.17 HMR AMMO

ALAN.N

Could someone give me some advice on the best .17 hmr ammo for foxes , and what range are these capable of humainly killing an adult fox , i only use my .17 for rabbits but always refrained from taking a shot at charlie in case of wounding him.

dax121

a .17hmr is well up to the job of dropping charlie on the spot. these 2 were killed at 120 and 140 ish with shots to the head. now it was a nice calm day with not a puff or wind.

get use to judgeing distance and what you can do with your gun. dont take the shot unless you know ur gonna hit. id always take a head shot with these.

ALAN.N

Thanks for your reply,but can you tell me what is the best ammo for shooting foxes , (makes,points,weight ect.)

berettaman

HORNADY 20GR Hollow point Varmint (€16 in Patrick Carleys). Does a lovely job..:D

dax121

i always use the 17gr v max and never had a problem

deerhunter1

dax121 wrote: »

i always use the 17gr v max and never had a problem

100%

garv123

My furthest shot with a fox was at 140 yards with a 20gr, sitting facing me and I shot him in the chest and he didnt take a step.

I now use remington 17gr v-max and they also have no bother knocking foxes within 150 yards. I wouldn't like to hit the shoulder with a v-max though as it will probably knock the fox but it might not penetrate through the bone and need another shot.

Both will knock foxes out to 150 yards with good shot placement.

gearoidol

Got this fellow this evening bout 7.30

Shot @ 100 yards with Hornady 17 grain vmax

Boiled-egg

I tend to stick to the 20 hollow points as I find that the 17 ballistic tip can fragment too early. E.g I shot a grey crow last week and hit him in the side, in a boney part of the wing. He flapped around a bit then started walking until he met another .17 hmr. I was shocked when the first round didn't do the job. I can only assume it was because of the ballistic tip. I think the 20 grain hollow point would carry its energy deeper into the target.

garv123

Boiled-egg wrote: »

I tend to stick to the 20 hollow points as I find that the 17 ballistic tip can fragment too early. E.g I shot a grey crow last week and hit him in the side, in a boney part of the wing. He flapped around a bit then started walking until he met another .17 hmr. I was shocked when the first round didn't do the job. I can only assume it was because of the ballistic tip. I think the 20 grain hollow point would carry its energy deeper into the target.

Strange as I found the 20gr didn't expand enough on crows or rabbits and they flew abit/ran around before dying as the bullet just went straight through without transferring enough energy. The 17gr were dead on the spot.

They both did the job for me on foxes though

Robotack

I shared Garv's experience in relation to the 20gr going straight through and leaving small vermin etc to run a bit. Does not happen with the 17gr.

Although, I shot a fox in the forehead at about 50yards with a 17gr and he ran about 50 yards before dropping. Weird but it seemed like it expanded before breaking through the skull is my best guess.

Boiled-egg

I was thinking more about my last post and I think I have the answer, it's all about shot placement. It you can get the 17gr in it will drop them, as it is like a grenade going off when it fragments.
The shot I spoke off obviously did not penetrate once it hit the bone part of the wing. No doubt the 20gr would have preformed better in that circumstance. that's in no way taking away from the 17gr.
The reason I had 17gr in the mag is because I think they are a fantastic vermin round.