17 HMR vrs. .22 LR for short range coyotes.

"My turn in the barrel!" I like that. The problem is I've been getting in trouble everywhere, as of late. I'm in a slump.--- Your right about the squirrel remark. I shouldn't have brought that up, anyway. I found that odd, when they told me. Maybe just bad shots. The original poster wanted to know about coyotes & the HMR, anyway. Concerning yotes, I find it odd and/or disheartening to hear about such polarizing experiences with the HMR. You don't hear that concerning yotes, and the 22-250 or the .243, or close-range shotgun success. When starting out on a new venture, I believe one should use a firearm with a high success rate. I wouldn't use any rimfire on a coyote. I would have a tough time dealing with one getting away and left to die after a long suffering. I have relatives in RI, with similar centerfire restrictions. My late Father used a shotgun on just about everything there, except squirrels, and did quite well. Anyway, that was a great photo you displayed. What kind of .22Mag rifles were those anyway! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
BCB, I'm not in the pic, that's the pic in the link from RFC....I would have liked to be there for that pic, though!!! Man, that must have been some fun!! The closest I've ever been to shooting like that was in Burns, Oregon about 10 yrs ago shooting jack rabbits, that was some blazin good fun with my glenfield semi auto....
 
wrongtarget:

I'm sure Bill and his Dad both feel comforted to know that their bodies haven't been taken over by others. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif - BCB
 
I feel the same way...I wouldn't intentionally hunt yotes with a 17hmr given the option of a centerfire, I have a .223, .204 and .243 for that....but if I was hunting ground squirrels and had the opportunity to pop a yote, he'd get shot, you could count on it!!! Some states only allow rimfire in some areas, the 17hmr would still be my choice under those conditions, I know with the right shot placement, there's gonna be a dead dog, maybe not in his tracks depending on the shot offered, but not far away, either.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys for the good advice. The state of CT is almost all lawns and cities. There are no national forests, just small state forests. They never allowed the .22 mag but just the .22 LR for hunting in these small so called forests. Now the .17 HMR and the smaller .17 is allowed.

I saw the answer myself today. I happened to bring my M63 Win to the range today and it's sighted in with Velocitors. A club member was shooting his Cooper Varmint in .17 HMR and he let me shoot it. Even thought his Leu LRT was out of focus for my eyes I still got a 1.5" group with his new rifle at 100 yds and it was 1" high right where I would have sighted it in. My old favoite .22 LR hits 8" low at that range! The .17 HMR's target looked much better than mine. That's the final answer.

I am just not interested in hunting coyotes with a shotgun. I have them and don't use them. I have to use them for birds. Slugs are not allowed.
 
nc deerhunter,
First of all I am not trying to flame you.
But could you explain why a deer or a turkey deserves a quick kill, but if a coyote dies slow and painfull its o.k? You say that they are hurting your fawn and turkey population, but they are predators, meat eaters, thats what they do. Why do they deserve to die slow and hard because of that?
 
Savage 99, if you aren't concerned with ricochet potential, I would seriously consider the 20gr Hornady XTP or CCI Gamepoint rounds, they shoot about an inch lower at 100yds than the 17gr and have an actual muzzle velocity of about 2500fps, but are controlled expansion hunting bullets and should do a number on a yote if put in the boiler room, even if it passes thru the shoulder!
 
Last edited:
Quote:
Could someone define short range coyote? I'm not familar with this term. Most of my coyotes are usually taken at 400 yards or more.



Jeez mate! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

0-150 yrds for the hmr /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. Zero 1" high at 100 with 17 grain v-max and 1.6" low at 150. If you can put it in the balloons, down they go. All mine have been from 43 to 110 yrds with that round. I still kill all my .243 coyotes under 250 so far. You sure do like a challenge eh? Bring em in a little closer...its fun, trust me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif.

B
 
Quote:

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut on this one.



Lol, no big thing. We get your point. Many people agree with it too. I can't tell you how many times i've said exactly what you just said above.

B /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Savage 99 -- I'm not trying to change your mind or anything, but why would the hmr sell you because of it's flat trajectoty at 100 yards? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif You just explained that the forests are so small, like a park. Your shots at yotes, will likely be 50 yrds or less, in CT.
 
Wrongtarget, that is an interesting website. He's put in a lot of time, I'm sure. However, I also found it curious that the author writes,"I could see the impact as each squirrel was hit and it was very easy to hear the whooop! as the bullet connected. There was not the destructive damage of the 17 Mach IV and none of the little 17 gr bullets exited a ground squirrel. I got a total of 10 ground squirrels and was able to find 5 or 6 of them. A couple I just couldn't locate and two made it down the holes." --- He could only verify a kill on 4 or 5 of 10 that he shot. The fact is, he doesn't know whether or not all 5-6 got back to their holes. That was probably what my friends were talking about. That's a 2lb animal. How could any responsible, ethical sportsman, with respect for his sport and his quarry, use this cartridge on a 30-45lb animal, with a huge will to live, like the coyote.

The hmr is a great, accurate rimfire cartridge, and I will own one someday, but only for very small game and target shooting. It is not a do all round. No round is.
 
Quote:
How could any responsible, ethical sportsman, with respect for his sport and his quarry, use this cartridge on a 30-45lb animal, with a huge will to live, like the coyote.



Easy.

Same as he would use any other tool in his arsenal. Knowing his own personal abilities with said tool and also the tools abilities.

Now if we were talking about irresponsible, unethical sportsman mind you...then it could be well argued that such a 'sportsman' could potentially have put lots of bb's into coyotes rumps that ran away from poor work with a shotgun at poor ranges, maybe even more so than with a .17 hmr?, or bad hits from a .223 or a bow? Who knows?, but if a guy is stepping outside of his abilities and the weapons abilities then it doesn't really matter what 'tool' he uses. He would need help in understanding what we're 'supposed' to be doing.

So i would have to say, in answer to your question above, easy, very easy.

My own standards etc. and understanding of the round and my own abilities have me at 100 % on them so far that way. Do i expect it to continue forever? No, but i'll try for it and hope for it...same goes for my .243 exploits on coyotes, and or, all the other hunting i do with all the different tools i use.



The hmr is a great, accurate rimfire cartridge, and I will own one someday, but only for very small game and target shooting. It is not a do all round. No round is.



Agree with you 100 %. I never once said it was a 'do it all round', can't say i've seen anyone in either thread say that either. Not sure why your still argueing it as if someone said it was a good 'do it all round'? P.s. when you get a hummer, you will like it and probably be quite amazed at its capabilities in your hands, like most folks who get them are.

B
 
Quote:
Quote:
Some have tried the HMR on ground squirrels, with disappointing results.



Yeah, right!!!

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=676920#post676920

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51367&highlight=ground+squirrels

SQ-hugepile1.jpg




I'll second that! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

28197315.jpg


That's 217 of the smaller richardson ground squirrels with an even less powerful round...the lowly .22 lr. Early spring gopher clean up, so fun when you get a late snow and they stick out like a sore thumb. For the record, that was a full green garbage can full, overfull, couldn't get the lid on. That's how it looked when we dumped em out. Coyotes, badgers, crows, ravens, magpies and even the eagles get involved when we do that. Not even a bloodstain left on the ground by the same time the next day. Rimfire sound is the sound of the dinner bell to most of them critters.

B /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 
B - Are you saying that Varmint Al is a an irresponsible, unethical sportsman? He lost 5 or 6 out of 10 ground rats. Does he not understand the round and his own abilities? Your words!

By the term do it all round, I simply mean't that some people apper to believe they can use the .17 for all their needs. There have been inquiries re: wild boar, mt.lion, deer etc. I have seen these inquiries on other threads and on RFC.
 
Quote:
Wrongtarget, that is an interesting website. He's put in a lot of time, I'm sure. However, I also found it curious that the author writes,"I could see the impact as each squirrel was hit and it was very easy to hear the whooop! as the bullet connected. There was not the destructive damage of the 17 Mach IV and none of the little 17 gr bullets exited a ground squirrel. I got a total of 10 ground squirrels and was able to find 5 or 6 of them. A couple I just couldn't locate and two made it down the holes." --- He could only verify a kill on 4 or 5 of 10 that he shot. The fact is, he doesn't know whether or not all 5-6 got back to their holes. That was probably what my friends were talking about. That's a 2lb animal. How could any responsible, ethical sportsman, with respect for his sport and his quarry, use this cartridge on a 30-45lb animal, with a huge will to live, like the coyote.

The hmr is a great, accurate rimfire cartridge, and I will own one someday, but only for very small game and target shooting. It is not a do all round. No round is.



There ya go again, sharing part truths....Tell all the facts and it may help....

Varmint Al's Summary...
Quote:
IN SUMMARY.... My overall impression is that this little 17 HMR is an excellent caliber for ground squirrel-sized varmints. The bullet is very frangible. When I was checking my zero on squirrel mounds, I could see the dust from the bullet's breakup right through the scope even in wet dirt. While it does not rip apart a ground squirrel like a 17 Mach IV or a 223 Ackley Improved, with solid hits, it stops them in their tracks out to at least 140+ yards. The recoil is so light that it is easy to watch the bullet's impact through the scope even at 15X setting and probably even at a much higher magnification. After I had the rifle sighted in, I went 8 straight from about 80 yards to 140+ yards. They were all in about the same direction with about the same level of wind that I would estimate at between 10 to 15 mph. The noise level is very mild. I didn't wear any ear protection and the report seemed to be no louder than the higher velocity 22LR rounds like a CCI Stinger. The velocity of the 17 HMR is sufficient that there appears to be no delay while the bullet is traveling the 100+ yards to the target......


 
Back
Top