Bunnies at a distance

[trappa 518]

I did a poll just before christmas with the aim of buying a gun in this spring specifically for fox.

Ive had to put that to one side at the moment as im up to my ears in rabbits, literally!.

Im doing a decent job with the .22 rimfire and am dropping rabbits up to a respectable 100 yards ( im an amateur remember before you say i should be hitting em further) but think i will need to up the ante and get a new rifle that is designed to drop them at the 100-200 yard mark. My mate has a .17 and says its the dogs gonads but unless its a head shot the rabbit is ruined. Im fine with that, so would/should it be my first choice or would a .222 or .223 do the same job better/ worse?.

Any info gratefully accepted.

[jamie g 17]

I did a poll just before christmas with the aim of buying a gun in this spring specifically for fox.

Ive had to put that to one side at the moment as im up to my ears in rabbits, literally!.

Im doing a decent job with the .22 rimfire and am dropping rabbits up to a respectable 100 yards ( im an amateur remember before you say i should be hitting em further) but think i will need to up the ante and get a new rifle that is designed to drop them at the 100-200 yard mark. My mate has a .17 and says its the dogs gonads but unless its a head shot the rabbit is ruined. Im fine with that, so would/should it be my first choice or would a .222 or .223 do the same job better/ worse?.

Any info gratefully accepted.

 

if you want to eat them or sell them get the hmr mate the 222 or 223 will smash them up. even if you hit the head i would think with a these rounds it would mark the meat to from the force of it.

 

hmr is the best round i would say for rabbits. or you could get a hornet and then then you could have foxy with that to i would just get the hmr and save for centrefire for fox

[daz 0]

i have a tikka.222 bit over kill for bunnys(I THINK)and ammo isnt cheap anywere from £13/£18ISH.ive been getting a cz varmint .17hmr and its the dogs bollocks for rabbits i often kill them over 140yds nobother. could shoot them further if i had too.also with the sweet17 scope they are a perfect match. the ammo is £10 for remmys balistic tip much cheaper than the .222

[IanB 0]

At present .22 ammo local is roughly £3. for 50 and the .17hmr is roughly £12. for 50 . The hmr is ok for long range shooting on days without strong breezes, the greater range and flat shooting is great, but the added cost of ammo can be a downside, especially if your shooting large numbers....

Personally I'd be evening/night shooting if possible and snaring them if I was you..

[woz 260]

17hmr every time......flat shot out to 100 yards 4 inch drop at 150 and 9 inch drop at 200 yards...since i bought mine 12 months ago i havnt used my 22lr...if you want the meat go for head shots....if its breezy bring your range's down to 75 yards....if you get to know the calibre well enough you can compansate for the wind at long ranges......i pay £9 for either 50 honarday v max or federal v shock,i dont know if im getting a great deal but i buy atleast 1000 an month....i cant argue that 22lr amo is alot cheaper but id spend an awful lot more if i went out drinking for the night.......

[IanB 0]

You must be worth a few quid woz , would cost me £250 a month going through 1000 hmr rounds, compared to £76 for 1000 .22 , given the choice out of .22 and .17 I'd choose the .22 all day long, I've used the hmr when lamping, yes greater range, but I prefer the suttle thwack of a nice silenced subsonic round hitting home, than the supersonic crack of a hmr, some area's I lamp are spooky enough without the extra noise from one of them... I must admit there good fun with great range, but for allround rabbit control for me the .22 rimfire is king ...

 

Trappa if you want to shoot rabbits at 100-150 yds during the day, yes the hmr is the one for you, I wouldn't be tempting to shoot rabbits over the 100yd mark with .22

[Deker 3,491]

The .22LR is almost the perfect overall rabbit tool.

 

If you want to push out to between 100-200 yards REGULARLY the HMR is not the tool to choose, get a .223, flatter and much better out to 200 than the HMR. FMJ Barnaul, PRVI etc can be had for £14-£18 per 100 and Wolf HP for £18 per 100, CHEAPER and more effective than HMR. 100 yards or a bit more with HMR is fine but it is NOT an everyday 200 yard ammo, .223 is! You will achieve MUCH better consistancy at 200 with .223 than HMR. Downside is, it's a LOT more powerful so more consideration needs to be given to the shot.

 

Please don't think I am having a go at the HMR, it is a cracking round but I tend to see it out to maybe 150 yards, please don't come screaming back and say my mate never misses bunnies head at 200 yards with it, if he can do that then he can light matches at 200 yards with the .223! And just for the record, regularly making head shots on bunnies at 200 yards in the field, is good shooting by any standards with any rifle!

 

If you are talking .223 head shots, as with HMR there is not a problem, the head will simply tend to be missing when you arrive!

 

[SNAP SHOT 194]

ranges within 150 yards will be no problem for the hmr oven in a light breeze, but start pushing it out to 200 and its a different ball game.

so keep the ranges sensible and you will have fun. if looking for the longer shots .223 yes by all means, more caution is needed.

And before people say caution is needed with every shot yes i agree but. the .223 will travel much greater distances in open ground if there is a miss.

[Mr_Logic 5]

The other downside is that 223 is considerably noisier than 17HMR which can annoy people, but I do agree that apart from the 'other people' factor, 223 is the better bet.

[woz 260]

You must be worth a few quid woz , would cost me £250 a month going through 1000 hmr rounds, compared to £76 for 1000 .22 , given the choice out of .22 and .17 I'd choose the .22 all day long, I've used the hmr when lamping, yes greater range, but I prefer the suttle thwack of a nice silenced subsonic round hitting home, than the supersonic crack of a hmr, some area's I lamp are spooky enough without the extra noise from one of them... I must admit there good fun with great range, but for allround rabbit control for me the .22 rimfire is king ...

 

Trappa if you want to shoot rabbits at 100-150 yds during the day, yes the hmr is the one for you, I wouldn't be tempting to shoot rabbits over the 100yd mark with .22

 

my peter pan life style is coming to an end mate!!! having another family/new house etc etc....i use a jet z mod on mine and its pritty quite.no where near as quite as 22lr i agree....its very nice to hear lads on this thread being honest about ranges for diferant calibres......soon all as i'll be able to afford to use will be my collie/grey at 150 fps

[trappa 518]

Cheers guys.

There doesnt seem to be much in it between the .17 hmr and the .223, SO, because the .223 was neck and neck nigh-on with the 22-250 on my last question regarding fox it looks like the .223 is the logical choice.

Its good for rabbit up to a couple of hundred yards but will mess them up on body shots ( very similar to the 17 ) and it seems to be the majoritys bread and butter foxing calibre.

watch this space!

[jamie g 17]

Cheers guys.

There doesnt seem to be much in it between the .17 hmr and the .223, SO, because the .223 was neck and neck nigh-on with the 22-250 on my last question regarding fox it looks like the .223 is the logical choice.

Its good for rabbit up to a couple of hundred yards but will mess them up on body shots ( very similar to the 17 ) and it seems to be the majoritys bread and butter foxing calibre.

watch this space!

 

 

you get the right scope mate and do some long rage shooting to find yor ami points and 350 yard foxes are not out of reach of the 223 ive seen it done ! and at night !

[Guest JohnGalway]

The opening question was about rabbits. I would go with the HMR in this instance. Out past the 150 yard mark and you're into the Mmmm will I miss territory unless you're in very very good conditions.

 

Noise. HMR moderated by a SAK is considerably noisier than a .22lr moderated by same but quieter than a .223 moderated by either a Jet-z or a T8, said as I've heard them all first hand. A lot depends on the terrain.

 

Now, cost. HMR will be significantly cheaper than .223, remember you're getting 50 HMR rounds compared to 20 .223.

 

Safety. I would think HMR is safer than either .22lr or .223. Light round breaking up on impact. Of course all having safe backstops.

 

I've head shot rabbits with all three calibres. Never found the .22lr with Eley subs to do much damage, HMR does little to moderate damage, .223 has given me two results - head & neck completely gone or head entirely gone with two ears left attached by fur. Not skinned them, use them for bait, so I can't comment on meat damage.

 

Dropping rabbits consistantly at 100 yards with a .22lr is good shooting, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Yes, other people can go farther, I wouldn't, like Clint Eastwood said "A man's gotta know his limitations".

 

I've found the HMR doesn't always spook rabbits like you'd think with the extra noise. Shot three out of four quite easily 70- yards away, little fourth fella could have been taken too but gave him a chance to get older. On the contrary I've found they head for the burrows when the .223 explodes into action, mind you my .223 isn't moderated

 

I don't think .223's a good rabbit gun if you're after numbers for clearing. I think you're either better off with your current .22lr or a HMR. But, for a foxing gun out of those three I would 100% of the time say .223. It just depends on your priorities, if you're after a fox gun, buy the .223, if you're after a rabbit gun stay as you are or get a HMR. As in everything in life there's pro's and cons to all of this as no rifle is perfect for doing both jobs. And that includes the Hornet!

[Mr_Logic 5]

I think if you want one to do everything, 223 is it. For me, I have shoots where noise is a problem so I opted for HMR.

 

 

223 ammo can be had for cheaper than HMR though, my crappy Wolf 223 works wonders assuming it hits (accuracy isn't the best but it is good enough) and costs 18p a bang. I got slightly fleeced on the latest HMR batch at 26p a bang. Still much better than Hornet at 60p though.