best 17 hmr bullet for fox/coons

fox n yote hunter

New member
i was wondering which bullets would be the best for mostly reds and a few grays and coons the shots are 1 to 150 yards mostly wooded areas cant us fmj or any military type round
thanks
Garrett
 
Originally Posted By: BearNO 17 HMR is suitable for anything larger than a rabbit.

Bull@#$%.....

Originally Posted By: Bear Go 22mag and stay under 75 yards.

More Bull@#$%..... both rounds will work beyond that on coons.


OP: I've had great results on coons and yotes with the 20gr XTP around the house. I haven't lost a single animal yet. Not many foxes here though. I'm sure it would work fine.

I'd avoid the inevitable "splash" and lack of penetration with the VMax, especially with big bodied coons.

I've been shooting coons through the heart/lungs and headshot only on anything bigger. YMMV.
Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: CrazyHorse66Originally Posted By: BearNO 17 HMR is suitable for anything larger than a rabbit.

Bull@#$%.....

Originally Posted By: Bear Go 22mag and stay under 75 yards.

More Bull@#$%..... both rounds will work beyond that on coons.


OP: I've had great results on coons and yotes with the 20gr XTP around the house. I haven't lost a single animal yet. Not many foxes here though. I'm sure it would work fine.

I'd avoid the inevitable "splash" and lack of penetration with the VMax, especially with big bodied coons.

I've been shooting coons through the heart/lungs and headshot only on anything bigger. YMMV.
Good luck!



I couldn't agree more! The 20-grain bullets are the way to go. Even for a fox under 100 yards you could use the .17 HMR. It is perfect for large bodied coons. With a .22 you'll sometimes shoot a coon 3 or 4 times. It only takes one with the 20-grain HMR.
 
That guy doesnt know what hes talking about!!! Im a big 17HMR fan killed lots of yotes some cats fox, coon the HMR works great! I just love it for crows though!
 
Originally Posted By: BearNO 17 HMR is suitable for anything larger than a rabbit. Go 22mag and stay under 75 yards.
Many a coyote, coon, and jackrabbit have fallen to the 17 grain CCI TNT.
 
Originally Posted By: CTinSDOriginally Posted By: BearNO 17 HMR is suitable for anything larger than a rabbit. Go 22mag and stay under 75 yards.
Many a coyote, coon, and jackrabbit have fallen to the 17 grain CCI TNT.
This is true, but many more are wounded and lost.
 
Most of my hunting is centerfire but when shooting my HMR I like the 17 vmax. great luck with it on reds and groundhogs. My Longest kill on a groundhog with 17 gr vmax is 196 yds, headshot. The reds were lung shots.
 
Originally Posted By: gotspotsOriginally Posted By: CTinSDOriginally Posted By: BearNO 17 HMR is suitable for anything larger than a rabbit. Go 22mag and stay under 75 yards.
Many a coyote, coon, and jackrabbit have fallen to the 17 grain CCI TNT.
This is true, but many more are wounded and lost.

Shot placement is the culprit 90% of the time when game is lost. I've been guilty of it. Shot a coyote with 100gr game king and I had to track it and finish it off. Had to have been me unless the .243 is inadequate for coyotes
 
Last year I shot 4 gray fox with my 17. 2 were shot with the 17 grain vmax, one DRT, the other ran at the shot and was not recovered, the other 2 were shot with the 20 gr Hornady and both DRT. I've also shot several feral cats with both types, the 20 gr bonded type bullet showed to be far superior. YMMV
 
If true 17 HMR shooters were honest, they would keep a log of how many shot animals, and how many recovered. Same as shotgun predator hunters that brag about the few 60- 70 yds plus, but rarely post about the lost. JMO.
 
My HMR is a favorite crow sniping round, and has worked great for groundhogs too, which can be some tough little critters. I don't have the exact count, but I'm guessing we shot roughly 10 groundhogs with the HMR. We lost one that managed to get into the den from a poorly placed body shot. The others dropped. One was hit in the chest with a 17 gr. V-Max as it was standing up on the den mound a distance of over 100 yards. It never made it into the den. It was a pretty good sized groundhog too.

With that one exception of the 17 V-Max, all others were shot with the 20 gr. CCI Game Point. I have all shots recorded on video showing the hunts and distances.

Even on crows, I have noticed better performance from the 20 g. vs the 17.

I can't say about fox and raccoons since I don't have any experience with those two.




 
I'd use 20 gr XTP too if you can,but only if your rifle shoots them very accurately. I wouldn't sacrifice accuracy for 3 more grains. Some HMR's like my Savage 93 can be very finicky. It doesn't like 17 grainers. I've seen others that don't do well with 20's. My Encore with an MGM barrel shoots everything I feed it well.
 
My wife and I live in the Hill COuntry of Texas. More Grey fox than you can shake a stick at. We both shoot the 17 hmr with the 17 grain vmax. It is true you will wound a few but in our case have dropped more in their tracks than has run off. The ones that run off are usually because of POOR SHOT PLACEMENT. Heck I have shot a couple with my 22-250 with vmax and had them run off too.(due to poor shot placement). Also have shot many coyotes with my 25/06 and 22/250 and if you dont place a good shot You can bet you are going to have to do some looking to find it. Remember SHOT PLACEMENT!!!!
 
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