17HMR Rifle Choice(s)

[GAnderson]

I am in the market for a 17HMR and have been looking at the various offerings. I've never been "into" rimfires much but do realize that rimfire rifles can be picky about what ammo they like and understand that I will have to try several brands of ammo to find what it likes.
I have narrowed it down to the CZ offerings, the Savage and Ruger American...I did see where the Ruger uses a 9 twist...this seems odd from what the others use for a rimfire...doesn't it?
Of the 3 mentioned, which would be your first choice for hopefully getting a shooter right out of the box? CZ only offers bolt action, Savage has both bolt action and semi auto and the Ruger is semi auto...what would be the preferences there?
Looking to use this on a ground squirrel hunt. Thanks

Gene

 

[K9TXS]

I have the CZ. Great rifle, no complaints. I just put it in a Manners stock with a new scope but haven't had time yet to sight it in. I've had the rifle for about three years in a Boyds Tactical Cool stock that I really didn't care for.

I plan on using this and my 17 WSM Ruger for ground squirrels in the spring.

I'm not a Savage fan at all.

The Ruger would be good, but more money. When I got my Ruger 17 WSM, I was shocked at how sloppy the bolt was. I sent the barreled action to Connecticut Precision Chambering. They worked on the bolt and added a .920 Shilen barrel. I should have a Richards Microfit Stock in next week or so.

 

[hogpatrol]

Have shot several Savages and own this cartridge in CZ and Anschutz. Savages shoot very well and are the value leader in the .17HMR line. If the budget allows, Anschutz & CZ are extremely accurate and will hold their value. The cartridge isn't as fussy as the .22 rimfire and there aren't that many different types of ammo. Nine twist is generally the standard for .17 caliber rifles, rimfire and centerfire. A search on this forum for rifles in this cartridge will give you plenty of info.

 

[jepp2]

Of the 3 mentioned, which would be your first choice for hopefully getting a shooter right out of the box?

I only have experience with 1, and it was a tragedy. I bought a new CZ 455 in 17 HMR. Really excited, my first ever CZ rifle. I have an Anschutz 1717D HB that is an absolute track driver. Took the CZ out and it shot "patterns" not groups at 100 meters.

My goal was to use it on my prairie dog hunts for the dogs under ~ 150 yards to take some of the load off my centerfires. And the way it shot, I wouldn't take it. From what I have seen, my experience isn't necessarily typical for CZ's and many experience excellent accuracy out of the box. But what to do next.

Not knowing if CZ would do anything regarding my accuracy issues, I bought a Lilja barrel. Overnight success. And since then I have added a Boyd's At-One stock and a Timney trigger. So my bargain rifle got $700 worth of add on's. But at least it now shoots the way I need it to.

CZ did stand behind the barrel, I returned mine and they shipped me a new one. But with my experience with the first one, I sold it NIB.

And my opinion with little data is that CZ has the best offering of the 3 rifles you mention. Maybe my goals are higher than yours, but I need a rifle to shoot near 1 MOA for my intended use.

 

[GAnderson]

I have the CZ. Great rifle, no complaints. I just put it in a Manners stock with a new scope but haven't had time yet to sight it in. I've had the rifle for about three years in a Boyds Tactical Cool stock that I really didn't care for.

I plan on using this and my 17 WSM Ruger for ground squirrels in the spring.

I'm not a Savage fan at all.

The Ruger would be good, but more money. When I got my Ruger 17 WSM, I was shocked at how sloppy the bolt was. I sent the barreled action to Connecticut Precision Chambering. They worked on the bolt and added a .920 Shilen barrel. I should have a Richards Microfit Stock in next week or so.

I have been kind of leaning towards the CZ. And I stand corrected, the Ruger American is a bolt action and not semi auto. It only comes with an 18" bbl whereas the CZ is 20.5".
Thanks for the info.

Gene

 

[GAnderson]

Have shot several Savages and own this cartridge in CZ and Anschutz. Savages shoot very well and are the value leader in the .17HMR line. If the budget allows, Anschutz & CZ are extremely accurate and will hold their value. The cartridge isn't as fussy as the .22 rimfire and there aren't that many different types of ammo. Nine twist is generally the standard for .17 caliber rifles, rimfire and centerfire. A search on this forum for rifles in this cartridge will give you plenty of info.

So you are saying the CZ and Savage have 9 twist barrels also? I was thinking I read that they were twisted like other rimfires...somewhere around 15-16 twist i think.
The 18" barrel on the Ruger seems odd from a standpoint of wanting to get max velocity from the HMR, but maybe it is not a factor? Thanks

Gene

 

[hogpatrol]

I have been kind of leaning towards the CZ. And I stand corrected, the Ruger American is a bolt action and not semi auto. It only comes with an 18" bbl whereas the CZ is 20.5".
Thanks for the info.

Gene

In my experience with three CZs, they all preferred the 20 grain gamepoints with which you'll give up a little velocity.
AFAIK, all the .17 HMRs are 9 twist.

 

[GAnderson]

I only have experience with 1, and it was a tragedy. I bought a new CZ 455 in 17 HMR. Really excited, my first ever CZ rifle. I have an Anschutz 1717D HB that is an absolute track driver. Took the CZ out and it shot "patterns" not groups at 100 meters.

My goal was to use it on my prairie dog hunts for the dogs under ~ 150 yards to take some of the load off my centerfires. And the way it shot, I wouldn't take it. From what I have seen, my experience isn't necessarily typical for CZ's and many experience excellent accuracy out of the box. But what to do next.

Not knowing if CZ would do anything regarding my accuracy issues, I bought a Lilja barrel. Overnight success. And since then I have added a Boyd's At-One stock and a Timney trigger. So my bargain rifle got $700 worth of add on's. But at least it now shoots the way I need it to.

CZ did stand behind the barrel, I returned mine and they shipped me a new one. But with my experience with the first one, I sold it NIB.

And my opinion with little data is that CZ has the best offering of the 3 rifles you mention. Maybe my goals are higher than yours, but I need a rifle to shoot near 1 MOA for my intended use.

Interesting to say the least.
I have expectations of wanting it to shoot sub MOA for sure, but hate to think of having to dump more cash into it. Thanks for your honest and first hand experience.

Gene

 

[GAnderson]

In my experience with three CZs, they all preferred the 20 grain gamepoints with which you'll give up a little velocity.
AFAIK, all the .17 HMRs are 9 twist.

OK, I will research some more on the twist rate. Thanks

 

[GAnderson]

Well, I guess 9 twist is correct on the 17HMR...when reading up on the Ruger American 17HMR, they kind of made it seem as if the 9 twist was unique to the Ruger and that most were standard rimfire twist rates.
I like the looks of the Ruger...the Savage A17 laminate is a looker too, but the CZ seems to keep pulling me that direction.
Any thoughts on bolt action versus semi auto that would make me lean one way or the other? Thanks

Gene

 

[hogpatrol]

I have one of these in a left bolt model as my primary groundhog firearm. With good shot placement in the had, will kill groundhogs at 200 meters and hold 1/2 moa to that distance. There's no factory unit out there that comes close.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/785868058

Well, I guess 9 twist is correct on the 17HMR...when reading up on the Ruger American 17HMR, they kind of made it seem as if the 9 twist was unique to the Ruger and that most were standard rimfire twist rates.
I like the looks of the Ruger...the Savage A17 laminate is a looker too, but the CZ seems to keep pulling me that direction.
Any thoughts on bolt action versus semi auto that would make me lean one way or the other? Thanks

Gene

Good feature on the CZ is the safety blocks the firing pin. The twist is a non issue. They're all nines. IIRC, early on, ten was tried and it wasn't optimum. Others may have had different experiences but I found the Savages needed cleaning and de-coppering more often than not. The Annies are hand lapped barrels with target triggers, buy once, cry once rifles.

 

[hogpatrol]

I have one of these in a left bolt model as my primary groundhog firearm. With good shot placement in the head, will kill groundhogs at 200 meters and hold 1/2 moa to that distance.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/785868058

 

[rr2030]

My only experience is with my savage 93R17 BVSS topped with a Bushnell 3-12 X 40 scope. The rifle is a tack driver with 17 grain CCI ammo. You will likely find that whatever rifle you purchase will favor one ammo over another. The unfortunate thing (for me) is here in the peoples republic I am required to shoot led free ammo. The two types I have tried, the 15.5 and 16 grain loads has opened my groups up considerably. Its still adequate for 125 yards and less on ground squirrels.


YMMV

 

[GAnderson]

The Anschutz 1517 isn't too bad $$$ wise...I had just seen the higher priced ones and kind of wrote them off but the 1517 may not be a bad buy.

 

[Pa.Mike]

Don't get hung up on the shorter barrel length. I read somewhere that the .17HMR reaches it's top velocity at 17".

 

[hogpatrol]

Don't get hung up on the shorter barrel length. I read somewhere that the .17HMR reaches it's top velocity at 17".

Some Magnetospeed chrono data for an Anschutz 17MPR. 25.6" barrel
Hornady 17Vmax five shot average 2634
CCI A17 17gr. five shot average 2792

 

[B23]

I have a Sav. HB SS thumbhole laminate stock version Model 93 17 HMR that I've had for years and I bought a Sav A17 HB with laminated stock a few years ago. They both shoot right around MOA at 100 yards. I think my new A17 actually shoots a tiny bit better but it's kind of hard to really tell with any of these things because the ammo is all over the place. I've chronographed a fair amount of 17 HMR ammo and the velocity spreads with this stuff is crazy.

For the most part, they all shoot relatively similar with the ammo that's available. If you want a bench quality shooting rimfire then you need to look at something in a 22lr because they have match grade ammo available for them but that doesn't mean you can't find a 17 HMR that'll shoot fairly well, just don't expect match level groups and you'll be good to go with just about any of the 17 HMR's out there.

Regardless of which 17 HMR you end up with, as soon as you get it home, crack the action screws loose and re-torque them to 18-20 in.lbs. Make sure and use an in.lb torque wrench or you'll likely go way over that. These things usually come from the factory way tighter than they need to be and at negatively affects accuracy. I've yet to have any rimfire bolt action rifle that didn't benefit from having the action screws re-torqued in the 18-20 in.lb range.

 

[Mark M.]

I'm not into plastic parts that can be found in some of the other brands your considering, thats why I'm a hugh CZ fan, best of all worlds and great value with accuracy quality , I own the 455 with a large inventory of factory and aftermarket barrels, 527 in 17 hornet and 223, buy a CZ and dont look back

 

[swadiver]

My wife's Savage 17HMR, stainless barrel in their thumbhole stock has shot in the .3's" @ 100 yds. .5's" to .7's" are common. this rifle likes CCI's TNT (Speer Hollow point) the best. great value for $300 and change

 

[Mark W]

Another CZ fan here! My .17 HMR is a CZ 455 American that likes Hornady 17 Grain Vmax. Sub 1” groups are the norm when shooting from a rest at 100 yards in decent weather. I’ve had a blast shooting prairie dogs with this one.