.17hmr or .222

[DDMS]

Hello All.

I currently have a Tikka T1x in .17Hmr that i use for rabbit control but i am considering trading in for a .222 for both rabbit and foxing. I have a .243 win that i use for Deer and foxes currently but im considering a .222

I have an Anschutz .22lr for NV and lots of rabbit work as i have a few permissions that are over run with rabbits and its cheaper to feed.

Has anyone regretted moving away from the .17hmr? I like the round and I'm well aware of the pro's and cons. I will be looking to trade in and im happy to get an older .222 and would be looking at home loading too. Foxing range is 250 yards max and most shots within 150 yards.

Rabbits with the .222 sounds like fun too.

Any and all advice welcome. ive been looking at a CZ in .222.

 

[gonzo]

Look at the cost of 222. It might take the fun out of it.

 

[User00035]

 

[Crowstalker]

I bought a box very recently of hornady 50 grain v max 222 £24, but its like anything these days they will probably go up in price

 

[User00035]

Hello All.

I currently have a Tikka T1x in .17Hmr that i use for rabbit control but i am considering trading in for a .222 for both rabbit and foxing. I have a .243 win that i use for Deer and foxes currently but im considering a .222

I have an Anschutz .22lr for NV and lots of rabbit work as i have a few permissions that are over run with rabbits and its cheaper to feed.

Has anyone regretted moving away from the .17hmr? I like the round and I'm well aware of the pro's and cons. I will be looking to trade in and im happy to get an older .222 and would be looking at home loading too. Foxing range is 250 yards max and most shots within 150 yards.

Rabbits with the .222 sounds like fun too.

Any and all advice welcome. ive been looking at a CZ in .222.

Similar thread to my windy ground rabbit thread. But I'm in a slightly different position in that I won't be getting rid of my HMR, but I might replace my .243 with a smaller cf as it is an under-used vermin rifle and I have a .308 for deer.

If your .243 is your only deer rifle and you can't part with it, I would consider keeping the HMR and bridging the gap with the .222 as you suggest (probably what I'll do) or if you get rid of the HMR, replace it with one of the Hornets.

 

[Crowstalker]

Truthfully you already have a good round for foxes, and a good round for rabbits you don't need another calibre but if you Want another calibre then sure why not

 

[Sandyb]

So long as you can reload, I'd go for the .222. Tailored rounds, better accuracy and reliable ammunition if you make it youself...

 

[J.kerslake]

Once I started reloading for my .222 I got rid of my .17hmr. More accurate in various weather conditions, more reliable, more fun

 

[Claret_Dabbler]

Swapping a rubbish hmr for the greatest round ever should be a no brainer.

However, I never thought I would suggest this, my buddy is buying perfectly good 223 factory ammo for less than I can reload 222 for currently. It’s worth considering.

 

[Warbucks]

You might be able to re-load for 50p-55p per round, just remember if your shooting volume rabbits (several close together) you have to catch each case (for re-loading) this is going to slow you down and the remaining rabbits will run this then might cause problems ?
I personally shoot all my rabbits in the dark with hmr and n/v, most rabbits on a totally dark night will let you walk them down to 80 yds.

Dave (warbucks)

 

[Fox Red]

I’d say go for it. I swapped my 17 HMR for a 22 Hornet and haven’t regretted it.

A 222 would be even better, but the Hornet is cheap as chips and I’d recommend if you’re into reloading.

Won’t go wrong with a 222 though.

 

[User00035]

Swapping a rubbish hmr for the greatest round ever should be a no brainer.

However, I never thought I would suggest this, my buddy is buying perfectly good 223 factory ammo for less than I can reload 222 for currently. It’s worth considering.

OK if your rifle happens to like whatever cheap factory ammo is available. But it's not guaranteed. My .222 was quite fussy with factory ammo. It was easy to load for and didn't take very long to run up a recipe that shot ragged holes but factory ammo was a mixed bag and Ferderals were a country mile ahead of all the opposition. Norma rounds were shocking - 4" group at 100 yards. I bought some 50 grn Prvis for it once because they were cheap as chips, but I couldn't keep them on a sheet of A4 paper at 75 yards

Factory Federal V-Shoks produced half inch groups at 200 yards. They were nearly a pound a bang, but with that performance off the shelf I put up with it.

 

[Sandyb]

Certainly ditch the HMR! I've still got mine and still use it on new permissions, but for the last few years it's been the .204 that's been doing all the rabbit and fox shooting. I'm laying the .204 up for a while, while I get the .223 out, that is equally accurate and slightly better in the wind, although I shoot the lighter end of the varmint bullet scale... using up my 50 grain Sierra bullets before returning to my favoured 40 grain Noslers.

 

[User00036]

OK if your rifle happens to like whatever cheap factory ammo is available. But it's not guaranteed. My .222 was quite fussy with factory ammo. It was easy to load for and didn't take very long to run up a recipe that shot ragged holes but factory ammo was a mixed bag and Ferderals were a country mile ahead of all the opposition. Norma rounds were shocking - 4" group at 100 yards. I bought some 50 grn Prvis for it once because they were cheap as chips, but I couldn't keep them on a sheet of A4 paper at 75 yards

Factory Federal V-Shoks produced half inch groups at 200 yards. They were nearly a pound a bang, but with that performance off the shelf I put up with it.

Thats interesting, I found Norma 50gr sp to be exceptional accurate, I struggle to handload better. May I ask what rifle this is?

 

[User00035]

Thats interesting, I found Norma 50gr sp to be exceptional accurate, I struggle to handload better. May I ask what rifle this is?

Haven't got it any more but it was a BSA CF2, (heavy 24" barrel). I wish Brit Hunter was still here. He was a great authority on CF2s. I don't know what twist rate it was but it preferred 40 grn bullets to 50s and didn't like to be pushed at speed.

My mate who does the hand loading tried to match the 40 grn factory Federals velocity using 50 grn bullets but couldn't achieve the same accuracy. It was starting to close up again as the speeds really hotted up but by then the dets were getting hammered flat and we gave it up. We went back to loading 40s and matched the Ferderals performance quite easily but couldn't better them. But then half inch at 200 yards takes some beating. And that wasn't achieved in a gun rest, it was with me swaying around on the end of it.

Heavy rifle to lug about but great to shoot off sticks. Really stable with all that weight.

 

[User00035]

Certainly ditch the HMR! I've still got mine and still use it on new permissions, but for the last few years it's been the .204 that's been doing all the rabbit and fox shooting. I'm laying the .204 up for a while, while I get the .223 out, that is equally accurate and slightly better in the wind, although I shoot the lighter end of the varmint bullet scale... using up my 50 grain Sierra bullets before returning to my favoured 40 grain Noslers.

I take it you're hand loading? If so, what are the .204 and the .223 rounds costing?

 

[Sandyb]

I take it you're hand loading? If so, what are the .204 and the .223 rounds costing?

Yes, I am. I bought 60-80 factory rounds (4 boxes) when I bought the rifles (2 years apart), and still have at least 2 boxes of each unopened... that must have been 10 years ago. I bought the .223 first, then the .204. I couldn't tell you or event try to work out the costs... most of my consumables have been acquired over the last decade and managed. There's not a huge powder capacity for these calibres and a 1kg tub goes a LONG way! Using on 25 grain of N133 for my .223.

I find a lot of satisfaction from reloading, particularly as I do this for four calibres, so it's not all down to cost. But what I will say, particularly since the relaxation of ballistic tip bullets no longer accounting towards your allowance, your no longer at the mercy of RFD's held stock.

Purchasing complete rounds now with sporadic UK shipments, I can imagine this is much worse than the shortage of the reloading consumables. Just one other consideration...

 

[Doric]

Hello All.

I currently have a Tikka T1x in .17Hmr that i use for rabbit control but i am considering trading in for a .222 for both rabbit and foxing. I have a .243 win that i use for Deer and foxes currently but im considering a .222

I have an Anschutz .22lr for NV and lots of rabbit work as i have a few permissions that are over run with rabbits and its cheaper to feed.

Has anyone regretted moving away from the .17hmr? I like the round and I'm well aware of the pro's and cons. I will be looking to trade in and im happy to get an older .222 and would be looking at home loading too. Foxing range is 250 yards max and most shots within 150 yards.

Rabbits with the .222 sounds like fun too.

Any and all advice welcome. ive been looking at a CZ in .222.

Good afternoon Sandy.
I moved away from HMR a few years ago when neck splitting was common. I went for 222 rem which will give you a bit more legs and I find that loading cases with a pinch of Lovex 73.4 and 40 to 55 grain Vmax or Varmagedon will buck the wind a lot better than the tiny .17 17 and 20 grain bullets.
The 222 rem was for many years bench rest shooters caliber of choise for printing tiny groups out to two hundred yards so you seldom hear of a poor shooting 222.
My advice is go for it.

 

[User00035]

I find a lot of satisfaction from reloading, particularly as I do this for four calibres, so it's not all down to cost. But what I will say, particularly since the relaxation of ballistic tip bullets no longer accounting towards your allowance, your no longer at the mercy of RFD's held stock.

Purchasing complete rounds now with sporadic UK shipments, I can imagine this is much worse than the shortage of the reloading consumables. Just one other consideration...

I think I will now. A major bonus when I move will be that I can test shoot loads within walking distance from my front door. I've spent the last 8 years unable to load and shoot from the same location. Now I can, that makes reloading a whole different proposition.

 

[Doric]

I think I will now. A major bonus when I move will be that I can test shoot loads within walking distance from my front door. I've spent the last 8 years unable to load and shoot from the same location. Now I can, that makes reloading a whole different proposition.

Good luck.