 Fireball would also be good. I have one of each and I can't decide which I like better for that class of animal.
 
There are often good deals to be had on the venerable triple deuce / .222 Remington. If you reload it is very versatile with the ability to reproduce the hornet numbers or you can juice it up close to the .223. Also well known for it's tendency toward outstanding accuracy
 
If you reload....
A friend and neighbor has a .17 Ackley Hornet and LOVES it.
He uses it for pd's mostly. Can get a bullet going in the area of 3800fps and uses very little powder.
I know you have to step down in two steps for best results on forming the brass.
But that would be another option.
 
Originally Posted By: getfoxy22mag. Im guilty of shooting my fair share of beavers with the mag and never had a single problem with it anchoring them.

What part of ky are you in?
Henderson.
Does anyone have exp. with the HMR? Whats the overall opinion?
 
Quote:Does anyone have exp. with the HMR? Whats the overall opinion?
I have shot a ton of prairie dogs with a 17HMR, but nothing larger.
Accuracy is good at right around an inch at 100 yards.
I'm quite sure I could do better with a higher power scope on the rifle. Maybe better eyes too.
laugh.gif

Shots less that 75 yards tears the critters up. Around 100-125 just kills 'em. I've shot a few pd's at 200 yards and it actually took a few seconds for them to expire.
I like my HMR and won't be partin' with it any time soon.
HTH
 
I have a 17HMr, 22 mag, 17 fire ball, 17 rem, and a 22 hornet. For your needs I would use a 22mag if you don't reload. If you do then the hornet would be my choice. The 17HMR has not really impressed me as a fur gun. It works okay for coons. But the bullets are built on a to thin a jacket for Beavers, and would blow a Muskrat to pieces.
 
Originally Posted By: 22-250 is king!I'm looking to buy a new rifle for beaver, muskrat, coons and also the ocasional groundhog or crow.
I was thinking of buying a 17 HMR, but I'm not real impressed with the ballistics and dont know about the performance on bigger stuff like beavers.
Opinions please.

Use 20 gr XTPs or Gamepoints and you'll be fine.
 
I had an HMR before I got my 22 mag. It was a fun gun but it lacked the wallop that the 22 mag could deliver with a 40 grain bullet
 
I have both a 22 mag and a 17 HMR, if you want an extremely accurate rifle get 17 HMR. I feel that it will kill anything that my 22 mag will kill. The big difference in 22 mag and 17 hmr will be seen under 50-75 yards. After 50 yards the difference is slight in killing power but the HMR will still bemore accurate at extended ranges.
 
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Originally Posted By: 22-250 is king!Does anyone have exp. with the HMR? Whats the overall opinion?

I have a Savage 93 w/ hvy barrel, .17HMR. It makes me giggle every time I pull the trigger! Shoots like a laser out to about 100yds but believe, there are better choices for bigger game.

Some will say they've shot coyotes with the .17HMR. My experience is that very few Jack Rabbits in the Las Vegas desert die on the spot when hit in the boiler room by that round. I only dropped one in its tracks. It was running away from me and the round entered at the base of the spine and lodged at the base of the skull.

Beaver and Raccoon may be too large to drop at 100yds with the .17HMR.

Just my experience and opinion. Good luck!
 
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