I will say that the .17WSM smokes both of them. I've shot coyotes,badgers,skunks,armadillos a grey fox and a beaver and small stuff like prairie dogs with my buddies .17WSM. It'll kill a coyote with a shot to the lungs at 100+ yards. Destroys prairie dogs like they got hit with a centerfire.
I've been shooting 20 grain Gamepoints for a while in my .17HMR. Killed a bobcat at 53 yards last week with a shot to the neck. Hit a big raccoon with it the other day and it had enough life left to jump in a well where I couldn't retrieve it. Massive blood loss but lived too long for my liking. Also shot a badger with the same gun,same bullet in the chest at 70 yards and it died far enough down the hole that I couldn't reach it. Tried to fish it out by tangling barbed wire in its fur and dragging him out but was unsuccessful. I know he died but he made it far enough that I couldn't get him. So in my opinion a bullet that fragments is a lot better in the .17HMR because it delivers more hydrostatic shock. The draw back to that is you can't shoot through heavier animals as well and reach vitals. The 20 grain seems like it's good for getting through to the good stuff it just doesn't deliver the amount of hydrostatic shock that a hollowpoint or v-max does. But I haven't tested that particular bullet out on enough big animals to really say how well they do. But based off of the three I've shot recently I haven't been real impressed. The bobcat is the only one that just went straight down and only kicked a few times. All three were good hits and they were confirmed dead. The raccoon and the badger just didn't drop on the spot which I don't like.
I've been shooting 20 grain Gamepoints for a while in my .17HMR. Killed a bobcat at 53 yards last week with a shot to the neck. Hit a big raccoon with it the other day and it had enough life left to jump in a well where I couldn't retrieve it. Massive blood loss but lived too long for my liking. Also shot a badger with the same gun,same bullet in the chest at 70 yards and it died far enough down the hole that I couldn't reach it. Tried to fish it out by tangling barbed wire in its fur and dragging him out but was unsuccessful. I know he died but he made it far enough that I couldn't get him. So in my opinion a bullet that fragments is a lot better in the .17HMR because it delivers more hydrostatic shock. The draw back to that is you can't shoot through heavier animals as well and reach vitals. The 20 grain seems like it's good for getting through to the good stuff it just doesn't deliver the amount of hydrostatic shock that a hollowpoint or v-max does. But I haven't tested that particular bullet out on enough big animals to really say how well they do. But based off of the three I've shot recently I haven't been real impressed. The bobcat is the only one that just went straight down and only kicked a few times. All three were good hits and they were confirmed dead. The raccoon and the badger just didn't drop on the spot which I don't like.
Comment