I like .17 HMR, but at the same time it's a bit of a weird option. I have a Rossi single shot switchbarrel (I think they sold them as the Trifecta or something at some point with three barrels, but I picked two of them up as two barrel sets so I have .17 HMR, .308, 20ga and 12ga) and it is an absolute tack driver. And shooting so flat and fast makes it very easy to hit things in "real world conditions" versus .22LR. That said, it's so expensive to shoot that you might as well just go with a real caliber and be done with it. .223 has a ton more energy and is 1/4 the price (if that), with the only disadvantage I see being that it's louder and requires a heavier barrel for the same level of accuracy... But you can also shoot .223 out way farther then you're ever going to get the little .17 projectile to go.
I guess it would be great for discreet removal of gophers.