Foxes. 22lr or 17HMR?

DiRTY DOG

DiRTY DOG

Well-known member
Which would you choose for foxes 50 yards and under: A 22lr or a 17HMR? Why?

Is 22lr enough for foxes with a good hollow point? Is 17HMR too explosive?

(Critters that run more than 10 yards may never be recovered due to thick brush.)
 
I would agree that the 22 mag would be the best choice....
but of the two cartridges listed, I would go with the 17HMR.
22lr energy at 50yds varies from 90 to 120 ft-lbs while
the 17HMR is around 175 ft-lbs.
If you select one of the hollow point bullets like CCI's 20gr game point I don't thing you will have problems with splash, but you may if you use the 17V-Max.
I think iwth the 22lr you won't have the shock effect and they would run off a bit before they died.
I don't think you'll get that with the 17HMR.
Just my
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Mark
 
.22 will work just fine on fox within and a little past 50yards, even with simple subsonics. Not sure if the hmr would go through or blowback out at 50 or not, I've only had shots past a hundred with an hmr and the performance could not be topped by anything else out there.
 
I recently purchased a Savage .17hmr shooting CMI 17 grain hollow points. I have shot 2 coyotes, 1 bobcat, and 3 foxes and they all fell dead within 10 feet of where the bullet hit them. No exit on any of them. No running. I had reservations shooting a coyote with a 17 as I heard nothing but horror stories here on PM but at 50 yards a precise kill shot should be expected. So far that seems to be the case. Most fox and bobcat areas I am hunting are 150 yards or less shots. Heck, most shots I have taken are 25 yards or less.

I purchased the .17hmr because it is very fur friendly yet enough bullet to get the job done. Who can afford to shoot winter bobcat pelts with a .223 and take the chance of hitting bone and ruining a pelt? I can't.

Savage Model 93 .17hmr bull barrel wooden stock $275 new.
 
.17hmr. Itll work on a fox at that range. Ive shot quite a few feral cats and coons from 10 to 100 yards with my .17hmr and they were all drt. A fox is about the biggest thing i would shot with one. I use the cci hollow points on stuff bigger than crows, i think the plastic tips are too explosive and wont penetrate reliably. Also another option would be a 12 gauge at those ranges if you own one. Good luck with those foxes.
 
I would use 22lr or 22 mag for just fox no coyote. I have never killed anything with a 17hmr I have had birds fly off after I shot them. I personally dont think they are worth buying. True they are accurate but your hunting not target shooting.
 
Having both and using both, My .22lr's will work out to 50 yards easy, but they mushroom out too much if not a higher speed round on impact or at a longer range on impact. The el cheapo plinking rounds will not do unless its close in with a .22lr, they just don't penetrate the skin very well for me.
My 17HMR 20gr FMJ's are best, followed by the hollow points (although they stick/jam on the barrel during loading sometimes, so I'm not going to use them anymore unless I figure out how to remedy that) and lastly the polymer "tipped" rounds that splatter on impact, and for me the polymer rounds seem somewhat useless on anything bigger than a Squirrel/prairie dog sized critter or target shooting.

The FMJ do the job for me out to 150 yards. I was doing penetration tests and was blowing through wet wood 6 inches thick @100 yards with the round staying in tact. I haven't put them out further yet to see what the limit was. I was really impressed with the power of them compared to the 22lr. The Hollow points stayed together up to 75yrds always, and sometimes up to 100yrds.

If you want to make sure your critter doesn't run more than 10 yards, you'll need a lot of lead flying through the air as in 12g slug, a mag center fire round, or you need to be a good shot, and take head shots, spine or heart shots (and honestly there aren't a lot of angles to hit the heart directly without clipping something so I don't aim there unless I'm ready to walk it down) I have taken yotes with the hmr without issue, but now that I have a .243 that opens up lung shots, so if that is what I go out for i'll be using the .243 As far as Fox' go I think the 17hmr will down them all day, especially inside 50 yards.

So to explain my reasoning this is how I hunt. I'm not a run and gun kinda guy. I don't squeeze the trigger unless I'm fairly sure I'm going to hit exactly where I think I'm going to hit as I dislike the "finish off" shots. (I pass as much as shoot) All rounds have physical limitations, the X factor is the shooters limitations to get the most out the round in question.

Inside 50 yrds as you asked, either will work fine with a good hit. If not a good hit they will no doubt run more than 10yrds with either round as neither present devistating power that will bring them down without a precise hit.

That's my 2 Cents.. and worth just about 2 cents in today's market!!
 
Both will do just fine at those ranges but I to would recommend the 22 mag. I have killed groundhogs for 35 years with the little 22 lr and they in my opinion are tougher to kill sometimes than a fox and my 17hmr is now my go to for groundhogs, I have killed them out to 268 yds lasered with it and dropped them in their tracks.
 
I have no doubt the 17HMR will drop a fox DRT with a good shot. I only fear it may blow out the far side ruining the pelt.

I hunt very thick areas, so if a fox runs more than ten yards I may never find him. I need them to drop dead right there, yet not destroy the pelt.

I plan to shoot several foxes next week and I'll report back. First I'll use the 17gr Vmax. If that's too explosive I'll try some 17gr TNT's. Last resort will be the Hornady 20gr XTP's allthough I am not impressed with the overpenetration and lack of energy transfer to animals. I have all three on hand to test.
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOG

I plan to shoot several foxes next week and I'll report back. First I'll use the 17gr Vmax. If that's too explosive I'll try some 17gr TNT's. Last resort will be the Hornady 20gr XTP's allthough I am not impressed with the overpenetration and lack of energy transfer to animals. I have all three on hand to test.

You bring up a good point. Although the FMJ's "hold together" you do lose that power if it passes through and a 17 cal hole is tiny for a body shot. I have yet to shoot anything bigger than a rabbit with the poly tips and that made a nasty hole in and went a couple inches deep. I'm betting the hollow point will do the best.

I'll be looking forward to hearing your results~!!
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOG

I hunt very thick areas, so if a fox runs more than ten yards I may never find him.

I hunt Bobcat's in some thick and thorny stuff too.. What ya really need IMO,,, is a good dog.

There's never a guarantee that any caliber will drop a critter EVERY time,, (to many variables) but a 22mag will keep the runners and the fur damage to a minimum...

Good Luck
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGI have no doubt the 17HMR will drop a fox DRT with a good shot. I only fear it may blow out the far side ruining the pelt.

I hunt very thick areas, so if a fox runs more than ten yards I may never find him. I need them to drop dead right there, yet not destroy the pelt.

I plan to shoot several foxes next week and I'll report back. First I'll use the 17gr Vmax. If that's too explosive I'll try some 17gr TNT's. Last resort will be the Hornady 20gr XTP's allthough I am not impressed with the overpenetration and lack of energy transfer to animals. I have all three on hand to test.

CCis with 17 gr TNTs do not exit foxes. They fragment and end up under the skin on the off-side.

Energy doesn't kill. Holes in vital organs do. Energy merely goes along on the ride because physics says it has to.
 
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