17 hmr rifle choices
- Thread starter Plinker77
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rangerruck
Member
Weeel, the most accurate will be the ones with the guarantees, such as Annie(anschutz) or Cooper. But the will cost you a lot of dough.
CZ, for a mass produced out of the box rifle, is double tough to beat, and not a ton of money. Savages can be extremely accurate as well, I think they bought some of Annies' tooling or machining for makeing bbls, but they are hit and miss as far as I am concerned , with the 17's. Most of them tend to like the 20 grain bullets better, and this to me, looses out on what you buy a 17 for, a laser like trajectory. Marlin, to me, is the gem of the bunch; cheap and good. Now then, they will have a crap trigger but that is easily fixed by you, and you allways , ALLWAYS, channel out the stock on a marlin 17, it will help in accuracy. but marlin in my mind, really got the chamber demensions down for the 17's, the mach 2's as well, and they really can produce some fine accuracy.
Also a nice change of pace would be a thompson/center, and get your bbl made. but just to show you how accurate an annie can be , check this;
this is with a 22 of course, but it is par for an Annie; check about halfway down the page.
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179525&page=15
CZ, for a mass produced out of the box rifle, is double tough to beat, and not a ton of money. Savages can be extremely accurate as well, I think they bought some of Annies' tooling or machining for makeing bbls, but they are hit and miss as far as I am concerned , with the 17's. Most of them tend to like the 20 grain bullets better, and this to me, looses out on what you buy a 17 for, a laser like trajectory. Marlin, to me, is the gem of the bunch; cheap and good. Now then, they will have a crap trigger but that is easily fixed by you, and you allways , ALLWAYS, channel out the stock on a marlin 17, it will help in accuracy. but marlin in my mind, really got the chamber demensions down for the 17's, the mach 2's as well, and they really can produce some fine accuracy.
Also a nice change of pace would be a thompson/center, and get your bbl made. but just to show you how accurate an annie can be , check this;
this is with a 22 of course, but it is par for an Annie; check about halfway down the page.
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179525&page=15
Not enough experience to offer comparisons but have a bull-barrel Savage that shoots very well. I lapped the barrel, installed a Rifle Basic trigger, floeated the barrel and bedded the action. It's a tack driver, but prefers 17 gr JHPs over all else.
Had I to do it over, I'd buy Annie. 17HMR is a great round IMHO.
Had I to do it over, I'd buy Annie. 17HMR is a great round IMHO.
eight433
Member
I just bought a .17 bull barrel savage. Shot it once, put about 50 rounds through it. This was the last 10 rounds out of it in two groups at 100 yards. I'm sure it will shoot better as I get used to the trigger pull and breathing technique.
Sunray
Member
Decide how much money you want to spend. Either a Savage 93R17(msrp under $300. Even the packages that come with a low end 3-9 x 40 scope) or CZ 452(msrp $527.00) will do nicely.
A .17 rimfire is no different than a .22 LR. You have to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
eight433. Try more brands of ammo. Federal, Remington and Winchester load it too.
A .17 rimfire is no different than a .22 LR. You have to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
eight433. Try more brands of ammo. Federal, Remington and Winchester load it too.
NWCP
Member
I have a CZ 452 Varmint with a Timney trigger and a 4.5x14.40 AO Müller. I also mount a Harris bipod on it when bench shooting. It has been a great shooting rifle and didn't set me back a fortune. If I were going to be carrying it in the field a great deal I would have gone with the CZ 452 American.
eight433
Member
I am going to. that was the only stuff they had on the shelves at the time. That was the first 50 rounds out of the gun also. I immagine after 500 rounds, the gun will shoot better, as well as I will shoot the gun better.
NCsmitty
Member
My NEF Sportster shoots the 17gr Hornady BT very well, but the 20gr TNT opens up at least double the size of the 17gr. That's with around 250 rounds through it.
I just don't like the price of the ammo. I can reload my 222 or 223 for close to the price of the 17HMR retail, and they have another 100yd in range.
NCsmitty
I just don't like the price of the ammo. I can reload my 222 or 223 for close to the price of the 17HMR retail, and they have another 100yd in range.
NCsmitty
hub
Member
How deep are your pockets? Like said before I think the most accurate are going to be your high end Anschutz, Cooper's, maybe some other custom job. But your talking at least $1000+ for the rifle and at least $500+ for a good quality scope.
You can spend your money how you want but I don't see the point considering you can't reload the 17HMR and no manufacturer even makes match grade ammo in 17HMR that I'm aware of. Why pay that kind of money for a match rifle if there is no match ammo to run through it to reach it true potential? If you have got that kind of money to spend on a varmint rifle it would make a whole lot more sense to go centerfire with a 17 Rem Fireball, .204 Ruger, 22-250 or the .223 remington. They will meet and exceed the performance of the 17hmr in every aspect except for cheap decent factory ammo price.
Not that I think the 17 HMR doesnt have it place, it does but to me not in a $1000+ match rifle set up. What I like about the 17HMR is that accurate good quaility rifles can be had for under $500 and decent ammo cost about $12 for 50 if you don't want to reload. But like I said before remember it has it's limitations.
hub
Member
With that being said there are some great choices out there for a good and accurate .17 HMR.
I have a Savage 9317 BTVS that I got from Dick's for $400. It was a combo deal that included a Simmons Eight Point 3-9x40 scope also. I put a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 on top and it's laser accurate at 100yds. I put the Simmons scope on my back up slug gun and it has held up well to the 12ga's recoil.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_62/products_id/24246
My buddy has a CZ 452 Varmint and it's very accurate too, he has got a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 on top of it as well. For the money it's hard to beat CZ in quality rifles in my opinion.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_63/products_id/15531
The rifle I originally was looking to buy was the Anschutz 1517 MP R. It looks like an outstanding rifle but was just a little more than I wanted to spend on a 17HMR.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_751/products_id/40114
I have a Savage 9317 BTVS that I got from Dick's for $400. It was a combo deal that included a Simmons Eight Point 3-9x40 scope also. I put a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 on top and it's laser accurate at 100yds. I put the Simmons scope on my back up slug gun and it has held up well to the 12ga's recoil.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_62/products_id/24246
My buddy has a CZ 452 Varmint and it's very accurate too, he has got a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 on top of it as well. For the money it's hard to beat CZ in quality rifles in my opinion.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_63/products_id/15531
The rifle I originally was looking to buy was the Anschutz 1517 MP R. It looks like an outstanding rifle but was just a little more than I wanted to spend on a 17HMR.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_751/products_id/40114
eight433
Member
I just bought the same Savage as you, hub, except dicks had it on clearance this week for 339 dollars hehe. I am looking at upgrading it to the Nikon scope as well. Very nice shooting gun. I really enjoy it so far.
I have the plain, wood stock, bull barrel, pre Accu-Trigger Savage. Bought it on sale to tinker with.
Stripped and refinished the stock, floated the barrel, pillar-bedded the action, hand-lapped the barrel, installed Rifle Basix trigger and mounted a 4.5 - 14X (I think it is) Sightron target scope. It likes TnT 17 grainers and is one helluva shooter. I'll see if I can post some pics of targets I shot yesterday.
Stripped and refinished the stock, floated the barrel, pillar-bedded the action, hand-lapped the barrel, installed Rifle Basix trigger and mounted a 4.5 - 14X (I think it is) Sightron target scope. It likes TnT 17 grainers and is one helluva shooter. I'll see if I can post some pics of targets I shot yesterday.
rangerruck
Member
to eight 433; besides trying out all the ammo you can get your hands on; it will need a good cleaning, so make sure you get a good cleaning kit. Make sure your cleaning rod, is a single piece, not screw together, and that it is carbon fiber, or covered in a synthetic material. the 17's need a good bit of cleaning during break in period. I would also buy 3 boresnakes, to take with you to the range; one to run through a few times with cleaner fluid all over it, another one to run through with a bit of oil on it, and the last one, keep dry, and use it to get all the other crud out. keep at least 3 rags on hand; to clean off/ pat off the crud from each one, as they are used-don't intermingle their crud.
17's can sometimes shoot a whole bunch of rounds before accuracy starts to open up, and sometimes they can only go 20 or 25 rounds, before accuracy starts to open up.
Also on the 17's, some of them take a long time to get right; usually not so with any other caliber. I have known some dude's 17's take 300 rounds, and then all the sudden the group sizes started to shrink like cotton. So don't give up on that accuracy yet; it will get better.
17's can sometimes shoot a whole bunch of rounds before accuracy starts to open up, and sometimes they can only go 20 or 25 rounds, before accuracy starts to open up.
Also on the 17's, some of them take a long time to get right; usually not so with any other caliber. I have known some dude's 17's take 300 rounds, and then all the sudden the group sizes started to shrink like cotton. So don't give up on that accuracy yet; it will get better.
Chuck E
Member
I purchased a savage and it was a junker after a about 100 rounds. Got my money refunded I was so mad and even wrote Savage. BTW, rim fire Savages are made in Canada did not know that. Then purchase a CZ bull barrel. NEVER A FINER more fun shooting rifle. Me, I alway liked Savage but have no use for their rim fired rifles anymore. Lots of problems with mine.
eight433
Member
I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but thought I would share my 2nd experience with the OP. I took it back to the range today and put another 50 rounds through it, and at 100 yards, the group did shrink considerably. If I had a steadier hand I could most likely do better, but at 100 yards probably grouped them the size of a quarter or so, other than the occasional "flyer". At 50 yards I can darn near make one big hole about the size of a nickle with 5 rounds. I would feel confident taking a squirrel or rabbit at 50 or 100 yards, and with a little more practice on my end, I am sure the gun is capable of 200 yard shots. Still only had the two brands of ammo, however the Hornady was not drifting to the side as it was on the last outing. Windage? I'm not sure. Still trying not to make any premature judgments until I get 200+ rounds through it. Also think I could tighten up the 100 yard shots with a better scope. The Bushnell it came with is sufficient, but I would say it is near its limits compared to a higher quality unit.
giggitygiggity
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Go with either the CZ452 Varmint or a Savage. Savage has more offerings (stainless barrels, fluted barrels, synthetics stocks, etc.). I got the CZ because I didn't think I would be shooting in inclimate weather that would require stainless or synthetics stocks. The rifle is a tack driver. Everyone that shoots mine replies, "I have to get one of these." The factory trigger is quite crisp too.
45crittergitter
Member
+1 for Cooper.
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