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