.17 HMR ammo

[Nick T]

Guys,
I was shooting my Tikka T1 .17HMR at 100m yesterday & my son with his CZ 457 .17HMR from a bench and calm conditions. The ammo we were using was Hornady 17gr V-max and the groups we were getting weren't good (2"+ @100m). We had around 8% split cases from the 80 rds used.
When I've used the same ammo over the last few years the results were excellent & consistent (sub 1moa).
Has anyone experienced a recent drop in performance with Hornady .17 V-max 17gr & if so what ammo are you finding most accurate?
Thanks

 

[DVS1]

I use 17gr CCI TNT and get a nice cloverleaf at my zero range of 55m. Have taken rabbits out to 150m with no issues. Rarely see a spilt neck

 

[finbar]

Try xtp 20 grain hollow point my Annie loves them

 

[Smellydog]

Are you checking the ammunition for split necks before shooting. Its dangerous to not do so and if they do shoot open groups.

 

[FISH BOY]

Guys,
I was shooting my Tikka T1 .17HMR at 100m yesterday & my son with his CZ 457 .17HMR from a bench and calm conditions. The ammo we were using was Hornady 17gr V-max and the groups we were getting weren't good (2"+ @100m). We had around 8% split cases from the 80 rds used.
When I've used the same ammo over the last few years the results were excellent & consistent (sub 1moa).
Has anyone experienced a recent drop in performance with Hornady .17 V-max 17gr & if so what ammo are you finding most accurate?
Thanks

Oh…

Been using CCI 17gr TNT and it’s been laser accurate in my CZ455.

Waited for over a year for more, but gave up waiting so filled my ticket with the same Hornady Vmax.

Not tried them yet, but hope my results are better.

Have you cleaned the bore recently?

 

[Wmjas]

Have you cleaned the bore recently?

This was my initial reaction…not sure if you were operating from a relatively clean barrel or not but I cleaned my HMR regularly with good success

 

[Koenig]

This is likely a cleaning / non cleaning issue. 17 HMR is a picky little calibre, some rifles need to be kept ultra clean and some left filthy to group. Whilst I do have a 17 HMR I blow hot and cold with it.

 

[Nick T]

Yeah, I cleaned the bore thoroughly and put a few rounds through first as usual (as Koenig said .17 does foul the bore a bit). I also checked the rounds pre-firing and all were ok. My son who's a better shot than me had the same problem so it's unlikely to be the rifle. We're going to try some CCI and 20gr ammo to see if there's an improvement. Hopefully it's just the batch so I'll try a more recent batch first

 

[Smellydog]

CCI 20gn solids are a fantastic round, they are surprisingly good in the field also.