The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Hogs, Warthogs, Wild Boars, Javelinas Hunting 17 HMRGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I was asked to take some young guys, who are staying with my neighbor, for a goat hunt a few days back. I was short on ammo, so gave them a 17 HMR to use while I backed them up with a 375 Win ( yeah I know from one extreme to the other). We were creeping up on a clearing in the bush when I spied a small mob of pigs, and as Justin here had never shot one, we moved in to 20 paces and I told him to hit it in the temple with a 20gr Hornady hollowpoint. Although I was ready with the Big bore, I wasn't needed, as the little porker crumpled on the spot.  | ||
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CNS hit means lights out! Congratulations!  "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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My taxidermist wants to try the 17HMR on pigs. A couple of his other customers swear by it. My gunsmith wants to build me a .204 Ruger for brain shooting pigs. I would have thought that these, esp. the 17, would have been too small to insure penetration. Apparently not! LWD | |||
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With the 20 grain XTP that was used, adequate penetration should not be a problem on smaller hogs with head shots. I wouldn't try it on an older hog, however. And as a couple of guys from the area found out, the 17 grain V-Max will not penetrate sufficiently to be a reliable killer.One of them put a V-Max near the ear, and the hog dropped from the 30 yard shot. As they approached, the hog stood up, and his partner put a 170 grain bullet from his 30-30 through the neck to end the ordeal. The 17 grain bullet did not make it through the bone. This same individual admitted he had also shot a large boar hog from a tree stand and put the bullet from the HMR a little above the center of the eyes. This hog apparently took off and was never found. After extensively testing the HMR, I personally found it best suited to rabbit/prairie dog sized critters. Even on possum and raccoons, animals wouldn't always even give a reaction to a solid hit. All were recovered, but some did not have the clean kills I aspire to -- and the impacts with the HMR were notably less authorative than similar impacts with a .22 WMR. The 20 grain XTP makes it better suited to such tasks, though I still feel anything larger than our 10-pound gray fox thoroughly overmatches the .17 HMR cartridge. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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Despite posting a successful shot with the 17, I'd have to agree with you Bobby.The rifle was bought for shooting Rabbits and Magpies, and my brother and I have found it useful on goats with well placed head and heart shots. However if I hadn't had a decent rifle as a backup, I probably would of walked away without letting them shoot. My feeling now is that it is probably capable of taking a pig with a liveweight up to 100lb, but I'm not going to go looking for another pig to shoot with it. Deffinatly the .22 wmr is a better cartridge, and I've shot a dozen or so cattle with that, and I've even taken a Boar of around 215-225 lb liveweight with a standard .22 Long Rifle, I was just more amazed myself that the 17 accomplished the job. | |||
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I've never used a .17 on hogs, but have killed a bunch with a .22 LR at ranges no farther than 25 yds. All shots were at animals facing me with their heads down, right between the eyes. All fell on the spot and none required a second shot. An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool" | |||
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I agree completely with this statement. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Whitworth, this goes against your BIGBORE, BIG BULLET, theory does it not? | |||
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Don't tell Whitworth  , but my next Contender barrel will probably be a 38-55 with a 22" barrel and will primarily fed heavy-weight, hard-cast WFNs.This will be my short range hog rifle. And yes, I know 38-55 brass is sometimes hard to find, but I have a few unopened bags here, and that should be plenty for a while. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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It's not a theory, it's proven to work, and work well!  Everyone here agrees that a CNS hit is instant lights-out on any animal, but you can't rely on that shot presenting itself and the caliber is just too light for reliable (emphasis on reliable) performance. Other than that, I'm not going to piss on the man's kill as it was righteous! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Whitworth wrote:
EXACTLY!!!  Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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Thanks Whitworth. The last thing I wanted to do was start an arguement on big v small calibres. It was more the curiousity factor that I thought would interest people. Over the last few days, the guys have been put through a fair bit of testing, untill I was happy with there firarm safety and shooting ability. Finally I lent them the 375 Win for a hunt they could call there own, and perhaps this is a better example of up and coming hunters getting it right. with only a licenced gun owner as witness they did this hunt themselves, and shot these two after stlking up within 25 yards.  | |||
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Looks like you taught them well! Congrats to all!. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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You've obviously gone about teaching the right way! Congratulations are in order! You've done well! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Boys, it looks like you had a great hunt! As far as what you shot them with thats totally up to you! For me, the 17 hmr would probably be down the list quite a ways. MY Dad killed and butchered alot of hogs, he shot them with the 22 short. Congratulations! | |||
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