.17 HMR ammo recommendations

Muleskinner · Feb 12, 2019

I received my Garrow .17HMR upper yesterday and will be assembling and testing it soon. I didn't realize there was such a plethora of ammo options. Since this rifle is suppose to shoot more like a bolt gun rather than the semi that it actually is, I am looking for recommendations from those of you who have a 17HMR bolt on what round gives you the best accuracy.

Uncle Duke · Feb 12, 2019

Muleskinner said:
I received my Garrow .17HMR upper yesterday and will be assembling and testing it soon. I didn't realize there was such a plethora of ammo options. Since this rifle is suppose to shoot more like a bolt gun rather than the semi that it actually is, I am looking for recommendations from those of you who have a 17HMR bolt on what round gives you the best accuracy.

Not so much as it may seem. Winchester makes their own 17HMR. CCI makes most of the other major brands out there. Remington, Federal and Hornady are all made by CCI. Some say they are made to different specs, others say no, or you have only superficial differences like the color of bullet tips.

That said, try them all. One thing for sure is that there are always differences in lot numbers. The real challenge becomes to find a favorite in your rifle, AND have the ability to load up on whatever that favorite lot happened to be.

Muleskinner · Feb 12, 2019

Uncle Duke said:
Not so much as it may seem. Winchester makes their own 17HMR. CCI makes most of the other major brands out there. Remington, Federal and Hornady are all made by CCI. Some say they are made to different specs, others say no, or you have only superficial differences like the color of bullet tips.

That said, try them all. One thing for sure is that there are always differences in lot numbers. The real challenge becomes to find a favorite in your rifle, AND have the ability to load up on whatever that favorite lot happened to be.

I kind of figured that was going to be what I was up against. I really didn't want to have to buy a dozen different rounds just to find one or two that the rifle really likes. But at least it's fairly inexpensive. I think it's good advice. Normally I would find one or two commercial loads and then work up my own load and then just shoot my reloads but you can't do that with a rimfire. Thanks for the advice

Uncle Duke · Feb 12, 2019

Muleskinner said:
I kind of figured that was going to be what I was up against. I really didn't want to have to buy a dozen different rounds just to find one or two that the rifle really likes. But at least it's fairly inexpensive. I think it's good advice. Normally I would find one or two commercial loads and then work up my own load and then just shoot my reloads but you can't do that with a rimfire. Thanks for the advice

The bad news is that you'll likely find some differences in your ammo selections. The good news is that those differences probably won't be too dramatic. 17HMR tends to be an inherently accurate round, just as long as you don't extend it's range too much, especially in significant wind.

Good Luck!

Racer Doug14 · Feb 12, 2019

I use the "A17" ammo. It's a tiny bit faster. Always feeds and goes bang. It's made by CCI, I think, with a poly tipped bullet. It was designed for Savages A17 semi-automatic rifle. So, it might be perfect for your rifle.

Racer Doug14 · Feb 12, 2019

Also, my experience is pick one and just use that one. I tried the get three different ones and see which one is better. They all grouped great ,but in different places. Find which one is most often carried at your favorite shop/store. I like the A17 also, because its sold in 200 round bricks. It usually at Walmart. It's also very accurate.

Add: at Walmart it is $49 for 200rds

Screwtop.243 · Feb 19, 2019

Racer Doug14 said:
I use the "A17" ammo. It's a tiny bit faster. Always feeds and goes bang. It's made by CCI, I think, with a poly tipped bullet. It was designed for Savages A17 semi-automatic rifle. So, it might be perfect for your rifle.

That's what I use in my CZ 455 American. It shoots great. Close Second is the Hornaday 17 grain V-Max.

Magnumite · Mar 5, 2019

I haven't used any A17 in my early Marlin heavy bolt gun but its preferences were always 17 grain plastic tipped bullets of Hornady and CCI make. I tried the 20 grainers, they shot well but not as well as the 17 grain loads. Plus there is the point of impact change.
I haven't shot it in awhile but I do recall the rifle being predictably accurate. All the challenge was in the shooter.

Johnconlee · Mar 10, 2019

My marlin liked 17gr plastic tipped federal.

.17 HMR ammo recommendations

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