Thread: >17's

as this is a varminting and small game post then to compare the overkill ability on deer of the 223 is out of whack .. the original question was is the .17 suitable for rabbits and magpies

Originally Posted by sakkaranz

as this is a varminting and small game post then to compare the overkill ability on deer of the 223 is out of whack .. the original question was is the .17 suitable for rabbits and magpies

If its suitable isn't even a question, its what its designed for.

Your post could be read to suggest it was superior to 223 on all game, i. Would suggest with appropriate projectile selection 223 is superior on all game at all relevant ranges.

It seems theres some confusion with 223's which to me sit a little odd in the market as I personally think this round is to large for rabbits and magpies and to small for deer and pigs.

I'm looking to shoot out to 400, 500 yards max! So the poor .22 just doesn't cut it anymore.

I'd like an out of the box set up just for ease of ammunition but if a wildcat is going to deliver I guess i'll just have to bight the bullet and invest in some reloading gear.

Originally Posted by .375H&H

I'm looking to shoot out to 400, 500 yards max!

I'd like an out of the box set up just for ease of ammunition but if a wildcat is going to deliver I guess i'll just have to bight the bullet and invest in some reloading gear.

I suggest you get in touch with a couple of our forum advertisers and see what they can do for you

Originally Posted by .375H&H

It seems theres some confusion with 223's which to me sit a little odd in the market as I personally think this round is to large for rabbits and magpies and to small for deer and pigs.

I'm looking to shoot out to 400, 500 yards max! So the poor .22 just doesn't cut it anymore.

I'd like an out of the box set up just for ease of ammunition but if a wildcat is going to deliver I guess i'll just have to bight the bullet and invest in some reloading gear.

I use my .223 on hares and the like out to 500+ happily. If you want any measured consistency at those ranges your going to need an increase in calibre.

Originally Posted by .375H&H

It seems theres some confusion with 223's which to me sit a little odd in the market as I personally think this round is to large for rabbits and magpies and to small for deer and pigs.

I'm looking to shoot out to 400, 500 yards max! So the poor .22 just doesn't cut it anymore.

I'd like an out of the box set up just for ease of ammunition but if a wildcat is going to deliver I guess i'll just have to bight the bullet and invest in some reloading gear.

There's no reason to think 223 is too big for small pests. Too get out too those ranges your going to be pushing the limits of a 22-250, and into 243 territory. Both which are bigger than 223. 22-250 is a very good round, but in my opinion it is best suited in a tighter twist than what comes standard in pretty much all rifles.

There are plenty of people here that use 223 on deer, with a decent bullet and right placement there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to take deer up to 200m.

I'd say a 22-250 or 204 Ruger would be best for your needs, but I'd say 223 and 243 are also good considerations. There are wildcats that may be a tad better, but a lot of the time they aren't worth the extra effort.

Originally Posted by .375H&H

It seems theres some confusion with 223's which to me sit a little odd in the market as I personally think this round is to large for rabbits and magpies and to small for deer and pigs.

I'm looking to shoot out to 400, 500 yards max! So the poor .22 just doesn't cut it anymore.

I'd like an out of the box set up just for ease of ammunition but if a wildcat is going to deliver I guess i'll just have to bight the bullet and invest in some reloading gear.

I personally agree with your statement regarding the .223. For me too it seems to be somewhere in the middle of 'no man's land', however, it does appear to have it's share of followers and devotees!

At the lower end of the scale I have a .22LR, for when the going gets tough (financial going that is) also, a .17HMR, and shoot rabbits with the HMR out to 150m sometimes (very rarely) managing 200m, however, if you're wanting to shoot rabbits out to 4 or 500 yards then I'd suggest you're up for something far more than a mere .17 Remington Fireball, or even a .223 for that matter! I also have a .22-250 for medium game (goats, Roos etc) however, firing a 60grain Sierra bullet, if I could nobble rabbits 'consistently' at 350m (I've never done that before) I'd be doing handstands!

Also, there's the cost to consider! It makes me laugh how some forum members are under the illusion that the .17HMR is very cheap to run. If you're one of them then you're either onto a very cheap source of ammo (let me in on it too) or you've never seen rabbits before!

Consider this: My best "day" rabbit shooting netted me 617 "DEAD" (not maimed or wounded) rabbits. I was running a strike rate of 1.39 to 1, so with 857 shots fired at a cost of $0.34 per round ($170 per brick, hate to think what they're costing these days) = $291.59 just for ammo alone for 1 (one) days shooting! So, as you can see, as much as I'm partial to a good day out walking the hills, I always cringe when a mate rings me up and suggests we go for another spot of bunny bashing!(possibly another 4-5 hundred dollars for a day!) But, then again I suppose no ammunition is cheap these days!

My mate tells me he's loading his .22 Hornet, on the cheap, for around 30 - 35 cents per round, but I don't know how he'd get on at 4 or 500 yards either... hopelessly underguned I'd say!

Originally Posted by Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

I personally agree with your statement regarding the .223. For me too it seems to be somewhere in the middle of 'no man's land', however, it does appear to have it's share of followers and devotees!

At the lower end of the scale I have a .22LR, for when the going gets tough (financial going that is) also, a .17HMR, and shoot rabbits with the HMR out to 150m sometimes (very rarely) managing 200m, however, if you're wanting to shoot rabbits out to 4 or 500 yards then I'd suggest you're up for something far more than a mere .17 Remington Fireball, or even a .223 for that matter! I also have a .22-250 for medium game (goats, Roos etc) however, firing a 60grain Sierra bullet, if I could nobble rabbits 'consistently' at 350m (I've never done that before) I'd be doing handstands!

Also, there's the cost to consider! It makes me laugh how some forum members are under the illusion that the .17HMR is very cheap to run. If you're one of them then you're either onto a very cheap source of ammo (let me in on it too) or you've never seen rabbits before!

Consider this: My best "day" rabbit shooting netted me 617 "DEAD" (not maimed or wounded) rabbits. I was running a strike rate of 1.39 to 1, so with 857 shots fired at a cost of $0.34 per round ($170 per brick, hate to think what they're costing these days) = $291.59 just for ammo alone for 1 (one) days shooting! So, as you can see, as much as I'm partial to a good day out walking the hills, I always cringe when a mate rings me up and suggests we go for another spot of bunny bashing!(possibly another 4-5 hundred dollars for a day!) But, then again I suppose no ammunition is cheap these days!

My mate tells me he's loading his .22 Hornet, on the cheap, for around 30 - 35 cents per round, but I don't know how he'd get on at 4 or 500 yards either... hopelessly underguned I'd say!

For that amount of rabbits, anything larger than a 22lr is going to be expensive to shoot. I don't find 17hmr that expensive, $0.50 per shot, I couldn't reload 223 for that cheap, and it takes up time also. Buying another gun and setting up everything to get a bit cheaper is not really on the agenda either.
But then I'm not shooting that many rabbits in one go.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

For that amount of rabbits, anything larger than a 22lr is going to be expensive to shoot. I don't find 17hmr that expensive, $0.50 per shot, I couldn't reload 223 for that cheap, and it takes up time also. Buying another gun and setting up everything to get a bit cheaper is not really on the agenda either.
But then I'm not shooting that many rabbits in one go.

Man, is it $0.50 per shot now? I haven't been in the game for so long, that figure I quoted was ten years ago, basically to the day, however, it wasn't uncommon to get three or four hundred rabbits in a day 'easy', and at 50 cents per round = about $300 per day (given one's strike rate and "your" quote of the current cost of .17HMR ammo) and that's "Savage!" And if "you" ever do come across that number of rabbits, I'm sure you will agree the price is savage also! (unless you can get some sort of "Government Sponsorship" ie a pay-out from the farmer, or a couple of bricks of ammo, both of which I've never had!)

I'm not sure what my mate loads his .223 for, he no doubt has told me, however, I've forgotten!

I have owned a CZ 455 chambered in .17HMR for a little over a year, and killed plenty of rabbits and hares with it as well as the odd magpie. I use 17gr hornady V-max ammo which is yet to let me down. I am comfortable shooting rabbits and magpie's with the .17HMR out to 200-220yds, however prefer to be a bit closer for hares (150yds). I would recommend the .17HMR to anyone for varminting, it is a incredible accurate calibre in calm conditions, one thing to be aware of however is that at 100+yds a small crosswind can push the light 17gr bullet around quite alot, so you will have to pick the conditions.