Did any of you actually READ the original post? He suggested that we come up with ideas for an actual, real world comparison to determine which is most effective. The reason this debate goes on is because no one has any verifiable test results on the subject. All anyone that I've ever seen post on these threads have is their own biased opinion, or something like.. "My friends, uncles, dog, shot a yote the other day with his HMR at ten feet and that yote just laughed at him and ran off". This is hardly verifiable proof of a caliber's effectiveness.
Let's get back to the original post and give it a whirl. I'll start by giving my argument for an HMR.....
We would probably all agree that a .243 Win. is adequate for killing mule deer sized game out to say 300 yards right (yes there might be better, but it will do)???
At 300 yards a .243 with 100 grain bullets generates roughly 1173 ft lbs. of energy. On a 250 lb deer that divides into 4.692 ft lbs. of energy per pound of live animal.
At 100 yards an HMR with a 17 grain bullet generates about 136 ft lbs. of energy. With an average western coyote weighing in at about 25 lbs. that turns into 5.44 pounds of kinetic energy per pound of live coyote.
Wait a minute, that means that......oh my goodness, a .17 HMR might just have the nuts to kill a coyote at a hundred yards, maybe even a better chance (4.692 vs. 5.44) than a .243 does of killing a muley at 300???? Huh???
Well, a .22 mag will do that to, so I haven't proven which of the two is better, but I think I have an argument for why the HMR will work at moderate distances, and also a pretty good arguments against the guy who's buddies, uncle "hit im right in the ribs and it bounced right of at 30 yards." There might be more than meets the eye to that type of story....like poor shot placement that someone doesn't want to admit.
I personally have killed seven coyotes with a 17 HMR (more real world testing instead of unverifiable opinions). All were shot at or under 100 yards, and not one made it more than a few steps before piling up. No an HMR won't blow them to kingdom come like say a .50 BMG, and no it won't reach out and get one at even 200 yards, but it will get the job done withing it's effective range, no doubt about it.
Have fun boys. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif