22LR or 17HMR

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porteous

Well-Known Member
Currently awaiting my FAC to arrive.

Decided I really want a 22LR after using both 17HMR and 22LR. Love subsonic and works well for the ground I’ll be shooting.
However I’m concerned about the dreaded lead ban and if I will still be able to use lead/subsonic rounds for hunting? I suppose no one can tell the future.
But my question is are we likely see any sort of exemption or am I being too sensible/optimistic 22LR seems to have no decent alternatives correct me if I’m wrong or would I perhaps be better off buying a 17? 22LR is already on my ticket when arrives so I’ll have to get a variation.
 
You can buy a decent second hand .22lr for very little money and any lead ban is probably two or more years away at the very earliest as it has to go through parliament even when the scope of any ban is agreed.

If the subsonic is the main reason for going .22lr I would say crack on get the .22lr always assuming they do not take two years to issue your FAC 😊 and enjoy it whilst you can which may be for many years to come.

Will be very hard to create an effective subsonic non toxic bullet for the .22lr unless made of gold.
 
Liveonce said:
You can buy a decent second hand .22lr for very little money and any lead ban is probably two or more years away at the very earliest as it has to go through parliament even when the scope of any ban is agreed.

If the subsonic is the main reason for going .22lr I would say crack on get the .22lr always assuming they do not take two years to issue your FAC 😊 and enjoy it whilst you can which may be for many years to come.

Will be very hard to create an effective subsonic non toxic bullet for the .22lr unless made of gold.
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Good thoughts there, that’s exactly why I want a 22LR and the only advantage I can really think of over a 17hmr love the subsonic rounds on the 22lr and there still very cheap! The local firearms officer said it shouldn’t take any more than 3 months and will definitely come through so fingers crossed, one month up almost so should be out testing and hunting fairly soon.
 
Bruno model 2, I brought more years ago than I care to remember may not be the latest go faster state of the art 22lr now rebranded CZ but it is reliable accurate and you can likely pick them up for around £100 to £150 or of course you can spend many hundreds on various makes of .22lr if you want too.
 
Liveonce said:
Bruno model 2, I brought more years ago than I care to remember may not be the latest go faster state of the art 22lr now rebranded CZ but it is reliable accurate and you can likely pick them up for around £100 to £150 or of course you can spend many hundreds on various makes of .22lr if you want too.
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I may well pick one up a mate has a CZ and I must say it works very well! Also has Ruger 10/22 backpacker with the magpul stock! Now the Ruger backpacker really floats my boat really cool bit of kit but a lot more expensive and probably not as accurate as the CZ/Bruno. At least it will keep it cheap if subsonic becomes obsolete. Would be sad if that was the case tho.
 
I started off with hmr as my first rimfire, but didn't like the noise when lamping rabbits, so changed to .22. Don't regret it all. Better choice of ammo with .22, and the 2nd cz452 I bought is much more accurate than my .17 was.
 
porteous said:
Could do prefer the simplicity of the 22lr and a real decent air rifle is mega bucks…
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For the price of a decent PCP air rifle you could buy a used 17HMR and 22lr as well as a couple of good scopes. Also the lead ban proposal in its present form will ban lead pellets so no gain there. The lead ban will be almost as bad for the 17HMR too. A while back I tried a box of Hornady lead free. I think it was NTX. Around 15 grains and it was awful in terms of range and accuracy in my CZ455.
 
Pete1774 said:
For the price of a decent PCP air rifle you could buy a used 17HMR and 22lr as well as a couple of good scopes. Also the lead ban proposal in its present form will ban lead pellets so no gain there. The lead ban will be almost as bad for the 17HMR too. A while back I tried a box of Hornady lead free. I think it was NTX. Around 15 grains and it was awful in terms of range and accuracy in my CZ455.
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No small caliber rifles seem very promising at the moment then! What a shame, I’m going to go ahead and get a 22 anyhow tho. Just have to hope for the best :)
 
porteous said:
No small caliber rifles seem very promising at the moment then! What a shame, I’m going to go ahead and get a 22 anyhow tho. Just have to hope for the best :)
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I agree but being an optimist :) I bought my first 22LR a few months ago, mainly for the reason you cite; its quieter than my 17HMR and has better killing range than the AirArms S510 FAC I sold to buy it.
 
porteous said:

22LR or 17HMR​

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Whist there is overlap in the application of these two calibres, the 22LR subsonic is in a class of its own.
I can see the higher velocity 22LR phasing out in favour of 17.
But there is such a well established demand for the quiet 22LR and so may rifles out there, I feel comfortable that supliers will see the market opportunity for non leadsubsonic 22LR cartridge.

The bullet may need to be lighter (shorter) to reliably stabilise in current twist rates, so effective range might reduce.

So I'd suggest you get a S/H one, enjoy the lead, and watch this space..

M
 
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