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[philpot 4,927]

I am very happy with my FAC FX Impact air rifle and Anschutz .22LR but I am looking at something with a bit more range. I have sort of asked views before on 17HMR but a couple of RFDs have said I should consider .22WMR but I know nothing about them other than the head is heavier than a 17 and it is a slower speed so not quite as flat a trajectory as a 17HMR.

So my question is chaps which would you go for and why but please consider that I am not shooting foxes only rabbits and the requirement is for a suitable longer range bunny gun.

 

Phil

[Stavross 13,729]

To me it comes down to personal choice they are both a very good round for 120+ yard bunny bashing, the WMR is a good hard hitting round but then again the .17 is flat and fast, the down side to the .17 is it is a little bit more affected by wind and they do make a bit of a mess, so head shot is required if you want to eat what you shoot, saying that I really like the .17 and own two of them, the main thing I like about it is I do a lot of night shooting and I don’t tend to have to work out distance, just put it in the crosshairs and squeeze the bang switch

[philpot 4,927]

Quite a fair bit of my bunny shooting is also at night and agree the flatter trajectory has an appeal but how much difference is there in that respect between the two. I also got the impression that if I used hollow point ammo, the WMR would not make such a mess as we do sell quite a few rabbits.

Phil

[Underdog 2,337]

At night wmr would be fine as is hmr.

In the day my wmr has reached out to 150yds easily with little hold over.

You can buy fmj ammo for wmr to cut down on bruising but in all honesty head shot bunny is fine for table fare in wmr.

Hornady do a 25grn wmr loading that is very fast and flat over rabbit shooting distance!

Where wmr gains is if you run into charlie, it will penetrate without the risk of a shallow wound, something I have witnessed in the hmr!!

 

For rabbits try HV ammo in your 22. It makes for  a genuine 100yarder rabbit gun!

 

U.

[Stavross 13,729]

15 minutes ago, Underdog said:

At night wmr would be fine as is hmr.

In the day my wmr has reached out to 150yds easily with little hold over.

You can buy fmj ammo for wmr to cut down on bruising but in all honesty head shot bunny is fine for table fare in wmr.

Hornady do a 25grn wmr loading that is very fast and flat over rabbit shooting distance!

Where wmr gains is if you run into charlie, it will penetrate without the risk of a shallow wound, something I have witnessed in the hmr!!

 

For rabbits try HV ammo in your 22. It makes for  a genuine 100yarder rabbit gun!

 

U.

I fully agree with this, the WMR hits  very hard so a tricky shot on a fox is well within its capabilities be it side on or into the bib on the other side with the .17 if you are not head shooting fox the gun should be taken off you as 9 times out of 10 it will run on if it takes a round to the body, if you are wanting something to eat or sell on at the end of it I’d go for the WMR, I primarily use the .17 as a pest control rifle, it will shoot rabbits well over 150 yards but you need to ask, realistically how many are you going to shoot at that distance, if I can’t see it with the naked eye I don’t know it’s there

[philpot 4,927]

I know from the bits of information I have picked up that most people zero HMR at around 100mt, is WMR about the same. Sorry to sound dumb but have no experience in either of these cals.

 

Phil

[Stavross 13,729]

My .17 is zeroed at 100 yards the lad I know who has a WMR zeroes at 75 yards I’m not sure if other people do the same or he’s just odd because that seem a bit of a strange distance to me, I would set it up the same as the .17 but maybe I’m wrong 

[Underdog 2,337]

If I remember correctly I think mine is on at 100 (wmr).

But I a touch high at 50.

I have to hold under an inch at 50 on squirrel and rabbits heads. Up to 30 I aim on and if it looks 75+ aim on again.

3"to 4" hold over gets on around 150yards. Not very scientific but I get by.

[Underdog 2,337]

100yds off hand to the head.

This one was shot at 160 yards off hand across the shoulders. The tough Remington bullet did little damage other than kill it instantly.

 

U.

[Meece 1,957]

Are you personally capable of shooting rabbits at these sort of ranges? No point in buying an elephant rifle if you can't hit the elephant. Cut out a cardboard silhouette rabbit target (the right size ) as if it is feeding laying down in the grass and find a range that you can consistantĺy hit it. 22 lr is perfectly capable of taking rabbits out to about + yards.

[philpot 4,927]

15 hours ago, Meece said:

Are you personally capable of shooting rabbits at these sort of ranges? No point in buying an elephant rifle if you can't hit the elephant. Cut out a cardboard silhouette rabbit target (the right size ) as if it is feeding laying down in the grass and find a range that you can consistantĺy hit it. 22 lr is perfectly capable of taking rabbits out to about + yards.

A very valid and fair comment Meece so the only thing I can say in response is that I do shoot out to 100mt now although not often because of the area I shoot and have never tried at 150mt BUT whichever route I go down, there will be quite a bit of time spent on the range before I even attempt to shoot rabbits at these ranges. Trust me, if it turns out that I am bloody useless, the gun will be kept for the range or sold.......

 

Phil

[Born Hunter 17,638]

 

21 hours ago, philpot said:

So my question is chaps which would you go for and why but please consider that I am not shooting foxes only rabbits and the requirement is for a suitable longer range bunny gun.

Without a shadow of doubt the HMR. The only caveat would be if you felt a semi auto platform would be particularly advantageous.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Born Hunter
OCD

[toxo 160]

Something that hasn't been mentioned is cost. I love my 17 Hornet which of course is a centerfire and I can reload for around 18p a round and never have to worry about availability. Another is the 17 Squirrel ( http://saubier.com/smallcaliber/17squirrel.pdf ) which I don't know too much about but looks great to me. Both can be formed easily from 22 Hornet cases and will deal, with care anything within bunny range

[walshie 2,804]

The 17 HMR is only a necked down 22 WMR anyway so I'd 100% go for the 22 WMR.

[Deker 3,453]

I love my WMR and it gives me a feeling of confidence, but I have never seen it as a rabbit gun, perhaps because I have .22lr and HMR in the cabinet.

The 30g WMR V-Max actually flies pretty close to the HMR 17g V-Max to around 100 yards.  Heavier WMR ammunition holds its energy better and hits harder than the HMR but has a bit of an arc.

I see no reason/benefit for ME using a WMR as a rabbit gun!