17 HMR or 22 WMR

Wellsir, I have seen .17 HMR make kills out past 200 yards on ground squirrels and to tell you the truth, it pretty much surprised me. I was not the shooter (alas!) but the spotter and he hit them pretty well once he got the range dialed in. His brother (or just a buddy) was trying his luck with a .22 Mag and getting some good tosses out to 150 yards or so, but none where the .17 Hummer was going.

My .17 Ruger with its custom Volquartsen barrel is going to give me a 200+ yard shot this year I just know it. It is due for it I can feel it.
 
I was going back and forth between the 2 for quite a while. The deciding factor for me was the ammo availability and price. For decent .22mag local, very hard to find and expensive. HMR was everywhere for $12/box.

SO no mag experience, but the HMR has been a fun and accurate little gun. My cheap little savage is a shooter
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I have a 17hmr and should be getting a couple of 22mags in the next few weeks. The 17 is a blast to shoot. Plus it is very accurate. The ammo is about a toss up as far as pricing. Will see how the 22mag does when they get back.
 
My 17hmr is my favorite rifle to shoot. I put a high power scope on it, and having been having fun with it since day one, mostly because of accuracy and range.

I have nothing against the 22mag, but I don't own one anymore, due to lack of use. (That was sold way before I bought the 17hmr though)
 
For small the stuff the 17 should be great they have alot more accuracy. The 22mag is pretty hard to find an accurate gun. With the new 30 gr. stuff the 22mag has pretty good balistics but again an moa 22mag is the exception. If you are going to shoot any coyote though 22mag is the way to go

Make sure and look into the 17hm2. It only is about 400 FPS slower. It holds the same trajectory to 100 yards. It is not quite as good for varmints but the big thing is its only 4-6 bucks for 50 instead of 12 bucks. The 17hm2 is the ultimate small game round.
 
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I like both. If I had to pick one it would be tuff! But since Ive been shooting the 22 mag for over 30years and its been like my best buddy riding in the pickup for that time Id have to go with the 22 magnum. Amd all my Magnums are Ruger 77/22.
 
The .17 HMR is much more "hittable" from 150 to 200 yards on small stuff (crows, pigeons, ground squirrels). A guy interested in this cartridge for this hunting application would probably have a scope on his rifle topping out at least 12x.
On the other hand, the .22 Mag bullet has 35% more initial surface area over that of the .17. In other words, it gets a head start in the wide wound channel department and for predators at close range (no further than a 100 yards tops), a wide wound channel with sufficient penetration of the vital organs is very desirable. Bottom-line? If you HAD to use a rim-fire cartridge for predators (like we do in Michigan for nightime shooting), the .22 Mag is the rimfire of choice. Not to say that the .17 HMR XTP bullet couldn't get the job done with precise shooting but the .22 Mag DOES have an edge in the terminal department. It's a better choice for chest shooting woodchucks too for that very reason.
The IDEAL would be to get a .22 Mag repeater (lever action, Volquartsen semi-auto, etc.) for nighttime shooting and a good bolt-action .17 HMR for long-range, small stuff. The problem comes when a guy can, for whatever reason, buy only ONE rimfire magnum! For most guys, the .22 Mag with it's wide range of loadings, extra terminal punch and lower cost of factory shells is going to be mighty tough to beat. However, if said shooter just has to go from 150-200 on anything like a routine basis, well that spells .17. What we REALLY, REALLY NEED is a new 5MM cartridge! A 5MM could give us the best of both cartridges in one, single rifle. --- Mike
 
I had two .17 hmr and sold one and then bought two .22 wmr . I like my .22 wmr better being that just about every time i go shooting there is a little wind and the 40 grain hollow points in the wmr handles the wind way better than a 17-20 grain does in my .17 hmr . I also will be shooting a coyotes and foxes , so the .22 wmr is way better for that . also walmart is selling the .22 mag CCI max mags for 9.99 a box . Best deal i have found on .17 hmr is 12.99 a box .

here is what i have in 22 wmr

Ruger 77.22 wmr , i up graded to a redfield scope

ruger7722.jpg


redfieldDSCN0369.jpg


and the other .22 mag is my sons present when he returns home in june , he has no clue !! Its a Savage .

codyssavage22magDSCN0346.jpg
 
I had two .17 hmr and sold one and then bought two .22 wmr . I like my .22 wmr better being that just about every time i go shooting there is a little wind and the 40 grain hollow points in the wmr handles the wind way better than a 17-20 grain does in my .17 hmr . I also will be shooting a coyotes and foxes , so the .22 wmr is way better for that . also walmart is selling the .22 mag CCI max mags for 9.99 a box . Best deal i have found on .17 hmr is 12.99 a box .

here is what i have in 22 wmr

Ruger 77.22 wmr , i up graded to a redfield scope

ruger7722.jpg


redfieldDSCN0369.jpg


and the other .22 mag is my sons present when he returns home in june , he has no clue !! Its a Savage .

codyssavage22magDSCN0346.jpg
 
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