Damn Sheridan, we must be bruddas of a nudda mudda!! Centerfires and 12ga back up!!!! IF AND ONLY WHEN, will I try to shoot one with a rimfire, I hold my fire to as close as possible to rule out a wounded animal and a clean and humanly dispatched animal.
When the 17's first came out, I was trapping a farm not from a buddies house and he had just got a Taurus 17 Raging Bull. He wanted try it out. I took him along and I shot a trapped yote in the ribs to see what kind of "HorsePower" this thing had at give or take 20yds off a fence post into its ribs. It jumped up, flopped over, then got back up and hit the end of the chain looking at us. I then took it between the eyes, end of story.
Upon the skinning, we found out the round just fragged the ribs and blew up the near lung. Nothing more. Would have lived if not haveing not been trapped. I will stick with my heavier and slower rounds for reliable results for I have been around too long to start believing in a better mouse trap now.