how well would the 17hmr work for dispatching animals in traps like coyote fox or bobcat

I don,t know , but a friend of mine has one , I,ll ask him . see if it,s ruff on hides ..

No better than a subsonic 22lr in my opinion. Headshots still bleed all over and the 17HMR will blow the eyes out sometimes. Body shots leave most of the blood in the chest cavity until you skin them and then it drains all over your shop floor. I choke all my cats down and tonk and heel stomp the greys and coyotes. No blood. YMMV.

I agree with STrow a 22 sub sonic works great or you can asphyxiate them with a pole works great or the bonk on the head.

.I shot a lynx between the eyes last week with my 22 rifle with Standard high velocity Yellow Jacket L R. ammo . 1 shot from about 50 feet .. The trappers said it didn,t hurt it at all ....
. I,ve always had a thing for shutting an animal off like a switch ... I wouldn,t do the wrasslin match to save a hide .. I know a guy who didn,t want to ( ruin ) the hide with a bullet hole . He had a river otter in a trap and had to beat it in the head with a frameing hammer to kill it .. . That made a big mess of the hide ....He had tried chocking it down with snares but that didn,t work as otters are pretty skookum built .... After the last Wolverine he chocked I think he will use his 22 pistol from now on .... I think the 17 Mk2 would be better for trapped animals than the 17 HMR .....Should have enough velocity , but not too much ..

quote:

Originally posted by HTR30CAL:
how well would the 17hmr work for dispatching animals in traps like coyote fox or bobcat

It will "work" but it's too much gun for trapped critters. I've shot called red fox with it with good results although the post regarding blood during skinning has merit. Tiny entry and no exit wound. A .22LR is all you need for trapped stuff where the range is essentially point blank. The buyer wont notice the .046" of an inch difference in bullet holes!

I always used a .22 Short HP in a 6" SA revolver. Key is to shoot the critter in the ear on a line to come out the other ear. Shuts the critter down instantaneously and no holes in the pelt to speak of.

I'm a pretty crass and heartless S.O.B. But I could never see the point or merit in aspyxiation to save a mark in the pelt.

I've shot a variety of small game with the 17HMR. I agree that there is rarely an exit wound on animals larger than squirrel. It makes a mess of squirrel. It just about decapitates squirrel with head shots. Beginning with feral cats, I have not had an exit wound from point blank to 50 yards. I do not consider it on any animals except squirrel or rabbit beyond 50 yards. I do not consider it on game larger than fox as it does not make quick kills reliably. It is great on starlings and english sparrows around the farm out to 100 yards. I agree that if one wants to skin an animal after shooting it with a 17HMR, the body cavity retains most of the blood and it makes a mess of the internals. Personally - I'll stick with the 22 mag as it kills more reliably on small game up to fox. Good shooting!

.22 short CB cap

There is no need for the power or expense of a 17 HMR to dispatch trapped animals. A .22 SHort or even a CB short will do just fine. I used them for years and dispatched hundred of animals with superb results.