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Hey team,
New to the forum but looking for some opinions on the best rifle/calibre for pest control on the family farm. Mainly hares, rabbits, magpies etc. Rolling land + flats. Recommendations on .17hmr vs .22 vs .22Mag vs .223? Was thinking .17hmr could be the sweet spot, affordable ammo and a bit more distance than .22 but have never shot with one nor a .22mag. Would love some opinions. Currently stalking hares with the compound bow but she's a relatively low success rate!
Cheers!
Depends if you have critters larger than hares on the farm. If you don't you won't need a .223. If you do, I'd go .223.
17hmr if the biggest quarry will be a hare or possum, it's cheap to run and deadly accurate and flat shooting.
Get a good scope like a 4-12 and a suppressor and you'll be set for anything from 5 ft to 150ft + without too much trouble
223. If you can see it you can hit it. Go see Dave at shooter ready. He'll sell you a Howa Mini for a good price.
Get one of each
They all have their uses
Cheers for the wisdom guys- nothing bigger than Hares really, the odd wild cat roams about too so .223 may be an overkill. Sounds like .17 should be the ticket
Had a chat with Dave @Shooter ready before the lockdown, hell of a nice dude! Think he's sold me on a 6.5 Creedmoor for the bigger stuff so just needing a pest gun now
Yup, if your biggest critters hares and possums, go for 17hmr. Cheap to run, much quieter than a 223, arguably safer and more range than a 22.
Would recommend a suppressor for the 17.
I have a scoped bsa martini 22 that completely outshoots my CZ 17hmr. I'd love to sell the CZ, but my wife says no.
For anything further out that 150m, i use my 7mm08 and treat the rabbits as good practice for deer
Get a .22lr and use the CCI velocitor ammo for longer shots,CCI subsonics for everything else,ammo is readily available and cheap,easy to suppress ,if stuff is to far away sneak in closer!!!
.17 the better .22
17 good if your eating the critters.
22 best for shooting possums up trees, wont go so far.
other than that 223 trumps all, especially in open ground and wind, longer distance. often find ammo same price as 17 also. if your not around neighbors houses the noise of the 223 is no big deal.
Good info coming in, cheers all!
every man should own a .22lr
that said I shoot more bunnies n hares with the .223 BUT I arent in populated area....hares and rabbits out to 75-80 yards no issues and if you work out your drop 100yards is doable with humble .22lr
with the .223 I can stretch that out to 200-250 without any problem at all.
you can put down animals with .22lr but if cattle sized a .223 is mush better...you said farm gun
.22lr = $0.10 a shot .223 or 17 you looking closer to $0.50 a shot
with any of the options your ammunition choice is criticle...
I have had 22lr, 22mag and 223 for about 25 years. Some things to consider...
if noise is an issue, 22lr with suppressor and subsonic ammo is by far the quietest,
22mag has more range than 22lr, but 223 can be reloaded for about the same cost as 22mag ammo, and has way more range than 22mag,
I would never use 223 for shooting possums up a tree!
I'd like to know where ur getting 223 ammo for 50c a round md
Starting to sound like I need one of each!
Depends who’s paying for the ammo and how many neighbours you have. Over the last week I’ve had two rifles (different days) on the tractor. 17 HMR and .22 using subs. Shot magpies (shot at as well...[emoji51]) and mynahs.
I would be comfortable using either or if a bigger pest was around and all the stars aligned.
In my situation I wouldn’t use a .223 (even though I own one).
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Big fan of subsonic 22LR here. The silent killer! Good to 100 metres with a bit of practice. Alternatively, you can get subsonic rounds for 22WMR. Best of both worlds?
How many critters are you bowling over? If it's only a few I'd go 223. If heaps I'd go 22lr. With reloading the price of 223 is about the same as 17HMR/22WMR, so I just went up to 223. If you're not reloading the 17HMR is a good intermediate step.
Realistically just a few @gadgetman. Will just be factory ammo at this stage. Cheers mate!
Belmont.Quote:
Originally Posted by Padox
I have a 22mag for sale if you do go that direction!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoonigan08
Thanks Mimms2, appreciate the input mate! Will be grabbing a bigger calibre for a deer rifle eventually, no doubt will end up with a few in the safe just thinking as a solid pest gun. Sounds like .22LR or .17hmr will do the trick nicely.
17 hornet
I'd love one
Otherwise 22 mag
17hmr is a shit hot accurate round but I've found any bit of wind plays mischief on the accuracy of it compared with a .22 in similar wind conditions.
My problem with my 17hmr is its suffers from an expectation gap.
I expect it to be better than my 22, but it isn't significantly better.
With a bipod and a good position, the 22 will do up to 125+ meters. The 17hmr will do further, but not significantly further.
And because I expect the 17hmr to be more accurate to a greater range, I attempt headshots. With the 22, I aim for the rabbit and have more success
With the 22 being significantly cheaper to run, it becomes the go to rifle
I decided 22mag when I made the choice. A bit more grunt than 22lr, not as accurate as 17 but I can still run subs I I want to. Rounds are a bit pricey.
.22lr and a 223. That belmont ammo is great stuff. I have no idea how they were selling 77gr sierra hpbt for 69c a round and making a profit.