Marlin XT-17VR, could it really be this inaccurate?

[bikemutt]

I was in Dick's Sporting goods Tuesday and spotted a Marlin XT-17VR rifle in the clearance section. I figured I couldn't go too far wrong for $210, plus I had a couple coupons to burn. Since I didn't have anything in .17HMR I bought the thing. Once home, I adjusted the trigger per the manual, mounted an entry-level Burris 4-12x40 that came off a Savage package rifle, and ran a bore snake though it.

Yesterday at the 50 yard range, using CCI polymer-tipped varmint ammo, I went to work. I was amazed at how inaccurate the rifle appeared to be so I double-checked my scope mounting work. The inaccuracy continued until I burned through the box of 50.

The best I could manage is a 6" pattern at 50 yards, I think my 28 gauge shotgun with #6 would have been just as good.

I know every rifle has it's favorite food but I have never heard of ammo alone moving a rifle from a pattern to a group. I've read a few .17HMR reviews where this rifle seems right up there in the middle of the pack; not an Anschutz for sure, but at least 1" groups at a 100 yards with good ammo.

I have used that scope once before when I shot the stock 22-250 Savage it came on. It wasn't a great shoot but it grouped at a 100 yards on that rifle.

Maybe I was dumb for thinking a $210 rifle is more than it's price would indicate but right now, it's not worth wasting ammo on.

Anyone have ideas as to what to check for? I guess I could call Marlin and ask what their thoughts are, maybe there was a bad lot. I actually checked with a flashlight to see if they forgot to rifle the barrel, lol, they didn't.

 

[rcmodel]

First thing to check for is copper fouling in the bore.


.17's are notorious for it.

rc

 

[bikemutt]

Rcmodel, even a brand new rifle?

 

[The Big D]

Don't you know, to the cleaning absurdists every problem is a cleaning problem no matter what

 

[The Big D]

To OP's original question, Marlin has been having trouble and I wouldn't necessarily expect very much but that seems extreme. You mentioned checking the scope mount, which seems like a good start. Now what about the action screws? I've seen a lot of guns with loose action screws from the factory of late.

 

[stubbicatt]

maybe the scope has internal issues. you might try mounting it on another rifle and shooting a "square" with it. then check to see if it will hold zero.

 

[justin22885]

its sometimes amazing to see just how far marlin has fallen since the freedom group has taken over, stories like this seem to be more of the rule than the exception lately

 

[bikemutt]

I had to separate the action from the stock in order to adjust the trigger pull. The manual states no quantitative method for putting those two parts back together, just "don't overtighten". So, I picked 12 inch pounds, both action bolts.

 

[The Big D]

Depending on the bottom metal I'd go about 30.

 

[d2wing]

My guess is a faulty scope. Try a known good one. If they doesn't do it, send it to Marlin. That can't be right and they should fix it.

 

[bikemutt]

OK, I'll try 30 inch lbs on the action bolts, and a known good scope. Will be Wednesday next week. Thanks.

 

[godale]

let us know how you make out.

 

[Gtscotty]

Depending on the bottom metal I'd go about 30.

Concur, also what does the crown look like? I've had a boogered up crown cause "patterns" like that.

 

[bikemutt]

Concur, also what does the crown look like? I've had a boogered up crown cause "patterns" like that.

Me too, can't for the life of me recall which one of mine was like that but re-crowning fixed it.

I'll check this one out when I get back home.

 

[shootniron]

I don't know about the 17...but we have the 22 and it ain't that great...I am confident that the terrible trigger contributes to that. At any rate, it is our last XT of any flavor.

 

[tuj]

I suspect a bad barrel or crown. 17hmr is a very accurate round.

 

[stringnut]

Should shoot at least decent. My dads xt in 22 mag shoots around an inch at 75 yards with several types of ammo. Crown is a good place to start. It doesn't take much of a defect fo cause issues. Cleaning is not the issue. Between the wife and some friends we have four and not one copper fouls more than a little bit. Powder fouling is not severe either. The wifes Marlin 917 only needs a couple of patches every 500 rounds or so. My Ruger after 200 to 250 rounds I see a slight drop in accuracy.

As has been mentioned it could be a scope issue. Not only could it have internal issues, but, parallax could be an issue. Shooting at 12 power at 50 yards with scope that does not have an adjustable objective could lead to considerable aiming errors.

 

[bikemutt]

Should shoot at least decent. My dads xt in 22 mag shoots around an inch at 75 yards with several types of ammo. Crown is a good place to start. It doesn't take much of a defect fo cause issues. Cleaning is not the issue. Between the wife and some friends we have four and not one copper fouls more than a little bit. Powder fouling is not severe either. The wifes Marlin 917 only needs a couple of patches every 500 rounds or so. My Ruger after 200 to 250 rounds I see a slight drop in accuracy.

As has been mentioned it could be a scope issue. Not only could it have internal issues, but, parallax could be an issue. Shooting at 12 power at 50 yards with scope that does not have an adjustable objective could lead to considerable aiming errors.

The scope does have AO and will dial down to 50 yards. I have my doubts if its the scope since the recoil of the bull barrel rifle is virtually non-existent, but, I've had a bad scope before, it does crazy things. I'll probably borrow a Vortex Viper PST off my Steyr .308, I know it works.

 

[bikemutt]

Crown picture

It's a bit of a challenge to get a phone to focus properly through a magnifier but I managed an OK picture of the muzzle crown.

There are obvious machine tool chatter marks from the crowning process but I wouldn't say the crown looks particularly bad. I've seen much worse, shards of metal hanging off etc. There's a nick in the blueing about 10:30.