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Old September 11, 2007, 11:15 PM   #1
Niantician
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whats the max range of the 17hmr?

I've seen the charts and I know the velocities and drops but honestly what has been the farthest shots you've taken with the 17hmr and what were the results on actual living animals? also do you feel a 25 or 30 grain round should be developed?
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Old September 12, 2007, 08:53 AM   #2
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I shot a few thousand rounds in ND at prarie dogs, and I can tell you it was more fun than any of my centerfires. My longest kill was 212 yards. My problem was I was holding too far over, it was only dropping a few inches. The v-max didn't pop them at 200 yards like it did at 100. Under 150 yards, they practically exploded, over 150 a marginal hit and they crawled into their holes. For anything bigger than a ground squirrel I would keep ranges under 150 yards. For prarie dogs and little critters like that, have fun and see if you can get em at 250!
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Old September 12, 2007, 08:54 AM   #3
Art Eatman
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The HMR is said to be about 50 or so yards more effective than the Mach II.

I've watched THR's Justin kill prairie dogs with his Mach II, out to 200 yards. Taylorce1 as a witness, calling the range with a laser rangefinder. Justin was new to his rifle/cartridge, having been mostly a pistol shooter. It took a bit to figure the wind and the holdover "out there", but once he got it worked out, it was Dead Dawgs.

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Old September 12, 2007, 08:57 AM   #4
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On dead calm days, I have seen guys at the 100 yard range, stack one shot after the other in a dime sized group. But I have also watched the same guys shoot with a light cross wind, and watched the groups open up to 3".

If a guy was hunting yotes at 200 to 250 yards, I would think that would probably be the extreme limit for a humane kill, if a shot is well placed.

Prarie dogs, rabbits , squirrel, and the like, would probably be out of the question out past 150 yards, in a real hunting situation.

I'm not a big fan of the .17 but I know a lot of the guys like them at the range. I shoot a .22 magnum mostly for small game, and a .204 Ruger for varmints, neither of which is as wind sensative as the .17
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Old September 12, 2007, 09:11 AM   #5
mikejonestkd
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Iv'e plinked pop cans out to 200 yards but at that range they don't have much pop left to plink the pop cans.

I would guess that 200 is about the max effective range for pdogs...100-150 is about it for the bigger woodchucks around here. Iv'e had a few take a good hit and still manage to get back to their holes. I like the 22 mag and any centerfire better for dispatching critters at longer ranges.

A certain member of the board has knocked off chucks at 450 yards with his 17hmr....must be shooting hotter ammo than I can buy...LOL
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Old September 12, 2007, 10:23 AM   #6
FirstFreedom
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Art & others - would you think it's fair to say that the effective range of the .17 mach 2 is nearly identical to the .22 magnum?
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Old September 12, 2007, 08:35 PM   #7
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[QUOTE]Art & others - would you think it's fair to say that the effective range of the .17 mach 2 is nearly identical to the .22 magnum?/QUOTE]

Pretty sure the mach 2 is closer to the .22 lr and the .17 HMR is closer to the .22 magnum.

I have a Savage and 150 yards is pushing it with any kind of wind. Mine shoots much tighter at 100 yards. (HMR)
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Old September 13, 2007, 05:35 AM   #8
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I have put a 20 grain Hornady XTP out to 175 yards and effectively killed the groundhog I was shooting at in one shot. It does a wonderful job from 100-150/175...past that I would feel uncomfortable pushing it any further.

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Old September 13, 2007, 09:32 AM   #9
Art Eatman
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My only .22 magnum wasn't all that accurate, so I've little experience beyond tin cans at 40-ish yards.

I'd call the Mach II devastating on prairie dogs to 100 yards, and adequate to 200. I therefore assume the .17 HMR would work to probably 250. Wind is more of a problem than distance.

Coyotes? I wouldn't use either cartridge, absent head shots at relatively close ranges, as inside 100 yards.

My prairie dog hunting was a drive-and-stop process across a private pasture, just shooting from the cab of my truck. There were lots of dogs that would pose for us at distances well inside 300 and 200 yards. Numerous shots around 100 yards. If I lived nearby and regularly went out for them, I'd probably go with the .17 HMR.

That said, I've had fun on PDs with a .223, a .220 Swift and my .243 with 55-grain bullets. My choice as a sometime visitor, I guess, would depend on the mood of the moment.

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Old September 13, 2007, 09:56 AM   #10
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I have two .22 Mag rifles for shooting prairie dogs with, I use Federal ammunition with 30 grain TNT hollow points. Both of my rifles are capable of killing p-dogs at 200 yards if I'm doing my part right. I will not say that they are as accurate as the .17 HMR but I zeroed them both for 100 yards and they both shot sub moa at that range. I tried the 33 grain V-Max Remington ammunition and couldn't get the accuracy I acheived with Federal.

I've killed coyotes with my .22lr and .22WMR rifles but every time they have been closer than 50 yards. I wouldn't trust any rimfire rifle to reliably kill a coyote beyond 50 yards. I never take a rimfire coyote hunting and every time I've killed on with my rimfires they were targets of opportunity and that was the only rifle I had in hand at the time.

I chose the .22WMR beacuse that was what my brother-in-law is using when he comes out to shoot prairie dogs with me. We now splt orders of 1-2000 rounds to get better pricing on our ammunition so having rifles in the same caliber helps. If he was using the .17HRM instead I'd probably have that caliber instead.

The only bad thing about these new rimfires is that I can reload my .223 as cheap as I'm buying this ammo for 50 rounds. The good thing is I spend more time shooting instead of reloading for the same amount of money. Untill I get a progressive press I'll probably use my .22 rimfires.
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Old September 17, 2007, 06:44 AM   #11
Full-choke
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My HMR has effectively killed groundhogs at 175 yards with a one shot kill to the head. It does an amazing job and the awesome part is that in it's effective range, it drops minimally. Prior to the 17 I had a little Marlin bolt action 22 mag. The round did well, but in all honesty I never pushed it past 100 yards for accuracy reasons. I was always afraid that the shot wouldn't be an effective kill. With the 17, I don't have that worries and I am comfortable enough to take a shot at 200 out of it if I were to need to.

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Old September 17, 2007, 05:50 PM   #12
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Quote:
If a guy was hunting yotes at 200 to 250 yards, I would think that would probably be the extreme limit for a humane kill, if a shot is well placed.
I have to disagree on this point also. The 17 hmr is not a sufficient yote round at any range let alone 200 plus yards. Even those rabies infested scoundrels deserve better than that.
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Old September 17, 2007, 06:28 PM   #13
Full-choke
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"I have to disagree on this point also. The 17 hmr is not a sufficient yote round at any range let alone 200 plus yards. Even those rabies infested scoundrels deserve better than that."

Hate to argue on this one, not trying to pick a fight but I have killed a yote with my 17 and it did a fine job. That is originally why I set up my 17 was for coyotes. I bring them in closer then normal because I don't do any fancy calling or anything. I stroll the woods with a red light and stumble upon them. I put it down in two shots first in the stomach, second right in the neck. Did a fine job in my opinion since I'm not a good enough shot and he was trotting away. I'd say ti was around 50 yarder too (off the top of my head guess). I wouldn't do much more then that on a yote with them, but it did nicely.

Full-choke

P.S. - 20 Grain Hornady XTP ammo, very nice stuff
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Old September 18, 2007, 12:07 PM   #14
kingudaroad
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Quote:
I put it down in two shots first in the stomach, second right in the neck. Did a fine job in my opinion since I'm not a good enough shot and he was trotting away.
Gut shooting coyotes with a 17hmr. Now there's a humane kill for ya.:barf:
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Old September 20, 2007, 08:38 PM   #15
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Hell, shootin em in the gut is more humane than aiming for em with my pickup. That's how I've killed most of the Coyotes in my life. Out here they're a problem though. I don't know about any of the other states, but there's still a bounty on Coyotes in Wyoming. If you can kill em with your pickup, it doesn't cost ya anything
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Old November 9, 2011, 11:02 PM   #16
leadchunker
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17hmr for coyotes

I dont know why people say it wonot do the Job,. I have killed many with it and most of the time my friends runs further than mine and he is using a .223, i know because i have done this and do this often.
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Old November 10, 2011, 08:11 AM   #17
Daryl
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Quote:
If a guy was hunting yotes at 200 to 250 yards, I would think that would probably be the extreme limit for a humane kill, if a shot is well placed.

Prarie dogs, rabbits , squirrel, and the like, would probably be out of the question out past 150 yards, in a real hunting situation.
You really need to realize that hitting an animal, and actually killing it are two entirely different things.

200-250 yards on a coyote with a .17 HMR is nothing short of a far fetched stunt. There just isn't enough thump at that range to get the job done reliably. I've seen 'coons take a solid hit with a .17 HMR a lot closer than that, and just keep on going. Coyotes are somewhat harder to kill than 'coons, mostly.

OTOH, if you can hit a ground squirrel, P-dog, or rabbit at those ranges, they really aren't that hard to kill. This would be far more do-able than a larger, tougher animal, even if the target is smaller.

The real world just doesn't work the way you describe.

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Old November 10, 2011, 08:27 AM   #18
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Shucks, Daryl, you should see some of the fantastic shooters around here. Local guy claims his son nailed a 200lb. hog @200yds with the .17HMR, shoulder shot, DRT. I just told him he needs a bigger gun. Figured it's his story, he can tell it like he wants to. Goat
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Old November 10, 2011, 10:23 AM   #19
Art Eatman
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Always remember that Internet shots are made at longer distances than real-world shots.

And we don't really need to resurrect threads from four years ago...
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