Accuracy Issues with 17 Remington

[Varmint Shooter]

Has anyone used the Hornady 15.5 gr copper bullet on any live varmints? I ran them over 4800 fps and there is a powder to get them to 4900. But never used them in the field on varmints...

The Hornady 15.5 NTX is the bullet of choice for one of my 17 Fireballs. 4600fps + with CFEBLK.
Have killed 100's of p-dogs with this combination. Wind can be a problem at times with this
light bullet, other wise p-dogs suffer.

 

[AlNyhus]

The fact that it shoots well when clean...and then falls off...tells you all you need to know.

I would encourage you to try Dyna Bore Coat on the barrel to help extend the the number of shots before cleaning. It definitely reduces the copper build up. I've used it on my 17-223, 25-06 and 243W with very good results.

Good shooting. -Al

 

[JSH]

The fact that it shoots well when clean...and then falls off...tells you all you need to know.

I would encourage you to try Dyna Bore Coat on the barrel to help extend the the number of shots before cleaning. It definitely reduces the copper build up. I've used it on my 17-223, 25-06 and 243W with very good results.

Good shooting. -Al

Good to hear that report. I have enough to treat a couple of barrels and have not done it yet.

 

[L.Sherm]

Your problem is were properly lapped barrels shine vrs not.

 

[AlNyhus]

Another thing to keep.in mind is that the .17s barrel dimensions are .168/.172. With that small difference between the lands and grooves, the width of the lands is pretty important.
On a big cased .17 like the 17 Remington, keeping after the throat to stay ahead of hard powder fouling is very important. AA2700 and Winchester 760 were the best in that regard on the four 17 Remingtons I had ( one factory barrel, one Shilen and two Liljas).
Some of the newer powders like CFE223 as well as Re15 would be worth exploring.
Good shootin' -Al

 

[L.Sherm]

Another thing to keep.in mind is that the .17s barrel dimensions are .168/.172. With that small difference between the lands and grooves, the width of the lands is pretty important.

Maybe this is why I like the 3G 17 and 20 cals even though the difference in 20's is .005
Your thoughts on this Al?

 

[AlNyhus]

Maybe this is why I like the 3G 17 and 20 cals even though the difference in 20's is .005
Your thoughts on this Al?

I agree completely. -Al

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I shot 50+ rounds out of my Shilen 17 rem AR at prairie dogs one morning in July, never noticed any accuracy issues. 1/10 twist, IMR4320 and Hornady 25 gr hp 556 brass formed to 17 rem. It cleaned up easy, maybe awhile before I target check it. I may send in to have muzzle threaded.

 

[JSH]

The first 527 17 Remington I had, saw nothing but 223/556 reformed brass in it. That was my first extensive lesson on carbon.
I would advise to keep a close eye on that.

 

[6BRAIman]

I’ve owned a Rem 700 .17 Rem for 28yrs. What was told to me from the old school guys that had shot this cartridge for many years is 10 to 15 shots and it needs cleaning so that’s what I’ve always done and seems to work fine.

 

[toasty]

Just a quick update. Carbon buildup was pretty bad when I cleaned it at 27 shots. Used a little bit of JB bore paste along with a bunch of elbow grease and a good carbon solvent and got her looking better. I also picked up a couple lbs of AA2700 which is supposed to carbon foul a little less than other powders for a couple guys shooting the 17 rem. I read quite a bit about moly extending accuracy in the 17 remington. So I coated my bore and bullets with HBN which has extended my accuracy in a couple other guns that I have that foul. Have a ladder loaded up and will report my findings.

 

[WyleWD]

Tag. Interesting. WD

 

[AlNyhus]

Just a quick update. Carbon buildup was pretty bad when I cleaned it at 27 shots. Used a little bit of JB bore paste along with a bunch of elbow grease and a good carbon solvent and got her looking better. I also picked up a couple lbs of AA2700 which is supposed to carbon foul a little less than other powders for a couple guys shooting the 17 rem. I read quite a bit about moly extending accuracy in the 17 remington. So I coated my bore and bullets with HBN which has extended my accuracy in a couple other guns that I have that foul. Have a ladder loaded up and will report my findings.

Another thing that will contribute to excessive hard powder fouling in the .17 Remingtons is using 223 brass. The necks end up short and this gives the powder more room to accumulate. Short necks in a 17 Remington chamber are Bad JuJu.

Using a case length gauge to determine how long your chamber actually is and then keeping the neck length as close as you can (within .010) makes a big difference in hard powder build up. Another thing that's helpful is when it's time to clean it, take a .224 bronze bristle brush with a good solvent like Butch's.....give it a few spins holding the brush hard to the end of the chamber neck. Doing this every time you clean keeps the build up from happening in the first place.

Just my experience with a fair number of big .17's through the years....looking forward to your results. -Al

 

[300meter]

I would contact Shaw and ask them to lap the barrel. It’s apparent the bore isn’t smooth if you’re experiencing much fouling. If you choose to replace the barrel, I recommend a Lilja 1-10. I have had a couple and both shot incredibly well. I’m shooting 20 vmax. My best results are with H380.

 

[Lone Hunter]

I’ve owned a Rem 700 .17 Rem for 28yrs. What was told to me from the old school guys that had shot this cartridge for many years is 10 to 15 shots and it needs cleaning so that’s what I’ve always done and seems to work fine.

Had a Remington 700 .17rem in 1987 or 1988 with a factory barrel. It shot great for 10 -12 shots then it would start key holing . Too much cleaning for so little shooting so it went down the road.

 

[300meter]

Curious, what was your barrel break in procedure? Failure to do so may have caused your fouling problem.

 

[toasty]

I would contact Shaw and ask them to lap the barrel. It’s apparent the bore isn’t smooth if you’re experiencing much fouling. If you choose to replace the barrel, I recommend a Lilja 1-10. I have had a couple and both shot incredibly well. I’m shooting 20 vmax. My best results are with H380.

Just curious, how many shots with the lilja before accuracy starts to drop off? I shot a 6 shot pressure test at 100 yards and the entire spread for the 6 shots across 3 grains of powder was .6" I am confident the next 10 shots will group very well. We'll see if the HBN extends accuracy beyond that. The AA2700 burned cleaner than any powder I have tried so far and I started getting pressure signs at 27gr. I bought this barrel used for a very good price with 100 rounds through it so I have no clue what the break it procedure was. I think I know why the barrel was sent down the road. We'll see how it goes and maybe look at getting the barrel lapped, worth a call to Shaw to see what they can do.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Go 1/9 (Lilja) if and when you replace the barrel then you can shoot the 25 vmax and 30's. I tried Staball 6.5 with 25 gr Berger targets the other day. Always have been able to shoot to the top of Hodgdon data sheet with other powders. Not with Staball primer pockets on new Rem brass loosened at 27.9. Wasn't running the chronograph, probably won't revisit 6.5 Staball. I don't like it when a powder shows pressure quickly.

 

[toasty]

Well, the AA2700 and the HBN did not appear to help extend the accuracy. At round 15 since last cleaning started to open up. By round 20, back to 3/4" groups at 100 yards. Did a quick clean with a carbon solvent and sure enough, tons of carbon fouling, after a quick clean, groups tightened up to about .350" again. Found a nice little node, just need to do a seating test. Cleaning this thing every 15 rounds just isn't practical, I had hoped to use this as a pdog gun, but not going to happen as I like a minimum of 50 rounds between cleanings. Will take it for a test drive on pdogs to see how it does. If I like it, going to try to have this hand lapped. Any suggestions of an affordable good place to get that done if I can't get Shaw to do it?

 

[AlNyhus]

What are you using for brass? -Al