.17 HMR ammo

[2shots]

Ever since I got my Savage .17HMR I have been having alot of fun with it. One of the things that I noticed was how much my gun likes the 17gr Federal ammo as opposed to the other brands. Now look CCI makes all the ammo for the .17HMR for all the different Ammo Companies like Remington, Hornady, Federal and CCI and Winchester. The .17 bullet itself is a very hard bullet to cast and for some reason CCI can put the components of the .17HMR together more productivley than the others. My brother liked shooting my gun so much that he went and bought him one made by Marlin. He and I together have found that the 17 grain bullets are more consistant than the 20 grain bullets, and that he and I found that Hornady and Federal shot best groups than the others. So now that my brother and I have spent a small fortune on the different types of ammo out there, I would like to pass on this information and hopefully save my fellow .17 shooters some time and money. Federals formula seems to work best @ 50 yards my best group was all 3 holes touching with a .168 spread. Thats less than a 1/4 inch. Hornady's formula works well also, it's 3 shot group @ 50 yards was .208 and is also under a 1/4 inch. The worst ammo group was made by CCI with a horrible group of 3/4 inch. Well I hope this info comes in handy for some of you and as always be careful out there.

 

[shaddydan]

I found the CCI 17 grain to be the most accurate from my Savage. I can hit a quarter at 100 yards with that ammo. I went through many tests myself and found the CCI 20 grain to be the worst....interesting.

 

[JDove]

Thats strange, I have a Savage 93 TR, my best luck has been with CCI 20gr FMJ. I have been able to shoot dime sized groups at 100yds with that. From the 17 gr types the Hornady seemed to be the best getting about a quarter sized group. The Winchester and CCI 17gr seemed to be all over, haven't tried Federal yet.

 

[jr88]

It sounds strange that if CCI makes all the ammo, theirs was the worst quality?
Who knows, could be a fluke or just different guns. I have a Henry .17 lever and have only
fired Hornady ammo. I thought Hornady created the .17 hmr caliber? Interesting ??

 

[Rednekrebel]

I think hornady did create the .17 hmr (Hornady Magnum Rimfire)??????.

As for my savage, it absolutely loves the hornady v-max 17gr. Can shoot .17 shells amd dimes at 100yrds, shotgun shells at 200, and clay birds easily at 300..Doesn't break them sometimes tho, then you think you missed... But if there is any wind, watch out, you'll be surprised how much wind can effect these light bullets

 

[Marginwalker]

My wife has gotten excellent results out of the 17gr Hornady in my Savage 93

 

[Jimbob2.0]

I have been running Hornaday ballistic tips since the beginning.

 

[2shots]

The Federal ammo is made with the 17 grain V-max bullet, but theres got to be something different inside that makes it shoot a little tighter group. I'm thinking its maybe a little less powder or maybe a different powder all together. Anyways I'm stickin with the one that shoots most consistant :-)~

 

[mckraut]

I usually shoot the CCI without a problem. If I do have problems with accuracy, it's usually me.

 

[dj_in_md]

Rifles chambered in 17 HMR are just like any other chambered in 22. One will like one kind of ammo but will not like another. Pick the one which shoots best.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

I'll agree on the trying everything and see what it likes best. I have a Taurus Tracker revolver in the .17 HMR and it only likes the CCI ammo. I've tried everything and the CCI seems to be the best by far. With the CCI popping tree rats at 50-60 yards is easy, with anything else, you never what you're going to hit.

 

[mancheechee]

does have boat tail bullet help with accuracy on these 17hmr?
I hear it helps quite a bit on the 17hmr.

I had pretty good accuracy with hornady vmax from the bench. and this was on the first day I got my savage 93r17. i've cleaned carefully and broken it in since then, but only have practiced targets in various hunting positions.

 

[Jester1341]

I don't shoot 20gr simply because I use a BSA sweet17 scope. I've used CCI Hornady and Federal without major differences.... Sub half inch @100yds is good enough for squrriels :-)

John

 

[BradMacc82]

I also have a Savage 93 bolt (lefty), 21 inch barrel, for me, the 17 grain Hornady V-Max has been the best performer, CCI 17 grain wasn't noticeably better/worse, but for me it just wasn't as consistent as the Hornady. From what I've read on VarmintAl, Hornady uses a blend of powders in their 17 V-Max's. But 100 yard grouping's of less than 1/2 inch with a muzzle-loader 2x7 scope, I'll take it.