2nd Rifle: .17HMR vs .223

Magnusd

I have a CZ .22 LR and absolutely love it for bunnies + targets/ plinking.

Need something with more range + power and I'm hearing great things about the .17HMR: long effective range, flat trajectory and more power.

However I intend to eventually shoot deer so would the .223 be a better stepping stone as an introduction to centerfire rifles before i get a deer rifle?

So which to get as a second rifle ?

-does the .17HMR have too much overlap in functionality with the .22LR ?

- Is the .223 good for anything apart from fox ? (eg over kill for long range crows + bunnies, under kill for bigger game).


Thanks/

It wasn't me!

It kinda depends what you want to do. If you want to be able to do all the same things, with maybe the occasional fox, then the .17HMR is a good plan, but if you intend shooting a lot of foxes, the centrefire is a good idea, but you're right, it's not deer-legal. It depends what you want to do really. For bunnies and crows out to 150 yards or so, while retaining the low ammo costs, then the .17 seems good, but if you want to do really long range targets, out to 300 yards or so, and more foxes, then the .223 would be more suitable.

Magnusd

Well in the ideal world i would have both

the .17HMR really appeals to me for the long range Mags + crows- i just cant seem to get close enough to them with the .22LR. Plus less worries about adjusting elevation for various bunny distances.

Do many ranges accept centerfire rifles ? My nearest rifle range in sligo wont but Im moving back to Dublin in October.

What ranges are OK with long range centerfire in South Dublin area ?

Would be more inclined to buy a .223 if i knew i could use it at a range regularly......

Sika_Stalker

it wasn't me has it spot on
couldnt agree more with his statement

It wasn't me!

Magnusd wrote: »

Well in the ideal world i would have both

the .17HMR really appeals to me for the long range Mags + crows- i just cant seem to get close enough to them with the .22LR. Plus less worries about adjusting elevation for various bunny distances.

Do many ranges accept centerfire rifles ? My nearest rifle range in sligo wont but Im moving back to Dublin in October.

What ranges are OK with long range centerfire in South Dublin area ?

Would be more inclined to buy a .223 if i knew i could use it at a range regularly......

Yeah, .17 HMR is a cracking hunting round, but not a round that there are many competitions for, so it's limited to a field round. Can't think of many centrefire rifle rated ranges in Dublin offhand. Hilltop were planning a 300m range as I recall, so maybe when that gets off the ground? Otherwise, there's Midlands, if you put the trip in.

bullets

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Yeah, .17 HMR is a cracking hunting round, but not a round that there are many competitions for, so it's limited to a field round.

I for one would like to see that change one day!!!
I dont know why its "NOT" allowed in Competitions.
With F-Class competitions you could have different calibre rounds
then why not have the same rules apply for rimfire????????

I bought my HMR knowing in advance it could not be used in
a Rimfire Comptetition but also knowing that it had the properties
of flying flatter and longer distance than a .22 and potentually more
accurate. At my Club people mainly use the .22 at 50m only
and somtimes (rarely it seems) at 100m. with the .17 on a good day
with no wind being very friendly out to 200m its a nice inbetween
round between rimfire/centerfire vs costs for ammo.

I never get time to practice though, Would love to get coaching and
more practice in but I dont drive so only get to my local shooting club
a few times a year.

Only down point I can see for the sweet .17 is The slighest bit of wind is a bitch.

I started off shooting V-max 17g rounds thinking they were great and had no time
for the hollow point 20g ones as they did not feed so well in my rifle but after
a while I found the 20g ones were more accurate than the lighter bullet.
Also as I have a 452 rifle I have found that my Rifle Likes Hornedy Branded ammo
and nothing else compares to it. (even if the different brands are all loaded by CCI)
Every other brand of ammo I have tried so far have resulted in split necks in the rounds,
the biggest Culpret being CCI brand, and Remington Brand. I also tried federal brand ammo
at one stage and they were crap!.

~B

Magnusd

Where is midlands range ? Do you need to be a member?

At the moment im thinkng the HMR might be more suitable for to keep at what im doing, just longer ranges.

Whats the consensus on Foxes with the HMR ? Humane under 100 yards ? I really dont want to send an injured animal off to die slowly.......

gofaster_s13

Something else to keep in mind with the .223 is a lot of supers are now insisting on safes and house alarms for centrefires which could easily double the cost of the initial purchase of the gun.

bitemybanger

Magnusd wrote: »

Whats the consensus on Foxes with the HMR ? Humane under 100 yards ? I really dont want to send an injured animal off to die slowly.......

My mate has a 17 HMR and promised never to use it again for fox, all to aften you will get the shot where you want it, you will hear the thud and see the fox wrenching in pain and then run off to die slowly in a ditch. IMO the 17 HMR is a bunnies only gun + crows, mags...

We both have 223s too and we will usualy bring a 223 for fox and the 17 for bunnies and swap a few times. With the 223, the fox is normaly dead before he hears the bang

Sparks

bullets wrote: »

I for one would like to see that change one day!!!
I dont know why its "NOT" allowed in Competitions.

But it is!
You could use it in an ISSF 300m match, for example. The rules say any ammunition that can be safely fired, up to 8mm in calibre. You'd be hard pressed to compete against 6mmBR or even a .308 round, but it is allowed and if you have it, well, easier to try with what you have than to get a new rifle first, right?
And I know that there are always club level competitions in MNSCI that aren't to do with F-Class stuff, dive in there. In fact, it's a lot like anything else in this sport - if it's not there and you really want it, start it yourself! (Observe the Vintage Rifle thread for example - hell, observe the NRAI itself for an example )

Most folks in Ireland use the .22lr simply because most folks everywhere do. It's an established round, has had competitions for decades. But if you have a .17, and there's more than one of you who want a competition, there's no rule says you can't have one.