I agree on the 100-120 yrd top end range for the magnum rimfires. Its a niche thing for me. I have access to a wide range of land types, big farms/ranches to small acreages. I use centerfire a bunch but often switch to the .17 hmr for the acreage stuff.....i have just as much fun doing the acreage stuff. But you definitely have limitations when moving down to the magnum rimfire so you just have to work within them is all.....but you can be very successful all the same.
I was talking to a long time rimfire hunter from a different part of the continent not too long ago and he brought up some interesting thoughts he had on the subject when i had come to the conclusion via my own testing that the more explosive bullets worked much better than the delayed expansion bullets even on the bigger targets like coyotes.
He had shot racoons and woodchucks his whole life with .22 mag and then started experimenting with the .17 hmr when it came out. He found that the explosive bullets in the .17 hmr seemed much more lethal than they should be based on the 'numbers' (ft/lbs etc.) and was trying to figure out why?
He experimented with the v-max (explosive), tnt (explosive), and the xtp (delayed expansion mushrooming) and both the v-max and tnt anchored the coons/chucks with a single body shot where the xtp would often require a few follow up shots. He did like the xtp for saving meat on certain types of critters by head shooting but that was it.
He said by his experimenting the tnt proved to penetrate a little deeper before blowing up than the v-max and that it opened up and or tumbled much more reliably than the v-max at extended range so that has become his bullet of choice now that he's tried them all extensively since the .17 hmr came out.
He said the reason must be a combination of velocity and bullet rpm. The .17 hmr has a 1 in 9 twist...more like a centerfire....and the .22's have 1 in 16 type twist. So not only is the .17 hmr going alot faster at impact the bullet has a whole bunch more 'rpm' also....so with the explosive bullets that means you get a much more serious explosion inside.
It made perfect sense to me and i never even thought about the rate of twist having anything to do with it but i believe that now because the little hmr with explosive bullets kills pretty impressively for its diminutive little size.
Just front end coyotes 0-120 yrds and they are done, either on the spot or they'll do a 50 yrd runner tops for the most part. The shooter has to be able to do his part....if he doesn't he'll end up blaming the cartridge for not being strong enough for the job.....but believe me (and a zillion other guys also doing it) the cartridge is plenty for a coyote in that range.
That same guy mentioned to me that he has tried and continues to try any new .22 magnum cartridge that comes out that looks to be faster and more explosive but finds the bullets too fat and to slow to explode like the .17 hmr does.....this is a long time .22 mag guy converted to the .17 hmr.....and by the sounds of it he wasn't converted easily and still is trying to compare the latest rounds to come out but so far his #1 is hmr with tnt ammo and v-max #2. (unless your head shooting to save meat then it basically doesn't matter and prefer to stick to a more solid bullet for less damage in that instance)
I'm now giving the tnt ammo a try. I shot one running and had to catch up to her for finishing so i can't comment yet on direct comparisons....i knew it would be an ugly affair but it was at a permission where the family just lost favorite mumma barn cat (sad grandkids etc.) so if there was a way i could drag a dead coyote out of their place it was going to happen...it wasn't a 'hunt' but rather a 'population control' thing so save any critique for another day.
However....i give my CZ Varmint back to my Dad after rezeroing with TNT ammo and the very next morning he dumps a pair at 100 yrds (maybe a little less) and both dropped on the spot and Dad said he hasn't shot an ammo that rocked them like that through the .17 hmr yet....he said the 'thump' was extremely impressive and noticeable. So thats encouraging. He was having his morning coffee when he saw a big male trotting closer and looking at something....went to get the hmr that i just dropped off and when he came back there was a female that went submissive and layed on her back when the male came up to her. He dumped the male, the female got up went 10' and stopped so he dumped her too. He was pretty excited about it on the phone.
So there you go, i'll have more to report on the tnt ammo by next winter i'm sure but it looks even more promising than the v-max. Oh, and on a 10 shot string the tnt averaged 2542 fps out of the CZ varmint and the v-max only did 2495 fps.....so the tnt was 47 fps faster...plus it shot just as accurate (last group of day while zeroing was 6 shots...1 in tube 5 in mag....was about 3/4".....5 of the 6 went 1/2" easy...i musta pulled one
).
Food for thought eh boys??
22WMR on yotes?
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