Thinking about getting a 17HMR for varmints, plinking, etc. My feeder is 150 yds from my blind, can this caliber effectively kill coons, etc. from that range? Thanks

If you can hit them it can kill them.

If it is not windy hitting a raccoon at 150 is not a problem with the 17 HMR and it will kill them at that distance, just do not expect dramatic DRT kills unless you take out the brain.

The wind will be the culprit you will need to worry about.

Wind will be your limiting factor. It's very accurate past 100 yards (maybe out to 175-ish with little/no wind), but those tiny bullets get blown all over with any wind at all. And with having to make precise shots due to the small bullet size, it gets tough to be consistent when it's windy.

Love my 17 HMR and 150 is no problem in a no wind condition. Recently I have been looking at the 204 or 22/250 caliber to deal with the wind issues for small game. Like the versatility of the 22-250 (coons to antelope/small deer).

Yup. As always.

I used mine a lot prairie dog hunting in South Dakota. ~175 was my effective range. Out there in the wind on open range, the dogs didn't pay attention to the report of the rifle, so you could shoot, see where the bullet hit in the dirt and adjust. It was a lot of fun. When we used the centerfires, we typically only got 1-2 shots off on towns that had been hunted before. Big towns, that didn't have much pressure, you could setup on top of a knoll and shoot in pieslice sections.

Thanks for the good info guys, still pondering the purchase.

The .17 HMR is better in the wind than the .22 magnum. It has plenty of accuracy to hit a coon head at 150 yards. I routinely shoot little 8 ounce water bottles at 200 yards.

I just got a 17 WSM and it is my new favorite rifle, surprising velocity and accuracy.

22 mag is a bigger 40 grain bullet and doesn't require the same accuracy as 17HMR at distance though. But you're right that it will have less drift.

the 17 hmr is a great round. the wind drift is really large as you reach out close to 200 yards. I have shot a coon at close to 200 yards with no wind.

17 is a monster on coon sized critters... 200 on that size is a dead coon... and other things, is you don't hit bone... It is a awesome little round

good read
http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm

Does a great job on hogs under 50 yards if you put it in the brain or neck. Love using mine on hogs from my bow stand.

-ww