Rimfire advice. .17 choices/22 choices

[shooters]

Fellas. I know very little about Rimfire rifles. Here is what I'm needing. Accuracy is the number 1 most important thing I'm after. Looking for a coon rifle. I am realy lost on .22 mag, .17HMR, or some of the new .17's that are comming out. I'm willing to wait if it's in my best intrest as far as seeing what this new .17 Win mag is....I believe thats what it is, or the .17 Hornet. I would like to be able to head shoot coons from around 150 yards and closer....conditions permitting and shooter permitting, all the time everytime, and with not too much pelt damage if possible. I've shot other .17's and .22 LR's and accuracy wasn't that great. What are my options, and what should I look for or purchase? I'll reload if need be. I've tried to do my homework on this issue, but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. These coons that we go after like to run back down thier holes when we try to get closer that 100 yards. My Ruger 10/22 isn't all that great at 100 yards. Anyway, thanks for the help.

Jason

 

[dust]

The 17hmr has a very good accuracy record at 100 yards, and it shouldn't drop too much out to 150 yards. That said, you may be better off with a small centerfire if you are going to regularly be trying 150 yard headshots.

 

[shooters]

Well, just for example here. A Cooper. 17HMR is $1700. It will make 1 hole for a five shot group. How much of a difference between that Cooper and a factory Savage HMR will there be at 100 yards.....on average? What Im asking is, knowing that Savages are known for accuracy right out of the box, would it be worth spending the money on the guaranteed accuracy of the Cooper, or is there going to be very little difference at 100 yards between the Cooper and the Savage? Most shots will be under 150 yards. I aslo realize that a $1700 Coon gun is very expensive, but I dont want to be out there cussing and swearing all night because my $300 .17 wont shoot.

Thanks

 

[threejones]

Buy a CZ 452 or 455 in 17HMR. They shoot better than Rugers or Savages, and the build quality is better. They fall somewhere between the Cooper and the Savage. The 17HMR will be just fine for coons. You can take yotes and foxes (I'd keep shots to 50yds ish) with the 17 as well. The newer 17s are interesting, but I'd wait a couple years and see how they field before I'd pick one up.

 

[outback andy]

Yea, I have both a CZ 452 and a Savage 93 in the .22 mag and the accurcy is
the same with both of them, will shoot into 1" groups ez at 100 yards.

 

[tuck2]

I have tryed out a Anschutz 1710 Cal 22 RF, Kimber 82 Cal 22 Hornet, Cooper 57M LVT Cal 17HM2 and 17 HMR , Rem 700 Cal 17 Fireball and 221 Fireball. When one becomes available I m going to get a CZ Cal 17 Hornet. It takes a lot of ammo shooting prairie dogs and at times I dont feel like reloading ammo. The new Winchester 17 Super Mag rimfire that fires a 20 Gr bullet at 3000 ft/sec MV looks good to me. Small targets require accurate rifles that will for rimfire shoot one inch or smaller 100 yard five shot groups and center fire 3/4 inch or less five shot 100 yard groups. For what you wont to do get a 17 Hornet CZ rifle. If you reload ammo you may get the CZ to shoot some 1/2 inch 100 yard groups when shooting off a bench rest. While hunting the bullet drop , range yard differences ,and varring wind makes a head shot at times a little tricky. Should some company come out with a Winchester 17 SM rimfire bolt action repeter that shoots 3/4 in 100 yard groups it would be ideal to use, fat chance...

 

[shooters]

Well I have always been a huge fan of the Savages due to their accuracy. So, i purchased the Savage 93 stainless in the heavy barrel. Im not sure if Im happy with it or not. It will punch the same hole all day long at fifty yards. No big deal, most rifles and calibers will. When shooting at 100, its a little different. I have seriously bought **** near everything grain weight bullet and manufacturer's bullet for it. By the way, I have a Leupold VX3 on it. So, shooting at 100, the CCI V max, and the Hornady V max shoot the same. Im pretty sure that CCI makes both. Anyhow, accuracy is all over the place. Get 2 that will touch, and the other 3 will be 2.5 inches here, and 2 inches there. This is the same with shooting most every other bullet and weight. The 2 that shoot the best are the 30 gr Speer TNT and the 40 grain fed full metal jacket. They will hold about an 1.5 inch group, but there is usually a flyer or two. What gives? The gun has even been shot a few times by our local bench rest shooter who is very good and its really no different for him either. He kinda smiled and said the rifle is only as good as the ammo you shoot and it was shooting your typical rimfire ammo. He said that most that tell you there shooting. 5 inch groups from a rimfire are not completely honest. So, am I expecting too much from this rifle, or should it shoot better than what I would consider a silver dollar at 100 yards? BTY, mounts and scope have been re-checked, and we even cleaned it......who cleans a. 22?......ha ha

 

[tuck2]

SHOOTERS: Have you checked the action bedding and where the barrel is contacting the stock barrel channel ? You dident say what cartridge your rifle is chambered for but is it a 22 WMR ? My 22 WMR and 22 Hornet are the least accurate rifles that I own. Most rifles that shoot small groups at 50 yards will also see groups 2 times the size at 100 yards . Low velocity bullets will also suffer wind drift.

 

[shooters]

Its a 22 WMR. Only checked the barrel as far as contact goes, and yes it was up agains the one side. I pulled it off and free'd up the barrel. Didnt really change anything. As far as that, I didn't do anything else. Its probably about as good as its gonna get I would guess. The wind was dead calm each day we shot it. None at all.

SHOOTERS: Have you checked the action bedding and where the barrel is contacting the stock barrel channel ? You dident say what cartridge your rifle is chambered for but is it a 22 WMR ? My 22 WMR and 22 Hornet are the least accurate rifles that I own. Most rifles that shoot small groups at 50 yards will also see groups 2 times the size at 100 yards . Low velocity bullets will also suffer wind drift.

 

[Clifford]

I'm a huge coyote hunter and I'm looking for a 22mag I use a 12g 3/12 shot right now what do u think

 

[TerryLi]

I have both a Savage 93BTVS and a CZ 452--both in 17HMR. I can honestly say that for out-of-box rifles both of these shoot very well. The 17 HMR is amazing in that regard. As a cartridge it just seems to be inherently accurate. Both my CZ and Savage will commonly shoot 5 shot groups under an inch @ 100 yds. The Savage really shoots best with 20 gr bullets. The CZ doesn't seem to care. I believe that you would need head shots with this caliber to reliably anchor a 'coon. I've shot quite a few yellow-bellied Marmots and the .17 doesn't hit them as hard as a .22WMR. However, the .17 is consistently more accurate. the new .17 Winchester Super Mag is interesting but I don't like the ammo cost. It would definitely have more energy than the .22 wmr and probably be more accurate to boot.

Shooters: Concerning your .22 WMR inaccuracy, I would try several types of ammo. (You probably already did). Friends of mine have found quite a variation in accuracy from different ammo. I know that the 30gr bullets don't shoot well while the 40 gr do nicely. I've always felt that the .22 WMR suffers from a lack of real precision ammo. With a .22 Long rifleyou can buy some really good target ammo and really tighten up the groups.

 

[COBrad]

I bought a Savage 17HMR to see if I like the cartridge, and yes I like it very much. Then I sold it and bought another Cooper so I could have 1/2 MOA accuracy in a well built rifle. The Savage would have been fine if it shot well. I have no use for half-assed accuracy. Get a good one the first time and save yourself the frustration of trying to make a cheap rifle shoot well. I would not hesitate to use the HMR for head shots on coons. For the ranges you stated, it will need to be accurate... and I would suggest using the Hornady 20 gr. xtp bullets. They are tough enough to give superior penetration along with good expansion.

 

[SaskShooter]

Sometimes you just get a reeeeally good shooting gun.

Albeit this is probably average for a Cooper, but don't knock Savage.

 

[SaskShooter]

I'm a huge coyote hunter and I'm looking for a 22mag I use a 12g 3/12 shot right now what do u think

Any of the guns mentioned (Anzchutz, CZ, Savage, Cooper, even Marlin) will do just fine, so buy the best your budget will allow, and start nailing coyotes with it.

I killed quite a few few coyotes with the .22 Mag, and same as with any other hunting, SHOT PLACEMENT is what counts. You don't need to do headshots, but if you're confident enough to, go ahead. I always shot for the lungs.

For coyotes, it's a good idea to stick to the standard loads. I found the best was the old Winchester 40 grain JHP. The only light load I'd feel confident to shoot for coyotes is the 33 grain Remington Premier Accutip- it's the finest quality rimfire ammo I've ever shot. Keep your shots to 150 yards maximum.