Only forget the hornet and get a 204 rugeri recomend you don't buy one.i also recomend 17 hornet
There have been several mentions of alternatives to the 17HMR, 22Hornet, 17 Hornet etc. If like myself you need a lot of rabbits then apart from the 22LR and FAC rated air rifles. The 17 is the one that does the job. I have a Hornet and I love it for certain jobs but rabbits shot with one are not resaleable, same with the 17Hornet. Excellent rifle but it demolishes rabbits.
You can chest shoot with the 17 and the rabbits are not badly damaged. I know there are those who will say "well head shoot them" That all well and good in theory but when you are after large numbers at night it just doesn't happen.
There have been several mentions of alternatives to the 17HMR, 22Hornet, 17 Hornet etc. If like myself you need a lot of rabbits then apart from the 22LR and FAC rated air rifles. The 17 is the one that does the job. I have a Hornet and I love it for certain jobs but rabbits shot with one are not resaleable, same with the 17Hornet. Excellent rifle but it demolishes rabbits.
You can chest shoot with the 17 and the rabbits are not badly damaged. I know there are those who will say "well head shoot them" That all well and good in theory but when you are after large numbers at night it just doesn't happen.
Agreed. There is nothing else that fits the bill quite like it in terms of performance and cost. 222/223/22 Hornet are a very expensive way to evaporate a rabbit, not to mention a lot of constabularies may only authorise them for foxes.
as to the question, I picked up a Annie 1517 S/H for CZ money. Provided it is kept perfectly clean it is the most accurate rimfire I have used, and beautifully made.
0.17/0.22H is acceptable as a combined fox / ground game rifle under the latest guidance, if you load for it once you've paid off the loading kit (400 rds for me) then its a couple of pence more a pop than HMR with a lot more legs and other benefits, to be fair if I load hollow / soft points then I'm loading 0.223 at the moment for 35p which ain't far off HMR either. As for rabbits shot with the 0.22 / 0.17 CFs not being saleable, agreed if you body shoot them but then exactly the same applied to the HMR if you use 17 gr ballistic tips.
If I shot more than a couple of hundred rabbits a year which would make loading the hornet a pain then I'd go WMR over the HMR, locally ammo is cheaper and no issues with split necks etc, not quite as flat but not loopy either.
One benefit of the HMR is that because of all the bad press the round seems to be falling out favour (just look how many threads mention ''i've changed my HMR for (insert 0.17/0.2/0.22CF calibre)" which means you can pick up a 17 for very good money at the moment!
Boydy47; If I shot more than a couple of hundred rabbits a year which would make loading the hornet a pain then I'd go WMR over the HMR said:That's the thing. If you're shooting 500 + rabbits a year there's an awful lot to be said for a disposable rimfire cartridge. No calibre, no rifle - as we know - is ever perfect. There's always pros and cons and grab-it-and-go convenience is a major point in the HMR's favour.
Would it be even cheaper to use milsurp ammo? Probably not as accurate I'd expect though.
That's the thing. If you're shooting 500 + rabbits a year there's an awful lot to be said for a disposable rimfire cartridge. No calibre, no rifle - as we know - is ever perfect. There's always pros and cons and grab-it-and-go convenience is a major point in the HMR's favour.