What experience have you guys [and gals] had with the .17 HMR on coyotes and bobcats and what kind of ammo gives the best penetration without disintegrating?

Lone Bull: I have killed two Coyotes with my Ruger 77/17V and the Remington ammunition. No autopsy was performed on either. One was a head shot. I use the Remington ammo because it is ever so slightly more accurate than the other 3 brands of 17 HMR I have tried.

I think the highlight of all my Varmint kills with the 17 HMR was a Leica lasered one shot kill on a large male Badger at 173 yards. This kill was a head on shot to the throat as the Badger emerged from his den in the middle of a Ground Squirrel Colony. The kill was instantaneous and the Badger did not move from the lip of his den! This again was with the Remington ammo. I have killed A LOT of Badgers in the last 40 years with various rimfire and centerfire cartridges! They can pack away a lot of lead. I had never killed a Badger with one shot before using a rimfire! Let alone an instant one shot kill at such long range!

I have been very impressed with the 17 HMR in virtually all regards. It is very accurate, very flat shooting, very quiet and very lethal on all mannner of Varmints! It is also very forgiving in its ability to retain accuracy even after long strings of shots have been fired and my Ruger does not seem to be difficult to clean at all!

I love the tiny little cartridge!

Having said that I can not whole heartidly recommend it as a #1 go to Coyote cartridge. There are just to many better cartridges with much better range and more energy for poor shooting angles than the 17 HMR.

I have not yet taken a Fox with my 17 HMR. The Fox in my area have all died off due to the mange that started here last fall!

I have killed quite a number of very large Rock Chucks with my 17 HMR also and was quite impressed with the lethality of the tiny bullets on those double chubby mostly mountain dwelling Chucks!

No Bobcat sightings as yet for me either since I got my 17 HMR online last year.

I would avoid hitting the shoulders of Coyotes when shooting the 17 HMR at all costs!

I have sure been happy with my 17 HMR and have taken all kinds of Varmints with it in addition to the Badger, Rock Chucks and Coyotes including a very large Porcupine, Skunks, Prairie Dogs, Ground Squirrels, feral cats, Jack Rabbits, Snowshoe Hares, Cottontails and various flying Varmints dumb enough to land within 200 yards of me!

I think the 17 HMR would be a fine choice for taking Bobcat that were hound Hunted (treed) or called in relatively close. Certainly only minimal pelt damage would occur with it.

Good luck if you decide to try one!

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy

PS: I almost forgot to mention that I also took a nice Tom Turkey with my 17 HMR this past fall. It also was a one shot kill (base of the neck). No damaged edible meat at all! Again the Remington ammo performed perfectly. This was my 6th wild Turkey and the first shot with the 17 HMR. It flopped and flapped VERY little as compared to the others I have shot with my Ruger 10/22, Marlin 22 Magnum or my 870 12 gauge. Now I know six Turkeys is a small sampling to draw a conclusion from but I feel certain that the 17 HMR and a shot to the base of the neck is a very humane and quick killer. To me it appears more of a quick killer than other arms I have used.

Varmint Guy: That was great [and extremely interesting] information on the .17 HMR. Thank you! I do have other varmint rifles [22/250, .220 Swift, .243s (2), and a mini-14 .223.] but want to get a bobcat for a full mount. The .223 has no scope on it [it's just a fun gun] and everything else I have blows things all to "H". Thought the .17 HMR might just be the ticket. I see cats right from my house, but have not tried to call any yet. Every one I have seen has been during closed season.