New Ruger Precision Rifle in 17 HMR is mediocre.

[Trey Veston]

I took it out to the woods today and sighted it in. Best ammo was the blazing fast CCI VNT 17gr. But, it was still just over an inch at 100yds. There was some wind, so not ideal conditions. Still, I was hoping for sub 1" groups. I did post a ground squirrel target at 120 yards and was able to make a head shot on it, so the rifle will work for it's intended purpose.

 

[dieselchief]

rimfire at hundred yards requires a lot of concentration. how tight to shoulder, fore arm grasp, hand/thumb placement and breath control a must. even a trashy 222 (like my 840 sav) doesnt require it. i believe the difference of velocity and time in barrel is the why.

 

[s4s4u]

It doesn't take a lot of wind to mess with a 17 grain bullet. Any idea of the BC?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Give the rifle some more break-in. It took some time for my RAR 17HMR to catch up to my Savage 93.Both of mine prefer the CCI A17.

 

[codytrucker]

Did you try any 20 grain loads ? My 17 HMR does a lot better with them . 3 Grains doesn't sound like a lot , but its almost 20 percent more bullet weight .

 

[Trey Veston]

Did you try any 20 grain loads ? My 17 HMR does a lot better with them . 3 Grains doesn't sound like a lot , but its almost 20 percent more bullet weight .

Not yet. I'm not sure if the LGS even carried any in 20gr.

 

[jmr40]

In my experience Ruger bolt action rimfire's are no more accurate than a comparable 10/22. They basically are a bolt action 10/22. And some of the 10/22's that come with the BX trigger along with a target barrel and chamber can be surprisingly accurate. I have one of the 10/22 LVT's that will shoot MOA at 100 yards and hold 3-4" groups at 200 yards.

 

[1KPerDay]

Any rimfire that can hold close to an inch at 100 yards is not medicore.

 

[Trey Veston]

Did you try any 20 grain loads ? My 17 HMR does a lot better with them . 3 Grains doesn't sound like a lot , but its almost 20 percent more bullet weight .

I stopped by the LGS and they had two loads in 20gr, so grabbed one of each to try next weekend.

 

[codytrucker]

Hopefully it works for you . I tried the 17 grainers when I first got my 17 , but once I tried 20 grainers , I never went back .

 

[irishlad]

I have a Savage 17 HMR. I like it, fun to shoot. The issue with 17 HMR is nobody makes match ammo for them. When I shot different kinds of 17 and 20 gr loads none of them had good ES or SD.

Who'd pay extra for premium/match grade 17HMR?

On the heels of of another thread. I'm fed up with random results from all the available 17 HMR ammo. I suggested there's an open market for match or premium grade ammo. One person said there's no market for quality 17 HMR ammo. I thought I might not be alone. To clarify I'm not talking about...

www.rimfirecentral.com

Here's one

 

[someguy2800]

Any rimfire that can hold close to an inch at 100 yards is not medicore.

Any 17 hmr that can't hold close to an inch at 100 yards is a piece of junk.

 

[d2wing]

Make sure the crown is good, clean it and the scope is solid. A little more testing and trigger time might help you find the magic. Sometimes a couple shooting and cleaning sessions will settle a rimfire in.

 

[doubleh]

SIL has one and says it'a tack driver. Mine is a 22 and I have found that 35 inch pounds of torque is where it gives its best accuracy. Anything
less and groups start opening up. I don't know if Ruger specifies a torque setting but mine was not very tight when new and shot like crap.
I have a Marlin 917 SV bought before you could find ammo and it loves 17 grain bullets. I also have a Contender 23" bull barrel and it's preferred fodder is 20 gr bullets. One half minute of angle at 100 yards can be done with either as long as I have no wind to contend with.

It doesn't take a lot of wind to mess with a 17 grain bullet. Any idea of the BC?

True but less than it does to mess with 22 LR. The ballistic coefficient is 0.128 for the 17, O.130 for the 20. I have got prairiedogs out to 175 yards with the 17's. By the time I bought the Contender barrel the dogs were pretty well extinct from the combination of plague, poison, and drouth in my area.

 

[LoonWulf]

Mine shoots moa or slightly better on average, with the 20gr fmjs it was shooting .5-75 when clean. Thats about as good as id EXPECT from a 300 dollar rimfire. My savage 93r17btvss shot about the same. Ive shot some that did alot better, but i dont expect it.

 

[CraigC]

I always had better luck with the 20gr XTP's. Both on paper and on game. The 17gr bullets vaporize on impact but the 20gr's penetrate pretty well.

I don't agree about Ruger's rimfire bolt guns compared to 10/22's. I've built a dozen 10/22's, some multiple times and only recently did I find a sporter weight barrel that shot anything close to MOA. They're usually 2MOA. By contrast, every one of my rimfire Americans is an MOA shooter and my 77/17 in .17HM2 shoots half-MOA. Thirty years ago I had a 77/22M that shot MOA out to 150yds with standard fare Winchester 40gr JHP's.

 

[Sniper66]

Trey, I have a Bergara B14R 17HMR that shot similar groups when it was new. After about 200 rounds including some 20gr, then scrubbing the barrel, changing the trigger to a light crisp 10oz Jard, then reasoning the barrel with an additional 1/2 box, and returning to Hornady 17gr V-Max, it consistently shoots <1" at 100 yds. with the occasional flyer; 1-2 out of ten usually. It's a very good p-dog slayer.

 

[Weflyfast]

My CZ Varmint shoots nickel size groups at 100 with just about any ammo- BUT in zero wind....and they drop like a stone at 150 yrds-
Super trigger right out of the box-

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Here is some ammo test i did. With my Savage.

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[Trey Veston]

My CZ Varmint shoots nickel size groups at 100 with just about any ammo- BUT in zero wind....and they drop like a stone at 150 yrds-
Super trigger right out of the box-

Having a zero wind day around here is nearly impossible. As a testament to that fact, there is a 75-unit windmill farm going in a few miles from here.

 

[Trey Veston]

Here is some ammo test i did. With my Savage.
View attachment 1260893
View attachment 1260891

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Is that at 100yds?? If so, awesome!

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Is that at 100yds?? If so, awesome!

Yeppers.

 

[Walkalong]

A buddy had a .17 that shot like crap with one ammo he tried, but was lights out with the next one, I guess they are kind of like .22 LR barrels, got to try different thongs.

 

[MarshallDodge]

Using Strelok-
-Hornady 17 grain Vmax
-25 yard zero

At 100 yards- Results are 0.3" drift per 1 MPH of full value wind. That means it only takes 3 MPH of wind change to move the bullet an inch.

Try hanging a little ribbon or surveyor's tape out on the range, to help get an idea of what the wind is doing.

ETA: Another thought is to backup and see what it will do at 25 yards. Much less wind deflection at that distance.

 

[irishlad]

Found this target photo from testing ammo from my Savage B17.