There are many discussions about the .17 cal. Good for rabbit or squirrel that are close but....other than that they are just a pretty looking bullet ,too light for practical purposes comparable to a high quality air rifle. A slight cross wind blows these little .17 grainers all over the place and anyone that would like to argue otherwise,"come on down"

22 mag or even 22 lr out perform the 17 is every way imagineable.

I got a cheap 3 - 9 x 50 Bushnell Dawn to Dusk on my 22 mag. With any variable power scope especially the cheaper ones, mount scope,sight in,and then check with bore sighter to see if cross hairs stays consistant at all mignification. If so, I can not forsee any problems.

You got me spooked on the 17cal. I have only heard good things, not the negitive. Guess maybe I should do some more research before making the new purchase as I did on a wim. Not that I mind having more guns, I just like to try to have ones I like to use. My brno 22 is second to none in my opion. My 223 shoots like crazy, just so loud and the amo is a bit more pricey. Anyway I found a used vxII that I might try to pick up. Its the same one Ihave on my 223 which seemed to work flawlessly last spring. I liked the way the cross hairs didn't seem to get fuzzy like they do sometimes in the bushnell I have. Almost like the cross hairs are moving. Maybe that is just my eye getting blury I am not sure. Thanks for the advice and now I am off to find more posts on the 17. I still have to time to change my mind on this rifle.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/caliber_conversions.htm

Not intending to scare people off but make an informaed decision:

The link above is a comparison on bullet diameters,The last two on the chart are the .17 and the infamous BB. Most people have seen BBs and know their diameter but no so with the.17

Anybody surpised!!

i know its tiny, just like a pellet gun. Its just a new rage here for shooting gophers, and I thought I would like one. But we do have wind often, not that the critters are out much in the wind anyway. There can always be a breeze and I like the idea of the long shots. the 223 reaches out very nicely, if I can put the hairs on it and hold, its a done deal. The only thing lacking is my own ability. I have made some very long shots with my brno22 but its more fluke and shoot till it hits, adjust windage by where the dust flys. There is not much discussion on the subject in these fourms that I could find through the search, mostly all has to do with the bigger cal.

Ya, You got to consider the weather condition where you hunt. A year or so agoin Outdoor Canada forms the same topic was discussed with alot about wind drift.

Well the guy lived on Privce Edward Island and on the nicest day of the year you got a good breeze on PEI. He chose soething in the 22 cal.

I'll go along with Hammer on this. Plus one more thing to keep in mind. Fairly new cartridge, will it last? I remember when the 5mm Rem Mag came out. It was a rage. Lot's of 5mm mag rifles around today, no ammo!

As for a scope, I've got a couple 3x9 scopes, don't really care for them. I uiidon't subscribe to the long range school even on centerfires. I believe that a rifle should be sighted in based on the kill zone size of the animal you're hunting based on max point blank range and an 8" target. For centerfire, that comes out around 300 yds more often than not. The range for a rimfire is no where near that so even less is necessary.

I think the best hunting scopes were the 2 3/4 and 4x scopes. They are plenty for big game to 300 yds and fine for rimfires to 50 or 75 yds. Most people I know that have 2-7 or higher variable scopes seldom thae them off 4x!

you make a good point in that I never change my settings, and I mostly keep them at the bottom. With that leopold i have it set to maybe 5 or 6 and never touch it. That probably will would mean I could maybe get better optics for my money without paying for the varable. That is most important to me anyway seeing clear.

When it comes to big game or my tactical rifles you can never spend to much. With rimfires I feel I can go cheaper and not worry or care. The 17 will do fine on gofers and p-dogs. I killed load of them in New Mexico with the 17. The wind is a HUGE factor with it. One day we had 30-45 full value winds and had to dope 6 feet. It sure was fun tho. Personally I like my 22 mag and belive its the best rimfire out there. It's never been hugly popular but it kill better than the 22lr and 17. I have many woodchuck notches on my maggie, at some pretty amazing ranges with a rimfire.

Hey remington,

In a survival situtation I've alwasy felt the only cartridge to have was the 22mag. Suprizing how big an animal you can kill with the proper shot at the proper range. You can also carry a ton of them in your pocket!

Here's a little story about the evil .22 cal:

I was a police officer for 27 years and I remember the first bullet proof vests we got. Guaranteed to stop a 12 gauge slug and 44 mag, among others. Not guaranteed to stop a .22 long rifle. You could hang one of the vests over a wooden door and throw a dart through it and into he wood.
Now saying that, I would not want to take a chance with the aforementioned 12 gauge, 44 mag or any calibre for that matter.

Now considering the 22 mag has twice the energy of the 22 lr and animal don't wear vests, the 22 mag is an extremely dangerous piece of machinery.