Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Why 22mag when 17HMR is so much better?

Where's that sense of humor today Jim?

.22 Mag = apples
.17 HMR = oranges
.300 WM = Alaska pumpkins


We have previously debated aspects of exterior ballistics of the .22/.17 but the vids you posted raise a separate issue, that being terminal ballistics and placement. While watching the two vids I noticed that in each case there were more shots fired than critters down for keeps. There was a second pig vs. 17 HMR vid on the menu with the first you posted, same story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR-HwPvoEOA&feature=related

So, to the question you raised about the viability of the .17 vs .22 for head shots, I'm not sure it's a valid comparison one way or another. Maybe it was placement, maybe it was bullet performance? What I do know about hogs is their CNS architecture is fairly well protected on broadside shots, both by bone for the brain and muscle mass for the neck vertebra. Neither provides much if any latitude for error in placement/performance when using expanding bullets from low powered cartridges. In the case of the vids under discussion it is an open question as to whether it was placement or bullet performance that fell short, no?

Put another way, it is necessary to not only place the subject bullets properly to effect a CNS kill, it is likewise necessary to have a bullet that will get there. In discussion about your assertion of equivalency of the two rounds I find some basis to object for a couple of reasons. One is momentum calculus which tells me the .22 Mag is far ahead of of the HMR. For that matter, it isn't clear to me the HMR has much more momentum than a .22 CB Short. Secondly, the WMR has several options which limit expansion. One is the FMJ loading by Winchester and another is the reduced velocity of the Federal 50 grain load. I cannot say how well the Federal load works as I haven't tried it, but the Winchester FMJ will pass thru and thru a hog's skull, be it a broadside shot or head on aspect. Until such time as a FMJ load hits the market for the .17 I would judge it inferior to the WMR on that basis for applications on larger game and even then the numbers may not fully support such applications.

End of the day and all that, I'm thinking the HMR is a fine cartridge that has a lot of very specific applications. Hornady is to be complemented for introducing a quality product which raised the bar for the industry and I understand it's popularity. It does have it's limitations however, just as all cartridges do. However, I cannot view the orange as superior to the apple in this regard, or even equivalent.