I have been wantin to post a similar thread for a while and i'm very intrested in other folks experiences.
I have no experience of .17s but the ranges ur talking about would a .22rf with high velocity rounds(lasers/cyclone etc) not do a very similar job.
Also is it fair to be comparing a 22 with subsonic rounds to a .17 round which is 1 off the fastest around, in my mind like comparing an old landy to a paris dakar 4x4 both will do the job but really designed for different jobs in mind?
Around 20 odd years ago when i was keepering (before all the multitude off calibres we have now became easily available, and even before mods were legal on cf rifles
) the boss had 2x .22s 1 zeroed with subs for lamping and the other with hv's for throu the day in landy and checking snares, similar to the jobs u'd use a .17 for now.
My fac is up next year and have thought about gettin a .17 but the more i think, the more i might try to get another .22 instead zeroed with hv. The positives i can see are very cheap to buy and cheap to feed and also a heavier bullet so not so prone to wind
Be intrested to hear other opinions who have exp with 22 with hv rounds and .17's. cheers