17 HMR or .22 Magnum?

Question

I will be hunting grey fox, opossums, wild hogs with dogs and coons with it. Would a 17HMR or .22 mag penetrate a hogs forehead. What has more penetration and can HUMANELY kill a larger animal. I gave my brother my .22 lr Marlin Model 60 for his birthday. Because I need something with a little more power and range.

Answer 1

Both the .17 HMR n the .22 Magnum are varmint calibers. Hogs are big game. Of course, a hog can be killed with a .22 Magnum (I wouldn't try it with the thinner, lighter .17 HMR). The reason I say this can be done is because I know the man who killed a record hog in Texas in 1974 and he used a .22 Magnum (weapon of opportunity). That hog exceeded 600 lbs.

I don't use anything smaller than a .350 Remington Magnum (and I have been known to use a .458 Winchester Magnum) when I am strictly hunting hog. Use the .17 HMR n the .22 Magnum as varmint guns. They cannot humanely kill larger game and in many States, they are not even legal for big game.

Best.

H

Answer 2

Definently a 17 hmr although a 22 mag has double the knockdown power dont be fooled by the knockdown power with a thick enough skull to just break the skull and never hit the brain which rarely would happen but could very easily happen and make the hog suffer with a 17 comes a much faster bullet and is guaranteed to go straight through the skull and right through the brain out the neck but hey I will guarantee this a 30-06 will do it much quicker but dont plan on mounting it because its head will be in pieces

Answer 3

Uh pigs with a 22 mag???

I dont dought that it can work be why? I would opt for something a little more powerful than that.
You can foget the 17hmr on pigs, most are bullets made to rapidly expand in squrrels and ground hogs / prearie dogs and I would be afraid that the bullet would not get throught he heavy skull of a pig. Its only a 17 grain to 25 grain bullet.

How the 17 will work very go at taking fox, opossums and coons with very little pelt damage.

Answer 4

My personal opinion is lose both the 17hmr and 22mag for the hog,coons,and foxes. They are both too wimpy to take on a hog safely(though they will do the job). Safety being the key word. Also in terms of pelt value both 17hmr and 22 mag can be quite devastating on fur. If you want to get more dimes per pelt use a 22 short right in the eye when the opossums and coons are treed. A 22lr is more than enough for foxes. Pound the hogs with the biggest gun you got nobody buys hog hide that I know of.

Answer 5

i know someone who has shot 3 groundhogs with a .22 magnum Winchester model 94. at roughly 1650 fps, it will penetrate and at the least give the hog a brain aneurysm. as for fox, it will take care of them at short ranges. remember, a .22 is a rimfire and isn't good for more than 70-90 yards. and you really don't see many possum when its light out enough to shoot them. if you do see them during the day, it may have rabies don't let your dogs near it.

for just fox and hog, a .223 or a .243 will work. but as for .17 or a .22 mag, a .22 mag will kill smaller hogs and the occasional medium sized one. the largest gun i would get for any of these is a .243, but a .222 will work just fine.

Answer 6

I have hunted wild hogs and black boars for most of my life. To be honest, I wouldn't count on either one to bring down either species of pig. The smallest caliber I would suggest would be 222 or 223 caliber using a hollow point or partitioned bullet, and go up in caliber from there. Fox,Opossums,Raccoons, sure the 17HMR or .22 caliber will do nicely but it's just not enough for Pigs. If you are hunting with dogs it's even more vital that you put the pig down quickly and cleanly or suffer the loss of one of your dogs.

Answer 7

Definitely get the .22 Mag. A 17 could penetrate most things but might not take them down like a 22 Mag could.

Answer 8

.22 mag has a heavier bullet helping it to penetrate better so it would be the most humane

Answer 9

22 mag for sure

Answer 10

Your going to need at least a 30-30 Caliber rifle*....