17 HMR ammo review

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brandon6976

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Hey guys I bought myself a Savage BRJ and want to use it in the spring for shooting paper at my local range at 100 yards. So rather than wait for spring I figured I'd go to the indoor range and figure out what type of ammo it likes. Below is the results of my non-professional tests. I'm not a sharp shooter by any means so take the results with a grain of salt.

My BRJ
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The paper
Each circle is exactly 1” in diameter, each group is exactly 5 rounds, about 5-10 seconds between shots and 1-2minutes between groups at 25 yards, indoors with cold conditions and 0 wind. The crosshair of the scope was always set to the center dot regardless of shot placement. All ammunition was 17grains and shot from a bench while seated with the aid of a bipod.
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Ammo chart

1= Winchester Varmint HV2= CCI TNT 17hmr JHP3= Remington Magnum Rimfire Accutip-V Boat Tail
4= Federal Premium V-SHOK TNT JHP5= Winchester Supreme V-MAX6= Hornady V-Max

Pictures of the boxes
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Any comments or questions are welcome. Hoping you guys have some experiences. I have to say the remington ammo appears pretty good and it's boat tail but everywhere it appears to be $16-20 a box (the winchester Varmint HV for example I got at lebarons for 9.94 a box).
 
That federal looks like it did really well. It's at the high end of the price list though right? Isn't the Winchester HV the same as the Supreme just new packaging?
 
The Federal was 14.99 at sail so it is a little higher. As for the winchester I thought the same thing but since there was 2 different packages I figured might as well run it through. not sure if anyone else knows for sure if its the same or not. The grouping looks to be about the same size however it did shoot a little low and to the right. The Hornady V-max ammo did pretty well and from what I've read most people earmark it as one of the best, it runs about ~13 and change and I've seen it offered in the 500 round cans.
 
Hornady is pretty much all I use. I think they run a little hotter than advertised also. Did you noticed much difference? It would be nice to get some actual numbers from a chronograph.
 
I don't own a chronograph so I wasn't able to capture any speeds. I didn't notice any difference to be honest about the Hornady ammo, it's possible but I would imagine if it had a significant difference in the load that it would have shot much higher or lower ?
 
Try out the hornady 20gr my 93r17 loves them. I see groupings like your #6 group but I only have a 4 power Walmart bushnell on it so I'm sure it'll do better.

Price is average to.
 
really that sounds odd to me ? Are all rounds boat tail for example ? I noticed remington writes on the box it's boat tail which is usually pretty good for target (it's also one of the higher priced ammo's)

I assume by batch number it's more that each batch will shoot slightly different so not so much good and bad (though I'm sure that happens) it's more that if you get a big batch it should all shoot pretty much the same right ?
 
I shoot the Hornady and Federal too. Glad to see that they seem the best for you also.

I read that too on the rimfire forums that all ammo was made at the same place.
 
Interesting thread (since I just bought myself a Savage HMR :) ) but you mentioned you shot this at an indoor range. At what distance did you shoot these groups?
 
Those are garbage groupings at 25yards...... for all that ammo. That's what my groups looked like at 100yards.

CCI is junk though.. I found the Remington and the V-Max to be best so far. Haven't tried the Federal V-Shock yet though, But I have a box of 50.
 
brandon6976 said:
No, from what I saw most people online seemed to post that the 20gr ammo was much more inaccurate. So I figured I'd stick with the 17gr ammo.
Click to expand...

Strange...I have a CZ 452 American in 17HMR. It is a very accurate rifle, but shoots the 20 grain the very best.
I have some 100 meter groups in the ½ inch area.
Eagleye.
 
brandon6976 said:
25 yards (it actually says it in the original post).
Click to expand...

Whoops! Right you are, Brandon. I did catch the "indoors" part though, which is why I had a hunch these groups were probably shot "too close" to the target. I get wanting to keep out of the cold though....it's here now! lol I appreciated any range report, but as pointed-out (even for your own sake) HMR @ 25 yards off a bipod won't really give you any definitive information about what your rifle is shooting best. 17HMR really ought to be done @ 100 yards and if possible, off a front rest and rear bag. (my own econo set-up :) ) There are plenty of exaggerations on any forum, but I consider myself an average shooter and even I've been able to achieve slightly under 1/2" @ 100 yards using a CZ452 Varmint and Hornady 20gr. Once mind you. :) Even off a bipod, I could keep that CZ and my Savage 9317 inside an inch all day long, HMR is really consistent, flat-shooting stuff. Since I now have an almost identical rifle to yours, I'm reasonably sure you'll see those groups tighten WAY up if you invest in a steady rest or at least a rear bag. Then...get that rifle on a 100 yard range, and take another crack at it.
 
I'm sorta surprised it's all made by CCI, does that mean when buying ammo if for example i wanted to get a v-max ammo it doesn't matter which kinda more that the batch should be the same so it's all sorta the same ?

Also to those ragging on my indoor shooting, it's winter so obviously I want to go shoot at the 100 but I'm not gonna go out in the weather as it is right now. I just got the new toy and wanted to try it. I've never really done any target shooting so if anyone has any sites or tips on how to get my groups tighter I'm always willing to learn (so I've heard different theories on taking the shot after exhale and holding breath then pulling the trigger etc).

Ideally I know i could use a bag/sled for the front and rear but I'm kinda curious if people can get the tight 1/2 inch groups with just a bipod or something of that nature. I'm not into target shooting at all but those bags and sleds seem to take some of the challenge out.

The range I was shooting at for this was GRGC, i also shoot at Colby though (I'm a member at both clubs).
 
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