404 yard HEAD SHOT with a .17 HMR

theosmithjr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
283
Location
New Kensington, PA
Morning guys. Today I made a WORLD CLASS SHOT with a .17HMR, 20gr Hornady XTP! I've always been a fan of Sub calibers, and even built a Smoking .17VLR & a .17PPC; but this year I was asked to RID a Golf Course & Driving Range of the Ground Hogs that totally took over the place the last few years. I've had my EYE on the place for years, and ask the Home owner if I could hunt there. He LEAD me to BELIEVE he was the property owner, when infact he was NOT! He just rented the house on the property. I'd always stop and glass the Course and Driving Range a few times a week due to the extreme numbers of Hogs! This place WAS POLLUTED with them. One day while sitting in the parking lot eyeballing the Driving Range and Golf Course with my 12x-60x70mm Binocs, a man walked up and asked, "What are you doing?" I explained that I was watching all the Ground Hogs, and since I couldn't shoot them, I was Studying them to further learn their habits & traits. He asked, "Who said you couldn't shoot them?" I replied, and pointed to the house he rents to the man I talked to earlier a few years back. With a chuckle, he said My father, brother & I OWN all this property. Well, I immediately introduced myself and asked if I could hunt the Hogs. I gave him my DL #, my PA Hunting Licence #, and my PA Handi-Cap Permit License. I explained that I'm an avid Extreme Long Range Shooter, build my rifles, load all my ammo, and have been a serious ground hog hunter for over 50 years. I informed him that since his property lies in Allegheny County, PA., that I could ONLY use Rimfires to comply with PA. Game Laws. He talked to his father and brother that evening and promptly called me informing I was cleared to FIRE AWAY! I have EXCLUSIVE PERMISSION to hunt their property! This was like HITTING the LOTTERY, because since mid March of 2019 I killed 64 Ground Hogs, ALL HEAD SHOTS, at ranges from 70 yards, out to today's kill at 404 yards! I started taking my .22 Mag, my .22 LR, and my .17 HMR. All are Extremly accurate, with nice high power Long Range scopes with 50mm Objectives. I made some nice shots over 200 yards with the .22 mag, and with the .22 LR; but one day while using the .17HMR, I saw a few hogs way out there, and didnt feel like walking all the way back to my vechile to get the mag. I had 17gr Ballistic tips and 20gr XTP Hollow Points Hornadys in my bag. I loaded up with the 20grs, lasered the hog, doped the scope, and performed Brain Salad Surgury on his Skull! I was Amazed that lil piil was still Lethal at 225+ yards. So I started shootin at all the hogs I'd see with the HMR. I got kills at 273, 309, 328 yards, which I considered a World Class shot! This morning I took 4 more hogs with the .17 HMR. One at 383 yards, and a TRUELY WORLD CLASS SHOT of 404 yards! Gotta be some kinda RECORD! 20 gr Hornady, .17 HMR XTP going 2550 fps., KILLED it DEAD with a HEAD SHOT at 404 yards! 3 wItnesses, besides myself! In all Honesty, I missed it 2 times. We did however give the hog a PERFECT 10.0 SCORE for the Back Flip it did when the 2 misses hit right at its feet. I re-doped the scope, waited for it to stand up again, and WHACK! 3rd time TRUELY WAS THE CHARM! Theosmithjr
 
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Very nice. Those whistle pigs are a blast to shoot. Have killed several my marlin 17vs and 1 with my my new 6mm-223. What are the details of your 17hmr rifle?
 
People like to dis the 17hmr for some of reason. Maybe because they shoot a woodchuck in the butt and expect it to die right there? It's just like anything else, hit them where you are supposed to and its lights out for them. My 17 hmr is my favorite woodchuck rifle out to 250 yards. It's just quiet enough so if you have multiple targets they don't spook and you can keep on shooting. I've shot mine out to 400 yards and hit a rock the size of a golf ball on the second shot so I know this shot is absolutely possible. Ive used the 17 vmax and 20grain game point pretty extensively. I prefer the 20 grain because the penetration is better on those longer shots. Good shooting!
 
Yes, excellent shot. The projectile passes under the wall of sound around 200 yards, and loses almost all its accuracy. At this distance he has about 70 pi-lbs of energy left. And has 400 yards around 34 ft-lbs. You should record this shot in records, congratulations.
 
Morning guys. Today I made a WORLD CLASS SHOT with a .17HMR, 20gr Hornady XTP! I've always been a fan of Sub calibers, and even built a Smoking .17VLR & a .17PPC; but this year I was asked to RID a Golf Course & Driving Range of the Ground Hogs that totally took over the place the last few years. I've had my EYE on the place for years, and ask the Home owner if I could hunt there. He LEAD me to BELIEVE he was the property owner, when infact he was NOT! He just rented the house on the property. I'd always stop and glass the Course and Driving Range a few times a week due to the extreme numbers of Hogs! This place WAS POLLUTED with them. One day while sitting in the parking lot eyeballing the Driving Range and Golf Course with my 12x-60x70mm Binocs, a man walked up and asked, "What are you doing?" I explained that I was watching all the Ground Hogs, and since I couldn't shoot them, I was Studying them to further learn their habits & traits. He asked, "Who said you couldn't shoot them?" I replied, and pointed to the house he rents to the man I talked to earlier a few years back. With a chuckle, he said My father, brother & I OWN all this property. Well, I immediately introduced myself and asked if I could hunt the Hogs. I gave him my DL #, my PA Hunting Licence #, and my PA Handi-Cap Permit License. I explained that I'm an avid Extreme Long Range Shooter, build my rifles, load all my ammo, and have been a serious ground hog hunter for over 50 years. I informed him that since his property lies in Allegheny County, PA., that I could ONLY use Rimfires to comply with PA. Game Laws. He talked to his father and brother that evening and promptly called me informing I was cleared to FIRE AWAY! I have EXCLUSIVE PERMISSION to hunt their property! This was like HITTING the LOTTERY, because since mid March of 2019 I killed 64 Ground Hogs, ALL HEAD SHOTS, at ranges from 70 yards, out to today's kill at 404 yards! I started taking my .22 Mag, my .22 LR, and my .17 HMR. All are Extremly accurate, with nice high power Long Range scopes with 50mm Objectives. I made some nice shots over 200 yards with the .22 mag, and with the .22 LR; but one day while using the .17HMR, I saw a few hogs way out there, and didnt feel like walking all the way back to my vechile to get the mag. I had 17gr Ballistic tips and 20gr XTP Hollow Points Hornadys in my bag. I loaded up with the 20grs, lasered the hog, doped the scope, and performed Brain Salad Surgury on his Skull! I was Amazed that lil piil was still Lethal at 225+ yards. So I started shootin at all the hogs I'd see with the HMR. I got kills at 273, 309, 328 yards, which I considered a World Class shot! This morning I took 4 more hogs with the .17 HMR. One at 383 yards, and a TRUELY WORLD CLASS SHOT of 404 yards! Gotta be some kinda RECORD! 20 gr Hornady, .17 HMR XTP going 2550 fps., KILLED it DEAD with a HEAD SHOT at 404 yards! 3 wItnesses, besides myself! In all Honesty, I missed it 2 times. We did however give the hog a PERFECT 10.0 SCORE for the Back Flip it did when the 2 misses hit right at its feet. I re-doped the scope, waited for it to stand up again, and WHACK! 3rd time TRUELY WAS THE CHARM! Theosmithjr
sounds like heaven to me , i loved shooting ground hos in PA ! when i was with the Phillies i got to hunt several farms and it was great !
 
The 17 HMR is the only rife in my closet that gets any use. Its just so much better than the 22 mag or LR. I fact, I have recently burnt out a barrel and sent it back to the manuf to see what they can do about a new barrel. Where I shoot, wind makes shoots further than 300 difficult. If I get my 17 back, I'll have to try and do better than 404 though.
 
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I've killed porker hogs with mine at 200yds using the game point. Only negative is the wind sure blows that little bullet around.
 
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