17 hmr for Grouse?

[HunterDave]

I had allot of fun with my 17 hmr this summer shooting gophers but I've seen what it'll do to them. I was using Vmax BT ammo so that pretty much blew them up. I was wondering if switching to a FMJ bullet would work for grouse without destroying the meat. Anyone shoot grouse with their 17 or should I just stick with my 10/22?

[timsesink]

Unless your headshooting leave the 17hmr at home, however if you're feeling confident take her out and do some head shooting. With the flat trajectory they are superior to the .22lr for that but defintely not the way to go for body shots.

[roger]

it doesnt make much sense to get within 5 yards of a grouse just to have to move off to a 100 to shoot it

[lone wolf]

Agree with previous post ~ head/neck shots only. Anything else and it will not be worth eating.

[Jamie Black R/T]

i used one last year....awesome fun to smoke em in the head/neck at 70+ yards....like was already said several times...if you cant hit them in the head or neck leave it at home cause there wont be any meat left to eat with those vmax's

and flinging fmj's at animals is never really a great idea for a few different reasons.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Jamie Black R/T

and flinging fmj's at animals is never really a great idea for a few different reasons.

I need to be educated here I guess? Why wouldn't you shoot a gopher or chicken with an fmj bullet? Deer, moose and the like i can see but a small animal like that?

Anyway, I guess that the 17 hmr is out and the 10/22 is the official truck gun then.

[backstraps]

I shoot all my grouse with a 22mag, just have to do neck or head shots, not usually a problem when most shots are 25 yards or less

[open sights]

i just grab my 12 gauge and the bird. taste fine (almost never any shot in the meat) just never one in the body with a 180 grain .303 british.... i learned that the hard way lol

[graham1]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I need to be educated here I guess? Why wouldn't you shoot a gopher or chicken with an fmj bullet? Deer, moose and the like i can see but a small animal like that?

Anyway, I guess that the 17 hmr is out and the 10/22 is the official truck gun then.

I bought some .22 ammo a couple years ago that were not hollow point. I figured it shouldn't make much difference to gophers. WRONG!!! It was ugly, bad, wounded critters hit well, crawling around. Not fun! I only shot a couple and quit. I still have the rest of a brick of ammo that I figure is pretty much useless.

That said, I was hitting them in the body, head shots would likely be a different story.

[open sights]

Originally Posted by graham1

I bought some .22 ammo a couple years ago that were not hollow point. I figured it shouldn't make much difference to gophers. WRONG!!! It was ugly, bad, wounded critters hit well, crawling around. Not fun! I only shot a couple and quit. I still have the rest of a brick of ammo that I figure is pretty much useless.

That said, I was hitting them in the body, head shots would likely be a different story.

i have about 600 rounds that are fmj and LOVE shooting them, i look for rabbits during the day when we are just sitting around camp (never actually found one though), we sometimes set up pop cans, like 10 in a row and see who can knock over them the fastes with 10 rounds, there are not useless, just only shoot an animal if your close enough to get a head shot or have a shooting competition with the guys around camp.

people always say I'm a trigger happy 16 year old and my dad and uncles don't always enjoy can after can but i say i got 600 rounds of fmj 22lr so why not!

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by graham1

It was ugly, bad, wounded critters hit well, crawling around.

That's happened to me allot even with hollow points out of my 10/22. Just pop another round or two into them. A 22, even with hollow points, is quite a bit different from hitting them with a V Max out of a 17 hmr.