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Federal Premium TNT 17gr

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Silver1e6 
#1 ·
Hi All,

Just thought I'd share my experience on a box of FP TNT (Speer HP) 17gr. Some questions for the experts too, as this is starting to drive me crazy!

Type: Speer TNT HP
Weight: 17GR
CCI Date Code: F29X19
Rifle: Savage B17FVSS

In my quest to find something that shoots half decent in my Savage (B17FVSS), I purchased some FP TNT from my regular local gun store. Ammo was purchased a week or so ago.

CCI VNT was shot before this ammo. 20 FP TNT then shot. Some more CCI VNT was then shot. Out of 20 cartridges of FP shot - 10 out of 20 ended up with split cases. No splits at all from the CCI VNT - it was all checked - ONLY the FP split @ 50% of the rounds fired!

  1. The CCI date code is F29X19- does this mean it was manufactured over three years ago? (I believe the 'X' indicates 2016)
  2. Could it be that the case splits and accuracy are suffering due to the age of the ammo? (The gun store is a very small one and doesn't sell much 17HMR, given the age of the FP ammo - looks like it may have been on the shelf a while)
  3. At 50 meters, I am finding that if I take 3 shots, typically two will be very close (if not touching) but there will always be a flier between 0.5-1.0 inch away - this seems to be occurring for all ammo types (obviously all CCI variants), all bought from the same store. As per my statement above, could this be the due to older ammo that has sat in the gun shop for 2-4 years?

Any help or suggestions appreciated. I will check the date codes on the other ammo I have already purchased - all from the same gun shop - and potentially look to purchase elsewhere from a bigger store to ensure that the stock is 'fresher'.
 

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#2 ·
I have the same results with all types of 17hmr . A lot of people say it’s due to poor QC on the ammo. That’s probably true. But I’m starting to think I need to bed my rifle. That worked on my 22s when they exhibited the same issue. I think somethings moving. Might work might not, otherwise I’m just going to shoot 3 shot groups:D
 
#3 ·
I for one (with several 17 HMRs) have seen no particular relationship between split necks and accuracy. I get them in my Anschutz(s), Savage, and Lilja/Sako.

Today I fired about 25 rounds and inspected about 10 of them. Of those ten, one had a *triple* split and the others had none.

I shoot everything 17HMR except Winchester.
 
#4 ·
17 HMR - Split Cases & Flyers

Silver1e6 - I have tested just about all the CCI manufactured ammo in my CZ 453 Varmint, CZ 455 Varmint, Steyr Zephyr II, & Sako Quad Range rifles over the past few years and get split cases & flyers in all rifles and with all CCI ammo types. I chronographed most of the testing sessions trying to nail down the split cases and/or flyers using 5 shot groups within a given box of ammo. I could not find any relationship between a split case and a flyer, but did observe that most boxes of 17 HMR will have extreme spreads from 100-400 fps using 25 or 50 rounds out of the same box. My rifles seemed to perform best with non ballistic tip ammo (both 17 & 20 gr) and for whatever reason the CCI produced Federal Premium V-Shok 17 gr TNT usually produced better groups and had a much lower % of split cases.

One can understand how we get flyers when one has 150-400 fps difference in the velocity. Best I can say about 17 HMR ammo it is "Consistently Inconsistent". :confused: Yes - I totally understand that 17 HMR is not match grade ammo, however I think it could be improved somewhat with better QC. (400 fps) :eek: It works well enough for small critter hunting . . . at least how i use it.

I am down to (2) 17 HMR's and will keep shooting both of them, however I solved my 17 caliber ammo frustrations when I bought my CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Hornet. :) :D :bthumb:

Responses from both CCI & Hornady state the split cases are not a problem. :rolleyes:
 
#5 ·
Best I can say about 17 HMR ammo it is "Consistently Inconsistent".
Amen to that statement!

I have tried a few different types of CCI manufactured ammo now (17gr, 20gr, ballistic tip, HP, etc.) and I just find that at 50 meters the fliers are ever present.

The only saving grace here is that when I move out to 100 meters, given the 17HMR is a flat shooter, is that the fliers and groups only open up a minuscule amount.

Three of us using the same rifle are getting the same result. So I will next try to source some 'fresher' 17HMR ammo and see if that helps. Lastly, I will swap out the rifle scope - but I suspect this is not the culprit, because when the shots do group, they group very well indeed.

Thanks everyone for your replies!
 
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