Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires CURRENT .17 Mach 2 ammo results

My RAR special in .17 HM2 has thus far been not what I'd hoped for, an easy path to rimfire accuracy bliss. Both types of ammo I've tested, CCI VMax 17gr and Hornady 15gr NTX, have performed okay, but not as well as I thought. Either would be fine for squirrels and plinking, but not for serious group shooting or small varmints at 100yards or over.

My question is: Among CURRENTLY AVAILABLE .17 Mach 2 ammo, what has done the best in your rifles? I had a pretty good selection back when I had a Kimber 1911 conversion unit, including a bunch of the sainted Eley, but that's long gone, never to return (probably).

Thanks.

Okay, I give up. Guess I'll have to go by what I can glean from the other .17 thread.

Hoping things improve with some more rounds through this thing.

Sorry Pappy, I haven't been shooting mine enough to make any recommendations. I think like all things rimfire you'll just have to piddle around to find what works best for you.

Agreed, but at least we don't have to sweat lube "compatibility", just the other 19 potential problems.

The killing starts in earnest tomorrow (hopefully), so this project will get a rest for a bit.

The good news is while at the range I gave my SS 455 another try with RWS SSHPs and it was better than before. Starting to think I shoulda just bought a Hummer barrel for it instead of the littlest .17.

When I took my RAR in 17HM2 to the range a couple of weeks ago I shot five 5-round groups with two different lots from Hornady an one lot from CCI.

The average group size for CCI lot # L06Y304 was 0.49".

The average group size for Hornady lot # G18X13 was 0.47”.

The average group size for Hornady lot # G27X27 was 0.50”

The smallest group was 0.45”, shot with Hornady lot # G18X13

The largest group was 0.52”, shot with CCI.

The average group size for the control, Eley lot # 4105-40073, was 0.40”. The largest group that I shot with the Eley was smaller than the smallest group that I shot with the CCI and Hornady.

VarmintGuy is the only person I recall reporting that his rifle, a Kimber SVT, shoots better groups with Hornady ammo than it does with Eley ammo.

Thanks, that helps.

presactly what i did pappy. i thought long and hard about the mach2 cartridge and what i wanted to do with it and came to the conclusion that since my plan was ultimately shoot suppressed that i just decided to do exactly what you are thinking of doing and went cz-455 american stainless in 22lr and purchased a stainless 17hmr barrel and am in the process of making sure the hummer barrel is worthy of a chop and thread job. by all accts i hope that my barrels come back even more accurate than then went in since they will be shortened to 16.5" and stiffer. now what to do with the 10 or so boxes of vintage eley 17hm2 ammo i bought when i owned a z-452 american in mach2..............??
Big Ed

still using my Eley ammo stash......from back when.........

Yesterday I had a epiphany about my RAR, and will check it out next time I go to the range.

Maybe next week if the killing goes well.

No epiphany; flawed notion about the thread protector.

Tried out some Hornady VMax today; no cigar. Revisited the other stuff on hand and the NTX is currently the winner. Last two 5-shot groups went 5/8" and 13/16". One prior group had 4 in a slightly oblong hole and one out 1/2".

Looks like I'm going to burn up my ammo and hope something gets broken in. Will probably get some more NTX next time I order other stuff, just to have a bit on hand. Bottom line is, if this is as good as it gets, I'll trade this off and chalk it up to experience.

All the fuss made back about astounding accuracy when the Mach2 first came out makes me wonder if maybe the quality has slipped a bit with the new runs. Maybe I'll hit a gunshow and try to score a bit of the Eley.

Went out again today, this time with a 8x56 Hawke scope. No better, and the NTX seems to have flyers that spoil promising groups. Going to clean it up good and recheck the screws for one more go. After that, it's off to the consignment rack. For now, I'm blaming this on the ammo just not being as good as it was in the past, the flyers being my evidence. If this stuff won't outshoot mid-range .22 ammo, it's of no use to me.

Not a bad little rifle, just not anything special, even for the price. If I ever get another one, it'll be a SS target model, but that money would be better spent on some high-grade ammo for the others I have now.

The 15.5 grain NTX ammo that I've shot from lots # G18Z301 and G208Z303 is prone to fliers, much more so than any brand of 17 grain ammo, at least that's how it works in my rifles.

The truth is that the Eley 17HM2 ammo from the lot that I have is significantly more accurate and consistent than any 17HM2 ammo from CCI or Hornady in any rifle that I shot it from. So, IMO, the Achilles' Heel of the 17HM2 is the quality of the ammo, just like every other rimfire firearm.

At one time, the M2 was allegedly the most accurate rimfire round, better than its big brother, and even better than match .22, or at least that's what I've read. Unless I see evidence that proves otherwise, I'm going to assume that's no longer the case with the ammo being cranked out now. Perhaps they figure M2 fans are so happy to have any ammo at all, they don't have to be that fussy. Maybe the necks aren't consistent or the powder charges vary. I've tried three of the four brands I've seen for sale, and only the NTX shows promise, but with those flyers in almost every string.

It's cold tomorrow, maybe I'll weigh some just for grins, but I'd bet on the necks, if using my money. Remember those split Hummers and the response from Hornady. Glad it's only a $300 rifle and not a $400+ custom barrel.

Thanks 260.

When I started shooting the 17HM2 in 2007 Eley ammo cost around $6 per box and was, IME, nearly as accurate as Tenex .22 LR ammo for about one-half the price.

I don't understand why other ammo makers can't make ammo as good as Eley did.