CZ 457 Varmint .17 HMR - Ammo Testing

[<*(((><]

I purchased a CZ 457 Varmint 17 HMR, not long ago based on my past experience with a 452 in .22lr. I really think I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this rifle. I put a Burris Timberline 4.5-14x32 with parallax down to 7 yards on it (took it off one of my .22's). Qualities I appreciate about it are:

1. 60* bolt through to allow clearance of a broader range of scopes
2. Pillar bedded from factory
3. 3-Way adjustable trigger
4. Forward to fire safety
5. Nitrided receiver and barrel (mine will be a field rifle so this was a plus)
6. Nice walnut stock with sling factory sling points
7. Heavy barrel looks great and really balances well, was worried about this as I ordered it.



Went and purchased several types of ammo to figure out what she likes:



Finally got some time for some ammo testing after sighting it in at 100 yards. At this point it has had about 20 rounds through it.

1. CCI 20gr, Gamepoint SP, 5 Shots, 100 Yards



2. Hornady 20gr, XTP, 5 shots, 100 yards (not sure if the flyer is me or the ammo, I didn't really think I pulled it)


3. Hornady 17gr VMAX, 5 shots, 100 yards



4. Federal 17gr VMAX, 5 shots, 100 yards



5. CCI A17, 17gr VMAX, 5 shots, 100 yards

It was this group that led me to shoot a 10 shot group with the CCI A17.

6. CCI A17, 17gr VMAX, 10 shots, 100 yards



Very pleased with the 100 yard accuracy at this point, I know it'll tighten up with more rounds as well as further adjustment to the trigger. There was a 5-7 mile 4:30 wind when I was shooting, that would pick up and let off during the testing.

I was surprised that the CCI A17 was seemingly the most consistent, its the fastest velocity, and has a reputation of being less accurate in most rifles than the Hornady and Federal 17gr VMAX offerings. I shot a 10 shot group with the 17gr Federal VMAX after I adjusted my POI to center of bull at 100 yards with the CCI A17 and the Federal printed just about a .25" lower than the CCI A17 so I'll be able to use those offerings pretty interchangeably.

There hasn't been much out there as far as accuracy on the CZ 457's especially in 17HMR so I thought I would post this up for anyone considering a new 17 HMR or CZ457 for that matter.

 

[bamajoey]

Sad thing about a .17 is the lack of good ammo. My 455 in .22 shoots better than .17 at 50 yds.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I never thought the HMR had bad ammo choices. I had a Marlin V17 that would put the old Remington Premier 17 gr and CCI game point 20 gr into a quarter at 50 yds. Never tested at 100.

The .17 HMR is very accurate with a lot of ammo in my experience. I bet the OPs rifle will tighten up with a few more rounds down the pipe.

I will concede though, there is much more ammo to choose from with .22LR and it can be very accurate as well.

It just isn’t a 17 HMR though.

 

[<*(((><]

I’m hoping some ammo manufacturers get more serious about precision when it comes to the .17hmr. It would be nice to have a premium line of ammo for it. The round has so much potential, it’s great velocity (less flight time) and better BC’s than .22lr help in windy conditions. It’s the perfect Varmint rimfire round IMHO.

But I’m not going to complain about .75 MOA if I can tighten my 10 round group up over time, with rounds through the barrel and some trigger adjustments.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I’m hoping some ammo manufacturers get more serious about precision when it comes to the .17hmr. It would be nice to have a premium line of ammo for it. The round has so much potential, it’s great velocity (less flight time) and better BC’s than .22lr help in windy conditions. It’s the perfect Varmint rimfire round IMHO.

But I’m not going to complain about .75 MOA if I can tighten my 10 round group up over time, with rounds through the barrel and some trigger adjustments.

You found the bane of the 17 HMR. The slight wind that you had causes groups to open like that.
I carried one as a truck gun for years. It shot like a house on fire if there wind isn't blowing. Add a breeze and you better learn to call the wind.
The A17 ammo does great in my Savage and has the best consistency for me.
17 barrels copper foul like crazy.

 

[<*(((><]

I don’t consider that accuracy bad for a rimfire. If it closes down to MOA over time that’s more than adequate for the task at hand. I would like to see some other honest 10 round groups at 100 yards of rimfire, in the same conditions bet there’s not much difference until one gets to match grade ammunition. Most people’s rimfire targets are 3 or 5 shots at 50 yards, I’ll post up a 5 shot at 50 when I get the chance, that doesn’t interest me when trying to establish what ammo a my 17 likes, easier to see spread at 100 yards.

17 HMR does better than .22lr in the wind. It has better BCs (marginally) and spends less time in flight due to twice the velocity. It’s dificiency to .22lr is lack of match grade ammunition.

Most of my shots on varmints where MOA accuracy is needed (kill zone 1-2” in diameter i.e whistle pigs) will be sub 100 yards. Larger varmints (gophers, ground hogs/rock chucks, rabbits, foxes) the kill zone goes up to 3-4” and still will be sub-150 yards.

Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I’ll take that 10 round group with the A17 or VMAX ammo at 100 yards on a new barrel.

 

[d2wing]

Thanks for posting. Outstanding. I am thinking of that same rifle.

 

[Bfh_auto]

That is more than acceptable accuracy. What I meant was, your accuracy is being affected by the wind more than the ammo quality.
It takes a very small breeze to open your group by the amount that yours did.
It will still run circles around a 22lr and barely edge out a 22 mag on power.

 

[<*(((><]

That is more than acceptable accuracy. What I meant was, your accuracy is being affected by the wind more than the ammo quality.
It takes a very small breeze to open your group by the amount that yours did.
It will still run circles around a 22lr and barely edge out a 22 mag on power.

You’re probably right. Once I get some time I would like to see what the ES is of the different ammos over the chrono.

 

[loose noose]

Luke, I also found that the A!7 performs the best in my Savage 93 as I've already tried all those other brands of 17HMR and recently purchased my second box of A17 ammo as I've found those to be the most consistent. Out here you can get them at Wal Mart for $49.95 +tax. for 200 rounds. So far as long as the wind is not in gale force it will shoot really nice little groups (under an inch) at 100 yards as well as 1.75" at 200 yards. I've got right at 500-750 rounds thru mine so far and haven't had any problem with copper fouling, however before I took it out the first time I used JB Bore Polish thru it with at least 100 strokes to help smooth out the bore. Seems like it worked.

 

[<*(((><]

Luke, I also found that the A!7 performs the best in my Savage 93 as I've already tried all those other brands of 17HMR and recently purchased my second box of A17 ammo as I've found those to be the most consistent. Out here you can get them at Wal Mart for $49.95 +tax. for 200 rounds. So far as long as the wind is not in gale force it will shoot really nice little groups (under an inch) at 100 yards as well as 1.75" at 200 yards. I've got right at 500-750 rounds thru mine so far and haven't had any problem with copper fouling, however before I took it out the first time I used JB Bore Polish thru it with at least 100 strokes to help smooth out the bore. Seems like it worked.

That’s good to hear you’ve had similar experience with A17. It seemed when I was researching 17 ammo it seemed nobody had great experience with it, but it wasn’t terrible either. The A17 and the Federal Vmax (which I’ve been told is supposed to come off the same line as the Hornady Vmax) were the best groups, with the A17 being very consistent in the 10 shot group with a few fliers that opened up the group which could have been me, the wind or inconsistency.

 

[cougar1717]

which I’ve been told is supposed to come off the same line

Not trying to burst any bubbles here, but unlike 22LR, it's rather widely known that there are only two real manufacturers of 17hmr - CCI (Federal, Hornady, Remington) and Winchester (Browning).
A lot of variations come down to bullet type, priming, powder lots, and brass hardness.

Once I get some time I would like to see what the ES is of the different ammos over the chrono.

There are also some tests out there on a rimfire centered forum that show some of the best 17hmr as ES's of 130fps while some of the worst can have ES's of 300fps in a box of 50.
It would be interesting to see if your testing would confirm those results or not.

 

[crestoncowboy]

My 452 shoots Winchester and hornady to Moa. It shot the cci HP in a pattern not a group

 

[<*(((><]

Not trying to burst any bubbles here, but unlike 22LR, it's rather widely known that there are only two real manufacturers of 17hmr - CCI (Federal, Hornady, Remington) and Winchester (Browning).
A lot of variations come down to bullet type, priming, powder lots, and brass hardness.



There are also some tests out there on a rimfire centered forum that show some of the best 17hmr as ES's of 130fps while some of the worst can have ES's of 300fps in a box of 50.
It would be interesting to see if your testing would confirm those results or not.

Your not bursting any bubbles I’m well aware we only have two manufacturers: Winchester and CCI.

That is what I’ve seen on he Internet forums on the ES’s as well. The A17, Hornady and Federal is plenty accurate for what I need it for at this time. But I would love if someone got serious and started making higher end .17 hmr ammo with good priming, powder charges, cartridge characteristics, seating, etc., and got the ES’s down a good bit. I would gladly pay 50% more for the ammo.

 

[<*(((><]

My 452 shoots Winchester and hornady to Moa. It shot the cci HP in a pattern not a group

Mine seems to like A17, Hornady and Federal Vmaxs.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Mine seems to like A17, Hornady and Federal Vmaxs.

At the time the only kinds made were hornady and cci hollow points. Was probably 04 or so. I'll try the others someday maybe. I have a couple cases of winchester though.

 

[cougar1717]

Your not bursting any bubbles I’m well aware we only have two manufacturers: Winchester and CCI.

That is what I’ve seen on he Internet forums on the ES’s as well. The A17, Hornady and Federal is plenty accurate for what I need it for at this time. But I would love if someone got serious and started making higher end .17 hmr ammo with good priming, powder charges, cartridge characteristics, seating, etc., and got the ES’s down a good bit. I would gladly pay 50% more for the ammo.

In that regard, it's no different than 22mag or 17wsm - there's hunting ammo, but no match ammo available. Remember when 17hmr was first introduced and people balked at the ammo price compared to 22LR? Manufacturers/reviewers responded that there was no bulk 17hmr and that all the ammo was "match" ammo........

Some lots can shoot smaller groups than match 22LR ... under certain conditions.

Just being honest, even if CCI or Win attempted to make match ammo, based on their current 22LR match offerings, their "17hmr match" would cost twice as much but perform only marginally better! 17hmr really needs a caliber specific competition to create demand for more consistent ammo options. Without that, it's very unlikely that top match ammo manufacturers Eley, RWS, or Lapua would spend the money to produce a new product line.

To think about percentages, an ES of 40fps on a 1080fps 22LR is 3.7% variation.
Use that 3.7% on 2550fps and you get 94fps variation. In that respect, ES's of 130fps or so are relatively good.

Even if CCI or Win made just a little improvement in exit velocity, it would be better, but that doesn't necessarily make it "match" ammo.
Consistent brass, bullet seating depth, all those other aspects, etc. - it's basically one of those reliability calculations, predicated on the weakest link.

Anyway, I hope your testing goes well.

 

[<*(((><]

Good thoughts @cougar1717

 

[Mowgli Terry]

My 93R17 does well with a variety of CCI rounds. Most recently it was 40gr. polymer tipped round . I've stuck with CCI after some bad experiences with Winchester right after getting the rifle some years back. I'm just not up to exploring since that can get pricey on the fixed income.

 

[KnightHawk]

The 17 HMR and the 17 WSM are very interesting. I have heard that the 17 WSM is finicky at best, besides being expensive. I believe I'm interested in the 17 HMR in a CZ, maybe a Ruger. Not sure how the rifles compare. I've heard nothing but good about the CZ rifles.
Also interested in same rifle (CZ possibly the Ruger) in 22 mag and the 17 Hornet.

 

[loose noose]

Knight Hawk, I've got a CZ 527FS in .222 Remington which is one of the most accurate and quality built bolt action rifles that I've got, some how Ruger just doesn't look all that great in a bolt action, now don't get me wrong, as I've got nothing but good stuff as far as Ruger Customer Service, is concerned, it's just that with the exception of the Mini-14/30 and the AR's I prefer wood and steel, reckon I'm just an old fuddy duddy when it comes to bolt action rifles.

 

[KnightHawk]

Knight Hawk, I've got a CZ 527FS in .222 Remington which is one of the most accurate and quality built bolt action rifles that I've got, some how Ruger just doesn't look all that great in a bolt action, now don't get me wrong, as I've got nothing but good stuff as far as Ruger Customer Service, is concerned, it's just that with the exception of the Mini-14/30 and the AR's I prefer wood and steel, reckon I'm just an old fuddy duddy when it comes to bolt action rifles.

Yeah I 100% agree with you, it's blue steel and lumber for me also. There are exceptions of coarse, but when I go to the LGS or a gun show, I rarely even slow down unless there's wood on it. I can stand an occasional SS gun, but it's got to have lumber. Even the trend of blue steel in matte does't blow my skirt in the air.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Well, based on my experience with my 452 Lux and Savage 93R17 took the plunge this afternoon. Found a decent pre-owned 452 American. I'm looking forward to trying the rifle out the latter part of the week. These American's ,by all reports, are great rifles. Looks like it's getting harder to find these rifles. Punching paper with a 17 HMR is a real trip. It's kinda fun this second childhood thing!

 

[<*(((><]

Took it out to lunch quick. 50 yards with 5:30 winds.

Measures 1/2”, I think one should be able to find an ammo that hovers around 1MOA for .17 HMR.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I was ready to go on my deal for the 452 American in 17HMR. The deal went south and I cancelled out. I will continue to look. Usually, when this happens one shows up in better condition for less money. For cartridges, I'd suggest taking a look the CCI 17grn V Max round with the polymer tip.I have the Savage 93R17 ready for the neighborhood coyotes-a bold lot!

Addendumost #19. The grain weight of the bullets should have been 17grns. not 40 grns.