17 HMR and Bobcats.

[Switch]

Originally Posted By: RePete
As far as Cats go, my experience has been that some die easy, but most seem to be made of Kevlar. Pound for pound, I'd say they're twice as tough to kill than Coyotes.
Might also be that the different opinions aren't really comparing apples to apples. Common sence tells me that our big western cats probably take more killing than the skinny little 15lb southern cats.

IMO,,, the 17Rem's the best cartrige for both if ya want to save fur. And depending on where you live, if you've got good Cats you're stupid not to save fur.

I shot this Tom yesterday with my 17FB at about eighty yards.
He went about twenty feet in the air and took off like a shot. Only went about twenty yards before running out of air, but still,,,, it's like the dang things are electric.

After reading this whole thread, I'd say to listen to those Oregon boys, and ignore all the head shooting "Experts"..

IMO the Hummers a Squirrel gun. Enjoy it for what it is.
Happy Hunting

Pete, well said...and a perfect note to end the debate!

 

[RePete]

Thanks Switch

A picture really is worth a thousand words, Ain't it?

Oh,,, and trust me, the debate's not over by any means.
It is starting to get a little ripe though.

 

[tawnoper]

Originally Posted By: Crowsniper.17HMROriginally Posted By: tawnoperOriginally Posted By: Crowsniper.17HMR

Shot two and killed two.
Seems to be right about the prerequisite for internet legend status...no problem.

I'll send you an autographed photo if you like.....

Please do!! Go ahead and sign it twice...that way all your experience is covered. Thanks Legend!!

 

[CrazyHorse66]

Originally Posted By: RePeteDon't own a Hummer or really care about the cartrige one way or the other, but I will give the little gem allot of credit for it's controversy, and entertainment value.


As far as Cats go, my experience has been that some die easy, but most seem to be made of Kevlar. Pound for pound, I'd say they're twice as tough to kill than Coyotes.
Might also be that the different opinions aren't really comparing apples to apples. Common sence tells me that our big western cats probably take more killing than the skinny little 15lb southern cats.

IMO,,, the 17Rem's the best cartrige for both if ya want to save fur. And depending on where you live, if you've got good Cats you're stupid not to save fur.

I shot this Tom yesterday with my 17FB at about eighty yards.
He went about twenty feet in the air and took off like a shot. Only went about twenty yards before running out of air, but still,,,, it's like the dang things are electric.

After reading this whole thread, I'd say to listen to those Oregon boys, and ignore all the head shooting "Experts"..

IMO the Hummers a Squirrel gun. Enjoy it for what it is.
Happy Hunting

That's a nice cat RePete. The 17FB may be my next rifle. It seems to be a neat little round. What bullet are you using?

I agree that cats are wired a little differently than yotes.
They seem to have a reserve energy that carries them on, even though they're dead-on-their-feet.
I double-lunged one a couple of years ago that went nearly 100 yds before piling up.

Then there's this one here:

I shot this one through the chest at about 85 yds with a .223 55gr SP IIRC....

She dropped on the spot, but showed faint signs of life when I went to retrieve her.
I stood on her for about 5 minutes until she expired.
Then I threw her over my shoulder and carried her back to the truck, which was about 500 yds away.
I tossed her in the back of the truck, and she raised her head up and growled at me!

I ended up lassoing her with my camera strap and strangling her. That was as weird and funny as it gets!

You guys know I love the HMR. I don't use it for cats, although it's more than capable.
If I was to use it, I'd be aiming for a CNS kill - head or neck. They'll hold still for that long enough.
The head offers a larger target than a squirrel and is the way to put something down quick.

It's up to the hunter to make his own mind up. You can't argue with people having success.
I prefer a centerfire because I certainly don't want to lose a cat, but I'm not going to dismiss the HMR.
The little round doesn't get much respect around here, but it continues to kill time and again.

Most of the disparaging comments come from people with little to no experience with the round and are just parroting what they heard on the internet.

YMMV

 

[Tim Neitzke]

Nice cat RP !

 

[pk1]

I seldom hunt cats anymore but when I lived in California there was no restriction on how many you could shoot or when you could shoot them. When I hunted with the old California Varmint Callers Association I targeted cats because they were worth more points and I killed a lot of them. Here's an old pic of two we got one night. The rifle leaning on the fence post is an old Sako Forester in RPG caliber. My favorite round for bobcats.

I have to wonder about a guy who would come to a predator hunting web site where there are a bunch of highly experience predator hunters with years and years of experience and make rash comments.

 

[6mm06]

The hit was far from ideal. Hunting is rarely story-book perfect. No, acutally I hit it a little too far back of the lungs as it was walking, basically a gut shot. It was not hit in the hind quarters. The cat hit the dirt, rolled around for a bit, then up on it's feet and down the hollow it went - basically typical bobcat fashion. I searched and searched, and even returned the next morning and searched and still never found it. No doubt it died, but the sad thing is I never recovered it.

 

[emeraldterriers1]

the .22 hornet is my favorite caliber by far for cats but have shot several with my 22-250 in the guts on purpose...stay away from the bone.i dont think i have had what i concider a runner yet, most were dead on the spot or within 25 ft. the internal trauma was devastating, they puff like a marshmellow and die. btw factory 50 gr hornady v-max.

 

[Crowsniper.17HMR]

Originally Posted By: SwitchBy all means, gets your mom to sign it for you and I'll take one! LOL

We all have experiences with cats. I'll have to admit a data set of only two isn't enough to draw a solid opinion on this topic in my opinion.

And then you have the guys that say they never miss and hit what they aim at. Those guys should be a in a circus shooting gallery for sure...lots of good professions in the circus community for the Legends of the Call. LOL

Time to go...I've got to go skin a bobcat I shot this morning with the 204...died where he stood. I've lost track of how many cats I've killed, but I can tell you this, it's a lot more than two.

Legends abound! LOL

You know we are talking Bobcats right....not your mom's cats....lol

 

[Crowsniper.17HMR]

Originally Posted By: tawnoperOriginally Posted By: Crowsniper.17HMROriginally Posted By: tawnoperOriginally Posted By: Crowsniper.17HMR

Shot two and killed two.
Seems to be right about the prerequisite for internet legend status...no problem.

I'll send you an autographed photo if you like.....

Please do!! Go ahead and sign it twice...that way all your experience is covered. Thanks Legend!!

I'll also send some detailed instructions on shot placement so you too can kill one. It must me frustrating watching them run off after shooting them with a .270...LOL

 

[Switch]

GET 'EM, CROWSNIPER, GET 'EM! Lol

 

[SnowmanMo]

Originally Posted By: RePeteDon't own a Hummer or really care about the cartrige one way or the other, but I will give the little gem allot of credit for it's controversy, and entertainment value.


As far as Cats go, my experience has been that some die easy, but most seem to be made of Kevlar. Pound for pound, I'd say they're twice as tough to kill than Coyotes.
Might also be that the different opinions aren't really comparing apples to apples. Common sence tells me that our big western cats probably take more killing than the skinny little 15lb southern cats.

IMO,,, the 17Rem's the best cartrige for both if ya want to save fur. And depending on where you live, if you've got good Cats you're stupid not to save fur.

I shot this Tom yesterday with my 17FB at about eighty yards.
He went about twenty feet in the air and took off like a shot. Only went about twenty yards before running out of air, but still,,,, it's like the dang things are electric.

IMO, my 17FB's the least gun I'd use and even then I'd stay within 100. Again JMO!

After reading this whole thread, I'd say to listen to those Oregon boys, and ignore all the head shooting "Experts"..

IMO the Hummers a Squirrel gun. Enjoy it for what it is.
Happy Hunting

Pete nice cat, and great response.

Here is one that I got this morning with my 17Rem, love the cartridge. It definitely gets the job done and is easier on the fur.

As for the topic at hand, I too must side with some reservations as to the use of a 17HMR. I have absolutely no doubts that it is an impressive cartridge, cats have very large adrenal systems that allow many of them to take a lot of punishment. I have no doubt that an HMR will do enough damage to bring them down, I would be concerned with not being able to recover them. Many of us have to take imperfect shots as they are offered, though we would rather not. Personally I have sent some shots that at the moment the trigger broke, I felt were perfect shots, only to find out that something wasn't quite right, and the results were less than desired. I have no personal investment in the caliber, and no emotional attachment, I just would like to see our PM members have as much success as they can. Good luck to all.