what ammo for 17HMR

M

mikthestick

New member
My son in law has a .17HMR 14" barreled rifle and a laser range finder. The rifle is a wierack pronounced yrak. The rifle has an 8-12 magnification scope. He has bought Winchester 17gr polymer tipped rounds. Now he is considering buying more expensive ammo because he gets the odd flyer. I think he may be the problem. What do you think.
 
Could be either. I know it'd be frustrating if, my ammo was creating flyers, and everyone told me that 'it's me' not the ammo. At the same time it might be him. Or it could be a gust of wind occasionally blowing a bullet off course. Those little rimfire projectiles are quite easy to push around in the wind.

a box of CCI really isn't that expensive. I'd say try a box, it it's getting flyers too, that should narrow the problem.

Also have you tried shooting that rifle? It might just take you shooting a couple of good groups to show him it's him not the ammo. Or if you're getting flyers too, you'll know it's the ammo or possibly the rifle/scope.
 
I tried the CCI, Winchester and Hornady (all 17 grain) in a Savage, I had the best groups with the CCI but not by a whole heck of a lot.
 
Interesting, good looking rifles, but had never heard of them before.

When I had my Savage 93R17, it liked the 17gr Hornady Vmax the best. My friends Marlin liked CCI with same bullet.

With any new gun, if only able to shoot factory ammo, it's always a good idea to try several different mfg/bullet weights to see what the gun likes best.
 
Thanks. My son in law researched rifles and was recommended by a gunsmih who said the barrel was better quality than competitors, further research seemed to confirm this. the bottom line with nothing to compare against it it's still a sweet rifle.
I will get him to try these different rounds.
 
I got better groups with 17 grainers of any make (CCI, Hornady, Remington), than with the Hornady 20 grainers. Seems odd, that 3 measly grains would make a difference, but in that that rifle I had, it did.
 
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Honestly thats what I hear from all .17hmr shooters. The .17 grainers usually group the best. Especially the original hornady load. Im a .22wmr guy as I have no extensive time behind the .17 to really say.
 
I started shooting 17HMR using Hornady ammo and it was a consistent clover leaf producer so I bought several 500 round cartons. THEN, I found that different lots made a significant difference in accuracy. I decided I didn't (at that time anyway) have either the patience or time to sort out all the lot numbers and shoot groups until I found the sweet lot numbers. Ended up buying a carton of Winchester gray tipped ammo and haven't used anything else since.
 
I've had two 17 hmr rifles. Each one preferred a different load. They look to be a little finicky. When you find the right one buy a lot of it.
 
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