Real world accuracy of a 17 HMR

[Ironworker]

I guess I got lucky, my Savage A17 feeds reliably and the magazine stays put . At 100yds with Fed V shock ammo or Hornady 20gr out of 10 shots, I can keep most of them under 1 1/2 MOA and hit soda pop cans consistently at 130 yds . Is that acceptable ?

 

[jepp2]

Is that acceptable ?

Guess that is in the "eye of the beholder" and what you intend to use it for. I started down the CZ 17 HMR road last year. First results with CZ barrel were HORRIBLE. I went to a Lilja barrel and it was immediately substantially improved. Plenty good for my use on prairie dogs. Longest kill so far 238 yards.

Here is a typical 100m target from mine (would be ~10% smaller at 100 yards).

 

[Ironworker]

Very interesting ,thanks

 

[Mark W]

@Ironworker i would say that your Savage is shooting pretty good!! My CZ 455 American shoots shoots between .500 and .750 at 100 yards with Hornady ammo which is fine for my purposes.

 

[CharlieNC]

My Savage is good for 1moa at 100yd. Fun to shoot 5in steel at the 300yd berm; easy to dial in for the wind and the velocity fliers are obvious. I'm shooting prone off a Harris bipod, so bench results should be a little better. I don't recall the guys name who breaks down ammo and precision reloads to shoot unbelievable results.

 

[Bill K]

My CZ, with the bull barrel, will hold right around 1 MOA or less at 100 with Hornady 15.5 lead free. And still take squeeks consistently out to 150 yds.

 

[dnellans]

I've got a savage with the accutrigger turned down as much as possible but otherwise unmodified. I can occassionally get 5 shot groups that are under 1 moa but hovering just over 1moa for 10 shots is my expectation in no wind. Its a light gun with a fairly heavy trigger for target shooting so I don't expect it to do much better. Its been a great gun to start my 7 year old on as a bolt rather than a semi-auto 22.

 

[johara1]

I have a Left hand CZ 452 I think thats the model #. I bedded and floated the barrel and replaced the trigger. 6x42 Leupold scope it will hold a 1/4 min. at 50 yds and around a 1/2 min. at 100 yds. best gun I ever had..... My Annie will shoot smaller but I have more in the barrel than the CZ and scope.... jim

 

[Sniper338]

My marlin 17 stainless thumb hole stock is good for an inch group at 100. Wont shoot 5 shots less than half an inch. I can get a few close, but theres always one that is off more. They aint tack drivers, but good for 1 moa..

I wish the 17 could be a tack driver. Aint shot one that was... rimfires though.. cant control the ammo.. just can find what works best...

 

[CaptainMal]

I have one of the first Marlin 17's made. It has killed hogs, and dogs for more than a couple decades. MOA.

That's not will all ammo. Found out the original Hornady 17 gr. stuff was at or near MOA and bought thousands of it. Other stuff, like some 20 gr. ammo, just did not do as well in that Marlin. Play around and find the ammo your rifle likes best.

 

[hogpatrol]

I guess I got lucky, my Savage A17 feeds reliably and the magazine stays put . At 100yds with Fed V shock ammo or Hornady 20gr out of 10 shots, I can keep most of them under 1 1/2 MOA and hit soda pop cans consistently at 130 yds . Is that acceptable ?

Every Savage in 17HMR I've shot or known shoots best with CCI 17gr TNTs. Don't know about today's barrels but back a few years, they also needed a couple boxes of ammo and a good cleaning to become 1/2 moa shooters. As far as the 20s, the only rifle I've got that shoots them well is a CZ 452. The Annies shoot the best with the newer VNTs.

 

[Sniper338]

Every Savage in 17HMR I've shot or known shoots best with CCI 17gr TNTs. Don't know about today's barrels but back a few years, they also needed a couple boxes of ammo and a good cleaning to become 1/2 moa shooters. As far as the 20s, the only rifle I've got that shoots them well is a CZ 452. The Annies shoot the best with the newer VNTs.

That 17 tnt is what I found shot best too.

 

[jsof]

Unfortunately there are only two real manufacturers of 17hmr ammo out there. CCI and Winchester so its all about choosing the projectile your rifle prefers, in most cases the hollowpoint and getting a good lot. I doubted this info when I discovered how much fun a 17 is and read it for the first time over at Rimfire Central, so I finally ended up calling CCI and asked a customer rep if it was true that they made the CCI, Hornady, Federal, and Remington. She confirmed that it was true so I pressed her further and asked whether the rounds were made to the various labels specs and she said yes, but seemed reluctant to commit so I asked to speak to someone higher up in the CCI hierarchy. Same story but when I finally got to a top level guy, it changed and he admitted that they were all the same except for the label on the box. That of course is within the same projectile type and weight.

Having said all that, I found my CZ455 with Lilja barrel seems to do best with 17grain CCI TnT or Federal hollow point generally, but I recently got a good lot of Hornady VMax and it was every bit as good. I think the first result was a coincidence from getting better lots and the last lot of Hornady was also a good one. And, by good I mean the groups are generally quite good, but ther is the occasional fairly rare flyer. Since that's all you can hope for I buy by sale pricel and when I get a really good lot of any of them stock up big time.

 

[F224]

My Blaser R93 17HMR barrel kit still shoots into quarters at 100 yards after 14,000 rounds all Hornady labeled V-max
Just picked up a used very early Volquartsen Ultralite and it holds five at 1.1" at 100 yards of the V-max, slightly smaller with the XTP's.