.17 hmr vs .22lr?

S

sigcurious

New member
While I'm familiar with the technical ballistic differences between, I have no practical experience with the .17hmr. For general range fun and occasional shooting for groups with iron sights, are there any good reasons to go .17hmr over .22lr?

I'd likely be doing all the shooting at less than 100 yards.
 
From everything I've seen the .17HMR is going to be a much more accurate round than the .22LR.

That said depending on your shooting ability and at the ranges you're planning on shooting at you may not notice the difference.

In regard to hunting functionality anything the .22LR can kill the the .17HMR can kill too. I've seen coyote fall where they were shot by both a .22lr and a .17HMR. I've also seen coyote take a shot from .22lr and .17HRM and keep running. Rabbits and squirrels die regardless of which round they were shot with although the .17HMR tends to make eating squirrels a bit difficult since the ballistic tip of most .17HMR ammo causes the bullet to expand dramatically upon impact.

Personally if I had to have only either or I'd choose the .22lr simply because of cost. A box of 50rds of .17hmr can be purchased at the local Walmart here for about $20. For the same money you can get a box of 550rds of .22lr. Do the math - the .17hmr is 11 times more expensive than the .22lr.
 
Wow, $20 for 50 rounds of .17 is awfully high in TX-any of them go for about $12 for 50 rounds here.

If I were primarily shooting under 100 yards, I too would use the .22 due to cost.

It's fun though to shoot the .17 at the 100 yd range-very accurate, not loud, no recoil...
 
Prices are what they are here. I wish it were more like $12 to $15 per box of 50 here but its not. I have been considering purchasing a .17hmr rifle myself but just haven't been able to justify it. If a .22lr won't reach what I'm shooting at I'll shoot it with a .223rem.
 
I just can't see myself getting out past 100 yards very often, and if I do I guess I could always use an excuse for another firearm :D
 
Then get a .22lr. At one of the ranges I shot at there's a "mini PALMA" shoot every week during warm weather. They set up smaller targets at 100, 150 and 200yds and shoot them with .22lr rifles. I've seen some really good groups from those guys at 200yds too! One guy consistently shot 2" groups with an Anschultz .22lr rifle at 200yds.

One bit of advice though - if you intend to shoot out to 200yds for accuracy use heavy subsonic ammo.
 
Within it's range, the 17 HMR seems to be a much better killer of small varmints than most 22lr. It also has the edge on accuracy in most cases. Much safer to use for critter control where the 22 might ricochet.
I've used the 17HMR to dispose of groundhogs and raccoons in places I would not have used the 22lr simply because of the greatly reduced chance of pass through and/or ricochet.
I don't consider the 17 to be a 200 yard varmint round since it is losing it's goody by that range and is subject to wind drift. That tiny bullet has only one thing going for it and that's velocity. W/o speed the performance is less than exciting. This is just my opinion and I'm sure someone will post that they killed something or other at OMG range with their 17 and can do that every time they go hunting.
As for the cost of ammo, I wouldn't be shooting mine much at $20/box. I can shoot a 223 for just a little more than that but I suppose your 223 prices are proportionately higher,too. You're in the US, right? Those brown trucks deliver ammo lots cheaper than the Walmart trucks do.
 
If shooting under 100 yards the .22LR will be more practical to plink with. The 17HMR however is a blast at much longer ranges, it's just more expensive to shoot. I own both as well as a couple of .22 magnums. I wouldn't give up any of them. They all have their place. The 17HMR on a calm day is a hoot to shoot out around 200 yards. Out to 150 it's deadly accurate on small furry critters.
 
The .17 is a lot of fun to shoot. I really like the round. That said, if it was the only rifle, the .22 is where I would go.
 
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