Is the .17 WSM worth it?

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deerslayer303

New member
Hey Guys. I'm really disappointed with the .17HMR. It's not the rounds fault I just think I'm asking it to do too much. Here in SC we have to use rimfire rifles at night right now to hunt Yotes. I have lost so many dogs it's unreal. I have no doubt they die because I hear the bullet hit them. It just doesn't cause enough damage to knock em down and they don't bleed either. I don't take head shots past 40 yards or so. And let's face it the round has a range of about 100 yards on game this size IMO. Last night I put three rounds in this dog to lay it down in the cow pasture. Each round right in the boiler room. So my question is. Does the .17 WSM have what I want? BANG FLOP power? Thoughts?
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First question is what bullet are you using? Those hmr's typically come with a varmit/quick expanding bullets that I wouldn't think would penetrate but maybe 4". Coyotes are not very big but they are big enough that you need to get deeper than an explosive varmit bullet will give you. Thats probably a 30# dog in the pic? Wouldnt suprise me it took several shots to anchor.
Unfortunately 17hmr was designed around smaller game like Prarie dogs, hence all the JHP and poly tipped ammo. Maybe try a box of CCI FMJs to get deeper into the boiler room for those quicker kills.

That being said, Im sure you would be better served with the WSM, but again you'll deal with the issue of bullet selection IMO. If I were in your shoes I'd step up one more step to a center fire cartridge like 22 hornet for a much better bullet selection.

Bolt gun or auto loader?
 
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Thanks for the reply Chainsaw. Yeah I would imagine that dog was 25lbs at least. I've been using Hornady 17gr. VMAX in my Savage 93R17. I will try some FMJ'S next time out and see what happens. I would love to bring the AR along. But unfortunately right now in SC we are limited to Rimfire rifles only at night. I started to buy a 22 mag before I got the 17HMR but at the time ammo availability was nearly none amd .17hmr was everywhere.

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Ah. Very interesting wrinkle with the rimfire law. Definitely odd. Let us know if you try some FMJs and how it results for you.
 
Interesting law. At 40 yards I would probably be using a shotgun. Above that I would have a 22 magnum but hear great things about the .17 calibers.


From the SCDNR
Night Hunting for Coyotes

A hunting license is required; however, there is no closed season on hunting coyotes on private land statewide during daylight hours with or without bait. Coyotes may be hunted at night with an artificial light or nightvision devices using a rimfire rifle, bow and arrow (no crossbows), a shotgun with a shot size no larger than size BB, or a sidearm of any caliber that has iron sights, a barrel length not exceeding nine inches, and which is not equipped with a buttstock, scope, or laser sight.
 
Are you forced into hunting at night? We have just as much luck in the morning and evening as we ever did at nighttime.

We're in Ohio though so not sure if it's just a different dynamic you're dealing with down there or not?


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Yeah the farmers would rather us hunt at night. I've never done much coyote hunting during the day.

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I was out testing some ammo in the Savage MkII in 22LR yesterday. I have a bunch of Winchester 42max that I needed to do some work with. This stuff is 42 grains moving at an advertised 1320fps. So after zero (which the Savage like them alot) I started shooting various "stuff". But what suprised me is I have a fairly new 55 gal steel drum in the back yard that is to be a burn barrel. Well it needs some holes for ventilation :D. SO I figured I would see if these rounds out of the rifle would go through it. I expected the would penetrate one side but not the other. I set up at 50 yards and fired a magazine full. Every round passed straight through it leaving a nice hole. So I shoot the barrel 40 more times (ventilation ya know) and all the rounds had the same result. SO, next time out the 22 will be wearing the remote activated green Coyote light. I've never taken a yote with the 22. Should be fun. My hunting partner will also bring along the scatter gun for those Dogs that want to come in close. Thanks for all the replies guys! I'm still going to try some FMJ .17 too.
 
I've never been impressed with the 17HMR.
I have a friend that has one he uses his to shoot Starlings out of the tops of cottonwood trees on his place, he calls it his high speed BB gun.

When it comes to anchoring yotes bullet selection is important, I learned this from experience.
Ninety percent of the yotes I kill are with a 223.
At one time I tried some Winchester factory 45 gr JHP 223 ammo I believe it was designed for Prarie dogs or small varmints, every yote I shot with that ammo required at least two hits to keep them down.

We have to use a rimfire here in Missouri during the firearms portion of deer season to hunt yotes, I have a Remington 5mm magnum that fills that job pretty good.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
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Are you shooting the coyotes for the fur or just for fun? If just for fun I wouldn't worry about them running off too much. If you're trying to save the for fur then can see wanting to upgrade to a more powerful rimfire cartridge.

The .17 WSM launches a 25 grain bullet as fast as the HMR does a 17 grain bullet, I'd say the .17 WSM is going to be a far more effective round at putting coyotes down. However, you'll be severely limited on rifle choices in the .17 WSM. I'd probably skip the B-Mag as I've never liked the feel of them and go with the Ruger 77/17. There were some serious accuracy issues with the B-Mag early on but I think Savage has sorted them out. If legal there is an option of a Franklin AR style .17 WSM upper.

I do think the .22 WMR is better on coyotes than the .17 HMR, but as you stated ammunition availability is much worse. I've use the .30 grain TNT HP on coyotes inside 100 yards with great success out of the .22 WMR. I also have a bunch of 30 grain V-Max ammo to try as well.
 
We hunt them for fun and to rid the farmers of them. Or try to. We hunt a Dairy farm, beef cattle farm, a couple chicken farms, and a sheep farm. Along with our deer leases. I just like to see the things afterward. If they are hit amd make it to the thick woods they are hard to find. As they don't bleed. No exit wound. I will try the FMJ .17HMR but I'm real curious to try the 22LR. If I could use a centerfire the AR would always go. In the end I may trade the .17HMR and get a 22WMR which is probably what I should of done to start with. Because if I'm not using the 17 for yote hunting it's useless to me. I took a squirrel with it once and well there wasn't much left to eat. This Vmax round really chewed it up. So I'll stick to the CB'S for squirrel stew.

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