17HMR......overkill
 

Is the 17hmr overkill on squirrels and rabbits,i'll only be takin headshots.

I guess it really depends what you want to do. If you are just interested in just blowing things up (like a prarie dog) then no if you are into eating the animals then i would say yes.

However, the thing that i like about my 17hmr is that you can make some decent long range shots (i was shooing starlings last year at 130yds) which makes things a little more intersting than just plinking. Sort of long range varminting but just on a smaller scale.

No, not overkill - just make sure you hit them in the head or you're going to lose a lot of meat.

I agree also

What's the damage compared a a 22lr??

I've killed a number of squirrels and rabbits with my .17. I generally take head shots. However, I have shot several behind the shoulder. Yes, the exit hole is bigger than what you get with a .22, but not that big, and you are only losing a little rib meat.

OK,i thought it would ''blow up''.thanks

The perception that it blows up animals probably comes from the fact that you can get some of the guts hanging out of the exit hole which looks much worse than it actually is. Of course, if you take a poor shot and gut shoot them, you will get a mess.

I spent a weekend trying a 17 HMR for prairie dogs, honestly I found it worthless. The wind blows it off so far as to make any kind of distant shot impossible. I live/shoot and hunt on the prairie....the wind never stops blowing. For rabbits maybe headshots but for typical "rabbit range" a 22lr will leave them in better condition for the pot.

Theres always the 17 Mach 2