Robocop1051 Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 So for Christmas I've been slowly working on a new build for my wife. She's constantly on me about why she doesn't have her own rifle and I have... well, I have mine. So I'm working on a plinker/light hunter. She like shooting squirrels with me. She's also very petite, so weight can turn into an issue. The first build I was looking at is a .22lr, using the barrel and BCG from Taccom3G. It'd be super lightweight and inexpensive to shoot. It's also fairly affordable to build. The second option was the .17 HMR build from Alexander Arms. You get a lot more bang out of a rim fire. Practically quadruple your effective range. I'd gain a bit more weight, but quite a bit more performance. The ammo isn't atrociously expensive or rare either. Pros and cons for both. A lot of my decision will be based on a return email from Alexander Arms. What do you guys think? Opinions? Experience?
sketch Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 Sounds good flip a coin :) I haven't seen .17 since 2011 in my last stop shops.
Robocop1051 Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Posted October 21, 2013 Honestly, if Taccom made the .17 this would be a no brainer for me.
bubbasks Posted October 21, 2013 Report Posted October 21, 2013 17 hmr ftw. I love my 22 for plinking but if u ever plan on hunting anything the 17 is a grenade. Super flat. Another cool one is 17hm2. Quieter and even less kick. Possibly get the 22 and a 17 barrel for the m2
BLKSHEEP Posted October 21, 2013 Report Posted October 21, 2013 Personally I'd get the .17 for the performance.
planeflyer21 Posted October 21, 2013 Report Posted October 21, 2013 The .17 HMR is a badass little round...but the .22LR hasn't been around 125 years for poor performance. It should be noted though that .17 HMR ammo was available all through this last ammo shortage. Robo, dude...you need to build this on the super ultra lightweight chassis!!
Robocop1051 Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Posted October 21, 2013 If I do the .22lr build, I imagine the build will be ~5 lbs. I've seen them as light as 3.8 lbs, but they are strictly .22lr shooters. I'd like to keep it semi-tactical, and able to quickly convert back to a center fire rifle with just an upper swap. I'm waiting for MAG tactical to release their Mg upper receivers. Then I'll likely add the new MI Gen2 keymod, or the BCM keymod if it gets released. I figure that the parts I want/like will add an overall 1.5 lbs to the rifle. I use gunstruction to mock up a basic idea of what I wanted.
gnatshooter Posted October 21, 2013 Report Posted October 21, 2013 It would be good to get the opinion of a squirrel hunter on the use of .17, if there's a plan to eat those critters. Which are tasty, I'm told. It might be there's so much punch to a .17 that it wrecks a lot of meat. I've heard, for instance, that CCI Stingers (.22) wreck a lot of squirrel meat and a slower round is better.
bubbasks Posted October 21, 2013 Report Posted October 21, 2013 It would be good to get the opinion of a squirrel hunter on the use of .17, if there's a plan to eat those critters. Which are tasty, I'm told. It might be there's so much punch to a .17 that it wrecks a lot of meat. I've heard, for instance, that CCI Stingers (.22) wreck a lot of squirrel meat and a slower round is better. 17hm2-kills em good lots of usable left 17hmr- try ur best for head shots bc it opens em like a brock lestner opening a bag of lays potato chips. .223 36gr grenades-what squirrel?
Robocop1051 Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Posted October 21, 2013 (edited) Only tree squirrels are good eatin. The little ground rats we shoot are garbage. We leave them for the birds... or to bait the coyotes. As for builds.... These are something of what I had in mind. They aren't "exact" but you get a good idea of what I'm thinking about. They're very similar, just changing barrels and internals. .22lr Taccom 3G .17 HMR Alexander Arms Edited October 21, 2013 by Robocop1051
survivalshop Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 Well , .22 ammo has been hard to find & that .17 fodder is not exactly plinking ammo priced . Hard choice. Those two rifle configurations look like they will be close to the price range of a full blown AR 15 in 5.56 cal.. Just build her a Carbine in 5.56 & get a 22 cal. conversion for it . <dontknow>
gnatshooter Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 If I was gonna get serious about .17 I'd go for a .17 Fireball. But I wouldn't be puttin' rabbits into the stew-pot with it though. Maybe a fox tail for the antenna on my car.
Tripledeuce Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 I want to build a couple of 22LR uppers this year. A friend hunts prarrie dogs with 17, dosen't leave much behind. Standard velocity LR's tear up almost no meat, and leave a clean kill. Respectfully Terry
.308LiteHunter Posted October 28, 2013 Report Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) Build them both, and which ever one your wife doesn't want I'll buy for "my wife" :D Edit- Went back and re-read some of the posts I had been following and ran across my comment ^^^^^^ I obviously skimmed this post way to fast and assumed you were joking about a build for the wife. My bad, I feel like an idiot. Edited May 25, 2014 by .308LiteHunter
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