# .17 HMR



## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

I took my .17 out and shot two coyotes yesterday, both of which ran off injured. I feel bad about this and have learned that it's not enough gun to do the job. I think my next purchase will be a .22-250. Anyone in the market for a nice Marlin .17 rimfire mag?


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Nothing wrong with the 17HMR if used for what it was intended for. Small varmints in the crow and prairie dog size category out to 150 or so yards. It's a fun gun to shoot and you can have a lot of fun with it. There are always going to be those that will tell you about the coyotes they have taken with the 17HMR but take it with a grain of salt or as you have personally learned, just push it aside. For coyotes I use a .223 but the 22-250 would be a better choice if you want to extend that range out to 400 yards or even a little farther. I limit myself to about 250 yards with the .223 but will stretch it to 300 if I'm really sure of the shot. Some people might push the .223 farther but that is my comfort zone. Keep the 17HMR and go get the 22-250 and enjoy both worlds.


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

Good advice. The .17 is a blast to shoot. Since I'm on a budget, I was thinking of selling the .17 and putting it toward a different caliber. Let me ask you this -- If I get a single shot .223 or a .22-250 am I going to regret it? Single shots are cheaper, but I don't want to buy another gun that I'm not going to be happy with.


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## R Buker (Oct 29, 2005)

There will be times you'll wish you didn't have a single shot in your hand. But, I know several guys who shoot them and they are OK knowing they are not too likely to get a second shot. They make the first shot count and then try their hardest when they need a second shot. Some actually get pretty quick with their second shots!


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

You guys make a lot of sense. I think I will go for the single shot for now until I can afford a bolt. Those two that ran on me the other day would have easily dropped with one shot from a larger calilber.


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## Brad.T (Mar 29, 2004)

What are we talking about as far as savings in a single shot? I myself would have a tough time with a single shot unless it saved me a load of money.


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

It's considerably less -- around two hundred dollars less. I guess I could try to find a used bolt action or something, but I don't like buying used guns unless I know the person I'm buying from. Just picky I guess. Wal-Mart has some pretty cool NEF single shot .22-250s and .223s for reasonable prices. Anything else is close to $500. I'm addicted to coyote hunting and don't have the patience to save my pennies, so I think the single shot is the best option for me right now. So, now, which caliber do I go after? I guess if I'm whining about my budget, the .223 would be cheaper to shoot, right?


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## Brad.T (Mar 29, 2004)

Yes the 223 is cheaper to shoot however i would personally recommend the 22-250 myself


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

I guess if you've only got one shot, the .22-250 would be the way to go. Thanks for all of the advice -- it helped me a lot.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Have you checked WalMart? I think you can get a Savage bolt in 223 or 22-250 for about $340 or less when you catch them on sale. As for the single shots, the last two I bought were Rossi's in .223 and 22 rimfire. Two things I discovered on both of them. One was the trigger pull was simply horrible. And there was nothing I could do about that except to have a gun smith work on them and then the added cost would of had the bolt action coming out at about the same price. Second thing I discovered was every time I removed the barrel and then reinstalled it the scope had to be re-sighted because the forearm screw would change pressure on the barrel. I ended up selling both guns. This is not a problem with something like a T/C and it may not be a problem with the NEF which I've never owned, but nevertheless I would check that trigger pull before buying any single shot. To me a nice smooth and light trigger pull is the difference in a tight group and one that has a shotgun pattern.


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## Burnout (Apr 20, 2004)

As for the single shot, NEF is a good choice have a number of them and they are all extremely accurate, and reliable. 
As far as a quick second shot...Practice....i have gotten very good at getting the next round in the pipe in time. A cartridge belt that velcroes on the wrist is nice to use for this.
Most manufacturers have a barrel program that allows you to send the gun in and have a diff cal barrel fit, if you wanted, Nef will also do a trigger job.

Good Luck

Dave


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## VarmintHunter117 (May 28, 2005)

My first varmint rifle was a NEF .223 this thing could shoot... very accurate as long as I did my part. I had put a cartridge band on the stock to hold extra rounds and i did practice quick reloads with it. Very first varmint I ever dropped was a very nice Bob with that NEF. IMHO a fine weapon for the money I was very pleased with it! Once i got to where I could afford a better rifle I moved on. But to this day I still hold allot of respect for that NEF. As far as .223 vs 22-250.... it depends on how tight the budget... yes the 22-250 wil give ya a bit more range... ya need to look @ the area ya hunt, how often do ya make 300+ yrd shots? if its fairly close 100-200 yrds then the .223 would be the way to go and keep the cost down.

I know where your coming from as far as tight budgets.. I too started in the same way! Was a E4 with a family of 5 when I started... first few times was with my old SKS.... but wanted a smaller rifle and caliber.... In came the NEF... I also reloaded ammo to keep costs down... the Lee Aniversary kit is a cheap good starter kit for reloading... 2 pluses with loading your own... you keep costs down and you can tailor your loads to your rifle to get the best accuracy.

This is just my input... My 2 cents as it were. Best of luck with what ever your choice is! Happy Critter-Gettin


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

I'm really glad to hear your testimonial, VarmintHunter. I was wondering whether the NEF was a good rifle or not. You put my mind at ease. You also gave some great tips about keeping my costs down. You can definitely empathize with my situation -- you were an E5 -- I'm a school teacher!


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## LASER MAN (Mar 10, 2005)

in regard to the caliber of rifle you are interested in, I personally would lean toward the .223. i would choose this caliber due to the fact that fur prices may some day go up and you would be disappointed with the deduction for pelt damage due to the higher velocity of the 22-250. granted you can load down and shoot the lighter bullets. but, if this gun is going to be used for varmints up to and including coyotes, the 223 is plenty of gun. by the way i'm speaking from experience. also, if you can obtain the 40 grain v-max load it will perform very well on coyotes and create little damage.

by the way, after you've called in about six to eight doubles and find you can't get that second shot off, you'll want the bolt action. get it now.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

Songdog34 Savage makes a single shot 22 hornet that I hear is a real tack driver and cheap. 22 hornet should be good for coyote out to 200 yards. You should get the same trajectory as a .17 hmr only with a 46 grn slug!!!


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## songdog34 (Nov 21, 2005)

Thanks. I will consider that one of my options.


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## zack baird (Mar 12, 2009)

songdog34 said:


> I took my .17 out and shot two coyotes yesterday, both of which ran off injured. I feel bad about this and have learned that it's not enough gun to do the job. I think my next purchase will be a .22-250. Anyone in the market for a nice Marlin .17 rimfire mag?


how much do you want for this .17?


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## c82 (Apr 14, 2009)

i shot a coyote with a .17 it fell right away round 100 yard using federal TNT round i was surprised shot another with a 7.62 round little over 200 yards messed it up pretty good... shot another with a .223 did a good job out this weekend for coyotes again i'll see what the .17 will do but most of the shots are long so still going to take the .223 along ill tell you what the .17 does


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## bigpipesT (Apr 12, 2009)

hi yall just found this site herd it was great, thought i would join. back to the 17 hmr though. i went out spotin with my bud last week n he took his hmr n poped him one right in his gut....sucker ran off. terrible thing to see that happen. he said hes never using it on dogs again. i just stick to the 22-250.


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## 308 (Jul 10, 2007)

the gun probally isn't for sale anymore cause this topic is from 2005


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## bigbuck65 (Apr 14, 2009)

shot two fox in one spot with my dad at about 75 yards. i had the 22-250 and the fox never moved again. my dad used the .17 and he took off about 200 yards and dropped. the .17 is ok when coming to smaller sized dogs. but i think it is perfect for jackrabbits and animals that size.


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## bigpipesT (Apr 12, 2009)

yes sir.....i would keep it fer the little guys.


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