I have read a lot about these two calibers and dont know which one to get. I read that the 17 hmr is to strong and may destroy the meat of the animal, And The 17 mach 2 may not have the range that I want. I need some help to find out what caliber I sould get. The animals I will be hunting are rabbits, foxs, birds, and maybe coyote. What should I get?

It seems like the 17 mach 2 is the gun you should get.

if coyotes are a chance then the only way to go is 17HMR, they are an accurate cartridge so there is no reason why you couldnt head shoot rabbits (I do) and it has dropped a fox out to 180 odd yards for me.

17M2 just doesnt have the energy for longer shots on foxes and coyotes and you will have too many runoffs.

In fact IMO you should look to centerfire cals for fox and coyote work. 223's are perfect.

The 17 grain bullet from a 17 HM2 has about 100 ft/lb of energy at 80 yards while the 17 grain bullet from a 17 HMR has about 100 ft/lb of energy at 150 yards. I would not use the 17 HM2 or 17 HMR for fox or coyote hunting . I have shot a lot of prairie dogs with the 17 HM2 for shots out to 80 yards and the 17 HMR for shots out to 150 yards. For shots from 150 yards to 300 yards I have used a 17 Fireball 20 Gr V-Max bullet where the bullet has about 250 ft/lb of energy or the 204 Ruger with a 32 grain bullet that has about 500 ft/lb of energy at 300 yards.