.22lr or .17hmr for 1st rimfire bolt?

I recall a discussion with a friend about a hot new RF cartridge that was taking the gunzine world by storm. He wanted to buy a rimfire rifle and didn't want an "old" .22 LR. As to future ammo availability, he pointed out that the rifles and the cartridges were made by a major manufacturer and would be available for many decades, if not centuries, maybe even displacing the .22 entirely.

I advised sticking with the .22 LR and was derided, in a very friendly way, for being old fashioned and not up with the latest trends.

So my friend bought his 5mm Remington and was happy.

Jim
 
I second on the airgun.

I agree with L Kilkenny. I suggest a good air rifle. Much cheaper. He can use it in his house or back yard. The back yard depends on the tolerance of neighbors and PD. As a hunter, an air rifle generating over 800 fps in .177 can do anything a RF can do within practical ranges and using head shots.

For good airgun info:

The Yellow Airgun Forum

Pyramyd Air

Good air rifles might be:

RWS 34

Benjamin 392

Crosman NTR15? Not sure of the designation. Its the big, powerful nitro piston M16A2 replica.

Crosman M4. A lower powered, pump up replica.

Beeman R9

All the above guns except the RWS and Beeman cost less than $175. Pellets are 2c a shot if you don't go to Bass Pro. I personally have 11 airguns and 2 of the above, the R9 and a Benjamin 312(antique 392).

If he's determined to embrace all the inconveniences of firearms, I recommend the CZ452 in .22 RF. .17's are expensive and I think their range can't be used by most shooters.

HEY L KILKENNY! As you can see, I'm an airgun lover too and I'm from Des Moines. Have we met?

Brian Wheater
 
For what it is worth, my Marlin 981T is a tube fed bolt rifle that will eat 22lr, 22long, and 22short. That's quite a variety. Pretty sure that is due to the tube mag. It is a great shooter for a budget gun as well.
 
Right now I can go to any Walmart and find ammo for my 17hmr. I haven't been able to find 22lr anywhere for over a year now and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. 22lr is the ammo of choice for hoarders, preppers and zombie hunters. They've ruined the 22lr for me.
 
coldbeer said:
Right now I can go to any Walmart and find ammo for my 17hmr. I haven't been able to find 22lr anywhere for over a year now and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. 22lr is the ammo of choice for hoarders, preppers and zombie hunters. They've ruined the 22lr for me.
Click to expand...

The reason you can't find .22 lr is the sheer fact that it had a head start of 120 years in popularity before the .17 HMR. So think about the number of firearms chambered and sold in .22 LR since it was introduced in 1887. Throw in the fact that you have President, Attorney General, and a Senate that all want to take away guns from the populace, then that explains the run on ammunition as of late.

Are people hoarding it? Yes, and I'm probably one of them. I have in the neighborhood of 7K rounds of it now. I have nearly 3K .22 WMR as well, just to make sure that when spring rolls around and if the prairie dogs are back I'm not scrambling to find rimfire ammunition to shoot. While I don't currently own a .17 HMR I've contemplated getting one since I can buy the ammunition nearly every where.

While I might have been wrong about there only being one manufactured of .17 HMR, at least with several ammunition companies contracting it built it has solidified the .17 HMR as a cartridge here to stay.
 
For indoor target shooting, definitely 22lr. Ammo is much cheaper, and there is typically a better selection of rifles. The only reason to buy a larger rim fire would be more energy on target, or better trajectory/wind bucking. But since it'll be indoor at targets, there is absolutely no need to get anything more than 22lr.

I'd recommend looking for a CZ if the budget can stretch that far, even try find a second hand one. A friend of mine has a new Marlin XT, and compared to the CZ feels very plasticey and cheap. I'd expect the CZ to be more accurate too.
 
Save up the $$ until he can get a top quality bolt action 22 RF rifle like Anschutz, Cooper, or CZ . For indoor shooting a pump up Benjamin 392 air rifle made by Crosman is the way to go. One can use it with open sites , a peep site or scope. I m an old timer an use four pumps for shooting indoors and eight pumps outdoors. At eight pumps a pellet has energy to put down a cotton tail rabbit at 35 yards. There are various brands of pellets ,weights, and types which are low cost when compared to rimfire ammo. The Benjamin rifle has paint in the barrel at the muzzle end that must be removed to get any accuracy. I have used 17 HM2, 17 HMR, 22RF, 22WMR rifles, spring powered, and pump up air rifles . I enjoy shooting the 17, 20, and 22 caliber air rifles but for the first air rifle try the 22 caliber. The 17 HMR is good for shooting prairie dogs and other small critters that you don't wont to eat, but not for small game unless they are hit in the head. --I don't know how long people will continue hording rimfire ammo but there is no problem getting pellets for air rifles.
 
HEY L KILKENNY! As you can see, I'm an airgun lover too and I'm from Des Moines. Have we met?
Click to expand...

Hello from the north Brian. As far as I know we have never met but I'm sure we've rubbed shoulders in some of the same places. As far as being an air gun lover I wouldn't go that far(yet!). Currently have an old 880 that the daughter has been using and gonna order a Crosman or Benji for shooting along side her, general plinkin and for a time killer while camping on the river(s). I've been around them enough to know that if you're talkin target work and plinkin out to 50 yards (and more with the right equipment) they're hard to beat, especially indoors and even outdoors with ammo availability being what it is.

After I get another we'll see how far the bug carries me. The options are endless.
 
I would say .22 LR, either a Marlin or Savage or maybe a CZ if you like it better. They all shoot well, and supply is catching up, it caught up with the AR's, and .223 Ammo, and I suspect that they are all churning out .22 LR ammo as well, there is the possibility that ammo quality might even improve, when some of the production was stopped or slowed in favor of other calibers it should have given a chance to do some maintenance and or upgrades to the equipment and provide better quality ammo, yeah I have an optimism bug sometimes.
 
if I was limited to just one gun I would choose the 22rf bolt. there is a reason the 22 is the most popular cartridge on the planet. the bolt rifle has the ability to shoot shorts, longs, and long rifles also. my first (I still have it) rifle was a marlin mod 25 that I credit with teaching me to shoot. you will not regret a 22 bolt action as your first gun.
 
Overspray in Benjamin 392

Haven't purchased a new Benjamin pellet gun since 1966, but I've seen a little bit of overspray in my 2000 Benjamin-Sheridan PGP paintball pistol. I think it came out very easily with normal shooting and postgame cleaning, but the highly polished, smoothbore, brass barrel is slicker than whalepoop. The outside is tough as nails though.

DO NOT use any brush or abrasive to remove overspray. If you can't shoot it out, maybe investigate some solvent.

I've never got a Benjamin or Sheridan to group better than 2" @ 50 yds, but my R9 can get better then 1" grps. Its also much faster and quieter. Variable velocity is not a big deal. High velocity is safer indoors because a pellet will burrow deep into a soft backstop or splatter on a hard one and not bounce back. Some traps can't handle powerful airguns like the R9, so this is the only time when I back off the pumps on my Benjamins.

Still, I maintain a pellet gun can do nearly all a .22 rf can in good hands.

My pellet gun herd once greatly outnumbered my powder burning herd til The Deceiver came to power. Now its about equal, but pellet guns still deliver more bang for the buck shooting pleasure. A short session with my M1 can cost me $75.
 
It'd be for use at indoor ranges (paper punching only, no hunting) from 5-100 yards (100 yards is a definite max range).
Click to expand...

Save up the $$ until he can get a top quality bolt action 22 RF rifle like Anschutz, Cooper, or CZ .
Click to expand...

From what is said in the OP I don't think he needs to spend a premium price on a fine target rifle to enjoy paper punching. There are good choices from Savage, and Marlin that would fir his needs just fine.
 
CMP Kimber

If his heart is set on indoor, those CMP Kimbers look pretty good. Probably pricey, but a great club or state games shooter. It looks like a youth gun, but it has spacers to make it full adult size.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top