Thinking of buying a 17 HMR mainly for ground hogs fox and other small critters. Can a 17 HMR kill a fox at 150 yards if i put the bullet in his head, same with ground hogs. is 200 yards too far for a g hog if i can put it in the right place. thanks
.17 HMR Capabilities
- Thread starter 243HogHunter
- Start date
I acquired a Savage 17HMR about 6 months ago for my son, and it is one of the best buys I have ever made. The rifle shoots ragged 1 hole groups at 50 yards, and my 10 year old is getting very good with it at 100, and yes it will kill flat at 125 yards, just get a decent scope and the Hornady 17 gr. V max. And with a little holdover it should kill at 150 to 200 yards.
17 HMR is a really wiz out to about 175/200
after 200/250 the TRAINING WHEELS fall off.
after 250/300 the TRANNY falls out and
after 300 [or so] the TRAIN CRASHES!
it'l kill a fox at 200 with a body shot, a 22lr will drop a coyote at 1256 + - won't kill but he not going to run.
i have my marlin sighted at 100. comeup is as follows: 125-1", 150-2.5, 175-5,200-8.5. 225-13, 275-26 and 300-35".
that will; give you and idea - it's ment to fill the 22lr-223/243 gap.
ron ;D
after 200/250 the TRAINING WHEELS fall off.
after 250/300 the TRANNY falls out and
after 300 [or so] the TRAIN CRASHES!
it'l kill a fox at 200 with a body shot, a 22lr will drop a coyote at 1256 + - won't kill but he not going to run.
i have my marlin sighted at 100. comeup is as follows: 125-1", 150-2.5, 175-5,200-8.5. 225-13, 275-26 and 300-35".
that will; give you and idea - it's ment to fill the 22lr-223/243 gap.
ron ;D
The 17HMR is very effective out to about 150yds, and will still make kills out to 200 if the wind is low and you have good shot placement. It will definitely kill a fox at 150. I have leveled quite a few woodchucks out to 200yds, and even hit one at about 230, though he required a follow-up shot after running about 20 feet.
My younger brother used mine to kill a coyote out the window at our hunting camp. One shot deal, though he was pretty close, under 50yds.
It's a great round for most work out to 200yds, and will take coyote out to about 75-100yds if you are VERY careful about shot placement. They are usually very accurate, even my Mossberg 817 that cost $150 would group .5" at 100yds on a good day. I have seen some that will best that by a good amount as well.
BSA makes a scope called the Sweet .17 that is calibrated for the 17gr round. All you do is dial in the yardage and it will get you very near dead on. It's a 3-12x40 with adjustable objective and the elevation turret is graduated in yards. I have one on my 17HMR and it works quite well. There are better scopes on the market, but for what it is and what it costs, it's probably one of the better deals going, especially for a 17HMR. They are in the Sportsman's Guide right now for $50. I will admit they don't have the best optics ever. But you are only going to shoot 200yds anyway, how crystal clear does it need to be?
I am not a huge fan of BSA products, as I have had a bad experience with one previously and wouldn't recommend any of their other products. But these seem to really be a decent scope.
My younger brother used mine to kill a coyote out the window at our hunting camp. One shot deal, though he was pretty close, under 50yds.
It's a great round for most work out to 200yds, and will take coyote out to about 75-100yds if you are VERY careful about shot placement. They are usually very accurate, even my Mossberg 817 that cost $150 would group .5" at 100yds on a good day. I have seen some that will best that by a good amount as well.
BSA makes a scope called the Sweet .17 that is calibrated for the 17gr round. All you do is dial in the yardage and it will get you very near dead on. It's a 3-12x40 with adjustable objective and the elevation turret is graduated in yards. I have one on my 17HMR and it works quite well. There are better scopes on the market, but for what it is and what it costs, it's probably one of the better deals going, especially for a 17HMR. They are in the Sportsman's Guide right now for $50. I will admit they don't have the best optics ever. But you are only going to shoot 200yds anyway, how crystal clear does it need to be?
I am not a huge fan of BSA products, as I have had a bad experience with one previously and wouldn't recommend any of their other products. But these seem to really be a decent scope.
I would advise you use a caliber that will shoot heavier bullets. Even in a light wind those 17 and 20 grain bullets experience significant drift beyond 100 yards. Sure, if you head shot a fox in the brain or spinal cord you will kill it with a 17 HMR, probably out to 200 yards. Are you confident you can read the wind that accurately to make that kind of a shot placement at 150 yards? As an ethical hunter I would not take that risk with a 17 HMR.
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
Hey, I might be a blasphemer here, but I am not overly impressed with the 17HMR ON WOODCHUCKS. I annually kill about 100 chucks in New York. I got a 17 for "close stuff" and hoped for 150 yards, as the PD guys talk of. Well, a woodchuck is a different creature. You should know I use a 222, a 220, a 22-250, a 243 AI and 7MM mag, and my longest kill is over 775 yards, so I know something about shooting. I find that the 17HMR runs out of gas (killing power) faster than many admit...and I have to say I really wanted to be a believer. I've done the CCi vs Hornady thing, and I have done the drop charts and etc etc. When it comes to "dead", if you miss the brain, especially over 125 yards, its is a race to see if the chuck makes it to the hole before the o2 runs out in his brain. I am switching to a small centerfire, likely a 5.7x28 or a 221 FB loaded down for my close work, up to 175 yards. However, the 17 is far better than the 22LR. Just not a super zapper as made out to be. Just my opinion.
Most all of my shooting with the 17 rimfire rifles is shooting prairie dogs. Prairie dog pups are are about 6 to 8 ounces when they first come out. A growen p dog about three pounds per my fishing scale and will make about a 3X12 inch target. I set my scope at a one inch PBR. The 17 HM2 and 17 HMR are Cooper 57M LVT rifles with Leupold scopes. The 17 HM2 is sited in at 90 Yds and the 17 HMR is sited in at 110 Yds. After shooting well over a 1,000 prairie dogs with the two rifles I limit my shots to 125 yards with the 17 HM2 and 150 yards with the 17 HMR. I can hit them at longer ranges but I wont clean kills. I read that a woodchuck is about 12 pounds so I would not use the little 17 rimfire rifles on the bigger varmints beyond the ranges I set for prairie dog hunting. Most of the time I use a 17 Fireball and 204 Ruger rifles for shots over 150 Yds and out to 300 Yds for clean kills on prairie dogs. I started shooting p dogs in 1949 and have tried out various rounds for varmints and big game and for me I like a round that gives me a bit more bullet energy for less than ideal shots.---snert tell us about the 5.7X28 you use==
It depends. That little bullet is zipping right along for the short range shots, but velocity falls off fast and you do not have much mass to the bullet to finish the job. No sport in wounding critters, so as Ruark said, "Use Enough Gun." Give me a .22-250 anyday, my .17 HMR and .204 both stay in the truck until both .22-250's are cooling off. They have their place, but they are not on the first team...
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
Tuck,
I have not purchased the FN barrel for the Contender yet. I am still in the "need the money" stage. I am trying to decide between some of teh smaller 22 cases, like Bee, K-Hornet, FN, 221 FB or a wildcat. I want 200 yard woodchuck power and little noise. The 17 is only 100 yarder for chucks.
Suggestions guys?
Snert
I have not purchased the FN barrel for the Contender yet. I am still in the "need the money" stage. I am trying to decide between some of teh smaller 22 cases, like Bee, K-Hornet, FN, 221 FB or a wildcat. I want 200 yard woodchuck power and little noise. The 17 is only 100 yarder for chucks.
Suggestions guys?
Snert
Tuck2, The woodchucks here in NY (I am sure they are typical) can be quite a pain in the behind. If you try to grow anything they are quite a menace. They will murder potatoes, tomatoes etc by eating all the vegetation. They can also climb. If you bail hay you will also hate them. As a kid I recall having the front wheel of a Farmall tractor go in a hole while raking the hay. It is not something you will forget. After that experience you will be on constant watch for their holes while driving. The really big ones can weigh up to 30 lbs but juveniles are considerably smaller but will still weigh 15 lbs or so. If you are lucky they can be killed with a 22lr. As teen agers we got a few that way because that was all the rifle we had. You really want at least a 22 Hornet or a medium velocity .224 cartridge like a .222 Rem. I have not tried a 17HMR but for some reason I have been thinking I need one. ;D Take care, Peter.
I have shot a lot of Pdogs with the 17 HMR in a field that was pretty well protected from the Wind . My experience with this 17 is that body shots do not always anchor the Pdogs beyond about 150 yards . Great Ranch with lots of big equipment all over the place to provide cover and really solid Rests . My choice is to restict my shots to about 125 Yards . Beyond that I switch to my 223 or something bigger .
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