Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

[JelloStorm]

I have the non-heavy barrel Savage 93 FSS model and took it out yesterday. I was getting 2" groups out of the thing at 100yds.

Back when I first got the damn thing, I used to put used .30 cal brass I'd find on the range up at 50 yds and pick them off one by one. Yesterday, shooting at 100 yds I would say 75-80% of my shots were within 1moa. The other 20-25% were within 2.

What the shit! I did notice that patches were going through rather hard, so I got some new shooters choice solvent and ran a wire brush through first 8 times, then patches. Then I wet a patch, ran the wet brush through 6 more times and then patches Ran the wet brush through 4 times and then patches.

Figured there was a copper build up or something and now thicker patches were going through easier.

Not sure what happened to my 17 HMR between now and 3 years ago. I have about 1k rounds through it so I really hope the bore isn't shot to shit after only 1k...

Any rifire / 17HMR experts, please by all means chime in.

 

[SPAK]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

did you change ammo by any chance?? after you cleaned it how many rounds did you put through it. my particular savage even after just pulling a bore snake through it will take out enough fouling that I need to put about 30 rounds or so through before accuracy returns...

check scope rings, mounts, action screws.... etc??

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

It's a long, complicated story with this gun.

I put a new Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40 scope on it the other day so yesterday was sighting it in.

But, my patches became rather hard to push through so I ran the brush through like 30 times.

I pumped about 70 rounds through it, towards the end the accuracy seemed to get worse.

Now, I'm not completely ruling out shooter here, but maybe the lot of Hornady ammo I bought from is shit.

I think tomorrow, if it's nice out, I'll take the rest of the Winchester 17gr vmax out and see if I fair any better. I did have a rather copper-fouled up bore before my extensive cleaning the other day however.

Tomorrow my Rifle Basix trigger *should* be in. So I'll install that and see how it does. I also cleaned off all the Krylon from the muzzle, in the event any uneven layer of paint was causing an issue on the muzzle, as I have just painted the gun.

 

[SPAK]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

ammo lot can play with accuracy. I buy ammo by the brick. If the lot shoots well, I keep it. If it doesn't I sell it.

wind will wreak havoc on groups, even just a 3mph wind will throw groups everywhere.

My patricular barrel likes to be shot dirty. Some barrels like to be clean.

When My accuracy starts to fall off, usually after 700 rounds or so (still moa at 100 yards) I pull a bore snake through twice. The gun will shoot so so until I put about 30 rounds through the bore and then it will tighten up again. This is just my particular barrel. You will have to figure out what your barrel likes.

Make sure there's no wind, check the crown, and check all your mounts. If you're shooting new ammo, it could be the ammo as well. I've seen 2moa with some lots of ammo down to 1/2 moa with others.

my .02

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Do you use a bore guide when you clean the rifle?

Report back after you next session, maybe it was a bad day, barrel needed fouling or a crap lot of ammo.

Check your hardware and make sure the scopes not causing any havok

 

[SmallBoreSnipers]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

To me it seems that 17's are really picky about their ammo. I've have a bad lot of ammo produce the same type of results for me. You could still have some fouling inside your barrel. Did you oil it before you put it away? Hopefully there's no rust in there. As far as cleaning goes, my 17 loves a dirty barrel. I only clean it about every 1000 rounds. When the accuracy starts to fall off is when I know to clean it. And when it falls off, it falls WAY off. So there could still be some issues inside that barrel.

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Vman:

No I don't use a guide when I run my rods through it.

SmallBoreSniper:

I'll try to oil the barrel today and then run a bunch of patches through to rule out any rust issues.

I hope it is a bad lot. Small game starts in two weeks. There was a slight wind that day but it was off and on. And the range I shoot at the targets are actually dug into the ground giving a 8' high berm on either side so I didn't take wind into consideration.

 

[Inkedshooter]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

What are you using to rest your rifle on? Rest or are you using a bipod? Yeah some .17hmr's are very picky. My Savage likes Hornady 17gn and 20gn, Federal and sometimes Remington. If you have shot alot of rounds through your rifle, I'd also check all the screws for tightness (action, scope bases, etc) Even being a small caliber sometimes a screw or two can come loose, I've ran into it before but nothing a little blue loctite won't fix...

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Jellostorm I recomend one of these:

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=34045/Product/Sinclair_Rimfire_Guides_for_17_HMR_HM2

and the solvent port for it.

Saves your throat from damage from cleaning rods.

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

I use Dewey rods that shouldn't scratch / damage the throat or bore, right??

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Never used a dewey (i probably should) but ive never heard of a rod that does no damage whatsoever.

 

[SPAK]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JelloStorm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vman:

No I don't use a guide when I run my rods through it.

SmallBoreSniper:

I'll try to oil the barrel today and then run a bunch of patches through to rule out any rust issues.

I hope it is a bad lot. Small game starts in two weeks. There was a slight wind that day but it was off and on. And the range I shoot at the targets are actually dug into the ground giving a 8' high berm on either side so I didn't take wind into consideration. </div></div>


try putting up some surveyor tape during your next shooting session, it really doesn't take much wind to blow that 17gr pill around...

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Jello its probably a good idea to try and reduce the contact between cleaning rods and throat/bore.

I would say that coated rods such as the deweys, not doing damage to a throat is questionable.

One thing that is for sure is that the brushes that we use when we clean our rifles, the centre of the brush is actually exposed metal wire. Same goes for the mops. Using a bore guide keeps the cleaning centred in the bore and helps prevent you from bending that cleaning rod against the throat especially when the rod needs force to get thru the bore.

It is circumstances such as this when people say cleaning a dirty rifle can do more harm than good.

Im no way saying you have damaged your rifling, im just saying to protect your asset as best you can its a good idea to invest in a bore guide.

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Being that I've shot this rifle for 4 years now and never used a guide, do you think the throat is shot and the rifle is no longer as good as it once was?

 

[Rthur]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

I have 4 .17hmr's and have found that jb bore compound used carefully gives great accuracy. hope this helps Rthur

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Not sure I want to go fucking with anything like that. While I expect 1moa from my 93r17, I don't expect more or want to try to squeeze more out.

We'll see how I do this weekend. I have 4/5 of a box of Winchester 17gr vmax, 1 full box of CCI FMJ 20gr and a box of various older lots of all that seemed to work back then.

Take this for what it's worth, but I did notice that I really didn't care for my Accutrigger as much as I did a few years ago, and that when I took it apart to install the Rifle Basix, the accutrigger was covered in 4 years worth of shit, grime and dirt from years of shooting and hunting.

So, keep your Accutriggers clean boys! Or, just go Rifle Basix... I'm not looking back!

I'll try to dial in all my shots this weekend from a tripod and rear bag to maximize accuracy. I wanna see what my small bore M24 wannabe will do.

If I can't seem to get any type of consistent accuracy out of it, then maybe I'll just spring for a new one or a CZ 17HMR instead.

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Jellostorm its hard to say for sure if the throat has seen better days... not too sure if theres any borescopes that actually fit into a 17 barrel... as far as I know they fit .22 cal and up.

If your concerned about it after your shoot this weekend ask a local smith for some help.

It could be anything, most of which are easily fixable.

Let us know how she shoots after your next range session

 

[redbullitt]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Mine likes it dirty... I used to try to clean it, but it always takes forever to get it settled in again, so I don't mess with it unless it starts shooting badly consistently. I have a 9317 too btw.

My bets are on the ammunition. All brands and weights my rifle will shoot into about 3 inches at 100. some do better. Some do a lot better. I have gotten "bad" or simply different boxes of ammunition too I think.

For whatever reason, my savage likes the cci 20g FMJ. It shoots the best with this no matter what so far.

Everything else is ok, but never great.

 

[SmallBoreSnipers]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

^ Same as mine. Likes the CCI FMJ TNT hollow points. Got me sub 1/2" at 100.

 

[vman]

Re: Savage 17HMR shot like SHIT yesterday...

Scott thats a fantastic group at 100!

I have had trouble finding which ammo my rifle likes best.

I have had some insanely tight groups come out of one box yet horrid groups from the same batch as well.

I had one box of remington 17gr give me a group of 1" at 100 yards, another 4 shot group literaly touching with one flyer that again made the group close to 1" (would have been 0.1" without the flier!) and then the rest of the box gave me 2" groups at 100.

So, not sure what the big variable is in this one.

Is it the wind? Is it powder variations? Is it case thickness? Concentricity? Or maybe a combination of everything...