Originally Posted by Dirtfarmer
Originally Posted by 260Remguy
Originally Posted by Dirtfarmer
If you can find one, a Kahles rimfire 2-7 is hard to beat. This one on a Cooper Classic .22LR.

Ultimate, I don't know. But IMO, it would be hard to find a better squirrel hunting rig, rifle and scope.

I know I like it.

DF

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It would be better if it was chambered in 17HM2.

For a while, at least, 17HM2 ammo was hard to find. I have an Annie 1717 in 17HMR that has on at least one occasion shot 1/4 MOA with CCI TNT ammo. It'll go 1/2 MOA with most ammo, likes the TNT best of all.

How does the 17HM2 do on squirrels? I would think it would tear them up more than a .22LR.

DF


I aim to shot 'em in the head, so explosive physical damage isn't a problem.

17HM2 ammo was hard to find for an overly long period of time and the best 17HM2 ammo, that made by Eley, has been long discontinued. CCI and Hornady will shoot 1/2 MOA with all of my rifles, but the Eley and Eley-made Remington has always been consistently more accurate. The Anschutz 1502 is the easiest rifle to shoot good groups with at distances beyond 50 yards that I've yet to own. I managed to squirrel away quite a bit of Eley and Remington 17HM2 ammo, so I use that for hunting and CCI/Hornady for shooting paper and plinking targets of opportunity.

I like the flat trajectory of the 17HM2 and think that the fragile bullets are less likely to ricochet if they strike a glancing blow. I shoot about half my squirrels on the ground, around the edges of corn fields, so minimizing the potential for a bullet to ricochet onto the neighboring property is an important consideration, particularly so when the ground is frozen.

I think that the 17HM2 is the best cartridge for shooting squirrels yet to be introduced.