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70 Posts
I have humanely killed groundhogs out to 130 yds and would feel comfortable making humane kills on groundhogs to 150 yds with my 22 mag. The absolute max I would feel comfortable shooting a coyote with my 22 mag would be 100-120 yds with proper bullet/ammo selection and shot placement.
I have talked to 17 HMR owners at the range and follow threads on other rimfire and varmint hunting Forums and their experience has been that they CAN NOT hold (humanely kill) groundhogs past 150 yds even with good shot placement, and that they needed to use the heavier 20 gr offering past 100 yds. At that distance,there is no difference (advantage) of the 17 HMR compaired to the 22 Mag.
That being said, what is the advantage of the HMR if you can't make humane kills past the effective humane kill range of the 22 magnum on larger varmints and predators?
I agree that the HMR is very accurate and flat shooting. My issue with the HMR is the ability to make humane kills of large varmints and predators due to a lack of proper bullet penetration.
I personnally would not choose the 17 HMR to "do the job" beyond the 150 yd range of my 22 mag because of what I mentioned above. A good choice would be a centerfire caliber in either 22 Hornet, 223, or 22-250.
My preference would be a dual purpose varmint/whitetail caliber. That would be the 25-06. Currently I do not have the funds to make this happen, but perhaps some day.
The only 2 rifles I have that I use for varmints are my 22 mag and my 30-06. I am currently thinking about handloading 110 gr V-Max, 125 gr TNT or 125 gr Ballistic tip ammo for my 30-06 for coyotes. Not sure yet what I'll do. I'm kinda sceptical about the accuracy of the 125 gr and 110 gr bullets due to limited bearing surface. Anyone have experience with these bullets in 30-06?
I have talked to 17 HMR owners at the range and follow threads on other rimfire and varmint hunting Forums and their experience has been that they CAN NOT hold (humanely kill) groundhogs past 150 yds even with good shot placement, and that they needed to use the heavier 20 gr offering past 100 yds. At that distance,there is no difference (advantage) of the 17 HMR compaired to the 22 Mag.
That being said, what is the advantage of the HMR if you can't make humane kills past the effective humane kill range of the 22 magnum on larger varmints and predators?
I agree that the HMR is very accurate and flat shooting. My issue with the HMR is the ability to make humane kills of large varmints and predators due to a lack of proper bullet penetration.
I personnally would not choose the 17 HMR to "do the job" beyond the 150 yd range of my 22 mag because of what I mentioned above. A good choice would be a centerfire caliber in either 22 Hornet, 223, or 22-250.
My preference would be a dual purpose varmint/whitetail caliber. That would be the 25-06. Currently I do not have the funds to make this happen, but perhaps some day.
The only 2 rifles I have that I use for varmints are my 22 mag and my 30-06. I am currently thinking about handloading 110 gr V-Max, 125 gr TNT or 125 gr Ballistic tip ammo for my 30-06 for coyotes. Not sure yet what I'll do. I'm kinda sceptical about the accuracy of the 125 gr and 110 gr bullets due to limited bearing surface. Anyone have experience with these bullets in 30-06?
