Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Varmint Rifle

The .17 HMR is a really nice varmint gun. Its not good if your into cleaning for the fur. It can really damage a racoon or coyote unless you find the head.

The 30/30 on the other hand there will not be much left. A body shot on a coyote is a quick death. The 30/30 will travel much much farther and be less effected by wind. Our .17 is really effected by wind. The bullet is really light compared to the 30/30. 30/30 center fires are expensive compared to the .17 HMR rim fire.

There is now a .17 supper win mag that is rim fire and has more punch but it is new and was very hard to get amo a few months back. This would have been out choice for coyote gun but the difficulty getting amo put the damper on that. The HMR is still doing the trick.

Cheers Don.

How's the recoil on a .17 HMR? Any worse than a 410?

It's lighter than a 22 mag, no recoil at all just loud

I'd rather have a .22 mag it's not effected by wind like the 17 is

I guess to be fair to this discussion, I will throw one more option into the mix.

Keep in mind the criteria. Budget less than $500. Relatively small recoil. Range - the round must not be a concern at 3/4 mile but not be in the dirt at 150 yards.

So...what about a 20 gauge with slugs? I am thinking at 100 yards slug will drop maybe 6 inches and at 150 yards maybe 12 to 18 inches? Thinking, as long as you took a couple shells out of a new box of ammo and test fired them to get the idea with that particuar ammo what the drop would be at 150 yards .... I know it will not have big penetration power or great accuracy but, would it get the job done and not be a danger to the neighbors?

If you don't like recoil you won't like a 20 ga with slugs. Depending on what style of shotgun those have a good wallop on both ends. At close range they are deadly. I had a single shot H &R that would stomp your a$$.

I know what you mean. I shot a 16 gauge Mossberg back in the 70's my buddy gave me. I owned it a week. Then I understood why he gave it to me! Beat the crap out of ya even with a good recoil pad. Made a 1100 12 gauge feel like a BB gun. I was thinking a good 20 would not have that kick.

I gave that 16 to a guy at work I had a real dislike for!

Go to a gun show and look around you can find some deals if you know what you're doing

Funny Pat. Should be pretty obvious by now I don't!

Least I didn't say that! LOL

Very few shotguns have the effective range that you want. I expect that the 16 gauge had lightweight wood that transferred the kick to your shoulder.

I have a 28 gauge single shot that kicks more than my Grandsons Quigley 45/120. I despise that shotgun.

At that budget, are you planning to use open sites? IMO, there is nothing worse that cheap glass.

I was thinking I would buy a rifle scope package. Would rather not spend all the budget. Lot and lots of things to do around this new place and all cost money!

I'd still go with the 17 HMR package deal from Savage. Recoil is no worse than the .22lr, noise is a bit more, but nothing like a shotgun or centerfire rifle. IIRC you can get a .17 HMR package for under $400 if you shop around.

All bullets drop at the same rate when fired from a gun. I forget the equasion, but it is the same for all falling objects. So, the faster that a bullet travels, the further it will go before dropping the same distance.

Google "drop chart" for any specific cartridge, but make sure that you have the same zero - say 100 yds. Here's one for the .17 HMR.

http://gundata.org/blog/post/17-hmr-ballistics-chart/

If you want more answers, download any free ballistic calculator that you can find on the internet. Use a 100 yd zero for all the data, and look at the different cartridges/rifles, etc.

Here's one. ballistic calculator

FWIW, a .17 HMR drops 3" at 150 yds, a .22lr drops 11" at 150 yds. Both sighted in at 100 yds.

Also, you have to look at ammo availability since you will be buying ammo and not "rolling your own". See if you can find .22lr ammo in the stores...........

esshop - That is really good info. I never thought about it in those simple terms - Speed is your friend if you judge distance poorly (I finally bought a range finder and place yard markers near my stands). Your simple observation makes me think that a .243 would be a much better deer gun for me than a 3006. Thank you!

Bill, on the package deals the scope is generally of questionable quality.

I would go with a budget Leopold before a high-end Bushnell any day. You can get a new VX-1 3-9X40mm under $250.

Esshup,

That calculator is very useful! Thank you! Looks like both a .17 and a 22lr will be in the dirt well before 500 yards.

Dave and RAH,

Thanks for the scope inputs. I will definitely keep it in mind when I buy!

Get SNEAKY! Ground blind set up so that the neighbors are not a problem. Reduce your shooting distance so that the .22lr can be used for a head shot. Get a varmint call. Yotes are willy critters, (Hah!), but at my place, Florida Panhandle, I can call a couple in every week to within 30 yds and dust 'em off with a my AR with a .22lr upper and a reddot zero magnification optic. All of a sudden it's kinda fun having them around!! I've also got a Remington 870 pump shotgun, the black one with the open cylinder bore in 20ga. There is an after market stock for it called a Knox Stock that has a recoil reduction feature that really works when shooting buckshot and slugs. I don't think it would make an effective long range solution, but from the ground blind it would absolutely destroy them.

Bill you should compare the .22 magnum not the .22long rifle, two entirely different cartridges, scope - 3x9 x 40mm Leupold is a great scope that will last a lifetime

.22LR is going to have between 3 to 4-1/2 feet of drop at that range(sighted at 50yrds). I can tell you from experience that you will be trying to compensate for an equal amount of windage as well.

I am looking at a lever action Henry with a walnut stock (it can be chambered for 22lr, 22mag or .17HMR so that is not a problem). Does anybody know if Winchester or somebody else has a similar lever action offerring? I can get the Henry right around the $500 budget.

Edit: And before you ask why I want lever action the answer is, cause I like the look and feel. My old man brought me up watching westerns. Can you imagine the old "Rifleman" TV series if he was shooting a bolt action from the hip?!!!...It will also be a nice match with my lever action 30-30 in a gun case.

Bill,
You could get the 22LR Henry and a decent scope for right around the $500 you're wanting to spend. Shooting the CCI Stinger 22 ammo you're looking at about 1650fps with a 30gr bullet, if I recall correctly. That's getting out there, but might not quite have the reach you're looking for. I taught my kids to shoot with a Henry 22 youth model...really great little gun, fairly accurate and will last forever,I'd buy another anytime.

Again if I'm remembering, the 22Mag and 17 HMR are going to be significantly more expensive---with a good scope you'll go over $500, but you'll also gain a lot in distance as many have noted.

Don't know about Winchester, but Browning makes an extremely light, beautiful 22lr LA in several grades...the lowest will set you back over $500, so probably not an option.

If I get diagnosed with a terminal illness in the next couple weeks, I'll send you my Marlin 1894c in 218 Bee--that is the perfect varmint gun.

I don't know what Winchester offers currently, but I have a model 9422XTR lever action that I purchased many years ago. It's a fine shooter, and undoubtedly one of the smoothest feeding rifles I own. It's chambered for 22LR, but it will handle any combination of shorts, longs, or long rifles.....throw all the rounds in a bucket, reach in and grab a handful....and that rifle will feed them unerringly.

It has accounted for literally hundreds of squirrels. I do find it a little heavy, however.

Dun need one that bad man! Looking forward to seeing yer posts for a long time! I appreciate yer input though!

Yeah, that stuff happens when you start to get old Buddy. Trust me, I know! I'll use the deck railing to support it