Thread: which 17hmr rounds?

so my new ruger 17hmr will be ready to collect tomorrow, barrel cut down to 16" & suppressed. I have bought a BSA sweet 17 6-18x40 scope for it as well so it's time to fit the scope, reduce the trigger weight to 3lbs and sight it in.

i have been looking at the ammo available. There seems to be a pattern throughout the brands, they offer a 17gr polymer tipped bullet or a 20gr which looks like it simply has an indented tip. I'd like to start with what i should carry on with so what do you think is the better pill? what have you had good results from?

I am using the rifle to hunt plover, rabbits and hares primarily and i'm sure a possum will be in the sights at some point. I'm leaning toward the heavier pill for more punch, i have had good success with the heavier 22lr subs.

on another note i have just realised i have dropped a grand on a gun solely for smoking these little pests, dafuq was i thinking. anyway, rock on.....

Try out a few different options and use the one that shoots best from your rifle. 17gr and 20gr both kill critters fine.

cool thanks. I think both the CCI and hornady should be very good quality so i'll pick one at the shop and see how it goes. the trajectories shouldn't be vastly different between the two if i change brands.

I use the Hornady 17gn with good results on rabbits. They shoot well in my cz.
Be aware the bsa scope may no longer be sweet now you have had the barrel cut.

What do I need to know about that? I haven't purposely bought that because of it's dialling adjustment, it had good reviews and plenty of zoom. I plan to zero it at 100 then see if it's accurate when adjusted but thinking it probably won't.

Sent from my work bench

I guess you're referring to the change in barrel length changing the velocity etc. if I go as far as using the adjustment I'll do some trial shots to see what adjustment I need to give it to be right at 150 & 200

Sent from my work bench

@sneeze

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

the 20 grain hollow point is not very impressive on maggies ect, tends to zip through a bitmore.
17 grain tipped is explosive

POI changes as well when you change ammo. I last sighted in using the 17 Gr with lipstick top and had a few hollow points left over.
Couldn't hit anything till I realised and swapped back to Polymer so have stayed with that for last couple of boxes .....
The 20 grain Hollows smack possums right off the branch. Must be cos they are heavier ..
Find what you like and grab a few boxes of it ...

I'm pretty sure all 17HMR ammo is made at the same factory, so there shouldn't be any difference between brands. I use the 17gr tipped bullet, works well on hares and magpies.

The 17 grain BT's will be much more explosive than the 20 grain hollow points, which are sturdier and on occasion won't expand much.
Fun little round to shoot!

I found the opposite with the 20g performing better on rabbits. I also had a BSA Sweet 17 on a CZ. It was fine. I think they are calibrated for the 17g but I noticed little difference shooting 20's.

Originally Posted by stug

I'm pretty sure all 17HMR ammo is made at the same factory, so there shouldn't be any difference between brands.

I've heard that mentioned in a few places on the net, but never with anything to really back it up. The manufacturers seem to claim slightly different ballistics which would suggest a different brew even if they are made in the same factory, and I know a few people who have found different POI between different brands.

my old man swears the hornady and CCI shoot dfferently - he uses 17g v-max CCI

Found this on the 17hmr.net website

From Linda Olin:

Quote
CCI, Federal, Winchester, Remington and Hornady all loaded here at CCI in Lewiston, Idaho with a V-max bullet are identical, with the exception of tip color. Manufactured on the same equip, to the same ballistic specs, using the same components other than color of the tip of the bullets. Obviously the shellcase 'head stamp' and packaging would be different on the various products.

Linda Olin
CCI/Speer Technical Services
2299 Snake River Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501