Thread: 22LR or 17HMR, your thoughts?

Buy both. Rossi make affordable but good quality rifles

For rabbit hunting in NZ, most shots are within 50 meters.

.22 LR:
1. Affordable and versatile.
2. Quiet with subsonic ammo.
3. Effective up to 70 meters.
4. Good for small game.

.17 HMR:
1. Faster and flatter trajectory.
2. More power, but less common and pricier ammo.
3. Effective beyond 100 meters.
4. Potential overkill for close shots.

Choose a reliable rifle within your budget. Consider noise reduction with a suppressor. Ultimately, pick based on your shooting preferences and budget.

I have both and prefer my .22 LR all day. Subs and a suppressor and it’s barely audible. However if I’m targeting possums in close bush I’ll use the 17. Don’t like the frequent wizzes over the head associated with .22LR. In short .22 for bunnies, .17 for possums. I just have two little cheap things that I got for about $1000 together scoped and all. They do the job for casual shooting like you say. In fact my Rossi 7022 has had over 500 rounds for it and I’m still able to group at less that an inch at 100mm. Brilliant rifle for the money…

I for one love my .17. Its accurate and loads of hitting power. Flat trajectory.

Im not worried about the cost of the rounds. I dont fire enough to be even slightly concerned.

I think I brought three packets when I got the rifle off Giles and Ive still got one.

Originally Posted by marquesgriffin

For rabbit hunting in NZ, most shots are within 50 meters.

.22 LR:
1. Affordable and versatile.
2. Quiet with subsonic ammo.
3. Effective up to 70 meters.
4. Good for small game.

.17 HMR:
1. Faster and flatter trajectory.
2. More power, but less common and pricier ammo.
3. Effective beyond 100 meters.
4. Potential overkill for close shots.

Choose a reliable rifle within your budget. Consider noise reduction with a suppressor. Ultimately, pick based on your shooting preferences and budget.

Overkill is still dead

Use both,

Sent from my SM-T225 using Tapatalk

I have a .22 and a 17hmr both are awesome calibres and i think both have their place in the safe, .22's are hard to beat just on economy of shooting alone, ive never had any issues with effectiveness on rabbits possums etc, realistically they are more then adequate for 90% of the distances you often shoot rabbits in. The 17 is ALOT of fun. shoots dead flat and is very accurate out distances a good bit further then a .22 but definitely louder and a lot more expensive to shoot also a total overkill for close shots. if i had to choose one id go the .22 first just on how cheap and readily available ammo is and its versatility, then get the 17 later.

I have both.
.22
pros = very cheap, very quiet, powerful enough for rabbits, not going to send a projectile for bloody miles
cons = nowhere near as accurate as my .17HMR (have had one bolt action .22, a ruger 10/22 and a marlin papoose), much less takedown power, harder to predict the drop at various ranges (not as flat shooting), bullet takes markedly longer to get to target (harder to pull off moving shots)

.17HMR
pros = very flat shooting, very powerful, range is much greater, less range and danger than something like a .223
cons = significantly more expensive, significantly louder, guns are more expensive too usually, ammo was very hard to get at one point

For rabbits it doesn't matter so much. For possums that are much hardier the .17HMR was almost more cost-effective because it took fewer shots to kill them. Have a look at the ammo prices again but at one point there wasn't a massive amount of difference between .17HMR and .223. .223 is definitely more versatile.