Does a .17 rimfire replace the .22rf?

Does 17 rimfire replace the .22rf


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Heym SR20

Well-Known Member
I have had a .22rf now for many years - it is an old BRNO Mod 2 that has been extensively customised with a full size stock so that it handles like a stalking rifle.

It is accurate enough and I know it well enough that I am confident taking rabbits our to 70 / 80 yards using eley high velocity ammo.

And of course with subsonics it is very quiet - good for shorter range rabbits and for practice.

Mostly I use it for informal plinking and the beauty is that ammo is cheap - 50 rounds for under £5 - depending on what you buy.

I am interested in views on the 17 HMR or the 17 Mach 2 rimfires. Obviously flatter shooting than a .22rf and thus you do have a bit more range - out to 120 / 150 yds, but does a .17 replace the .22rf in your gun cabinet, or should it be viewed as an addition?

Also how the police view them on a certificate - is it an either / or or generally are they happy for you to have both?
 
I have a 22lr but not a 17HMR. I think the consensus is that if you want to eat what you shoot stick with a 22 as the 17 is explosive and does a lot of damage to the meat. If have seen rabbits with no head after being hit with the 17.

It's also noisy and much more expensive.

But like you say, it has longer range - so if you just want to wipe out bunnies then that's the better tool.

The 2 rifles do 2 different jobs.
 
Does a .17 rimfire replace the .22rf

Like Snowstorm, I do not own a .17HMR, but have been out with a chap who has. Longer range, but you can usually stalk to between 50 and 70 yards on rabbits if you don't intensively shoot the same area.
I use High velocity cartridges through my semi auto CZ and have always been happy with the results on rabbits. i.e. head or shoulder shots showing little meat damage.
For foxes I use my .243 with home load 60 grain sierras, which gives near 22-250 performance.
Conclusion:- I don't need a .17.
 
I have used a 17HMR a lot. It is a very good round on magpies and crows. Very accurate.

It is a great rabbit killer out to 150 yards, but it is very destructive if you want to eat them.

I also think it is completely unsuitable for foxes. It will certainly kill a fox, but too many run off after a decent hit.

The answer is to have one of each and a gun bearer... :lol:
 
17 or 22

I have both these rimfires and use them equally it just depends on what ground im heading for or if the rabbits are for the pot or butcher.
As alredy pointed out the 17 is noisey and destructive not only on the rabbit but the pocket to.£10.40for 50 17 grn remmys.
As for either or I had no problem when I applied for the 17.just filled the varriation form in and recieved it back in post with it on my fac.
If I had to choose it would be the 22 but for now ill have the two.
 
I have fired all available rimfires with the exception of the 5mm Rem. and out of the lot the one I would choose is the 22lr. With Eley 38 gr subs, rabbits are easy done out to 100yards.

Muir is the man to talk to about rimfire rounds, he has fired them all and is an expert on them.

22lr in a 17HMR!!! Brian, behave yourself. :D

John
 
i too own both, a brno model 2 with a sak mod and a marlin .17hmr with the same. i love the hmr and would say it gets more use these day s. that said i would never be without the brno as its super quiet and very accurate and with 40grn eley plus subs ,clover leafs at 50yds.
i use it on the areas more prone to visits by walkers or golfers as its vitually silent. if you keep the range to about 70yds its unbeatable.
its the 100-150yd range that the hmr comes into its own and the extra report doesnt seem to matter as the rabbits cant seem to tell where its coming from!! if i were to choose between the two, to take on to a desert island, it would be the brno.
 
Claret_Dabbler said:
Here's a question, will a .22LR chamber and fire in a 17HMR?
.

Yes, it'll chamber, but I don't know whether it would fire due to the smaller rim diameter. As a 12-bore and 20-bore owner, and a .243/.308 user, I am neurotic about chambering the wrong ammo in the heat of the moment. .22RF ammo will happily chamber in my CZ HMR. Obviously HMR ammo won't chamber in the .22RF due to the case diameter.

In answer to the poll, for post-harvest rabbit control, I am getting significantly bigger bags with the HMR when shooting on my own from the Landy. The supersonic crack disorientates the rabbits long enough for me to pick them off one after t'other. I had nine kills for nine shots with the HMR, as quickly as I could reload. The 'thump' of a .22 sub hammering into a rabbit seems to spook all of the other.
 
JAYB has asked me to weigh in on this subject but there is really nothing to say. I have shot all the commercial 17 RF rounds and some that never made it to market. If you have no problem killing the game you are after then it is a good round for you. I have three HMRs but I confess to using them little these days. The game I am shooting (prairiedogs) just doesn't always fall reliably to the HMR. I have opted for the 22WMR or 5mm Remington for my "magnum" rimfire shooting now. I have found that at extended ranges, both of these kill better then the HMR.

But the 22LR is king of the rimfire heap. Nothing will ever replace it. It has accuracy, versatility, and plenty of power for those willing to get within 100 yards of game. Here there is an ammo called Super Colibri which fires a 20 grain bullet at air rifle speeds which is perfect for starlings and lesser vermin. There is also a 22LR 60 grain Sub Sonic Sniper round designed for law enforcement. In between lie .22 Short, Long, and Long Rifle rounds that top out with speeds of 1750 fps with a 30 grain bullet or 1500 with a 40 grain bullet.

What more could a hunter ask for than to have one rifle so versatile in his arsenal?? ~Muir
 
The .22RF has been around for more than a century.

I wonder what the group will be saying about the .17 rimfires in 2108?
 
Thanks for all your responses - good food for thought and to some extent confirmed my thoughts - .17 nice to have, but not essential, but the .22lr is an essential tool.

One final question - does the .17 ricochet like the .22lr - particularly with subsonics??
 
Everything will ricochet at one time or another but the V-Max or Hollow Point 17 cal bullets -provided they have sufficient speed left on hand- will tend to come apart. Of course, that depends on the bullet. Seventeen caliber FMJ's are sold in the states that will bounce off the ground after passing through a rabbit at 50 yards.

I have never noted a .22 sub ricocheting after a miss but I live where it wouldn't matter if it did. The solution of course is to just not miss! ;) ~Muir
 
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