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Post by cuda on May 16, 2015 7:37:27 GMT -5
For shooting rabbits and squirrels what would be the max range you would try a shot? I am using a Marlin XT-17V-17HMR bolt action rifle I have a cheap Barska 6.5-20x50AO target scope on it. I got it on another gun and it was just setting around so I put it on the 17HMR. I was going to shoot some ground squirrels for fun too. Poor mans prairie dog hunting but it keeps you able to hit a small target at different ranges. I have a range finder too. I can shoot the ground squirrels all summer till the rabbit and squirrel season. I figure it is cheaper than the .223 or 30-06 to shoot.
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Post by al53 on May 16, 2015 7:50:49 GMT -5
Cuda..while at the range I have watched guys with the .17 stack them at 100 yards and also have effective shots at 200yds but they say that 150 yards is tops as far as hunting and the .17 is wind sensitive they said....
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Post by cuda on May 16, 2015 8:27:47 GMT -5
On the box it says that the bullet is at 1378fps at 200yds. That is faster than a 22lr at the muzzle. I had thought about coyotes too. I would keep them close shots if I did shoot them at around 100yds.
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Post by dannoboone on May 16, 2015 16:48:10 GMT -5
I shot a crow at 160yds and several squirrels at just under
100yds. Anything other than a head or broadside lung shot
will really mess up a squirrel (no doubt rabbits, too).
I would use the 17hmr on a coyote only if it was a shot of
opportunity. Wouldn't go "coyote hunting" with it, but
then, I have a small armory for anything coyote size.
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Post by AJ on May 17, 2015 17:31:42 GMT -5
For coyote sized game, I would limit 150 yards and shot placement is critical. For jack rabbits, prairie dogs and squirrels, 250 would be my max. After that I would grab the 223. I shoot my 17 HMR out to 300 yards regularly and it will perform. Yes, it is blown around by the wind, but then again so are all bullets.
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Post by cuda on May 17, 2015 21:29:43 GMT -5
For the coyotes I would only shoot around a 100yds. But you setup on a good squirrel area and a coyote can sneak right in close. I guess I will just have to see how well it will do.
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Post by herman on May 20, 2015 4:28:46 GMT -5
When I had a 17HMR the only thing I shot with it was clay birds and one snake.
My buddy Bill and I had one,mine was a savage and his was a break down model,don't remember the brand.
We had a lot of fun shooting it at 300 yds at the clay birds.When you hit one it didn't have enough ump to bust the bird but would put a clean hole through it,if you hit it close to center.
We were shooting one day and Bill said to shoot that snake.It was 60 yards crawling across the range.
I made a head shot and it looked like I had taken a knife and cut its head off.
I sold mine to another buddy after the new wore off and he loves it.
I think I could have killed rabbits with it out to 100 yds because it shot some great groups at that range.
Maybe a coyote at 100 if I placed it behind the shoulder with no bones.But I have other calibers that work better for coyotes.
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Post by 7mmfreak on May 20, 2015 19:26:22 GMT -5
How far? I guess it depends on how honest you are. I used to work for a compulsive liar who bought one and said he was killing egrets at 300m with 1mil of elevation and apparently his bullets didn't move in the wind. I asked him if he had a laser gun.
My personal experience with it has been on the 100yds range and then at a stock tank right at 320yds behind my folk's house where vermin would tarry. Inside of 100m the 17HMR is like stuffing a grenade in most small animals. It will also scuttle a turtle like a ship hit with a limpet mine. Past 100m I think the bullet performance is unreliable and the hit ratio starts dropping fast.
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Post by mtj555 on May 20, 2015 20:06:42 GMT -5
Keith. Yes our mutual compulsive liar and all his glory. I remember him telling me of how he killed crows and turkeys with head shots at over 300 meters with his 17HMR. Funny how he said he could do hat when he can't even do that with his 7MM
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Post by cuda on May 21, 2015 7:15:01 GMT -5
I know a few of those guys! But I was waiting to hear that it would be about 225yds to 250yds on small animals and birds. You have to know your gun too. I know that you might not hit anything at 300yds not even a 4'x 4' target.
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Post by deadeer on May 21, 2015 9:05:13 GMT -5
Hey, I work with that guy too! LOL. I have had a Savage 93 pencil barrel and a Marlin 917v heavy barrel, and I never could get any decent accuracy from either gun. That was before the ammo crisis when I had all the brands of ammo. I also had a 17mach2 in a Marlin 917 but never did care for that either. Their all sold off or traded now, and I am back to the 22lr and 22mags and could not be happier.
Jay
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Post by dannoboone on May 21, 2015 14:51:35 GMT -5
Hey, I work with that guy too! LOL. I have had a Savage 93 pencil barrel and a Marlin 917v heavy barrel, and I never could get any decent accuracy from either gun. I am back to the 22lr and 22mags and could not be happier. Jay Mine is a 917v, stainless. The only time I ever grouped it was when the scope was sighted in at 75yds. Two, three shot groups were 3/8" and 1/4". Sorry to hear that yours was not accurate. Have since gotten a CZ455 in .22mag, but it isn't quite as accurate as the 17hmr. I'm relatively pleased with the accuracy of Hornady 30gr Vmax ammo which will shoot about moa, but so far, that's the only ammo it will shoot with such accuracy. |
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Post by esshup on May 21, 2015 17:37:52 GMT -5
I've shot P-Dog sized critters at 150 - 160 yds with the .17HMR and it's worked fine. Savage cheapo blued/black synthetic stocked "package" deal from them. I've shot fox squirrels at 130 yds with my .17 MachII Kimber and they've run 20 - 30+ yds before plopping over. Definitely takes some wind reading.
IF the 'yote was calm and not moving, and I had a good solid rest, I wouldn't hesitate to take a head shot to drop it at 100 yds. Lung shot? I'd expect it to run off and maybe not find it. Anything further than that and I'd opt for a .223. The .17 HMR wouldn't be my first choice for a 'yote gun.
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Post by deadeer on May 22, 2015 1:02:35 GMT -5
Esshup, same thing with the mach2 I had. Many a squirrels ran and I lost a few of them. I don't know, that caliber and I did not see eye to eye for some reason. It was a beautiful gray laminate/stainless from Gander Mtn on clearance for $167. The guy said they couldn't give them away. I had I think 70 boxes of ammo when I sold it. Got a deal for $1.49/box online with free shipping. Too bad it didn't work out.
Jay
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Post by 03mossy on May 22, 2015 6:32:36 GMT -5
I shoot my Savage 17hmr more than any other gun I have. Sometimes I just don't feel like reloading or weighing out loads, just want trigger time. I have many prairie dog kills with mine. Inside of 150 yards it flips them a couple times, anything further they just tip over. Furthest kill was around 180 but he allowed me many shots to figure the wind.
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Post by AJ on May 24, 2015 22:59:59 GMT -5
Here is the drop table I use out to 300 yards with my CZ 452 American using the 17 gr V-Max bullets. When it comes to wind drift, shooting the HMR at 300 is much easier than shooting a 22 lr at 200 yards. Yards | MOA Drop | 25 | 0.5 | 50 | 0.25 | 75 | 0.25 | 100 | 0 | 125 | -1 | 150 | -2.5 | 175 | -5 | 200 | -8.5 | 225 | -13.25 | 250 | -19 | 275 | -26.5 | 300 | -35.75 |
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Post by 7mmfreak on May 25, 2015 6:33:03 GMT -5
I agree that it is easier than shooting a .22LR at 200yds but I still don't think the .17HMR is much more than a 150yds gun. Either way, drop is deterministic and wind isn't so wind is the hard part. Both rounds are good wind trainers. I only shoot my .22LR trainer at paper at 200yds because I know it isn't lethal and velocity deviations coupled with wind make it hard to make good hits past 200yds. I had a custom Sako .17-.222 Mag for a while that was a screamer but even that gun was iffy on terminal performance past 150yds. That is just something you must accept when shooting a .17 caliber; if a .17HMR isn't getting it done at 300yds a faster .17 isn't the answer.
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Post by AJ on May 25, 2015 9:58:54 GMT -5
Centerfire is a completely different animal. Going from 2550 fps to 4000 fps is night and day. My 17 Rem has cleanly taken coyotes out past 350 yards with bang/flop results using the 30 gr moly coated Berger. Out to 400 yards on groundhogs, prairie dogs and ground squirrels, the damage was greater than a 223 Rem with 50 gr bullets. The .17 centerfire has it's place as a great varmint predator round that does minimal pelt damage on bigger furbears.
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Post by 7mmfreak on May 31, 2015 17:54:55 GMT -5
My old partner was big into 17s for song dogs pelts. I think they are wicked inside 200. Still not my choice beyond that when impact velocities are dropping down below 2000fps and energy on target is about like a 110mph fastball. My love affair with that .17-222 Mag and my .17HMR were short lived for good reason.
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