Crow Sniping with the 17 HMR

6mm06

6mm06

Well-known member
The snow has been coming down for a couple of days. We have between 7 & 8 inches right now, plus the temperature has been cold; about 10 degrees this morning. Schools were closed so I took the opportuntiy to do a little crow sniping with the 17 HMR.

The little CZ 452 American is a pleasure to shoot and just about what the doctor ordered for crows. I use 20 gr. CCI Game Points and they do a great job. I've also used the 17 grainers, but I prefer the 20s. Accuracy is outstanding and dumping crows at 100 yards or more is not a problem.

One crow was taken at an estimated distance of 75 yards, and the other was range-finder measured (base of tree) at 92 yards.

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Once again great pics 6mm06! Love that new scope Ive been saving my pennys for a leupold 3x9EFR A/o scope for my little 17HMR right now it wears a Leupold 3x9x40 VarXII works great but last wear I got one of those EFR for my heavy ruger 22 mag and think its great for the rimfires so Ive got to get another. Do you live in the blue ridge mountians?
 
Thanks Marco. No, I live in the southwestern part of the state. My county borders Kentucky. The Blueridge is to the east of me, but not far.

I'm sure you will enjoy the new Leupold when you get it. Keep me updated about it.

The scope I used today is a Vari-X 11, 4x12 A/O. I plan to have a dot reticle put in it. I love the dots for quick sighting.
 
Thats a beautiful part of the country. What kinda call do you use if you don't mind me asking and that CZ and scope looks like the perfect crow combo! I don't shoot the 20gr.XTPs as much as I should but love that round they give classic big game bullet performance real nice mushrooming effect and I was looking at the ballistics in my Hornady book today and they shoot about as flat as the 17gr.v-max and carry more knock down power. Take care ~marco
 
When sniping crows with the HMR, I don't use a call. I drive the old back roads and near farms etc, spotting crows here and there, and trying to find a place to get off the road and get a rest for a shot. A good place to set up is near barn yards or where the farmer has cattle, especiallly if there is a tree or two nearby by since crows will generally congegrate in barn yard areas and one or two will usually sit in the nearby tree.

My experience with hunting crows in this manner is that cold, snowy days are the best since the crows tend to sit still longer without flying off. I guess they want to conserve energy perhaps, and just don't spook as easily when the temps are cold. Many times I can get within a decent range without scaring them off. Of course, there's always the ones that won't sit long. Sometimes it's just a matter of chance. I don't kill as many this way as I do when calling and shotgunning, but the ones I do get are rewarding and fun.

When shotgunning and calling for crows, my "go-to" call has always been the Johnny Stewart Crow & Owl fight. That one seems to always produce, but I also use a young crow distress too; sometimes using the two calls one after the other.

Crow shooting, either way you do it, is just pure fun.

This area is a good one that I have hunted for years. The barn yard with the tree to the
left is a great place to do some crow sniping.
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Thanks for the info I drive the old back roads in my old 4x4 to lots of fun Ive got a good spot to its around the old water waste treatment lakes crows love that place. We call that place "lake lot a hockey!"Ha! HA! I like to get in the pines and use my calls sometimes to, get all camoed up and all like Im turkey hunting thats alot of fun. ~marco
 
Man, ya'll have the snow for sure!

I love shooting crows in the snow, they do stand out.
Nice shooting! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Barry
 
We don't get the snows like we once did. When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, snows like this were common. This is the biggest one we have had in quite a while, but still isn't all that much, definitely not as much compared to what the northern and New England states get.

You can better judge the depth of it by the bannister on my back porch. Snow like this and cold temps make for good crow sniping.

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Looks like you have been having some fun! That is some nice looking country you live in there.

I too have been taking advantage of the cold and snowy weather to get after the crows. I like to walk or ride the atv around the farm and try to get in position to take shots. A coyote deer kill has been giving up a lot of shots as the crows feed. I have killed some with the seventeen and several with a .22mag shooting 30 gr. Hornady v-max. This is turning out to be a very accurate crow killer.

WVM
 
Mike,

I've shot a few crows with a 22 mag, but not as many as with the 17 HMR. The mag does a real number on them, especially with the Remington 33 gr. V-Max loads. Accuracy with my Marlin and the 33 grainers is pretty good, but can't compare to the HMR, nor for distance either. Still, rimfires are a lot of fun on crows.

Marlin model 925 MN 22 magnum
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Like that 22 mag 6mm06 I got off work at 4:00 today rushed home got the camo on grabbed my 17hmr jumped in the truck headed for the mountian got up there pretty high about 2,300ft and the wind started to blow so crow calling was out of the question but did some calling for bobcats didnt see anything but one young gray squirrel so got the cross hairs on him a sent a 20gr.XTP his way and guess what Im having for supper tonight? 6mm06 I have a question for you? What was your first reaction when you pulled the trigger on that 17HMR for the first time?
 
That's a tough one, Marco. I don't really remember my very first reaction to shooting the 17 HMR. As I recall, my thoughts were that there was practically no recoil, not as loud as what I had been used to (high powers), plus I knew the velocity was good in advance from all that I had read. I was excited at the thoughts of it since it had been given such good reviews in all the hunting magazines. Once I saw the accuracy of the cartridge, I knew it was a winner. The accuracy and trajectory impressed the heck out of me, and continues to do so even now.

A friend of mine purchased a Savage HMR sometime before I got my CZ. He began to tell me about shooting crows in his back yard. He has a rather long back yard, at least 100 yards to the fence, and then there is a big field beyond that. He mentioned that he had killed 7 or 8 crows out there in a relatively short time. I first thought he might be exaggerating a bit, but once I began shooting the little rifle, I knew that he was right on.

The CZ, and my friend's Savage, are just pure pleasure to shoot. I love to shoot HMR rifles and see nice groups appear at 100 yards. Before it made its debut, none of us were used to such flat trajectories from rimfires. As I mentioned before, shooting crows at 100 yards is relatively a piece of cake with one, whereas it was more a matter of luck on hold-over with the 22 long rifle, and even the 22 mags.

I like the 22 magnum, and have owned three separate rifles in that caliber, but none of them have ever produced the kind of accuracy that I have expected. My Marlin 925 shoots ok, and it does shoot a heavier bullet (33 gr. V-Max), but it can't hold a candle to the HMR on trajectory at distances, not to mention accuracy. The mag may make up for it in energy, but for crows and the like, the HMR wins hands down, in my opinion at least.
 
Thats great 6mm06 thanks! My first reaction was lazerbeam! No, I actually got my rifle three months before there was any ammo on the market so it set in my safe for a little while then finally got some ammo and went to the range and on the way I wondered if this was kinda how the 5mm shooters felt the first time the got there new rifles? I mean you know the 17HMR is really the first big improvement to hit the rimfire world since the 5mm came out in 1970. And like you till this day the 17HMR still amazes me with what it can do on small game. Theres a friend of mine thats a big 17HMR guy and he calls the HMR the new "King of the Rimfires" And you know I think he might be right. ~marco
 
I've shot a fair amount of crows behind my old shop when they pass through. I like the HMR and the 22 mag also. I currently just have a tricked out 925m 22 mag. It seems to shoot as good as my HMR, both Marlins. I floated the barrel and bedded the action on the 22 mag along with cutting the barrel to 20" and recrowning it. Longest shot I've made with the HMR was a lasered 243 yards on a rockchuck.
 
Birdbow I believe you on that 243 yd. shot the HMR will do it. For crows I grab the HMR before I do my hornet or 6mm or the 22 mag and I dearly love my 22 magnums. The HMR is a little killer! ~marco
 
Birdbow, that was one heck of a shot on that rockchuck with the HMR. Nice going on that one.

Maybe I need to consider bedding my 22 mag; I would if I thought it would improve the accuracy enough to be worth doing it.

You and I think alike, Marco. When it comes to shooting crows, I too reach for the HMR. I've got several other rifles to choose from in a variety of calibers, but I always seem to reach for the HMR. It is indeed a little killer.
 
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