.17 HMR ammo concern

[smoothly]

Ive read and listened to all i can about ammo for the 17hmr and ive had loads of split cases from various makes also i had a round stuck becouse of a split neck and the next shot obviously impacted the first blowing back and wrecking the mag and peppering my face,the stuck round cleared the gun shot fine and still does but it woke me up i can tell you,now ive got my lad checking every round before i go shooting and when i return,while its been rattling round in the gun case,he,s found some split cases when ive come home so obviously its split from rattling around,but i like the caliber and it does the job and i have two one shoots hornady into a 1" the other remington into a 1",ones a cz 452 varmint shortened from 20" to 15 1/2 the others a standard cz 452 factory 16" style they dont like been cleaned but i can do 80-100 yd magpies,rabbits etc with ease,but now i make sure i know where the rounds gone when i fire and if in doubt its bolt out and a quick check.

[the running man]

The problems have come from bullets stuck in the chamber,for whatever reason....they then pull the case out without checking if the bullet was attached,or not looking down the barrell to see if there is a bullet there,so they slam one in behind it goes boom instead of bang then they blame the ammo,I stopped two mates from pulling the trigger after ejecting a non fireing 17 rounds...

It goes in the grass u see and so they can't be bothered....

Of course that's not everyone...

Personally I've never had any probs with shooting my 17,had a few bad ones from hornaday but generally I find the remmington stuff superb..

[Gazza]

So after all these years of the 17 HMR theres still an issue with ammo and necks splitting etc.
Ive just bought a 17 HMR and I am now paranoid and crapping myself

[DaveB]

Don't Panic

Problems are over-hyped in my opinion. Never had an issue with mine, nor do I know of anybody with a 17HMR who has had any issues (and there would be talk around the table at one of the gun clubs I belong to, if it were a big deal). The calibre is pretty popular down here in NZ.

[Chapuis]

Don't Panic

Problems are over-hyped in my opinion. Never had an issue with mine, nor do I know of anybody with a 17HMR who has had any issues (and there would be talk around the table at one of the gun clubs I belong to, if it were a big deal). The calibre is pretty popular down here in NZ.

Perhaps you have been lucky in NZ with the Lots that have been imported and that much of the nasty stuff has been landed on our shores. There have certainly been several cases of damaged rifles over here caused by faulty ammunition possibly combined with lack of attention/caution from the shooter.

[Gazza]

Correct me if I'm missing something here but if the case neck is split and the round has chambered then wont it still fire pretty much as it should? After all its locked in the chamber so cant expand beyond the chamber?

[Chapuis]

Correct me if I'm missing something here but if the case neck is split and the round has chambered then wont it still fire pretty much as it should? After all its locked in the chamber so cant expand beyond the chamber?

The problem seems to have been identified and attributed to the ingress of moisture into the propellant resulting in damp powder and squib loads. A round is fired and the squib load leaves a bullet jammed part way up the barrel. The shooter then rather carelessly or without realising fires another round.

The neck splits are caused when the cases are swaged down from .22 to .17 during the manufacturing process. The conclusion having been made that the case necks on the affected rounds were too brittle.

[kennyc]

Don't Panic

Problems are over-hyped in my opinion. Never had an issue with mine, nor do I know of anybody with a 17HMR who has had any issues (and there would be talk around the table at one of the gun clubs I belong to, if it were a big deal). The calibre is pretty popular down here in NZ.

Do worry I have personally met 2 people who have had blow ups due to bullets not leaving the barrel and then a 2nd bullet being fired and that is without the missfires that have been caught before another bullet was sent!
great calibre and worth having, I know a few people who have burnt out several barrels and gone back for more (high volume rabbits) but you need to be aware of the potential faults and be alert to missfires, and check for split necks .

[Gazza]

Correct me if I'm missing something here but if the case neck is split and the round has chambered then wont it still fire pretty much as it should? After all its locked in the chamber so cant expand beyond the chamber?

The problem seems to have been identified and attributed to the ingress of moisture into the propellant resulting in damp powder and squib loads. A round is fired and the squib load leaves a bullet jammed part way up the barrel. The shooter then rather carelessly or without realising fires another round.

The neck splits are caused when the cases are swaged down from .22 to .17 during the manufacturing process. The conclusion having been made that the case necks on the affected rounds were too brittle.

Ahh yes, I get it now.

[DaveB]

Do worry I have personally met 2 people who have had blow ups due to bullets not leaving the barrel and then a 2nd bullet being fired and that is without the missfires that have been caught before another bullet was sent!
great calibre and worth having, I know a few people who have burnt out several barrels and gone back for more (high volume rabbits) but you need to be aware of the potential faults and be alert to missfires, and check for split necks .

I said Don't Panic - meaning the op shouldn't do anything precipitate like selling his new rifle. I never said do not exercise normal care and attention to detail when shooting, same as you would for any calibre.