.17HMR Max Effective Range

Serenity Bushcraft · Jan 1, 2010

Ok over the next month or two I am going to update this often. For this "study" I am going to positivly identify the "Maximum Effective Range" of the .17HMR. Effective means hitting a target at that range with the first or second shot. For this the target is ONLY paper. I do not have the ablity to determine the effective range on game.
I will be using a Savage 93R17BTV scoped with a BSA Sweet 17 scope.

As testing progresses I will post on the weather conditions (temp, altitude, density altitude, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, lighting, mirage) and the ranges and shooting positions that I used. I will also post the scope adjustments (both windage and elevation) for everyones future use.

My Hypothsis is that the .17HMR can be fired effectivly to at least 400 yards if the weather conditions are in my favor. So far the fathest that I have shot with the .17HMR is 300 yards. I want to prove once and for all that this little round is good to that distance and beyond.

If there are any of you out there that have any data that they would like to share please feel free to add it here. Also if there is something that I did not mention or a subject that needs to be covered at the same time let me know.

Well here is looking forward to a neat little experiment.............CHEERS, notasniper

338Shooter · Jan 1, 2010

I've shot mine to 385 meters. Hitting steel turkeys with 17 gr TNT CCIs.

I had a 200 meter zero and was holding over about 6-10 feet. Wind was about 5-10 full value and I had to hold about 3 feet IIRC.

dennishoddy · Jan 2, 2010

It will be fun to see your results, on paper. What round will you be using? The 17 grain or the 20 grain FMJ?

ENC · Jan 3, 2010

I think you can get it to 400. It is going to take some work, 400 is hard center-fire sometimes. I would stress that those ranges are paper only. Energy has to be approaching Red Ryder levels that far out I would think.

I definitely look forward to results.

Evan

MaddSkillz · Jan 4, 2010

I'm interested in the results as well.

I need to find another place to shoot... The range I go to only has a max 200 yard range.

Serenity Bushcraft · Jan 4, 2010

This is a quick up date form this weekend. It was very cold on saturday so I did not stick around that long. I did however confirm my 100 yard zero and then I shot out to 250 yards in 25 yard increments. The weather conditions were recorded from a Kestrol 4500NV weather meter. Altitude= 645ft ASL, Density Altitude= 1213ft ASL, Temp= 25 Deg F, Wind= 3-5mph full value with gusts every 45sec-1min 15sec to 11mph. Baro Pressure= 29.24inHg, Humidity= 49.8% I used Federal Premium 17gr V-Max for this test.
100yrd Zero = ZERO ADJUSTMENT = Zero Range
125yrd Zero = UP 4 Clicks (.25 MOA Clicks)
150yrd Zero = Up 7 Clicks
175yrd Zero = Up 12 Clicks
200 Yard Zero = Up 18 Clicks
225 Yard Zero = Up 24 Clicks
250 Yard Zero = Up 31 Clicks
Please not that all adjustments are from the 100 yard zero. So to go from the 100 yard zero to the 250 yard zero you would have to come up 31 clicks to hit center.

At 100 yards I was only able to shoot an average of 1.25 MOA out of 5 3 round groups fired. But I also averaged 1.5 MOA all the way out to 250 yards on Saturday.

I only shot durring the slow part of the wind cycle. I am sure that the rifle will do well at 300 yards but I do not know if the scope that I am using has enough elevation to make it to 400 yards. If not then I will swap it out with one that will allow me to make precise adjustments to that range.

Conclusion= Wind is a big factor is shooting this little round. It seems to shoot like a lazer beam out to and just past 125 yards but after that the wind really gets ahold of the 17gr V-Max and throws it all over the place.
I was unable to decifer my notes on the wind adjustments so I will be more vigilant on that for the next test.
Thanks for you intrest in this post. There will be more to come as I extend the range.
CHEERS, notasniper

Serenity Bushcraft · Jan 4, 2010

Sorry I forgot. I fired 4 three round groups at each yards line AFTER I had gotten the zero for that range. Spotting the little holes just was not possible with optics that i have available to me so there was a lot of walking to see where the rifle was hitting. In any case there was not one case where the round did not at least stirke a standard 8.5 x 11" piece of notebook paper.

Over the course of this evaluation I am going to get a lot of experiance calling and adjusting for the wind.

Figured that i needed to add this to the post above...........
CHEERS, notasniper

ENC · Jan 4, 2010

notasniper said:
Sorry I forgot. I fired 4 three round groups at each yards line AFTER I had gotten the zero for that range. Spotting the little holes just was not possible with optics that i have available to me so there was a lot of walking to see where the rifle was hitting. In any case there was not one case where the round did not at least stirke a standard 8.5 x 11" piece of notebook paper.

Over the course of this evaluation I am going to get a lot of experiance calling and adjusting for the wind.

Figured that i needed to add this to the post above...........
CHEERS, notasniper

May want to try some Orange Peel type targets those might even be hard.

Evan

MarcusR · Jan 7, 2010

Thanks for all the info. I have the same gun and have been wondering all this cause of shooting bobcats with it. Look forward to your future post.

Serenity Bushcraft · Jan 9, 2010

With my test I just want to make sure that everyone understands that the little 17gr 17HMR has very little punch past 150 to 200 yards. I am simply trying to prove or disprove that you can accuratly hit targets to 400 yards and that the results are repetable. Small fast things slow down very quickly and as the velocity drops so does its potential energy. For small (like crow small) I would keep all my shots inside of 175 yards. For anything larger I would attempt to keep the shots inside of 100 yards. The data that I am posting is simply for punching holes in paper or ringing a steel plate. If you want to hunt with this round at extended ranges then you will be responsible for the wounded animal. As this test progresses I will attampt to do some penetration tests at extended ranges. However, that data is going to have to wait for some warmer weather. CHEERS, notasniper

.17HMR Max Effective Range

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