.22 win mag vs. .17hmr - My side by side comparison

[IndyHunter83]

I know there have been a thousand of these threads and as tradition goes there are gonna be people on both sides of fence. I, myself, have traditionally been a .22 mag enthusiast. Can't help it. I love the little rifles. Well yesterday I bought a savage 17 with a bushnell sharpshooter 3-9 scope from dicks for around 275. It has the bull barrel and thumb hole stock. Now I do take into consideration that my 22 mag is 15 years old and has 6 power scope on it when making this comparison. I shot from both bench rest and free hand. I also had another shooter with me so that preference for either cartridge when out the door.

All that being said.
@ 25 yards the groups were similar.
@50 yards the 17 was shooting pea sized groups while the 22 mag was more along the lines of golf ball sized
@100 yars the 17 offered a lot more consistency.

So here is kinda what I've decided about the whole which is better argument, neither is better. I've killed give or take 1 or 2 40 coyotes with the 22 mag. Its a great gun for em especially at arround 50 yards which is where I like em. For those longer shots on squirrles I'm thinking the 17 may be the way to go simply because of the accuracy at longer distances. I'm definately a still a fan of the 22 mag simply because in my eyes it is a time proven cartridge but I'm also now a huge fan of the 17 because of what I saw the rifle do today.

Whether or not you agree with what I'm saying or I don't care. I just figured I'd offer some insight because I have seen in the past this issue come up. Ok. you're thoughts if you want.

[Lanse couche couche]

Thanks for the insights. In the past, people have posted some links to professional comparisons of the two rounds. Think that as a rule, they show that the .17 emerges as the more accurate round once you get beyond 75 yards and especially beyond 100 yards. When I was growing up, a .22 mag was the varmint gun in my family. However, I've been a big proponent of the .17 since i bought one and used it to knock a crow out of the top of an huge oak tree at about 250 yards.

[lightfoot52]

thanks for the info.i might go out and buy one this week.always used a marlin .22 mag in the past.didnt know if the .17 had enought punch or not

[Rebel Hog]

There is a member of the Hog forum that has posted pictures of hogs he has killed with ear shot using his CZ .17 HMR......His name is Venado Loco

[davemhughes]

The 17 is a hands down winner for fox/coyote size game out past 100m compared to the 22mag. The CCI Speer "TNT" and Hornady XTP are just devastating on them in the 150m and closer range.

[soulless]

dad owns a 22mag and i own 2 savage 17hmr's. Dad likes my 17's more. Just doesn't like the cost of ammos that's all

[StabyhounDogs]

Here is a good site on the HMR 17: http://www.varmintal.com/ahunt.htm

[root1102]

i got a .22 lr, i have really been wanting a .17, but sadly money is tight and looks like im stuck with my .22