New HMR or new calibre?

User00035

Well-Known Member
I've got a Weihrauch HW60j in .17 HMR. I'm on my second magazine which has fallen apart. Parts are very difficult to get hold of. I will replace the mag or have it repaired but I'm not sure I want to keep the Weihrauch. For one thing I want a longer barrel. I shoot more at night these days and the 14" HW is not the best rifle on sticks. A longer barrel is more stable.
But do I trade in the HW and get a CZ or an Anshutz, or, do I go for a .17 Hornet. I know the ammo is a lot dearer but I can live with that. Its purely a rabbit rifle and recently I've found the need to push the range a bit. 150+ yards is OK with the HMR is its dead calm.
If I bought a Hornet it would be the CZ. Is the Hornet as quiet and as accurate?
 
The hornet with have quite a bit more bark,
a .17 hmr with a longer barrel will also give you a little more mv and less wind drift.
If you home load the Hornet could be fed quite cheaply.
 
Got a cz 17 hornet myself,as for shooting rabbits if you want keepers got to be headshots,as for accuracy its spot on i,ve been head shooting rabbits to 185yds no problem,would say its a little louder than hmr but not much, ammo wise it is more expensive but its a cracking little rifle and a pleasure to shoot,you won,t be dissapointed if you got one.
 
Don't trade in the hw, you will get peanuts for it, replace the Mag and sell it privately, I would then get myself an older 20" cz 452. Cheap as chips and cheaper to run than the hornet,

Just my thoughts because if you don't reload then the hornet will set you back a load of cash plus more to,set up for reloading,

Bob.
 
Just put a weight on the end for sticks then you can put exactly what you want where you want it and take it of if needed

My 14" anny is fine I shoot mostly night time of a tripod
 
I just can't help feeling that this isn't the last £60 mag I'm going to have to buy. They're a flawed design. The pin which secures the base to the tube passes through the tube so close to its bottom edge that it doesn't have enough metal round it and eventually it just tears through and the base plate falls off. I suspect if I only loaded three rounds it would survive, but four round capacity is few enough already.

So the the Hornet is a bit louder than a HMR but less noisy than my .222? I use that for long range rabbits as well but I'm hoping to swap it for a fox/deer only .243.
I don't need silly ranges, 200 yards is enough, occasionally 250, but I shot a rabbit at 160 yards the other night with the HMR and there was only a little wind but I still had to allow 4" of drift. I nailed him fair and square but that still carries a lot of risk of misses and injuries at what is a fairly modest distance. Will say, an 18" HMR really make the difference?
And what moderators a required for the Hornet? I take it my HMR SAK is not proofed for that round.
 
See my other thread for my thoughts on the 17 hornet. As someone else said above it is slightly louder than the hmr with a proper centrefire moderator vs a rimfire mod and in fact I think that with a new 17 specific macctec moderator it is as quiet. Also the cz527 although a bit more expensive than a rimfire is a proper centrefire rifle with a much better action, recoil lug, great trigger once adjusted, better dovetails for scope mounting etc.
 
Go with a center fire and reload. If you are taking your shooting seriously, you can do it. Since you use a 17HMR I'm thinking you are not shooting that far as a rule. A 17 Hornet, 17 Fireball or 22 Hornet would be fine. All in a CZ, of course.~Muir
 
I do shoot that far fairly regularly but my main farm has just expanded as they have reabsorbed a former tenancy. Before that I used to spend most of my HMR time tucked up under hedges sniping ranged distances in fairly sheltered spots. Now I'm patrolling more in a vehicle and taking shots of opportunity and some of the ground is higher and more exposed. I often find myself wishing I'd brought the triple with me instead of the HMR. But I don't want a car cluttered up with guns. I want one all-round rabbit rifle.
I don't reload but I'm moderately clued upon it. A mate has always done the low volumes of CF ammo I need for me with me helping so I know the drill. But I couldn't ask him to produce a high volume of rabbit rounds. I would guess the set-up required for loading the Hornet is less extensive and costly than for bigger CF calibres though.
 
My main reason for sticking with the hmr is that I cannot reload it so I dont worrie about the emptys they just go out the window when I'm driving, if I had a hornet I would want to collect the emptys for reloading so would have to have someone to drive me around so I could shoot out of the passangers side and eject into the truck, this is not ideal as I cannot then shoot forward inline with the truck and all the lights I have set up for the job.
 
My main reason for sticking with the hmr is that I cannot reload it so I dont worrie about the emptys they just go out the window when I'm driving, if I had a hornet I would want to collect the emptys for reloading so would have to have someone to drive me around so I could shoot out of the passangers side and eject into the truck, this is not ideal as I cannot then shoot forward inline with the truck and all the lights I have set up for the job.

Make a shell catcher, job done.
 
I don't reload but I'm moderately clued upon it. A mate has always done the low volumes of CF ammo I need for me with me helping so I know the drill. But I couldn't ask him to produce a high volume of rabbit rounds. I would guess the set-up required for loading the Hornet is less extensive and costly than for bigger CF calibres though.

Honestly if I was you and you're happy with it I'd keep the triple and start loading for it, you can produce ammo for nearly the same price as a hornet, maybe 6-7p more for powder. You can load a fast flat 40gr blitzking or similar which will be better than the hornet ballistically without much more recoil if moderated.

As for loading set up the only difference between one calibre to another to load to the same standard is the dies but you can get set up fairly cheaply (<£200.00 plus consumables) and it will certainly be cheaper than a new rifle and scope.
 
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I had a 16 inch cz 452 hmr and it was a great little rifle. But after having tons of bad ammo and a high demand for a longer range foxing rifle in traded it for a .22-250. Do often miss the hmr as it was fun but nothing I can't handle with the trusty 1967 brno .22lr.
Have you considered a .22 Hornet? I'm about to get my wife a .17 hornet or a .17 remington not quite sure yet.
 
If your shooting at night I presume your lamping. Why not try night vision and get closer. I shoot bunnies all the time and under 100 yards. No issues with them running away. Well not quiet true. If there is no wind then one shot and they all run. I prefer a bit of wind to carry the noise away. But I am shooting a small area so difficult to move off for more rabbits. I digress.
 
I have the HW66 Jagdmatch in .17hmr. The calibre can be a pain and the magazine is a weakness but the build quality and trigger are excellent. Can understand the desire for a different calibre but find it highly unlikely that a different manufacturer builds a better quality rimfire.
 
22WMR is in my admittedly limited experience of the caliber not as accurate as it should be. 17 Hornet is indeed a nice caliber but it is far from satisfactory against foxes in my experience. However you have not mentioned those so I would certainly go with a CZ527 ( I have one in 17AH), lovely little cartridge.

A
 
Honestly if I was you and you're happy with it I'd keep the triple and start loading for it, you can produce ammo for nearly the same price as a hornet, maybe 6-7p more for powder. You can load a fast flat 40gr blitzking or similar which will be better than the hornet ballistically without much more recoil if moderated.

As for loading set up the only difference between one calibre to another to load to the same standard is the dies but you can get set up fairly cheaply (<£200.00 plus consumables) and it will certainly be cheaper than a new rifle and scope.

I think the triple is about knackered. Its become very fussy to load for and it won't shoot 50 gr at all. It still likes Federal V shok but its not as accurate as it was and supplies of Federal in .222 are unreliable. I get the chance to go Munty shooting sometimes so if I want to use a .22 CF it needs to handle 50 gr rounds. I thought change the .222 for a .243 with a slowish twist for lighter bullets and use that as a vermin and small deer rifle. In which case changing the HMR for a .17 Hornet starts to look attractive. Halfway between the HMR and the triple and good for 200 yard rabbits all day long it would do everything rabbit wise I currently do with both the other rifles.
I do agree with Howa .243 though, ****ed off as I am with weihrauch's mags I will miss the build (mags aside) and finish quality of the HWs. I wish Anshutz or Sako made a .17 Hornet.
 
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If your shooting at night I presume your lamping. Why not try night vision and get closer. I shoot bunnies all the time and under 100 yards. No issues with them running away. Well not quiet true. If there is no wind then one shot and they all run. I prefer a bit of wind to carry the noise away. But I am shooting a small area so difficult to move off for more rabbits. I digress.

I've got an HW60 in .22 as well. No problems with that other than won't eject properly unless cycled vigorously. That has an N550 and Nitemaster on it and is a dedicated night shooter. It gets a lot of on-foot use through the winter and spring when crops and vegetation are low. Its invaluable but through the summer and on the stubble I snipe with the HMR and its my go-to rifle to put in the Landrover for a drive round. The Hornet would do that job. And I'm thinking .17 Hornet because from what I can make out the factory ammo is spot on whereas the .22 would be likely to need reloading from the off to get it to where I want it.
 
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