Caliber+gun 100 yard, sub 1 inch recommendation

[chouchin66]

Do the hmr just shoot straight out of shop, what are the mil dots from say 50 yards to 150 yards,

With a 17HMR, ( or any rifle/ cartridge) your mil dots will be based on height above bore center of your chosen scope/ mount combo, actual chrono speed of the round through your barrel, your sight in distance/ chosen Point Blank Range based on your chosen kill zone size...a good few variables involved. " Properly" zeroed, you should though, be point & shoot - on the crosshairs, from your boot tips to ~ 130 yards or so.

 

[chouchin66]

There seems little love for a good .223 here. Good accuracy, plenty of ammo choice and components if you hand load and all the performance you need.
Why would you want to shoot a 100ftlb FAC air at a hundred or more yards when the humble .22lr will do the job better and cheaper.
If you wanted to stretch the range considerably I'm quite a fan of the 6BR.

.223 & 6mm B.R. ? I thought the OPs question was about 150 yard rabbits... with the two cartridges above, hell, you may as well call in " Puff the Magic Dragon" .

 

[WR142]

With a 17HMR, ( or any rifle/ cartridge) your mil dots will be based on height above bore center of your chosen scope/ mount combo, actual chrono speed of the round through your barrel, your sight in distance/ chosen Point Blank Range based on your chosen kill zone size...a good few variables involved. " Properly" zeroed, you should though, be point & shoot - on the crosshairs, from your boot tips to ~ 130 yards or so.

Good advice. This is the reason the 17hmr is now my go to calibre.
Boot tips to 100 yards point and shoot. Very fast and flat round.
It can cause a bit of a mess but as I don't eat what I shoot this isn't an issue for me.

 

[chouchin66]

Good advice. This is the reason the 17hmr is now my go to calibre.
Boot tips to 100 yards point and shoot. Very fast and flat round.
It can cause a bit of a mess but as I don't eat what I shoot this isn't an issue for me.

My " pest/ small game quiver" is .22 L.R., .17 HMR, .22 WMR & .220 Swift - each has their use based on distance to target & quarry type/ size...a coyote is a bit much for a 17, but a .22WMR ( sensible distance) & a 50 grain Federal is a decent choice... Contrary to some's belief, the .17 HMR ain't a " do it all" cartridge.

 

[barbel]

most weeks i am shooting rabbits, head and neck shots, the one gun i will pick up as already said is the 17hmr, got other choices, but it will be the 17 hmr.

 

[mightymouse1066]

Rabbits vary in tolerance but with even the most basic fieldcraft you should be able to get within 50 yards before they pay much attention.

This really is misleading IMO.

Whilst true in ideal quarry, ideal conditions and with a lot time and patience- you will often only manage a handful of quarry in an evening like this.

Not everyone can wait for a dark, cloudy breezy night and stalk in to rabbits which haven't been shot much- sneak inside 50 yards and shoot- and the relatively few that you would manage in an evening isn't a particularly productive use of one's time.

HMR can allow you to clear a field with far less walking and movement and then move onto the next.

If someone has one small rabbit perm- an air rifle can make it last all year and enjoyable.

 

[mightymouse1066]

Is .17wmr good for 150 is these hunting conditions or is it just hmr

It certainly has the energy to kill at that range. But it's not as flat as HMR. My hunch would say it wouldn't resist the wind as well as HMR but I may be wrong. Those who choose wmr often choose it because it deals with fox a little better- although both wmr and hmr are for close range fox only and regular fox work ideally warrants a .20 or. 22 centrefire imo.

 

[keithy]

Rabbits vary in tolerance but with even the most basic fieldcraft you should be able to get within 50 yards before they pay much attention. I'll happily push my 22LR out to 80 yards so that covers most situations especially along hedge lines and rough ground but the extra range of 17HMR comes into its own over open fields and for me that's double as I top out at 160 yards with mine. The downsides to the HMR are it's noise and shall I say an unpredictability of visceral effect if you want something for the pot, sometimes clean, sometimes messy, headshot or not. Upsides are far less chance of ricochet and better effect on larger quarry if you get more into pest control later on.
I can't really comment on FAC air, my mate uses one but his max range is 60 yards or so. Those are probably your choices though as I'm guessing you're going to have to give good reason and as a first grant I think anything outside those or 22WMR is going to raise questions, I wouldn't even consider asking for centrefire for rabbits first time round.

Rabbits within 50yds can be nigh on impossible on some perms, speaking from personal experience the daft youngsters can be easy. But the fully grown many years old rabbits are another level of waryness! The answer is a hmr, unfortunately not suitable due to noise on my perm.

 

[Lone wolf]

For anyone wanting to see how effective the HMR is for a walk and shoot rifle out to 160yrds or further in the right conditions with good bullet placement my last two videos are based on just that

spot, stalk, shoot.....rinse and repeat

Veteran vermin control

Shooting and vermin control in the UK using FAC Airguns, Rimfire and centerfire Rifles. Veteranvermincontrol@outlook.com

m.youtube.com

I'd not take my .223 unless it was really windy! Where I shoot I can get battered by the wind

MY HMR is my most used rifle, hands down.....I'm selling my 22lr as it's a paperweight and I only use my fac airgun round the paddocks and on the rats, had I not needed fac air for those two reasons I'd not have them and just Ron the HMR and the .223

 

[sb1]

For anyone wanting to see how effective the HMR is for a walk and shoot rifle out to 160yrds or further in the right conditions with good bullet placement my last two videos are based on just that

spot, stalk, shoot.....rinse and repeat

Veteran vermin control

Shooting and vermin control in the UK using FAC Airguns, Rimfire and centerfire Rifles. Veteranvermincontrol@outlook.com

m.youtube.com

I'd not take my .223 unless it was really windy! Where I shoot I can get battered by the wind

MY HMR is my most used rifle, hands down.....I'm selling my 22lr as it's a paperweight and I only use my fac airgun round the paddocks and on the rats, had I not needed fac air for those two reasons I'd not have them and just Ron the HMR and the .223

This look exactly like I'd need really, but does it work for headshots or just body shots at those ranges? How far does your fac air realistically go? As I have a field permission too who needs help and it's near some houses so I'm keeping all options open

 

[sb1]

For anyone wanting to see how effective the HMR is for a walk and shoot rifle out to 160yrds or further in the right conditions with good bullet placement my last two videos are based on just that

spot, stalk, shoot.....rinse and repeat

Veteran vermin control

Shooting and vermin control in the UK using FAC Airguns, Rimfire and centerfire Rifles. Veteranvermincontrol@outlook.com

m.youtube.com

I'd not take my .223 unless it was really windy! Where I shoot I can get battered by the wind

MY HMR is my most used rifle, hands down.....I'm selling my 22lr as it's a paperweight and I only use my fac airgun round the paddocks and on the rats, had I not needed fac air for those two reasons I'd not have them and just Ron the HMR and the .223

Also how badly is the meat damaged from the body shots? Could the back legs and rear spine part still be harvested for meat ?

 

[keithy]

This look exactly like I'd need really, but does it work for headshots or just body shots at those ranges? How far does your fac air realistically go? As I have a field permission too who needs help and it's near some houses so I'm keeping all options open

Hi i shoot only fac air in .25 cal I am happy shooting out to 100 yds with pellets 20mm group, fx impact m3, and vulcan 2. Both set at 900fps which suits the 25.4 grn pellets, still doing 21 ft lb at 100 yds. People do shoot with body shots .25 definitely gives noticeably more impact than .22. As a rule i only do head shots but i have shot one only with a body shot at 56 yds it went straight thro both sides of the rib cage and carried on going. Nil movement after the shot stone dead.

 

[rkr]

Hi i shoot only fac air in .25 cal I am happy shooting out to 100 yds with pellets 20mm group, fx impact m3, and vulcan 2. Both set at 900fps which suits the 25.4 grn pellets, still doing 21 ft lb at 100 yds. People do shoot with body shots .25 definitely gives noticeably more impact than .22. As a rule i only do head shots but i have shot one only with a body shot at 56 yds it went straight thro both sides of the rib cage and carried on going. Nil movement after the shot stone dead.

When I was shooting 100m BR with .25 pellet gun I observed up to 4" horizontal POI shifts in gusty winds. Not very good for hunting. Sub 20mm groups in calm are doable but wind is your enemy.

 

[sb1]

When I was shooting 100m BR with .25 pellet gun I observed up to 4" horizontal POI shifts in gusty winds. Not very good for hunting. Sub 20mm groups in calm are doable but wind is your enemy.

What about .30 or .25 slugs it's hard coz there a lot of money and it's a trade off of range vs noise vs shot count vs ammo prices

 

[rkr]

What about .30 or .25 slugs it's hard coz there a lot of money and it's a trade off of range vs noise vs shot count vs ammo prices

.25 or .257 is optimum caliber with slugs. You can get heavy slugs to 1000 fps using reasonable pressure. My current BR gun shoots 72 grain .257 slugs at 1020 fps, wind drift is usually within an inch. It is actually better than .22lr, less drift and less vertical variation.

 

[confidis]

222

 

[Fx shooter]

When I was shooting 100m BR with .25 pellet gun I observed up to 4" horizontal POI shifts in gusty winds. Not very good for hunting. Sub 20mm groups in calm are doable but wind is your enemy.

That’s where slugs come in to play

 

[Lone wolf]

This look exactly like I'd need really, but does it work for headshots or just body shots at those ranges? How far does your fac air realistically go? As I have a field permission too who needs help and it's near some houses so I'm keeping all options open

No reason why you couldn't head shoot them out to 100+yrds if your looking to preserve the meat, I dont harvest them so if its past 100 or sometimes even less I just put one in the boiler room as it drops them well enough and leaves a small margin for error on my part or if wind is in play.

My FAC airgun is set to 27 ft/lb and is good for around 80yrds if I do my part, it will shoot further but I tend to keep it around 60 ish.

Also how badly is the meat damaged from the body shots? Could the back legs and rear spine part still be harvested for meat ?

Back legs and loin perfectly fine if shot side on, I'd not like to think how bad the damage would be from a full frontal shot, I had a young one I shot last year and it literally unzipped it from front to rear

 

[Fox Tales]

Hi I am looking at ideas for a 100 yard gun with a view to 150 for mainly rabbits but possibly other quarry.

I am most interested in a caliber and brand that gives the best groups at this range and the least wind drift.

I have looked into FAC air (fx king and daystate blackwolf or other wolves)

I have looked into tikka tx1 (.22lr and .17hmr)

I haven't looked much at .22wmr, .222 etc but would be interested to know reccomendations.

I'm interested in harvesting some rabbits for meat but want the tightest groups and best windage, so please reccomend.
Thanks sam

I think a little perspective is required . My 22-250 is shooting a 50 grain Vmax at 3540fps a full value 10 mph will result in 1 inch wind drift at 100 yards and 2 1/4 at 150 yards . Anything shooting subsonic or light projectiles at those ranges is going to get hammered by the wind . There's no such thing as a free lunch , when it comes down to it there's a compromise to be made .
The 17 hmr will easily get you to 150 yards on bunnies as will a 22 wmr , not so easy in a breeze . @Lone wolf has a lot of experience with one , those sort of skills aren't learnt overnight and if your skills aren't up to his level then be prepared to limit your range or injure a lot of bunnies .
Personally, I wouldn't shoot anything subsonic out to 150 yards on quarry unless I new it was capable of exceptional precision at that range .
For me , small centrefire - either of the Hornets , Rimfire -17 hmr or 22 wmr .
Just about any centrefire after the Hornets will see a massive jump in muzzle energy .
Unfortunately , it's impossible to give a definitive answer , people can only advise on the merits of what they shoot .

 

[sb1]

No reason why you couldn't head shoot them out to 100+yrds if your looking to preserve the meat, I dont harvest them so if its past 100 or sometimes even less I just put one in the boiler room as it drops them well enough and leaves a small margin for error on my part or if wind is in play.

My FAC airgun is set to 27 ft/lb and is good for around 80yrds if I do my part, it will shoot further but I tend to keep it around 60 ish.

Back legs and loin perfectly fine if shot side on, I'd not like to think how bad the damage would be from a full frontal shot, I had a young one I shot last year and it literally unzipped it from front to rear

Il keep this technique in mind as I only really like the loin n legs, ribs n hip flaps are a bit tough n boney for me