17 HMR American vs 77/17

[Mobuck]

As a result of my gun downsizing, I cleared out a bunch of doubles and spares. Grandson wanted my American 17 HMR. I have a 77/17 that I had swapped to a threaded barrel but hadn't shot it until this morning. Using 12-15 year old Hornady tipped varmint ammo, this new barrel turned out to be considerably more accurate than the quirky American that would only extract with Hornady 15.5 grain 'unleaded' ammo. ;)
Twenty five yard groups are great. I didn't have time or motivation to hang 100 yard targets but have no doubts this rifle is considerably more accurate than the 'good enough' groups of the American.
No split necks or stuck cases as I was getting from the American. On the other hand, I'm sure I'll be a bit more self-conscious about how I treat a 77/17 vs how I treated the American.:unsure:

 

[the_leper_colony]

If you haven't done so already, you might try as many different types of ammo as you care to buy. Mine shoots the 20 gr stuff better than the lighter bullet weighfs, and seems to prefer the CCI FMJ. But mine is a rebarreled 77/22 Magnum with a Green Mountain .17 HMR barrel, so yours could easily prefer something else! When it had the .22 Magnum factory barrel installed, it shot better with the lighter bullets. Great rifles!
:)

 

[wproct]

I know we are talking different calibers but I've been quite happy with my 22 inch bbl standard RAR in .22 magnum.

 

[Mobuck]

I'm satisfied with 25 yard cloverleaf groups. I mowed the path to the 100 yard backstop so may see what results I get at that range. The American had killed a LOT of critters over the years (it was the primary tool in a vermin removal job a few years back--500-600 rounds on that job alone) but this 77/17 showed groups half the size of the American.