Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

Hi all,

I'm in Northern IL, and I'm new to hunting. I want to cut my teeth on some small game hunting and I plan to hunt the Apple River Canyon state land somtime in the near future.

I'm looking at the "hunter fact sheet" for this land, and it says .22 rimfire legal for hunting Fox, Coyote, Skunk, Racoon, and Opossum. Does that mean a .17 rimfire would also be legal?

I called over there and they said if it doesn't say so on the sheet, then no. But it really didn't sound like the guy knew what he was talking about.

Does anyone know for sure?

I have both a .22lr and a .17 HMR, and it seems to me the HMR would be more effective since it's based on the magnum round.

In case you're curious, here the fact sheet:
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/hunter_fact_sheet/R1hfs/arc_salem_thompson.htm

Rob

RE: Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

Here in MA, the 17 HMR is not legal when in the laws it says you can use no larger than a 22LR. The 17 HMR is a larger case, and therefore, illegal. Also, the 17 Mach 2 is not legal either, due to the fact that the case is 1/10th of an inch larger than a 22LR. This all comes from the state DFW. WHen they say 22lr, thats all they want you to use.

RE: Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

I understand where you are coming from, But back when them laws come out there was no .17hmr, or .17hm2. I think they mean the size lead that comes out the end, and the .17 is a 17 caliber lead vs a .22 caliber lead. maybe im wrong i have no idea.

RE: Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

I'm pretty sure any size gun is legal for furbearing animals in Illinois.

RE: Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

here in indiana any size gun is legal.

RE: Is .17 HMR legal when .22 rimfire legal?
 

A buddy of mine contacted the Department of fisheries and wildlife and asked this specific question. In MA, the 17 calibers are not legal where the 22lr is. They have a list of calibers and bullet weights that are legal , and the 17's are not on the list.
It may be different in your state, but up here in liberal MA, we are restricted to only a 22LR.

.17 HMR in MA
 

I spoke with the Division of Fish & Wildlife in Westboro today and they stated it's all in the abstracts. The abstracts read that no rifle larger than 22 LR rifle may be used in Plymouth County etc., etc.

I asked about the difference in the size of the cases and they said and I quote "we don't measure the size of the caliber by the case length." It's measured by the bullet diameter.

That being said the .17 would be legal in MA. I't the size of a BB or .177 pellet.

I will say this I have received wrong answers from them before so I use the .17 and carry the abstracts in my pocket. If they stop me I'll fight it in court.

Kansas used to have this problem. Our "night hunting" regs used to say it was legal to use 22 caliber rimfires, which was basically only .22lr and .22WMR, but the spirit of the regulations would have logically included the .17hmr and mach2 (they really just wanted us to use small caliber rimfires, the .22cal was only meant so someone couldn't use some discombobulated (sp?) mess of a high cal rimfire).

So a bunch of us started making phone calls, got it on their radar, and now, the regs read .17 and .22 caliber rimfire rifles and handguns. Not a big victory, but it does illustrate that KDWPT is responsive to what hunters want in the regs, within reasonable limits for execution.