Conversion of .17 HMR to .22 WMR?
I have a CZ 452 in .17 HMR that I love, but am considering converting it to .22 WMR if reasonably possible. The .22 WMR has a lot more energy and killing power, and may be less finicky than the .17 HMR.
Does anyone know how easy it is to bore the barrel from .17 to .22? And, could I expect good accuracy (1 MOA or better)? This rifle has pretty consistently shot 1 MOA or better, but accuracy now seems to have evaporated for some reason.
Does anyone know how easy it is to bore the barrel from .17 to .22? And, could I expect good accuracy (1 MOA or better)? This rifle has pretty consistently shot 1 MOA or better, but accuracy now seems to have evaporated for some reason.
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"more energy and killing power"........It is possible to rebore a barrel but generaly it is cheaper to just sell what you have and buy what you want. Besides, your reasoning is flawed, the .17 hrm has more range and (in general again) more accuracy and 'killing power'. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by MIKE WISKEY
"more energy and killing power"........It is possible to rebore a barrel but generaly it is cheaper to just sell what you have and buy what you want. Besides, your reasoning is flawed, the .17 hrm has more range and (in general again) more accuracy and 'killing power'.
Mike:
I am well aware that the .17 HMR shoots flatter, with higher velocity, but I believe that you may be wrong about the energy.0 -
I have the same rifle, I put on a sightron scope and it extremely accurate.
The advantages of 22 wmr over the 17hmr might be there at longer ranges in terms of energy.
The 17hmr has enough power and accuracy for me.
I also have a 22 wmr in a bolt action marlin.
Both are fine rounds but the 17hmr will always have a edge in accuracy.
My opinions[:)]0 -
Some company in Bensenville, IL did overboring. It cost around $250 if it did not involve rechambering, and there were limits on how small of a difference in caliber the process could accomodate. The last I heard of them was 2001-2002?
I was unable to find them today in a brief google search; maybe you'd have better luck.
The nicest thing about a CZ is the hammer forged, lapped bore.
Plus, you don't know if the barrel is stress-relieved; if it isn't, then cutting metal away from the interior would result in the barrel expanding beyond the diameter you reamed it to, and in differing amounts depending on the profile of the barrel. In fact, I believe they deliberately want to leave compressive residual stresses in a hammer forged barrel because it cuts wear.
So, it ain't cheap, and it would require heat treating, which would in turn reduce the quality of the finished product by eliminating much of the effect of the hammer forging.
Have you tried tightening your action screws or an overnight ammonia soak for the bore?0 -
At 100 yards you are looking at a maximum difference of 10% in energy. Definitely not a big enough difference to justify the cost to me. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by stevecrea
I have a CZ 452 in .17 HMR that I love, but am considering converting it to .22 WMR if reasonably possible. The .22 WMR has a lot more energy and killing power, and may be less finicky than the .17 HMR.
Does anyone know how easy it is to bore the barrel from .17 to .22? And, could I expect good accuracy (1 MOA or better)? This rifle has pretty consistently shot 1 MOA or better, but accuracy now seems to have evaporated for some reason.
Possible. . .yes.
Reasonable. . .doubtful.
Personally, I'd prefer the .22WMR as well, but that's neither here nor there. Its not entirely clear to me that you'd end up with 1MOA accuracy with a conversion.
It would probably be more cost-effective for you to sell the gun you have and buy the one you want, rather than spending the money to rebarrel.0 -
quote:Originally posted by stevecrea
quote:Originally posted by MIKE WISKEY
"more energy and killing power"........It is possible to rebore a barrel but generaly it is cheaper to just sell what you have and buy what you want. Besides, your reasoning is flawed, the .17 hrm has more range and (in general again) more accuracy and 'killing power'.
Mike:
I am well aware that the .17 HMR shoots flatter, with higher velocity, but I believe that you may be wrong about the energy.
One thing to keep in mind...this is not a centerfire boomer. When you get down to that power level, it is not about a few ft-lbs, but it is rather about shot placement. Try giving your 17HMR a good surgical bore cleaning...copper solvent, and lots of brushing and patches...enough patches untill they come out white with no blue on them.0 -
quote:Originally posted by SoreShoulder
Some company in Bensenville, IL did overboring. It cost around $250 if it did not involve rechambering, and there were limits on how small of a difference in caliber the process could accomodate. The last I heard of them was 2001-2002?
I was unable to find them today in a brief google search; maybe you'd have better luck.
The nicest thing about a CZ is the hammer forged, lapped bore.
Plus, you don't know if the barrel is stress-relieved; if it isn't, then cutting metal away from the interior would result in the barrel expanding beyond the diameter you reamed it to, and in differing amounts depending on the profile of the barrel. In fact, I believe they deliberately want to leave compressive residual stresses in a hammer forged barrel because it cuts wear.
So, it ain't cheap, and it would require heat treating, which would in turn reduce the quality of the finished product by eliminating much of the effect of the hammer forging.
Have you tried tightening your action screws or an overnight ammonia soak for the bore?
Have you had experience with having the .17 HMR copper up? I cleaned it thoroughly with Hoppe's Benchrest, which is a copper and carbon remover. And, I have never seen the blue evidence of copper in this rifle. It has something like 6000 rounds through it, and I may tinker with the torque on the action screws. But, other than that, I am at a loss, unless different brands of the 17 grain V-Maxes shoot much differently. I have been shooting the Hornady brand with 17 gr V-maxes lately, but could try other brands. This rifle does not seem to want to feed the 20 grain HPs, so I have always stuck to the 17 grain V-Maxes.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
quote:Originally posted by stevecrea
quote:Originally posted by MIKE WISKEY
"more energy and killing power"........It is possible to rebore a barrel but generaly it is cheaper to just sell what you have and buy what you want. Besides, your reasoning is flawed, the .17 hrm has more range and (in general again) more accuracy and 'killing power'.
Mike:
I am well aware that the .17 HMR shoots flatter, with higher velocity, but I believe that you may be wrong about the energy.
One thing to keep in mind...this is not a centerfire boomer. When you get down to that power level, it is not about a few ft-lbs, but it is rather about shot placement. Try giving your 17HMR a good surgical bore cleaning...copper solvent, and lots of brushing and patches...enough patches untill they come out white with no blue on them.
tsr:
I cleaned it thoroughly with a nylon brush, patches, and Hoppe's Benchrest. I have never seen the blue or green evidence of copper in this rifle.0 -
quote:Originally posted by beantownshootah
quote:Originally posted by stevecrea
I have a CZ 452 in .17 HMR that I love, but am considering converting it to .22 WMR if reasonably possible. The .22 WMR has a lot more energy and killing power, and may be less finicky than the .17 HMR.
Does anyone know how easy it is to bore the barrel from .17 to .22? And, could I expect good accuracy (1 MOA or better)? This rifle has pretty consistently shot 1 MOA or better, but accuracy now seems to have evaporated for some reason.
Possible. . .yes.
Reasonable. . .doubtful.
Personally, I'd prefer the .22WMR as well, but that's neither here nor there. Its not entirely clear to me that you'd end up with 1MOA accuracy with a conversion.
It would probably be more cost-effective for you to sell the gun you have and buy the one you want, rather than spending the money to rebarrel.
Yes, I agree. I have put a little money into a trigger job and slicking the magazines and action up on this rifle. However, your point about just buying another rifle is well taken.0
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