Thread: .17HMR Set up for rabbit culling.

Hi Folks,
I was interested in some opinions on .17HMR.

Boss is keen to stump up on a set up to start dealing to the rabbit plague on the farm.

We are fans of CZ's. Currently using a couple of CZ455 .22 set ups during the day and when out lighting. Looking at a CZ .17HMR with a thermal scope.

I'm interested on peoples thoughts on .22 vs .17HMR, do you guys and girls using them rate the .17 HMR for bunny shooting?

What grain round in .17 are you using and liking? Cost of .17 looks significantly more than .22.
Are the .17 quieter rounds to use?
What distances are you shooting out to comfortably with .17?

Also looking at thermal scopes. looking for something in the middle ground in the way of cost, any recommendations on thermal scopes?

Regards,
Mark.

It's primarily a question of noise vs. range. 22LR suppressed firing subsonic rounds is silent. Experienced hands use it to 100 metres plus, but personally I think it best to 75 metres. .17HMR/supersonic is obviously louder, but has more range. Easily 200 metres in the right hands. Note that it is very susceptible to wind deflection as the projectile is relatively light.

Ive given up on the 22, to many richochets. The 17 seems to shatter when it hits anything, never had a richochet and it is more accurate and hits further. I expect 22 fans to blast me now,lol

I've never had a 22 ricochet off a bunny.

great choice for rabbits, although I took my Brno .22 night shooting with subs and enjoyed that as well, but not as accurate and devastating as the 17 hmr. I current have a weihrauch, better than CZ, the anshultz is very nice as well, apart from the bolt, unless you get a mod 54 action, I put over a 1000 rounds through the Anshultz, 17 grain Hornady mostly, wind is more of a challenge than a problem
Great little cartridge suppressed.

Originally Posted by vulcannz

I've never had a 22 ricochet off a bunny.

Subs Ricco everywhere, sound cool though!

What grain do you guys prefer? 17 or 20?

17 grain, I try to use fresh ammo, I have had one round that fizzed and projectile stuck in the barrel, so keep
Ammo stored dry

17HMR goes good on rabbits around here. 17gr ballistic tip ammo.
The CZ 457 is a real joy to use. @viper will have an option I'm sure.

150m down vineward rows seems to work alright for me.

17HMR is IMHO a big step up from 22 but then so is the ammo cost, 17HMR will kill cleanly and consistently out to 150m if you do your bit. 17grain CCI works best in my Savage but like most rimfires, individual rifles differ.

Probably worth trying one out for yourself.

I have a Ruger American 17hmr. Very accurate and flat flying out to 100m+.

I use these in it, found they were more consistent than the 17 gr ones, once dialed in.

Its just a little weak on possums, it will bring them out of a tree, but usually have to finish them off with another (depending on placement of course).

If you do your bit 17HMR is a one shot one kill on small game. No holdover, cross hairs on job done.

I do a bit of pest work for meat so head/neck shots only.

I do use .22 subs for a change of pace. Find it might be a extra shot with stubborn possum. I find the HMR kills way out of proportion to the size of the projectile.


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The setup I run works for me and the hunting / ranges here in my little patch of Central Otago.

Firstly a suppressed .22 running subsonic ammo, still the most economic way to shoot. The low noise is a huge benefit as you can work an area without spooking surrounding spots.
As the guys mentioned a .22 is a mongrel for ricochets so depending on how built up the area is you are hunting this can be dangerous to nearby houses, people and stock. A ricochet can travel a long way.
Killing power is fine for rabbits but as usual a well placed shot is the key, I shoot from 10 to 100 plus meters . 3 - 9 scope is perfectly fine.

Next is a suppressed 17hmr in CZ455 , 4 - 12 scope with a reasonably fine cross hair , at 150 mtrs plus a thick cross hair will cover the rabbit. Range shooting from 10 - 180 meters though 150 meters is generally getting out there as wind can have a big effect.
The round punch's hard and dumps all it's energy into rabbits, even a badly placed shot will kill them after an initial run. Although it's more powerful than a .22 this is the caliber I use in built up areas as I basically never get a ricochet. This doesn't mean you ignore back grounds and consider where the shot may end up. The little 17 gr ballistic tip is a killer , I have never tried the 20 gr as I have never needed to.


Choice of rifle brand is personal, I have had Norinco's , Rugers , CZ, Stirling , Marlin , Savage... they all worked well , some were better than others but it comes down to what you like and price.

Having shot several thousand rounds of .17HMR and .22WMR in the past couple of years in fairly open country I would conclude the following based on the goal of one shot humane kills:
.22LR I now restrict to spotlighting possums or where you know you will be shooting rabbits in tight cover or where you can maximize dead ground to get close. I am however using .22 Segmented Quiets for close range around the house. Rainbow trajectory and you get the range finder and the dope chart out at 40m.
Comparing the .17HMR with the .22WMR, I set a max range of 120m with the .22WMR and it is a far better killer for centre of mass shooting inside that range. I have just changed over to using TNT ammo (most accurate ammo available for my gun at the moment) and the bullets rarely exit a rabbit making them very ricochet friendly. Beyond 120m you will need to start kicking into your dope table. The .22WMR is not as inherently accurate as the .17HMR.

For good kill ratios I find the max range of the .17HMR is 160M. Shot placement is more critical than with the WMR due to bullet performance and energy, but the round as the accuracy to pull that off with ease. The HMR is badly effected by wind but less so than the .22WMR. In terms of bullet selection for the HMR, buy a packet of all the different brands of ammo you have easy access to, test them for accuracy through your gun, then buy as much as you can afford of the most accurate ammo. The terminal performance difference between projectiles is minimal - accuracy through your gun is way more important. Then set up your dope tables according to what you are using.
The .17HMR seems to suppress better than the .22WMR.

Have you considered IR instead of thermal?
I have a PARD 008 on my HMR, and a pair of thermal bino's. Works very well. You will find thermalling with a rifle mounted scope extremely tiring (been there, done that). I would strongly recommend a hand held thermal for spotting (a monocular will do) and then transition to the gun. The IR will give you much better resolution than a mid range thermal, and with the on board IR laser 100m shots are easy. I have just invested in a high output dedicated red LED head lamp for stalking onto the rabbits, then thermal, then IR shoot - worked very well last time out. I also recommend getting a standing three legged shooting stick. Again, way less fatiguing as you do have to refocus the IR at different distances, and this is a bit like holding your rifle up with your trigger hand and looking down your scope while changing the scope zoom. Gets tiring fast. Primos trigger stick is what I am using.
I have two PARD's, and for the money, I have yet to find fault with them. The are cheaper than the competition, and are half the weight, and use the same 18650 battery that powers my torch. I can hunt a full night on one battery using the one touch screen off function between shooting sessions.

Originally Posted by vulcannz

I've never had a 22 ricochet off a bunny.

you got to hit them first