Thread: Buying new rimfire + optic (need advice)

Head shots for the ones for the table and skinning especially with 17HMR as they are pretty accurate out to 100-150 yards on a good day.

Originally Posted by Macca

Though I do quite like smoked rabbit now and then and wouldn't mind keeping possum pelts intact, though how does the .17 fare against a possum? Does it destroy the pelt around the exit wound or do they have enough mass for the .17 to completely fragment.

To be honest there are not that many rabbits/hares I shoot with the 223 that are not good for eating. It's just that some are too far away to go and get. That HMR mudgripz mentioned is good.

I found the possums quite hard on the HMR due in part to the distance usually shooting them at and the mass of the possum versus the size of the projectile( it has a fancy term that I can't think of right now). On rabbits, plovers, magpies etc it's just flipping awesome (quite literally!).

That Marlin deal sounds like a great buy and would go for it if that's what ya fancy and having learnt to shoot on a 917(synthetic blued, very first line of HMRs) and can attest that suppressed at 100m 10 rounds into a $1 coin and that's from the cheapest model!!!

Yeah the Marlin HMRs are amazingly accurate - had to go buy one myself.

Macca - spoke to owner of Marlin stainless laminate HMR tonight to check if rifle was still for sale - it is. He said trigger is done - very light, cycling is 100%, in terms of accuracy it will shoot thumbnail groups at 125 meters, and at the range they have no trouble popping golf balls and empty 12g cartridges at 150m. Owner knows his stuff - this is a well set up unit.

Those Marlins are too accurate....

It's almost cheating.

If you're looking for the whole package, that 17HMR sounds like a great deal.
If you want to 'piecemeal' your own package, take a look at air rifle scopes.
Took me a while to get used to one (4-12 x 44 AO), I bought off 'Buy,Sell,Swap' forum, but having adapted to the smaller range of scope/eye distance allowance of sight pic, am regularly busting 97-99 at the indoor range with my Annie 1415 M54, without trying very hard.
Cheating I know, for the Smallbore purists, but this is all part of my self imposed training for F/TR next season.