CZ 455 varmint that hates 17 grain ammo .

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Rokon1976

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Was out shooting my new CZ 17hmr yesterday for the first time .
Trying different ammos. Was really shocked at how poorly it shot 17 grain stuff .
Groups were so bad I was convinced I had a barrel issue or a faulty scope .
3-4 inches at 100 yards . Zero wind .. nice calm day . I could sometimes get a couple holes within an inch of each other , but then the 3rd,4th and 5th shots could be 3-4 inches away . Was very frustrating.
This was with 17 grain Hornady vmax, and same results with federal v shock 17 grain .
So I decided to try some 15.5 grain Hornady that I had one box of . 1/2 inch groups over and over again . Had two through the same hole in some groups . So the gun can shoot .
Anyone else experience this kind of wildly different results with different ammo ?
I know some guns can be picky with different brands of ammo . But it was shocking to see what should be a very accurate rifle .. shooting a good quality ammo like Hornady vmax, and getting those kind of scatter gun groups .
I’m hoping to try some 20 grain Hornady as soon as I can get my hands on some . It seems to be sold out everywhere I go .
Kind of regretting buying 200 rounds of the 17 grain Hornady before I tried it . Lol !
 
That seems odd, did you go back to the 17gr after shooting the 15gr? I have an old .22 rimfire that had a new(old) barrel, that would only shoot shorts accurately, then all of a sudden everything did. Pretty sure the barrel had a burr in it or something.
 
Doesn't shoot 17gr Hornady well?=not surprised
DOES shoot the 15.5gr. well?=VERY suprised! lol

I've tried that 15.5gr in a number of guns with very poor results. My CZ 452 never shot the 17gr. well, but shot the 20gr HPs (Hornady) exceptionally well. In fact, that gun with the 20gr shot the smallest 100 yard group with factory ammo I've ever pulled off, close to 3/8". Regretfully, I sold that gun...and it remains the biggest "gun regret" of my life. lol

I had 4 x 17HMRs over the years and eventually sold them all. When I got into gopher shooting, I decided I should get another, but deliberately set-out to find one that I hoped WOULD shoot the 17gr. Hornady well. It's actually why I never turned to CZ, and opted for a Marlin 917. I put a Rifle Basix trigger in it, and it's mowed down countless gophers in it's 2 trips west. I'm a CZ fan, but gophers appreciate the 17gr. lol I'm sure they'd like the 20s too...never tried.
 
Don't worry just yet, new gun needs some break-in. Note that 17 HMR ammo isn't "match" quality, maybe you just got a really bad lot. Check for cartridge defects like uneven bullet seating depths, canted bullets, roll on a flat surface and watch for runout/wobble of the bullet, inconsistent brass dimensions, and fire over a chrony to witness the usually glorious 200 fps + extreme spreads in velocity! My 455 full stock shoots pretty much any HMR ammo 1.5" or better at 100 yards, haven't found any ammo that really lights it up though.
 
I have two 455 .17's. They both seem to shoot 17 gr in Hornady, Winchester and CCI okay. I just use mine for gopher shooting, so haven't done any serious target work since they were sighted in. I've used those A17's to good effect as well. Might be that it needs to be "trained" a bit more.

I have never altered or "improved" any of my 455's, other than scoping them.
 
I have a 455 Canadian edition I got new. It shoots everything very well; but the largest groups were with Winchester, and even those were under an inch at 100 yards, the lighter bullets as well. I have less than 200 rounds through mine presently. Don't wright it off on the 17 gr. until you have 500 -100 rounds through it.

I Love that rifle so much, I bought a 455 .22 Military trainer for open sight target shooting! Won second place with it yesterday, and been in the top two with it at every shoot since I bought it!
 
My HMR loves the 16grain CCI, makes shotgun spread with A17, and falls somewhere in between with 17g and 20g ammo. With A17 pushing nearly 2700 fps I was really hopeful, but it wasnt meant to be. I was quite surprised the difference ammo choice made, especially since (as mentioned) there is no match ammo.

I'd highly recommend trying a box of 16 grain in your HMR, as some rifles (mine included) seem to prefer it over both 15.5g and 17g.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like results may very, and what some guns like vs others is pretty random .
I have experienced this with other rifles too . Just never had such poor results and extreme spreads with a particular ammo .
I am going to try to get my hands on some 16 grain, as well as some 20 grain stuff and see what it can do .
Hopefully find something heavier than the 15.5 grain that it likes and stick with that .
I will post back my results .
 
Mine likes the Hornady 17gr VMax ammo. Never tried the 15.5. I tried the 20 grain and it shot marginally poorer.

Mine's the 455 Varmint with fluted barrel.
 
I've got a cz 452 American 17hmr with the sporter barrel. I've tried just about every type of ammo available and find the 15.5gr hornady shoot the best but not by much compared to 17gr and 20gr loadings. If I had a new gun I'd shoot it a bunch and clean it regularly to break the barrel in then test again and see if anything changes.
 
Tried a couple brands of 17gr in dad's Henry express with no luck definitely prefers the 20gr. Will have to pick up some of the 15.5 's to try out.
Haven't had the rifle very long hoping to get him out for a gopher shoot with it soon .
 
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