Agree with Philipo , 12 power max on a 17 hmr. I have a 6 x 24 Nikko Nighteater on my HMR, total over kill and never use more than 10 - 12 power. Most of the time its on 6 x .
Be careful with a heavy cross hair as at 200 plus yards a rabbit is pretty small and it doesn't take much for a thick cross hair to hid / cover the whole animal.
Plenty of well priced and usable scopes out there that won't break the bank.
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