Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 17HMR for coyotes within 75 yards?

I have just purchased a 17 HMR Savage. I am also new to coyote hunting. I am planning on hunitng them after our deer season goes out. My question is....would the 17HMR be enough gun. I am not worried about making an accurate shot, I am very capable of that. But, I just have not had any experience with the 17HMR. Alot of guys have said that they have shot yotes with their 17 HMR and easily killed them out to 100 yards but, I also want to be humane about it and not let the first one escape with a walking wound. I know they are predators but, I want a clean kill too. Keep in mind that we don't have the wide open spaces here in Georgia, so 75 yards to 100 yards is about it for my hunting locations.
So....is a 17HMR enough for coyotes out to about 75 yards?
Thanks for any advise.

While I have no exp with the .17hmr, my hunting pards do and they say that it is effective to 100 as you stated...so I would say go 4 it.

Not much room for error in my opinion. I would use one of the 20gr bullets though.

Agreed.

why not use your deer gun? Just a different kind of practice for next season.

I have gotten one at about 50yards with a 17gr TNT. But I dont think I would do it again. Lots better to choose from heck even a shotgun would work conidering the distances your talkin bout.

Go for it 17 HMR is very capable on yotes at that distance. Don't worry at all have fun just take the time to make a good shot.

No...
Not at all...
Use any centerfire you have...

i have killed coyotes with a .22 long rifle but, it's more of a stunt than something i'd want to do all of the time...
i'd advise against it...

if i were out with a hmr in my hand and saw a decent shot opportunity, i'd probly take it...
i will not take any rimfire hunting when coyotes are my primary goal...

the .17 hmr is cool but, it is not magic....

Welcome Glocknut686 to the campfire!

First of all I respect your hunting ethics even if we are talking about 'yotes.

I shoot a 17HMR quite a bit during the summer. My advice is like others have offered, use 20gr bullets, make a good shot in a vital area, and keep the distance at 100yds or less and enjoy.

gary

fwiw,
Have shot a few coyotes when I was out west and none of them were shot with a .17 HMR. All actually were shot with my .223 AI and 40 grain BTs...

That said I'd never shoot anything as big as a Coyote with a .17 HMR. Some, in my humble opinion, through limited experience or being unfailing shots who perfectly place the bullet have had great luck with the round on everything from Rats to small deer. I personally have had a lot of bang flops on Fox and I've also had a lot of animals that were out of range, hit poorly, or simply not found in the dark.

I used a .223 Remington or .223 AI before the .17 HMR and to say there is a gulf of perfomance difference would be completely fair. The .223 shoots flat enough, and hits hard enough, that just about any doable shot at night resulted in a dead fox at ranges slightly past 200 yards(seems longer at night).

My first experience with the .17 HMR was a neck shot Fox that never twitched. Fired at the second set of eyes where I thought the Fox had been and I nearly decapitated an unfortunate rabbit. He was simple in line with the Fox about 10 yards behind him... Found both and came to be impressed with the .17. I've shot a hundred or so different quadrupeds with that round in the year or so since that initial use and find my opinion has changed.

Makes a grand 75 yard FOX rifle if you can place your shot. Would not shoot a Coyote with one...fwiw & imho.

Regards, Matt.

This is a pretty hot subject and I'll offer this one last time.
You will have runoffs no matter what bullet or placement...
If you are cool with this happening then by all means use the Hummer...

I learned the hard way...

Fox is a different story, they die easy...
Coyotes is a whole new ballgame...

Thanks guys...alot more differing opinions than I thought there would be but, ya'll bring up some good points about the round. Thanks again.
Lee Perkins

Glocknut,

I'm glad you are taking the time to ask about the 17 HMR.

You can go try it, but in truth, it is just too light for coyotes, period.

You will get differing opinion here & everywhere else about it, but that's why we have so many calibers to choose from....

I even had one guy tell me he killed an elk with a .17 HMR at 100 yards. If that's true, (Which i doubt) then he was an idiot for trying, & a lawbreaker for doing it.

GMoney's post above is spot on. He knows....He tried it.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Thanks for your feedback. A red fox weighs less than a woodchuck and is not tough. A coyote can weigh many many times more than a red fox and they seem pretty tough.

Here in CT there is some really nice WMA land to hunt on and its very close to me but we were restricted to shotguns with #4 shot or the .22 LR. Recently the .17 HMR was made legal there.

So far my decision has been to use a shotgun as I viewed, from theory, the 17 HMR as too small for coyotes. To be frank I really don't have the choice of a great gun for that land still. With the shotgun I can blast at a crow however so I am sticking with that and not getting a .17 HMR.

Does anyone think the 17 will eventually fade into the sunset? To me....and I have to say I'm just using common sense....the 17 is good for rabbits and such. Heck, I have a 22 mag I use on coyotes successfully out to about 125 yards max. That's going to do the job of a 17 all day long under the same distance...NO?

My personal rifle caliber is a 243 for yotes but there's so many out there that duplicate the job. Just my 2 cents.

Again guys...thanks for the help. I think I will stick with my only other option and that is my .308. Yeah, I know it's probably overkill but, heck at least I know it will do the job. I might start looking into a .223 or .243.....I don't know. That will be another issue and pain knowing I am going to have to fork out more money for another rifle. Oh well....Darn, I have to buy another gun. Don't you just hate when that happens? I can hear my wife now...."that's all you need is another gun".
The way this world is going, I don't know if you can have too many guns!!!!!
Thanks guys,
Lee Perkins

I think that is a wise choice Lee...

Plus you get another gun out of the deal...

Glocknut, I'm sorta in the same boat as you. I've got a .17HMR, a .270 and a .300WSM. The .270 is out of commish so that leaves the Hummer and Whizzum.
I've shot several gophers(ground squirrels) with the Hummer and of course it works fine for that. Haven't shot at anything bigger with it and don't intend to. The 17/20 grain bullet just doesn't give me enough confidence for use on larger critters. It may work or it may not, I prefer to not chance it....



To really put it in perspective here is the .300WSM/180 gr. AccuBond and .17HMR/17 gr. V-Max side by side. I REALLY need a .25-06(that's the plan for the .270 donor....).

Sam
That 25-06 is a puzzy. Get yourself a 243 an call it a day.

I sold my Anchutz 17 HMR because i had too many prairie dogs get down a hole after being center punched.