Choice between .17 HMR and .22 LR

Psyxologos

Well-Known Member
I need some advice from the good people of the Stalking Directory. I am after a rifle for some rabbit and hare shooting. I have read the comparisons between .17 HMR and .22 LR, I have seen the videos, I think I understand the main differences between the two, as well as their advantages and limitations. Being the inquisitive type I am, I would still like to hear from you with regards to which of the two calibres you would recommend to me, and why. Please be as exhaustive in your argument as you want, I really need to hear as much detail as possible. Did I mention I am terribly indecisive when it comes to that sort of thing? :doh::oops:

Some facts about where I will be shooting:

1. Noise is not a problem, so the fact that the .17 HMR is 'snappier' than the .22 LR is not a disadvantage.

2. Ranges I am hoping to be shooting them are between 20 yards and 150 yards (off a bipod or a rest, I have this luxury in this ground)

3. The terrain varies between a hill with quite a slope on it, to a long, long flat plain.

4. There are corvids I might want to shoot too.

5. Wind can be an issue sometimes, and I am aware that the .17 HMR does suffer from this. I doubt it will put me off getting one though.

6. Soft ground everywhere, so no problem with the .22 LR being quite problematic with ricochet.

7. I want to eat what I will shoot, so meat damage is an issue. I was told that with the .17HMR I will get more meat damage but I can more reliably head shoot the rabbits/hares.

I am kind of convinced that I want/need a .17 HMR as everyone I spoke to said they are the better calibre, flatter, safer etc. Is there any reason that I should chose a .22 LR instead? What do you use? I am aware that there are people who will say 'get them both' but neither do I need them both, nor can I afford to buy them both. I just want a rifle that will do the job reliably and I will enjoy. I already own a .22 LR, but it is an Anschutz target rifle, so not much comparison to what I want the new rifle to do. I have never fired a .17 HMR before.

I am thinking of a bolt action CZ 452/455 (in .22 LR or .17 HMR) just so you get an idea of where my research has taken me so far.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated! Thanks!
 
Whichever you get, get the 452, not the 455. My personal opinion based on an assessment of the construction, not accuracy.

The 17HMR will limit you on ammunition choices but if you are shooting at 150 yrds then you do NOT want the 22LR. I don't care much for the HMR. After shooting it since it's debut I have become bored with the hype and lack of performance on the game I shoot. I would not be without my Brno .22 bolt gun. If I was given a choice between a Brno/CZ in 22LR or 17HMR, I'd live with the shorter range of the .22LR to have the versatility of bullet weights between 20 grains and 60 grains, and velocities of 400 fps to 1750 fps.

Shooting 22LR is like having a keys to a banquet hall. Shooting the HMR is the restaurant that just sells burgers and french fries: the variety just isn't there.~Muir

(Why not the 22WMR?)
 
I have a sako quad in .22lr and .17hmr. My barrel of choice is the .17hmr for rabbits and crows etc. I use Hornady 17gr vmax, you occasionally get a split case upon firing but, as you're never going to use them again, its not an issue and certainly doesnt seem to affect accuracy or bolt action for extraction.
I will soon be selling the .22 barrel in order to get a dedicated .22...which will probably be an old brno or a 452 which will get the trigger treatment.
I do like how quiet a .22 is but, in my experience, as I use subsonic rounds rabbits etc seem more able to home in on where the noise comes from than the supersonic crack of a .17hmr.

Forgot to add...its you thats safe...not the bullet
 
Thank you very much guys. Valuable advice there, I appreciate it.

@Muir, what do you mean you have become bored with the hype and lack of performance on the game you shoot? Can you please elaborate? As I said, i am interested in rabbit and hare shooting on open ground, are you saying that I would need different bulet weights and velocities? In my mind (maybe I am oversimplifying things) I just need a bullet that will shoot straight and achieve a humane and instant kill. Why do I need to worry about different bullet weights and velocities? Would one bullet not do? I am only thinking of my .308 where my 150 grain soft point does as I need it to do in a variety of settings. I never worry about any other bullets offering me different weights or velocities. Is my logic flawed?
 
Thank you very much guys. Valuable advice there, I appreciate it.

@Muir, what do you mean you have become bored with the hype and lack of performance on the game you shoot? Can you please elaborate? As I said, i am interested in rabbit and hare shooting on open ground, are you saying that I would need different bulet weights and velocities? In my mind (maybe I am oversimplifying things) I just need a bullet that will shoot straight and achieve a humane and instant kill. Why do I need to worry about different bullet weights and velocities? Would one bullet not do? I am only thinking of my .308 where my 150 grain soft point does as I need it to do in a variety of settings. I never worry about any other bullets offering me different weights or velocities. Is my logic flawed?

I shoot mostly varmints over wind swept prairies. I have been shooting the HMR since before it was on the market and, while it once was a devastating cartridge, it was never the "true rimfire varminter" it was hyped to be. During or after the third production run the quality tanked; that wonderful sub MOA ammo became only the occasional sub MOA ammo. Bullets that used to blow up rabbits and groundsquirrels now passed through as often as not. I currently use( or used) the 17HMR mostly for prairiedogs and I have seen too many run around in circles after a hit at a reasonable range and eventually make it back down it's hole. I find the ammo inconsistent in quality (read some of the posts here on this forum) and as I mentioned, very limited in choice. If your distributor has a bad LOT of .22LR it's easy enough to switch brands. Not so with HMR. Only Winchester -from what I've heard- makes their own HMR. All other 'brands' are made at the same plant, on the same machinery.

I have a couple of fabulous 17HMR's in my gunroom but I take a 22LR with me 90% of the time. Five Millimeter Magnum the rest of the time with the 22WMR filling in the gaps when I want something different.

It doesn't matter though. You already said you expect to shoot at 150 yards on game so you've answered your own question. If you aren't worried/curious about different weight bullets and velocities then you aren't seeking any kind of versatility and again, you've answered your own question. You seem pretty dead set on the 17HMR so, why the post?? ~Muir
 
Last edited:
If I was in your predicament I'd take Muir's advice and go for the .22 WMR. it solves pretty much all of your points and is less affected by wind. It also has the benefit that in 6 months time you won't be disappointed that you bought a .17 over a .22.

I'll admit to being biased against the .17 so I hope that doesn't decrease the validity of my post.
I had a .17 HMR for rabbits about 6 years ago. I got rid of it. I am just as effective with the .22 and more confident shooting foxes, although I don't tend to shoot the .22 past 80yds. I found with the .17 that it sort of sometimes does what people say it will do.

I HATE the argument that the .17 is safer than the .22, someone once told me that the .17 wouldn't penetrate a hedgerow! My reply to that was you stand behind a hedge and see if you are happy with me shooting at you. He didn't take me up on my offer.

You don't have a mate with one so you can give it a try before you buy?

oof! Forgot to add, as far as enjoying your shooting I love shooting my .22LR! But realistically I can't see why it would be any more or less enjoyable than a .17 because I love shooting my big rifle too! At least with the .22 you can shoot 150 rounds without worrying too much about your bank account.
 
Last edited:
ive shot both the .22lr and the .17hmr
dont like the .17 ,noise ,meat damage
with the .22 i can shoot a bunny in a group of three and have a second shot on his mates
you carnt do that with the .17 BUT if your shooting out to 150yds theres only one to choose from the = .17hmr
imo
 
I have the CZ 452 in both .22LR & .17HMR, I use the .22 mostly for practising & target shooting but when it comes to killing vermin I usually use the .17HMR.

Advantages of the .22 are cheap ammunition with a good selection of different kinds including sub-sonic.

Advantages of the .17HMR harder hitting power and a reliably flat trajectory, less likely than the .22 to ricochet.

When it comes to rimfire rifles I think that the CZ 452 is remarkably good value but it does benefit from the cheap and easily fitted after market trigger kit.

atb Tim
 
I use both 22 and 17HMR for night shooting rabbits from a 4x4 the 17 is perfect, I never bother with the 22 at night now. Summer stalking for rabbits etc: i use the 22 at times but generally come back to the 17. Cz are certainly the best value for money but Weihrauch are well worth a look, very nice rifles. The old Anschutz 17/17 was a brilliant rifle but sadly no longer available.
Chest and head shots with the 17 give minimal meat damage.
 
totally different cartridges IMO

I have both.
better comparison out to 150 yds is the WMR (or the .17M2)


my issue with the HMR is the massively overpriced ammo for very poor quality (it is now centre fire territory)
don't get me wrong a love a HV frangible bullet especially for corvids where i have had solids pass straight through, but I have also had them pencil with no expansion, zing of a fox forehead and produce such varying velocities (probably due to split cases and damp charge) that "laser flat accuracy and devastating hits" no longer fills me with confidence. Confidence, which is 90% of a good shot IMO

I use the .22lr for subsonic work exclusively

for ranges regularly past 90-100yds or on quarry that requires a bit more thump I use the WMR (regurlarly used it as a dedicated golf course fox gun before I got a .222) or .17Mach2 (great for bunnies and doesnt disembowel them on site!)

WMR ammo is often available in a wider variety and significantly cheaper than the HMR ammo. check you stockists
Mach 2 ammo is like hens teeth but I have a good stash and top up when I am in the area of the RFD that holds it.
 
I've got both an HMR and a .22LR, both are 16" barrelled CZ 452's (superb gun, dunno why everyone whinges about the trigger!) - crowns and threading are occaisionally crap though so I had both mine re-done.

There's no point comparing the two as they are sooooo different - for what you want to do I think you should get an HMR; it does have all the problems people have mentioned on here, so unlike the .22LR you'll either love it or hate it (everyone loves a .22LR). You won't know until you try, so ideally some kind person on here who's local to you will let you have a go.

It isn't as loud as everyone makes out - if you're used to air rifles and subsonic .22's then yes there's a crack, but with a decent moderator (I like the DM80 and MAE Mini-T) it's about the same as an unmoderated air rifle!

I love my HMR, it's a great fox/corvid/bunny round... but before you buy be aware of the following:
- The HMR is a pig to clean and depending on the rifle will either like a very clean or very dirty barrel
- Ammo is expensive, and sometimes you end up with a batch that won't do under 2" groups at 100yds (let alone the fabled 1/4" that I've achieved twice in 3 years of owning one!)
- I don't care what ballistics tables say; the HMR sucks in strong wind
- Sound moderators fill up with crap on a fairly regular basis as anything under a 20" barrel leaves a lot of unburnt powder
- It's very sensitive to imperfections in the crown and junk in the moderator

So in summary I'd compare it to an old car; it's high maintenance and frustrating, but once you get used to it you'll feel as if you need to have one.
 
The HMR would be much more fun mate, I owned a CZ 452 silhouette in 17 HMR with 16 inch barrel . . .for rabbits and crows it was the business.

Try Tom Young @ Continental Shooting Supplies . . . I did lots of research on prices before I bought mine, and he was the cheapest I could find anywhere in the country.
 
- The HMR is a pig to clean and depending on the rifle will either like a very clean or very dirty barrel
- Sound moderators fill up with crap on a fairly regular basis as anything under a 20" barrel leaves a lot of unburnt powder
- It's very sensitive to imperfections in the crown and junk in the moderator

Can you please elaborate on this? What makes the .17HMR so difficult to clean? Would a boresnake or a rod not do?

The rifle I saw was a 22'' barrel, so rather long, would that make it less prone to moderator filling up with stuff etc?

Also, please explain what you mean about the crown often showing imperfections. Is this because of the high velocities involved?
 
not sure why they are a pig to clean as I don't remember cleaning mine!
it gets a pull through now and then to take away burnt primer/powder residue

22" is standard factory barrel length and will be acoomodated by any cleaning rod.
IMO the residue build up is just as bad on a 14" barrel as it is on a 22" barrel.
mods fill up with crud, that is their job, get a cheap one or a strippable one

HMR velocities are slow by centre fire standards
but a slow 17gr bullet can be sensitive to any imperfection in the muzzle or moderator
faster, heavier bullets often are not as sensitive
 
Back
Top