Savage .17 HMR and Federal ammo

ORBrit · Apr 23, 2009

I went to the Emerald Empire Gun Club range today at McGowan Creek near Marcola. Nice setup they have there and super nice folks shooting there.
I was sighting in a few rifles:
Savage 93R17BTVS .17HMR
Savage Mark II Classic .22LR
Savage 12 BVSS .22-250

The .22-250 is truly the most accurate rifle I have ever fired. My initial 3 round group was 2" high and 6" right. I adjusted my Nikon Buckmaster scope the estimated number of clicks and the next shot was dead center of bullseye at 100 yards. The next shot was touching that one. The next 3 were within 3/4".

The Mark II performed as expected - about a 2" group at 100.

Now the 17 HMR gave me some trouble. I started with Federal Premium 17 Gr V-Shok ammo. I fired five 5 round groups and could not get any amount of consistency - we're talking random 6" spread, despite the crosshairs being on the same spot, even with follow through after the shot.

I switched ammo to CCI 17Gr TNT and was able to immediately shoot sub 1" groups.

What is the deal with this Federal Ammo? Anyone else have similar experiences? I know the Hornady stuff has worked well for me too - I was hitting empty shotgun shells at 75 yards the last time I went out.

m'kay13 · Apr 23, 2009

I have the opposite results in my Savage, but that is shooting from one case of Federal V-Max versus another case of CCI TNT. My results could be influenced by my gun, or by ammo lot. The wind could have also shifted on you. Your hold on the rifle could have changed. Find what you and your gun can agree on and buy a lot.