Rimfires and rabbiting

A .22 rimfire or a .17 HMR?

Q: I was going to apply for a certificate for a .22 rimfire for rabbit control, but I am now tempted to go for a .17 HMR. What can you tell me about the cartridge?

A: There are quite a few .17 rifle cartridges, both centrefire and rimfire. HMR stands for Hornady Magnum Rimfire, and the cartridge is the fastest rimfire available. It came out in the early 2000s.

At 17 grains, the bullet is lighter than a .22 rimfire, records 2,550 feet per second at the muzzle, and in the right rifle and in good conditions, can shoot half-inch groups at 100 yards. You won’t achieve performance like that in field conditions, but you should get good accuracy – the the added bonus of a flat trajectory and not too much wind drift.