Decisions, Decisions

[Greenbear]

Ok,

 

I have a .22rim, a .243 for fox/deer and a .308 for fox/deer

 

I want a long range varminter do I go for a 17HMR or a .22 Hornet

 

I am favouring the hornet at the moment

 

Any thoughts, .204 maybe something different?

[tikka3006]

Ok,

 

I have a .22rim, a .243 for fox/deer and a .308 for fox/deer

 

I want a long range varminter do I go for a 17HMR or a .22 Hornet

 

I am favouring the hornet at the moment

 

Any thoughts, .204 maybe something different?

 

Go for the hornet you know it makes sense

[Vermincinerator]

Errr... .22 Hornet and 17 HMR dont belong in the same sentace as long range varminter, .204" Ruger, now you are looking in the right direction, having said that your 243 is an excellent long range varmint rifle.

 

Ian.

[Andrew]

Hornet. Economical, quiet and accurate if you get the right rifle. And by that I mean CZ.~Andrew

 

(A Hornet Fanatic)

[AHPP]

I'd have thought the .243 or .308 would be fairly useful (probably more the .243) for what you want to do. If you wanted another rifle maybe start by looking at any of the fast .22s or .20s.

[1967spud]

As verminicarater said a 17 is not what youd cal a long range varmint rig. The 243 is the way to go, the 308 is ok but the 243 is spot on as it was designed as a wildcat for that exact job. if on the other hand you are trying to justify buying another rifle , which i can totally understand try the 6.5x47 or even a 6mmbr.

[casts_by_fly]

what is long range for you? If you mean 200 yards and under, then the hornet isn't a bad choice. If you mean 150 and less AND you don't reload, then the HMR makes more sense.

 

If you're talking about ranges beyond those, then neither is a better choice and a 204, 223, or 22-250 would make more sense.

 

That is unless you want to get crazy and want to go 20 vartarg (20 fireball), a bigger 17, or some other wildcat. Then the world is your oyster and you can get a crazy as you want.

 

Thanks

Rick

[Greenbear]

Thank for all the response guys.

 

I should have been a little more specific, its only a bunny /crow puncher out to 200 at best

 

I agree my .243 is the daddy for long range 400/500 yards

 

I was looking at something in between the rimfire and the .243 for out to 200 yards maybe, hence my likening for the Hornet.

 

I think in all; the hornet packs more punch per round than the 17hmr with a longer reach.

 

Also they are cheap to buy and run, which is probably why I will rule out the .204.

 

6br and the 6.5's are all too close to the .243 for a real plaything

[nemasis243]

243 with light bullets every time , I use 58grners and you can head shoot bunny's all day out to 200yrds , there's no meat damage ,if you intend to eat them and as far as shooting crows,well try it and see," they love they do, they love it!!!!

 

Happy Hunting Andy

[AHPP]

Maybe .221 Fireball or .220 Russian.

 

Fireball is just cute and Russian revered in some circles as being super-duper accurate.

[grahamfarmer]

greenbear,

 

sounds as if a 222 or 223 would be ideal for what you are thinking of . both easy to reload and resonably priced new guns about . both are great rounds loaded with 40 to 50 grain heads available in all sorts of guises from soft point to hollow point or balistic tiped versions . the 22 250 dosent really offer you anything, as your 243 running sub 60 grain heads will out shoot or be as good as it can . also the 222 or 223 with a good moderator on can certainly be very quite and a effective fox round whilst using those bunny and crow splatting heads.

 

personally running 2 22lr rimfires a 223rem ,243 win and a 308 win covered with those to shoot everything that might wander pass me when i am out .

 

 

graham.

[JC275]

If you're looking for another rifle to compliment your existing battery and its role would be upto 200m crows and rabbits then I would look no further than the .222 rem or .223 rem, easy to shoot, easy to find rifles and ammo, cheap to feed. Alternatively, let your .243 win fill this role using lighter bullets (70 - 87 grain (87 grain hornady V-Max gives impressive results on rabbits)), keep your .308 win for general stalking and add a long action deer rifle? JC

[kip270]

Thank for all the response guys.

 

I should have been a little more specific, its only a bunny /crow puncher out to 200 at best

 

I agree my .243 is the daddy for long range 400/500 yards

 

I was looking at something in between the rimfire and the .243 for out to 200 yards maybe, hence my likening for the Hornet.

 

I think in all; the hornet packs more punch per round than the 17hmr with a longer reach.

 

Also they are cheap to buy and run, which is probably why I will rule out the .204.

 

6br and the 6.5's are all too close to the .243 for a real plaything

 

 

If you're looking for another rifle to compliment your existing battery and its role would be upto 200m crows and rabbits then I would look no further than the .222 rem or .223 rem, easy to shoot, easy to find rifles and ammo, cheap to feed. Alternatively, let your .243 win fill this role using lighter bullets (70 - 87 grain (87 grain hornady V-Max gives impressive results on rabbits)), keep your .308 win for general stalking and add a long action deer rifle? JC

 

So if the .17hmr/hornet are along the lines your after the .222/.223 will be out due to cost same as the .204.

 

Now i have a .22rim/.17hmr/.222/.270, and the .17hmr is good, i have taken crows/squirrel/magpie out to 200 yards, but if i'm going that far out i take the .222.

 

Now cost per shot for factory ammo;

 

.17hmr = 26 pence

 

.222 = 75 pence

 

Not sure on the price of hornet ammo, but maybe 50 pence per shot.

 

Do you want a bag filler??? If so stick to the .22rimmy 7 pence per shot, yes 7p......

 

If you want a plaything then get a .204

 

take a look here

http://www.6mmbr.com/20caliber.html

[Guest dasherman]

17 Fireball - costs not much more to reload as buying HMR ammo and you will get the consistancy that the HMR lacks [one good batch of ammo then a bad batch] you must reload though as factory ammo [Remington] is pants and expensive.

[Streeker59]

When i go crow bashing at 200 yards i only take the .17 hmr.

It's far enough away to not spook ground feeding birds and a total joy sniping at 200 yard bunnys in the evening..

Just one thing i've seen mentioned on the forum from time to time about .17 bullet deflection.

Yes a good crosswind will give the bullet a little nudge but it's going so bleeding fast that at 200 yards it's minimal. Less than 1 cm with an 8 mph cross. This aint a guess, i've measured it..

And as for bullets exploding if they hit a blade of grass, cobblers... I've inadvertantly shot through grass before ( grass close to target as bunny hunched down ) and the bullet cut a clean hole through it and went on to bugger the bunny..

The hmr is cheaper to feed than a centerfire and quieter downrange. If all you're going to do is bash crows and bunnys at 200 yards then the .17 hmr is sweet....

[njc110381]

The HMR is a great bunny round. What worries me is the chances of a Fox needing to be shot. If you spot a Fox will you want to shoot him or just leave him to walk? I have a HMR and it's great for bunny bashing, but I've taken a few shots at a Fox and had it run. They are ok in really close but if you start to push the range a bit they are hopeless. I've worked out that I can reload a Hornet for less than I can buy HMR ammo, so I'm going for a Hornet and probably scrapping the HMR. You can load a 35grn bullet to under HMR velocity if you want to, and Lee even list a 45grn subsonic load!

 

The Hornet covers so many more possibilities. A HMR could end up restricting you. I'd go for the Hornet as long as you don't mind reloading. The CZ is supposed to be a very good rifle, and has a much better reputation for accuracy in this little calibre than many of the other makers. I'm told that if you neck size only and give the bullet a light crimp, you can get some very good results from this little round. The problems start with factory ammo by the sound of things, the min chamber/max ammo spec is just too wide a gap for it to shoot to modern standards without home loads.

[ejg223]

I'd go 223 over a 222 only because one might have a better ammo choice.

The good old Fed AE 50gr hp work quite well out of a cz and cost way less than

hornet ammo, at least over here. Even the Rem UMC went well in the CZ that I had.

Much less wind deflection than HMR, over 3300fps vs 2500fps and a better bc.

As mentioned before the fox issue.

 

edi

[Alycidon]

Assuming you dont reload then go Hornet, (or 17AH) that will cover most issues to your 200 yards. If you do reload then have a good look at the 20s but most are a bit specialised. Your 243 loaded with 55 grain factory ammo or similar reloaded will produce getting on for 3900 fps, that will make very short work of anything it hits.

 

A

[Vermincinerator]

I would choose the 222 over the Hornet every time, mainly because of its superb inherent accuracy.

Reloading the triple is like reloading the 6mmBR, its very difficult to get it wrong in terms of accuracy, which cant be said for the Hornet.

Its a real tricky little number to get shooting accurately and will never match the accuracy of the 222.

 

Ian.

[Alycidon]

He wants a rifle for 200 yards max, no doubt light and quiet to boot.

 

I dont dispute that anything in the bigger 22s or 20s has the legs on Hornet, as you say a tricky case to reload well. Of the bigger factory calibers I think 204 stands out as it is nice and flat and the guy will get a ticket for it no problem as he would for .222/.223. But I think he said the cost of feeding it ruled it out hence my thoughts on Hornet.

 

Actually 20 Vartarg would be just ideal but it is not a factory round.

 

A

[JC275]

Just a thought but how many hornet users have sworn profusely when they have stacked the rounds incorrectly in the mag and the rim of the top one has found its way behind the rim of the next one down? I know I did in the bad old days when I had a Hornet. 100% pilot error but still very annoying when it happens. I'm a big fan of the 'classic' calibres (call me old fasioned) but I have to say that I don't miss the Hornet one little bit, give me a .222 rem to fill that neiche every time. JC

[casts_by_fly]

I would say it all comes down to reloading or not. From his two posts above, greenbear mentioned 200 yards, light game, and cheap to run. No mention of quiet. If factory fodder will be fed, then the 223 is the candidate. More choice in ammo compared to the hornet or 222. Cheaper to run than a 204 and possibly the hornet even. The HMR would be an option as well, since it would work well enough. The HMR would require clicking in or holding over. The 223 wouldn't. The 223 would be suitable for fox at 200, the HMR wouldn't. The HMR would be cheaper and quieter.

 

If reloading, then either the 223, 222, or one of the wildcats like the 20 vartarg would be just right. The fireball would be a good choice too as would the 17/222 or 17/223. That assume he can get 17 cal bullets. Another great option would be the 17 AH, though you're talking about more expensive dies and fewer choices in rifles.

 

Thanks,

Rick