I'd look at gittin a 22 rifle,i have a Ruger 10/22 and love it.The reciever screws threads stripped,im gonna get that fixed before squirrel season,but when i had the scope on it, it would shoot 3/4'' groups at 50 yards with CCI mini-mag HP.And it would be much cheaper to shoot than the 17hmr.I'm about to buy a Marlin 917v 17 hmr next month.