Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

[clmayfield]

Wow! I just got back from the range and I am pretty pumped. Prior to purchasing this Marlin 917, I have been shooting a Swedish .270 Sporter. Last time I bought a box of 20 cartridges, it cost me $30, so I ponied up and bought a Marlin for $300-ish.

My average 5-shot groups with my .270 have been around 2 MOA. After a while, I was afraid that I simply was not that great of a shot... and I had basically plateau-ed out. I wasn't going to blame the arrows, right?

Well after sighting in the new gun and firing off some shots, I started with some pretty typical groups... 1.5 to 2 inches at 100 yards. After about 30 rounds, the groups really started to tighten up. My last 3 groups were 7/8", 1 1/8", and 7/8",respectively.

I haven't gone and calculated how many MOA that is, but these are certainly the tightest groups I have shot... and they have greatly increased my confidence in my shooting ability.

Better yet, there was a gusty cross-wind the whole time. With some more work and better conditions, I truly think I could get under 3/4" with this rifle.

The second exciting story is how accurate the rifle is... the only mod I have on it is a Rifle Basix trigger set to 1.5 pounds or so. No accurizing to speak of and I have only tried one kind of ammo: Hornady V-Max 17 gr. It is exciting that you can walk into Wal-Mart, plunk down $300 and walk out with a sub-MOA gun.

There are those who criticize the 17 HMR for having expensive ammo. I paid around $15 for a box of 50. Expensive compared to 22LR, yes, but I am substituting for a .270, so I am looking more at how I paid half the price of a box of .270's and got more than twice as many rounds.

A day at the range used to cost me $40 - $50... $10 in fees and $30 - $40 in ammo. Today, I spent $25 and still have 5 rounds left over. I feel pretty good.

 

[bohem]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

The price reasons you stated are exactly why I bought a Savage 93 last weekend. The factory box of ammo for 270 could be a good bit of your problems with the group size. Can you give some more details on the 270?

I assume you're shooting with some sort of optics on the Marlin right? I have a Marlin 25N and a 925. Both are 22LR's and at 100 yards my 25N will shoot around 1 MOA with target 22 ammo. No trigger or anything, so I'm super impressed with it. I got it when I was 10 years old, it was my small game rifle, and I love shooting it to this day.

There's several brands of 17 HMR out there, and yes, it's expensive rimfire ammo. It is however, VERY cheap long range practice ammo. From what I've been told, it's trajectory path is a perfect scale model of the 300 WM for a 300 yard vs. 1000 yard comparison.

I bought the Savage 93 because I got out the door for $213 with tax and transfer in a left handed model. Being a southpaw, it was something I really wanted, but the shop thought I was taking a hit and doing them a favor, so they brought the price down.

 

[ARCOREY]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

I love my 917V, I use it for a plinker, squirrels, and groundhogs up close. I did the RB trigger also and put a Pentax Gameseeker with ballisic plex on mine. On calm days, I've been able to keep it around 5/8", get a puff of wind and it's all over.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bohem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The price reasons you stated are exactly why I bought a Savage 93 last weekend. The factory box of ammo for 270 could be a good bit of your problems with the group size. Can you give some more details on the 270?
</div></div>

It is a swede sporter. The brand is Norrahammar. It has a whippy sporter barrel that is not free-floated. My guess is that the action is some sort of a Mauser copy. I got the rifle when I was 16... it was my first rifle and has been my only one until now. It has taken more deer than I can count, but that doesn't mean it can shoot to exacting standards.

I am sad to say that while my father taught me to clean the gun after every trip, that involved wiping down the exterior with some rust-proof. The bluing is in good shape, but the bore has never been cleaned (in 18 years).

I am just getting into precision shooting. I have always considered myself a good shot... but that is comparing myself to hunters who are mainly concerned with minute-of-frying pan.

I don't know anyone who makes match .270 ammo. I have been using Hornady SST 130-gr, but recently tried a box of SPBT Federal (Game King bullets). My groups shrank to about an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters at 100 yards. I think the problem is more the gun than the ammo, but yes, if I rolled my own, I could probably get better.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bohem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I assume you're shooting with some sort of optics on the Marlin right? I have a Marlin 25N and a 925. Both are 22LR's and at 100 yards my 25N will shoot around 1 MOA with target 22 ammo. No trigger or anything, so I'm super impressed with it. I got it when I was 10 years old, it was my small game rifle, and I love shooting it to this day.
</div></div>

I am shooting with a NF 3.5-15 X 50mm. You might say it is overkill for the gun. In hindsight, I think I should have bought a Ruger 77/17 as there are a lot of aftermarket parts available including drop-in barrels from Volquartsen, but I have read that Marlin is just as accurate or more than the Ruger out-of-the-box for less cash.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bohem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
There's several brands of 17 HMR out there, and yes, it's expensive rimfire ammo. It is however, VERY cheap long range practice ammo. From what I've been told, it's trajectory path is a perfect scale model of the 300 WM for a 300 yard vs. 1000 yard comparison.
</div></div>

That is one of the things that I like about the 17 HMR... you get almost center-fire type velocities out of a rimfire. It is a good trainer because there is some recoil to manage, but not so much that you develop bad habits. It is really cool. I know people love their 22LR's, and my dad has a few that I shoot, but I really like shooting the 17 HMR more.

As it happens, my range only goes to 300 yards, which is perfect for this gun. I figure it is pretty good to 200 yards and then 300 is a stretch... it should be fun to test the limits.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ARCOREY</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love my 917V, I use it for a plinker, squirrels, and groundhogs up close. I did the RB trigger also and put a Pentax Gameseeker with ballisic plex on mine. On calm days, I've been able to keep it around 5/8", get a puff of wind and it's all over. </div></div>

I shot my dad's 917V with a Buckmaster scope in some gusty cross-winds. Vertically, the groups were tight... within an inch and a half, but horizontally, they were strung out 3+ inches! I think these buck wind a lot worse than what I have seen them rated for. BUT for a training rifle, this is perfect as it gives me the opportunity to dope wind. The only issue is that when it gets gusty, you lose all semblence of control over where the shot lands.

Still, this week, when I shot, the wind was blowing my target up. I estimate 5 - 15 mph. I tried to shoot between gusts. I didn't notice a lot of vertical stringing as I have before, so I guess it all depends. I am looking forward to shooting on Sunday. Hopefully, it will be a calm day. I have 4 different ammo choices that I will be shooting 5 X 5 of. With my 270, that would have run well over $100. I spent $55 and will have plenty of ammo left over... that rocks!

 

[ARCOREY]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

I tried most of the ammo out there except for the Eley stuff, mine really liked the 20gr. CCI Gamepoints best. Also didn't seem to splash on groundhogs like the 17gr. polymer tips. There are some tips over at Rimfirecentral about how to modify a Savage mag to use in the Marlin. They feed better than my Marlin magazines in mine.

 

[byrom1212]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

I have a 917 that I just got the barrel cut down to 18.5" and the groups where tight at a 100 yards before now it is amazing and with the new trigger its a tack driver.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

I had big plans to get to the range today. Unfortunately, I decided not to as there were 20mph winds with 30mph gusts. No need wasting $60 on ammo to learn what I already know... that it doesn't buck wind very well. I will try to get out tomorrow evening.

I'll let y'all know how it goes. So far, with 45 rounds or so down the tube, I have not had feeding problems with the factory magazine. I have heard of issues, I just haven't had any. My main issue has been using the 4 round magazine to shoot 5-round groups. I have had to feed a round manually without the clip in, which is kind of a pain.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

I just got back from the range and tested the different brands and types of ammo available. Whoa! Big difference. I was expecting to have to do some statistical analysis, but it is pretty much clear as day what works best for this gun:

1. Remington 17gr. Accu-tip = 1.06 MOA
2. Hornady 20gr. XTP = 1.37 MOA
3. CCI 17gr. FMJ = 1.91 MOA
4. CCI 17gr. HP = 2.12 MOA

The CCI FMJ is an estimate as a number of shots were on the edge of the paper. Clearly, ballistic tips shoot better with my gun. I have been through a box of Hornady 17 gr. V-Max. I will need to retest this as I burned a bunch of those during sight-in and playing around, leaving only 1 5-shot group of 1.31 MOA. All of the others were tested with 4 5-shot groups.

As far as how I did, not my best shooting today. I was hurried as I wanted to get 5 groups of each ammo and I ended up not being able to do that. I need to correct my habit of choosing to fire from an unstable position... but the differences in ammo performance were actually more important than my performance. I called a flier with the Remington groups and called no fliers with the CCI FMJ's. I decided to include all fliers in calculations because clearly, they were not that significant.

I also shot my best group yet... 0.6 MOA (5/8" at 100 yards).

I can't imagine what this day would have cost me if I were shooting center-fires. My next task will be a shoot-off between Remington Accu-tips and Hornady V-Max's.

 

[danmc]

Re: Range Report: Marlin 917VS 17HMR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ARCOREY</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love my 917V, I use it for a plinker, squirrels, and groundhogs up close. I did the RB trigger also and put a Pentax Gameseeker with ballisic plex on mine. On calm days, I've been able to keep it around 5/8", get a puff of wind and it's all over. </div></div>

What scope rings do you have? I have a Marlin 925 and it had a simmons 22MAG scope on it. I bought a pentax gameseeker (3-9x40) but the rings aren't quite high enough and the bolt will be blocked by the scope. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choices at some online vendors and didn't see a good way to search by ring diameter (1"), mount (3/8" dovetail) and then actually find out the height. My local store wasn't any help either.

Thanks much.
-Dan