Moving from 17 hmr to 22lr

[jakey3]

So I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a 22lr instead of my 17 hmr. I love the 17 hmr as it’s flat and a fun little round to shoot but main reason for the swap is ammunition cost when I got it 3 years ago it was £15 for 50 17hmr round and now it’s £24 which is 48p a round to shoot bunny’s where as 22 hasn’t moved from £8 for a box and is 16p a round. What’s peoples thoughts?

 

[timbrayford]

I can see where you are coming from on cost, however I've restricted the use of my .22lr to practicing on the club ranges due to ricochet and looping trajectory issues and prefer my 17hmr for the rabbits.

 

[andy R204]

The humble .22LR is a calibre for me that is one I couldn't do without.
Had the HMR for less than a year,didn't like it.
For me I didn't gain much on the LR.It's always been expensive to feed per shot.Cracked cases was a thing a while back.
Always seems plenty for sale compared to the LR....tells it's own story in my eyes.

 

[hairlesshunter]

So I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a 22lr instead of my 17 hmr. I love the 17 hmr as it’s flat and a fun little round to shoot but main reason for the swap is ammunition cost when I got it 3 years ago it was £15 for 50 17hmr round and now it’s £24 which is 48p a round to shoot bunny’s where as 22 hasn’t moved from £8 for a box and is 16p a round. What’s peoples thoughts?

Take a shooting buddy with you it half’s the cost

 

[Trickyd66]

Personally I would keep the HMR and add a LR. Both have their uses, I don't have any HV LR ammo, purely using it for shortish range rabbits & squirrels that way I don't have to worry too much about hold over / under.
The HMR on the other hand is good to go point and shoot from about 30 yards to 100.
If you have an all singing all dancing scope with ballistic calculations etc, no problem shifting to LR, however in the current market, unless you really need the cash from the HMR to fund the LR I'd keep it.
Just my opinion.

 

[jakey3]

I can see where you are coming from on cost, however I've restricted the use of my .22lr to practicing on the club ranges due to ricochet and looping trajectory issues and prefer my 17hmr for the rabbits.

It’s just beginning to hurt abit when buying rounds. 17 hmr is 100% the better calibre I’ll never argue that but it’s not a cheap little gun anymore

 

[jakey3]

Take a shooting buddy with you it half’s the cost

I do im just being tight as rimfire was always meant to be the gun you never thought about ammo cost unlike the 65cm but I don’t go out and shoot 100 rounds through that

 

[jakey3]

Personally I would keep the HMR and add a LR. Both have their uses, I don't have any HV LR ammo, purely using it for shortish range rabbits & squirrels that way I don't have to worry too much about hold over / under.
The HMR on the other hand is good to go point and shoot from about 30 yards to 100.
If you have an all singing all dancing scope with ballistic calculations etc, no problem shifting to LR, however in the current market, unless you really need the cash from the HMR to fund the LR I'd keep it.
Just my opinion.

It’s your opinion I’m wanting fella That’s an option aswell I’ve been thinking about. Just cheap £200-300 little 22 Nout fancy and have both but If I swapped my 17 I’d most likely get decent 22 as I’d only have the one rimfire. I’ve a chronograph anyway so I’ll know my drop until I get round to a scope with ballistics for it.

 

[Smellydog]

but it’s not a cheap little gun anymore

In all honesty I never saw it as you describe. The cost of the larger rimfires was always going to cost more than a 22.

I find with my 22 I shoot it more when out so with the extra consumption it costs similar per outing to my hmr!

 

[Trickyd66]

It’s your opinion I’m wanting fella That’s an option aswell I’ve been thinking about. Just cheap £200-300 little 22 Nout fancy and have both but If I swapped my 17 I’d most likely get decent 22 as I’d only have the one rimfire. I’ve a chronograph anyway so I’ll know my drop until I get round to a scope with ballistics for it.

I suppose some of it comes down to ammo availability where you live. I can still pick up federal v shock in .17hmr for £17.50 /50 (about what I was paying 3 years ago) likewise, I can still find 22LR subsonic at about the same price I was paying then, but a lot of places it has jumped by a good amount. (I take it you were / are seeing LR at £8 / 50 not 100?) Which to me 3 years ago seems expensive?

 

[pete evans]

I did this and swapped 17 for .22 I also reload for .222 for a similar price to 17hmr so this gets used a fair bit for longer range vermin.
My only issue is that .22 ammo seems to be a little inconsistent and my .22 can be a bit hit and miss beyond 60m.

 

[Chris Richardson]

I’ve done the exact same , using cci segmented in the .22 and really happy with them I don’t really miss the hmr

 

[finbar]

Av dun the same jakey3 but have gone down the 17 hornet route
Love me lil Annie in 22 use it on young rabbits this time of year cheap
Still waiting for the 17 hornet been a year since I ordered it
A reload for 222 & 65.55 so suddenly work out cheap ish

 

[W1LL]

Get a variation and have both? I use segments in the 22 and Vmax in the 17. The 22 for smallish fields and other jobs where noise matters, 17 for big fields, wary bunnies and longer shots. Different tools for different jobs.

 

[fixedwheel]

Find somewhere else to buy your HMR rounds, should be about £20 a box. (Just looked at Dauntsey & Livens to double check)

Decent .22LR subs are £8 - £8.50, but I have just found the HMR so much better for rabbits.

Compared to the rest of the costs, spending an extra £2 or £3 an evening isn't going to be the critical factor.

 

[nf-fuse]

I think you'll hit more at long range with a 17hmr so should factor in the cost of missed shots?

I'm paying 20 quid a box for hornady 17hmr.

 

[Liveonce]

I’ve done the exact same , using cci segmented in the .22 and really happy with them I don’t really miss the hmr

Have you seen the price of cci segmented recently ?

Best move I ever did was to swap the hmr for a .17 hornet, stocked up on cheap components before covid and the wars so it’s costing me less than a hmr to shoot miss very little with it. Only take the 22lr now if subsonic ammo is required due to the location.

 

[Chris Richardson]

Have you seen the price of cci segmented recently ?

Best move I ever did was to swap the hmr for a .17 hornet, stocked up on cheap components before covid and the wars so it’s costing me less than a hmr to shoot miss very little with it. Only take the 22lr now if subsonic ammo is required due to the location.

I admit it’s got a bit more expensive but I buy it in bulk so not too bad to be honest I’ve stopped reloading it was taking up too much time I could be stalking

 

[jakey3]

I suppose some of it comes down to ammo availability where you live. I can still pick up federal v shock in .17hmr for £17.50 /50 (about what I was paying 3 years ago) likewise, I can still find 22LR subsonic at about the same price I was paying then, but a lot of places it has jumped by a good amount. (I take it you were / are seeing LR at £8 / 50 not 100?) Which to me 3 years ago seems expensive?

Yeah the eley rounds 50 for £8 and haven’t really changed according to the shop when I asked but 17hmr just keeps creeping up and when’s it going to stop no doubt a year or 2 they will be £30 for 50 17 hmr rounds. 100 cci are at £15 so there’s a big difference on cost between the 2 calibres. The shops only a few mile away where as others are 15-20 mile away so it’s a no brainer and they do look after me I must say that.

 

[Liveonce]

hmr is already pushing £50.00 a hundred.

17HMR Rimfire - Rimfire Ammunition - Ammunition

Henry Krank & Co

www.henrykrank.com

local variations in price likely due to when the RFD last stocked up.