Small game hunting

[DRT300]

Another vote for teh 10/22 Ruger, accesories unlimited. Have alot of fun.

[Death from Afar]

For serious game small game hunting you cannot go past a .17HMR. The only thing working against it is cost, as its not a plinking gun, its a serious hunting caliber.

Where i live, 9 of us on a good weekend will shoot 1500+ rabbits and simply everyone has a 17HMR.

Why is it so good? Firstly, its a death ray. Small animals- hares, rabbits etc simply do not go far with a hit anywhere. With an inexperinced shooter it will give you a greater margin of error. WIth my Weatherby i head shoot to 50 metres, heart shoot to 150. My mate hit a rabbit at a lasered 222 metres and the rabbit died. Secondly, I have yet to meet an inaccurate .17. One of the guys bought a very rough Savage and its unbelievably accurate, and none i have ever shot are inaccurate rifles. The cheap NEF 17 single shot is incredible.

The cons are cost and noise. Ammo is very pricey and real consideration when you are goingthrough 500 rds in a weekend. Its is loud, but supresses very nicely.

If you are going down this path, I have owned a lot of .17's and the Weatherbys and Anchutzes are the best, but very pricey even in the US. ( I love my Weatehrby, but it cost a fortune, but is a truely beautiful rifle) The Rugers are hit and miss and the bolt handle IMHO is too small and can be hard to operate. The CZ family are great value for money and you can get a ten round magazine.

So there you have it.

[jhgreasemonkey]

I've got a ruger 10/22 in .22lr and a marlin 983 in .22 mag. Both rifles are great. You can drive tacks at 100-150 yards with the 983 and at 50-75 yards with the 10/22. I like to use the hornady 30 grain v-max loads in my 983 and the federal target match jacketed hollow points in my 10/22. I would say start with the 10/22 and if you ever feel the need to step up in power you can always add another rifle to your hunting battery, but the 10/22 is a must have. Get one and you will see why.