.17HMR or .22mag Lever Gun For Coon Calling?

Dave, I have read several of your post similar to this one in the recent past and I do appriciate everything you said.
 
17HMR will take a little bit better bullet placement for the coon to be DRT. I had one and it was deadly accurate and anything smaller than a coon was DRT. Coons all died within 20 feet of being hit with a body shot but most did not drop in their tracks.

Any reason you are not going to use a shotgun with some #4 shot to call coons? I feel thats the best choice cause whenever I called coons they came in fast and moved quite a bit.
 
I have killed several with my 17 HMR and at 50 yards they seem to all be dead when they hit the ground. Now I have hit a few at 100 yards and it's 50/50 if they die there or I have to hit them a couple more times. I like the 17 because I don't have as much concerns about ricochets. There's still some but it's a 17 gr. Bullet that tends to deform when it hits something. Also shooting into the air with a 17gr. Versus 40 gr. Just seems safer where I hunt.
 
I flesh and dry my fur to. I took my HMR once. A fleshed coon doesn't look real good with a 3 in. hole on the top of it's head. I use the 22 mag now.
 
Same question I ask as JeffV? I've been calling coons the last few years and hung up the rimfire. Not saying that either will not do the job, but I had trouble keeping the darn things in the scope when they are on the move. Sometimes in self defence so I've went to carring a shotgun all the time. Don't particularly want a pizzzed off coon crawling up my leg.
 
I recently went through the same process. I bought a .22 mag. At the end of the day I liked the flexibility of it. You have the choice of 30, 33, 40, 45, and 50 grain bullets in many different configurations. This gives you a lot of options depending on your game and the range you're shooting at. I try to stretch my dollar, and the ability to use the same rifle for many different animals helped me make my decision.

That's not to knock the 17HMR, as it's a fine round. It just didn't fit the bill for me as well as the 22 mag.
 
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I wouldn't consider the 17hmr for coons, it's just too light and fragile.

If I had to pick the perfect coon caliber it would be something along the lines of a 22 Hornet or 218 Bee, but the 22wmr loaded with 40gr jhps is the next best thing. Not to mention a whole lot cheaper to shoot.
 
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