Why the 17 HMR

[Poe]

To Start off I'm not trying to say anything bad about the HMR for small game hunting they are a blast. However I have been debating picking up another rifle for shooting gophers around home and any other small game that might Pop up. The HMR and the WSM are both a great little gun for doing this but I was thinking today why not just go right up to a .223. You get a lot more power out of a .223 if something like a coyote is to pop up and when you compare ammo cost if you reload or buy cheaper bulk .223 ammo the 17's really don't save you that much as far as Ammo goes. If you want to shoot a lot of bullets for cheap go with a 22 but if you are going to step up from there why not just go right up to the .223

 

[B23]

We shoot a lot of sage rats (Belding's ground squirrels) and rimfires are the preferred choice. Particularly, the 17 HMR and a few, like myself, now prefer the 17 WSM over the HMR.

For me, shooting sage rats with any of my 17's or even 22's is the much better choice because you can sometimes go through 500-1000 rnds a day and often the distances don't exceed a couple hundred yards and these things aren't very big so using a centerfire is overkill. The one centerfire exception is the 17 Hornet. My little 17 Hornets aren't quite as inexpensive to shoot as my HMR or WSM but it definitely extends your range and has a significantly better splat factor on rats, yet it's not so overkill and I don't feel so bad shooting a sage rat at 50yds with it.

Also, all of the rimfires and even the 17 Hornet, are considerably quieter than are any of the centerfires.

Another thing to consider, any of the cheaper 223 ammo that's even close to being in the price range of the HMR or WSM is all FMJ ammo and that stuff has a bad tendency to ricochet.

 

[HARPERC]

.................We shoot a lot of sage rats (Belding's ground squirrels) and rimfires are the preferred choice. Particularly, the 17 HMR and a few, like myself, now prefer the 17 WSM over the HMR........

We take a variety of rifles. Kids so the ammo is on me. Our last 2 day trip, the one .223 we got home with 18 pounds of .223 brass. Unknown how many 17 HMR.

I love the .223 it definitely adds some yardage-especially with a good optic. Cost wise, when I did the math, I good buy another 17HMR for the difference in ammo.

A good .22LR doesn't compete well in terms of percent hits, distance, or splat factor with the 17HMR. Plus more of a tendency to skip.

Could be factors making the .223 a better choice, but the pivots of eastern Oregon the 17HMR will keep you entertained all day.

 

[JMW67]

To Start off I'm not trying to say anything bad about the HMR for small game hunting they are a blast. However I have been debating picking up another rifle for shooting gophers around home and any other small game that might Pop up. The HMR and the WSM are both a great little gun for doing this but I was thinking today why not just go right up to a .223. You get a lot more power out of a .223 if something like a coyote is to pop up and when you compare ammo cost if you reload or buy cheaper bulk .223 ammo the 17's really don't save you that much as far as Ammo goes. If you want to shoot a lot of bullets for cheap go with a 22 but if you are going to step up from there why not just go right up to the .223

I went to the 22 hornet its a lot of fun

 

[JSHKS]

Now quit trying to narrow things down,lol. How will you ever know what you really like?
B23 has influenced me on several things, that cloned his 17wsm rig pretty much. Any of the 17 rimfires suffer as much from high quality ammo as anything.

Go right to 223. Honestly not a thing wrong with that angle. I have used Calhoons data and loaded it down to 22Hornet with good results. So why stop there, go to the 22-250 or .220 Swift. You can always load down, it's tough on equipment going over the top.

My excuse is I still had space in the safe,;-)

 

[UplandFreak]

To Start off I'm not trying to say anything bad about the HMR for small game hunting they are a blast. However I have been debating picking up another rifle for shooting gophers around home and any other small game that might Pop up. The HMR and the WSM are both a great little gun for doing this but I was thinking today why not just go right up to a .223. You get a lot more power out of a .223 if something like a coyote is to pop up and when you compare ammo cost if you reload or buy cheaper bulk .223 ammo the 17's really don't save you that much as far as Ammo goes. If you want to shoot a lot of bullets for cheap go with a 22 but if you are going to step up from there why not just go right up to the .223

I had both, but my 223 always got the nod. The 17hmr was fun for my son to shoot, but he got his own 223 and the 17 never left the safe so it got sold. I came to the same conclusion - the 223 is almost as cheap and it is way more versatile.

 

[lewwetzel]

I used a .17 HMR for groundhog hunting on a property where the tiny, frangible (20 gr.) bullet was preferable, and to my (protected) ears the report was a tad quieter than my preferred rimfire 'chuck round: the .22 WMR. Will grudgingly admit the HMR was a bit faster and flatter, and with careful shot placement was surprisingly lethal on our big Eastern 'hogs. But I just could never "warm up" to the round, and would much prefer having a .22 Mag in my hand than an HMR if a big ol' coyote would appear while hunting smaller game. I'm planning on getting rid of all my rimfire rifles and getting a nice semi-auto .22 WMR as we speak.
Same with centerfires. IME, I couldn't swap a .17 Hornady Hornet for a .22 Hornet fast enough.

 

[jrock]

I've taken a few coyotes in the less than 100 yard range with the 20 grain SP 17 HMR ammo and it has done well. Wouldn't be my go to if a coyote popped out but it will do the job. Of course, I wouldn't have 20 grain SP ammo loaded for ground squirrels and I don't have any data on the 17 grain bullets on coyotes but I hear they work as well. I can reload 204 for the same cost and 17 HMR so the 17 is the gun I use when I'm letting the other cool.

 

[bubbaonpc]

17 Hornet is a blast to shoot and reloading your own saves some dollar bills. 20gr bullets can be bulk purchased from MidWay and MidSouth on the cheap...most powder loads between 8-11 grains, a pound goes a long way. ..And there is just something about impact at 3800 FPS on Crows, rabbits and such !! Not too loud either. Have you thought about the .204 Ruger? That will get ya over 4000 FPS... and some acrobatic displays from Varmints. I have both and while one is cooling, the other comes in handy. Good luck, you will enjoy whatever you purchase.

 

[gvjm]

To Start off I'm not trying to say anything bad about the HMR for small game hunting they are a blast. However I have been debating picking up another rifle for shooting gophers around home and any other small game that might Pop up. The HMR and the WSM are both a great little gun for doing this but I was thinking today why not just go right up to a .223. You get a lot more power out of a .223 if something like a coyote is to pop up and when you compare ammo cost if you reload or buy cheaper bulk .223 ammo the 17's really don't save you that much as far as Ammo goes. If you want to shoot a lot of bullets for cheap go with a 22 but if you are going to step up from there why not just go right up to the .223

I do a lot Prairie dog hunting and have used the 17 HMR, 223, and the 22-250. I finally settled on the 223. The 17 was great out to 100-125 yards then runs out of gas pretty quickly if you looking for destructive performance. Since I reload I can run more effective ammo with greater accuracy than the 17 HMR. Just my experience.

 

[imartin]

I hunt in certain areas with restrictions on the firearms you can use, aka no centerfire rifles. So for small game, varmints, and predators I go with the 17 HMR. Wish I had the performance of the WSM for those situations. Otherwise, I would just shoot a centerfire so I could control the quality of the ammo I feed the rifle

 

[Allen Kitts]

I would agree with the 17 Hornet comments. I love mine and the gophers, prarie dogs and coyotes in west central Montana hate it!

 

[charlesasmith]

I shoot 17HMR out to 150 yds until the wind becomes too strong. Even my 17 cal centerfires are really impacted by strong winds. When that happens I then go to my 222 &223 and shoot out to about 200-225 yds. I no longer take any 17 cal guns when shooting prairie dogs in Montana due to the wind.

I shoot suppressed when possible. Unfortunately, my rimfire suppressor is limited to about 350 rounds before needing to be cleaned. If I don't, it becomes extremely difficult to take apart.

 

[bubbadad]

I love the 17hmr for prairie dogs! Not bragging but 250 yard kills is amazing to watch ! No recoil and fast !!