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17 HMR VS. WMR 22 Mag.

BigBarn
OK, I know that I am not the most round marble on the block, but I have got to ask this question, as it has been bugging me for a while:
"What the hell is all the hype about the new 17HMR"?
I know that it is a little "screamer", and out preforms the WMR as far as velocity, but so what? The 22 mag, with a 36 grn bullet, will hit harder, produces more energy, and stays much truer to course, than the 17 could ever do, and that is under perfect conditions!
So what is the "OH my God, I just have to have one of those little bullet bangers"
it's probably just me, but I just no not get the excitement over this "teeny, tiny, bullet"!
Please help me understand!

BigBarn[:o)]

"Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • bperdue21
    I am 100% behind you on this one. the only thing i can figure is it is something new. there have only been a couple different rimfire cartridges for a long time, so as soon as these got out people decided to buy the 17's because they already have a 22 and a 22 mag. thats just my guess anyways. a guy even tried to tell me they wouldn't make 22 mags anymore in a few years. i just laughed at him.

    When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
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  • tobefree
    Yep it is all hype... the wmr is still king of the rimfires in my book.
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  • THINMAN
    IT'S ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN AND THE 17HMR IS FUN TO SHOOT . A "GREAT CRITTER GETTER" . SHOOTING 30-40 GR. BULLETS WITH THE 22 HORNET OR 218 BEE IS MORE FUN THAN THE 22 MAG. . NEVER HAD A 22MAG. SHOOT GROUPS AS TIGHT AS THE 17HMR . HAVE HAD THE 17HMR GROUP WELL AT 200 AND THE 22MAG IS TAKING A DIVE AT 200 . AS FAR AS ENERGY THE 22MAG HAS THE MOST BY FAR . PART OF THE FUN IS THE DEBATE BETWEEN SHOOTERS OF THE TWO . MAIN REASON FOR OWNING/SHOOTING EITHER ONE IS TO HAVE SOME FUN .

    THINMAN
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  • gskyhawk
    its hard to understand until you see what that little pill does on animals , it hits them hard , from my personal use on possums and skunks the 17 drops them in there tracks , right now, where with the 22 mag they may go a little bit or with a possum take a couple of hits to stop them ..... after using the 17 for about 1/2 year i have sold both of my 22 mag rifles , the only mag I have now is a Ruger single six with both cylinders , that one will stay just because of what it is
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  • BigBarn
    Still makes no sense to me! To sacrifice a perfectly good shooting 22 mag rifle, that shoots a 36 grn bullet 500 fps slower than the 17 grn, and then believe that the 17 will drop an animal faster than the 22mag, at the same range-how does this makes sense to go out and buy the rifle and ammo, as opposed to staying with the 22mag for the same shot?
    What am I missing? If you take the shot at 100 yards with the 22, in a ten mile an hour cross wind, and take the same shot with the 17, in the same wind, which one has the better chance of hitting the target you are shooting at? And this does not take into account the chance of hitting a blade of grass, or anything else that could pop up into the path of the ubllet.
    I still do not get it!

    BigBarn[:o)]

    "Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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  • Robin
    The .22 mag is great for a lot of things, so is the .17HMR. But in the grand scheme of things both are pretty specialized rounds. Both are for strictly for small game or varmits. I guess quite a few folks probably wondered what a .22 magnum could do that a .22 LR couldn't do. For practical purposes, probably not much. A couple of years ago I bought a Marlin 17VS and topped it off with a Leupold scope that cost about twice as much as the rifle. Practical, NO! A lot of fun, YES! I hauled it from Florida to Wyoming last year and ran about 800 Hornady ballastic tipped 17 grain rounds through it hunting prairie dogs. I have done the same thing with a .22 magnum a few years ago and had a bunch of fun also. Is the .17HMR better than a .22 magnum, No but there is nothing wrong with have one or two of each!

    Worry is the interest humans pay on the debt of miscalculation.
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  • cletus85
    Some folks get off on the Biggest gun they can buy, others the smallest...and some of those guys are the same ones[:o)]

    I've never had any fascination with the .17 HMR, but I've shot one that belongs to a friend...and I'm still not impressed.
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  • p3skyking
    Remington has toyed with the sub .22 Rimfire for years. They introduced a rifle and cartridge that was stillborne. I'm speaking of the 5mm Remington Magnum as you oldsters know. Ammo is $75 a box now if you want to shoot it. A .17 came out in the late sixties that the gun wags and rags touted. It too was a flash in the pan.

    Whether this one makes it is anyones guess, but I will stick with the .22WMR. Fads never much interested me. Wind and distance does.


    wings2.gif
    Stolen from, and with thanks, to Kiwibird
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  • mbsams
    I have both the 22mag and 17hmr -- there is no doubt - bullets are better made for the 17 and 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds common. The Mag is hard pressed to hold an inch. Important? Up to you!
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  • Atom242
    I think I'll just tell the wife that, they are both new(22mag & 17hmr)and go buy one of each. HAHA[:D]
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