Foxing with a .17HMR

fiestaman

Lads anyone here shooting foxes with the above rifle? If so where are ye hitting them, headon into the chest, over the shoulder from the side, head shot from the side? What bullets are ye using, whats max distance yer shooting them at? Is the round sucessfull on the fox, as in stone dead after the shot.

garv123

fiestaman wrote: »

Lads anyone here shooting foxes with the above rifle? If so where are ye hitting them, headon into the chest, over the shoulder from the side, head shot from the side? What bullets are ye using, whats max distance yer shooting them at? Is the round sucessfull on the fox, as in stone dead after the shot.

Ive used 17gr vmax and the 20gr hollow point successfully, the 20gr would have a bit more penetration but I didnt like them because they were useless on crows and magpies if the shot wasnt perfect.

Where I aim for depends on the distance and what kind of rest I have.
100 yard head shots are successful if you have a solid rest and are comfortable. If not I go for a chest shot, just behind the front shoulder is where I aim for and try to avoid the shoulder if using vmax.


The furthest ive shot foxes at was 150 yards with chest shots and a good rest, one ran 10 yards and dropped dead. I wouldnt be pushing it any further than that.

Its successful if you dont try silly distances, it wont be like a .243 etc where anywhere in the mid section will kill it stone dead.

sniperman

i have only shot 2 with my hmr so far,not had it long,both got with 17gr,longest was about 90 yrds,head shot,dropped on the spot,i also was wondering if the 20gr would give better penetration on shoulder shots under 150 yrds?

garv123

sniperman wrote: »

i have only shot 2 with my hmr so far,not had it long,both got with 17gr,longest was about 90 yrds,head shot,dropped on the spot,i also was wondering if the 20gr would give better penetration on shoulder shots under 150 yrds?

I dont like the 20gr as they were doing very little damage to crows and magpies and they flew off before dropping if the shot was not 100% perfect.
They do penetrate a bit more on foxes but I still wouldn't like to be putting the shot the shoulder. (looking at that picture It wouldn't be the shoulder but the leg bone when the leg is back.)

sniperman

garv123 wrote: »

I dont like the 20gr as they were doing very little damage to crows and magpies and they flew off before dropping if the shot was not 100% perfect.
They do penetrate a bit more on foxes but I still wouldn't like to be putting the shot the shoulder. (looking at that picture It wouldn't be the shoulder but the leg bone when the leg is back.)

understand what your saying,maybe i said it wrong,what i mean is if using the 17gr at 120-150yrds on say a chest shot,and a bone (rib) is hit,the 17gr would probably shatter before hitting a vital organ,and maybe not result in a kill,so would one be better off using the 20gr for such shots with its better penetrating power?hope i have explianed properly

garv123

sniperman wrote: »

understand what your saying,maybe i said it wrong,what i mean is if using the 17gr at 120-150yrds on say a chest shot,and a bone (rib) is hit,the 17gr would probably shatter before hitting a vital organ,and maybe not result in a kill,so would one be better off using the 20gr for such shots with its better penetrating power?hope i have explianed properly

it would penetrate more ya. I still wouldn't like to be hitting any solid bones (ribs wouldnt be too hard) with it, the leg bones and shoulder are fairly thick to be hitting with any 17 bullet to ensure a clean kill, thats why I aim behind it.

I shoot more winged vermin/rabbits with it though which is why i went for the vmax instead, they still do the job well on foxes though. Rarely fire over 80-100 yards anyway because there's normally a .243 with us for them shots.

outfoxing

I have shot about 12 foxes with a hmr using hornady 20 grains, some were shot in the head or neck facing head on with instant kills under a hundred metres , 2 heart/lung shot, dead by the time I walked up to them maybe ran a few metres and 2 runners which I didn't find, I now stick to head/neck shots and try to call the fox in so he's looking in my direction for to give me a larger target, I wouldn't take a side head shot as I wouldn't trust my marksmanship, The joys of getting old

sniperman

outfoxing wrote: »

I have shot about 12 foxes with a hmr using hornady 20 grains, some were shot in the head or neck facing head on with instant kills under a hundred metres , 2 heart/lung shot, dead by the time I walked up to them maybe ran a few metres and 2 runners which I didn't find, I now stick to head/neck shots and try to call the fox in so he's looking in my direction for to give me a larger target, I wouldn't take a side head shot as I wouldn't trust my marksmanship, The joys of getting old

thanks for your reply mate,and welcome to the site,what sort of caller do you use?by the way im the wrong side of 50:mad:

outfoxing

Thanks for the welcome I call mostly with the bestfoxcall or the back of my hand and when all else fails a tenderfield I think it's called,

tfox

I have shot well over a hundred with mine, most within 150yds though I have dropped on on the spot at 220 paces. I'm a fan of chest shots, hornady vmax 17gr all the way.

Used bring the 6.5 out but with the size of fields round me I didnt need any more range and €2 a pop compared to 30c :rolleyes:

sniperman

tfox wrote: »

I have shot well over a hundred with mine, most within 150yds though I have dropped on on the spot at 220 paces. I'm a fan of chest shots, hornady vmax 17gr all the way.

Used bring the 6.5 out but with the size of fields round me I didnt need any more range and €2 a pop compared to 30c :rolleyes:

thats good shooting mate,220 paces in my shoes is well over 150yrds,what you zeroed at,and do you hold over at that range?