.17 Hornady-Good for coyote??
I was considering the purchase of the .17 Hornady Savage rifle to use for coyote. I have looked for articles on the .17 and its uses, but have had no success. I imagine small game is its primary purpose, but as it is called a "Varmint" round/rifle, I am unsure of what it can/should/or has been used for.
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If I had coyotes to shoot, I would not hesitate to shoot them with my 17 HMR. I would keep the range to 75 yards or less though. Animals deserve the right to die humanely.
AlleninAlaska
Delta Firearms & Supplies
aglore@gci.net0 -
Allen is right! The animals don't deserva wounding! I have shot a pile of groundhogs and crows with this cartridge and am one of it's strongest fans! However, in the words of Clint Eastwood, "A man's gotta know his limitations!" And the 17HMR has a couple of limitations. One is the small bullet and it's constuction. If it hits bone it will expend all it's energy without much penetration and therefore not enough shock to kill humanely. Two, although extremely fast out to 100 yards, it is losing a lot of spunk quickly! I make every attemp to shoot groundhogs in the head or neck to cause instant death with this cartridge at whatever range I am shooting it at! Yes I will shoot a coyote with it if I can place the bullet in his head or neck out to about 100-125 yards. Farther than that I want a proven centerfire in my hands...222Mag, 223, 22-250, 243 (and for kj and ohio)6mm or the one and only 25-06!!!!! GHD 0 -
It seems to me that hunting coyotes with the 17 would be akin to hunting deer with a 223. It can be done, but shots must be carefully chosen, and many passed. Why not go with a larger cartridge with more power and range. Something like GH suggested, and I agree with him that one of the best is the 25-06, which also makes a great deer-antelope gun. There were some articles in several magazines when the cartridge first appeared on the scene. The Varmint Hunter Magazine had an article by Norman Johnson in the October '02 issue, #44 that was very good. There was another article in the Jan. '03 issue, #45. And yet another in the #46 issue. You can order these from the magazine, 1-800-528-4868. If you like to hunt varmints, this is a great magazine, the only fault is it only comes 4 times a year. I believe Shooting Times had a good article, but I cannot find that issue right now. Good luck, whatever you decide. 0 -
Everyone has a different definition of a Varmint round and a Varmint for that matter.
Lizards, rats, birds, snakes, possum, ferral animals, rabbits, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, etc, etc.
BB, 22S, 22L, 22LR, 22Mag, 220Swift, 222, 222Mag, 223, 22-250, 221 Fireball, 243, 25-06, all kinds of Wildcats, etc, etc.
If you hand load you can load up or down for a specific application with centerfire ammo. I saw a Howa rifle the other day marketed as a Varmint rifle in .308, I would say thos are some pretty big varmints. I use a .308 for deer hunting.
I'm sure you will got plenty of opinions.0 -
if your close enough you can kill coyotes with a stick if you want 0 -
i agree with all of the above. the only thing i have to add is that if this is your first varmint cartridge, you may find yourself wanting to extend your "range" later on. i am a strong advocate of the 6mm remington, it satisfies all the reqirements for accuracy, speed, and distance. if you are interested in the .17, listen to groundhog devestation, he's got all the specifics. if your reacting to the publicity and advertising of this cartridge, i would suggest you pinpoint your exact intention of use b4 you buy. my 2 cents. 0 -
My two cents worth, the 17 is to small for dogs unless head shot. what is all the big fuss about the 17??It's a rim fire and expencive to buy the ammo if you can find it. any 22 centerfire will out shoot it. Are the gun writers telling everybody how great it is? I dont read the gun mag any more, cought them in to many Lies. 0 -
chuck: i wouldnt go as far as saying that a .22 will outshoot a .17.
the .17 has become popular for good reason, i just dont know what it is yet. there must be something interesting about this cartridge.0 -
If you cannot make a clean kill in absolutely every situation that may arise, you must either pass on a shot, or as often quoted: "Use enough gun." 0 -
Ohio, I said (any 22 CENTERFIRE will out shoot it)and I said my 2 cents worth, Please dont get mad at me. 0 -
17 RF for Coyote?
Never tried this one 17 RF, but have had take several Coyote with the 17 Centerfire in the past while working with a Goverment Trapper here in Texas back in the 60's and mid 70's.
I am sure the little rim fire will do the job if limits are take on the range one shoots.
But the seventeen even in the much faster centerfire has given me some differing results in the past.
Sometimes the bullet will pass through a Coyote with out opening up, thus leaving a exit channel the same size as the entrance.
And you know this can't work very well is stopping old Mr Coyote unless head shots are taken.
Other times it will blow up like a bomb inside the animal.
Either way it worked but not as well as some other cartriges I have used in the past.
There was a bounty on Coyotes back then $10.00 per animal taken, and hides were fetching a pretty good price.
Many shots were in the 300 to 450 yard range and the little 17 just didn't give me the edge I needed to collect Coyotes for income.
What I did like about the seventeen was hide damage was very small compared to others I was using back then.
I always hated to bring in a good Bobcat while using 243 or 22/250 as hide damage would always be much worse than the 17 centerfire.
Ha infact sometimes the hide buyers couldn't even find the entrance hole the little 17 made in the animal when I would bring the animal in before skinning.
Many buyer would rather have them this way so that the skinning process would be done as to there choosing.
[:D]
Jim0
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