Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 17 Fireball Hits 4,132 FPS!

Yikes thats fast!
And this velocity is from a 20" barreled Rifle!
In this months "Handloader" Magazine there is an EXCELLENT article on the 17 Remington Fireball.
Many interesting items were touched upon by the author including a comparison of the trajectories of the 17 Remington Fireball and the 22-250 Remington all the way out to 500 yards.
But the most amazing thing I thought was the speed the author achieved in his 20" barreled Rifle with 20 gr. bullets - 4,132 F.P.S.!
Thats smokin, AND, that speed will translate into enhanced lethality on Varmints and way flat trajectories over normal Varminting distances.
It makes me wonder what kind of velocities I will be able to get out of my Remington 700 VSF (with its 26" barrel) in 17 Fireball?
To date I have been shooting 25 gr. Berger bullets in my handloads. Yesterday though I traded into some Hornady 20 gr. V-Max bullets and I already have some H-322 powder (the powder used to obtain the super-velocity) on hand. I will get to work on my own 20 gr. loads as soon as I get a break from Spring Bear Hunting and Ground Squirrel Hunting!
Another powder that performed well velocity wise in the authors tests was H-4198. With velocities right on the heels of the H-322 powder, and in the authors Rifle, accuracy was even better with the H-4198 powder.
I have some of that on hand as well.
This "handloading hobby" can certainly be a busy endeavor at times.
Long live the 17 Remington Fireball.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Only guessing here, but I'd bet that RL-10X and Ramshot Xterminator would also hum right along in that round.

Mine hit 4133 fps VG...

I must be overpressured...

LoL.. just kidding...couldn't resist...

I still haven't gotten a barrel for one, but it is easily done since a local gunsmith friend has gotten the 17 Fireball bug..

brass availability is still my hesitation.. I'll eventually have one.. in fact I keep admiring a loaded round next to the computer here all the time...

if H 322 is doing well, and 4198... I'd check out RL 7 and 10 also.. I also wonder what H4227 or IMR 4227 might give? or 2400?

I am thinking along the lines of a heavy magnum barrel contour, but with a 20 inch barrel for a walking varminter...that sure "looks" like an awesome little cartridge when it is sitting still...the same way a parked Corvette or Jaguar still looks fast even when parked...

N-133 and Benchmark have been super performers in my mach4 w/20s and 25s. Saubier has a sticky on a ton of loads for the mach4. So far my buddy's 17Furball has been the Hand of God out past 200yards on groundhogs.

shoot alot of 17remmys with 20gr Vmax and Vihtavouri 140 and chronyd out at 4300. Seemed very fast to me but shoots like a dream and no pressure problems yet to speak of. Makes a mess out of PDs. HAPPY HUNTING

Guys: I just finished loading the VarmintMobile for a 0400 hours departure time to go Spring Bear Hunting (4 hours and 20 minutes from NOW!) - I will be Hunting until dark so will get back to each of you maybe late tomorrow night.
I will only have along ONE Varmint Rifle in case a Coyote or Badger is encountered.
Taking the new Tikka in 338 Federal for the "big" Black Varmints!
More later
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Good luck there VG...

hope you come home with a Yogi or BooBoo in the back of the Varmint Dodge Diesel there..

I have sent you a PM

Hey VG, went out 2 days ago for some PD's with a buddy, and we finally found a few tho the rancher poisoned most of the towns off we typically shoot at. I was running about 3400 out of my 16.5" Shilen on an XP-100 with the 25 Horn. HP. I had just purchased a 6-18X Nikon BM scope with the mil-dot. In that optic the milliradian is cald. for 12X and at 18 it's 33% less @ 2.4 IPHY subtension between dots. Dots become basically a 1/2" dot then as well. My partner did all the shooting and we were getting a few beyond 400 in 10-15 mph 3 o'clock winds. We were simply running computer calcd. clicks in IPHY for elevation and using dots for windage (computer was dead on for elvation to 400 and just a couple .125 IPHY clicks off beyond that to 500). This was a good system as my partner told me it was easy to interpolate between dots @ 2.4 IPHY (2.4 IPHY @ 550 is 13", which is easy enuf to break up for a broadside dog feeding on all 4's). He hit 1 at 480 but lost it and killed 1 @ 440. Fun day.

PS-- My Mach IV brass fits the chamber (once full length sized with the MIV die) and vel's/zeros are right in the same ballpark while fireforming to the new FB chamber as the fireformed/neck-sized FB brass. I was right pleased at that.

The 20 gr. factory loads chrono 3800 out of my XP handgun and also have the same zero as the 25's.

Guys: I just got home after an all day Bear Hunt! I am dead tired.
No Bears but saw Moose, Bighorns, Elk, Mule Deer, Antelope, Whitetails by the thousands (I mean that literally!) and lots of Wolf tracks but no Bear!
Will respond with more tomorrow.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sscoyote: Sounds like you guys had a great time and thats some fancy shooting with a pistol to make hits at 480 and 440 yards - especially with that wind buffeting things about!
Good for you guys.
I have owned about 10 XP-100 pistols (mostly in 221 Remington Fireball caliber) but I have only used one of my own in the field. Mostly I bought and sold them for a profit and a couple I have had made into custom Rifles.
I really enjoy the XP-100 and XR-100 actions for Varmint Rifles!
The one XP-100 pistol I kept and use on occassion is a mint all stock XP-100 in caliber 223 Remington! I have made kills with it out to 280 yards to date. I am a little "new" to centerfire pistol Varminting and my level of expertise there is just above novice stage.
My XP-100 is very accurate and has a now discontinued (IIRC!) Burris 10 power pistol scope on it.
I have killed Coyote, Rock Chuck and Prairie Dogs with this XP-100.
I was sure surprised how well my Remington 700 VSF in 17 Remington shot the factory 20 grain loads! All the groups I have made with the factory ammo measured in the high 5's!
This tiny and efficient little cartridge does a lot of things well in the Varminting arena.
I had a custom 17 MachIV heavy barrel Varminter built back in 1995 and I have done EVERYTHING with it.
Frankly I would not be surprised if the 17 Remington Fireball becomes even more popular than the 17 Remington did, was - is!
I do know this - there will always be some 17 centerfires in MY Varminting arsenal.
Long live the Fireball family of cartridges (including the 20 VarTarg!)!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It was fun VG--just wish i would've had a chance to at least look thru the scope and compare the reticle to the PD's. That's OK tho--a lot of my buddies don't get a chance to shoot that often and they need their fun too. It's always available to me so i'll get some experience behind that optic soon.

Check out the specialty pistols website. We're going to a L-R handgun PD shoot in June where minimum distance is gonna be 4 or 500 yds., and then Rich Mertz 1000 Yd. Comp. that same week. Eric Wallace out of Michigan (i think) just broke the world record for the tightest 5 or 10 shot gp. ever at 1000 with his 6-6.5 X 47 at a match in MT somehwere. 9.25", and he beat all the rifle boys there--amazing huh?

U should've been there when Ernie Bishop killed a PD @ 1590 in Oct. '06 down here in Pueblo. I was spotting thru a set of Big Eyes and he killed it on the 9th shot (6-284XP/115 DTAC/8.5-25X Leup.). I'm not sure if it was better to have shot it or spotted the shot. I was watching the vapor trail, and it was 1 memorable experience i tell ya'. I'll never forget it. They'll be breaking 2000 pretty quick (Eric or Ernie).

Sscoyote: Yes I would have loved to have seen that 1,590 yard shot!
And WOW on the 9 1/4" group with the pistol at 1,000 yards!
The folks that shoot Varmints at those extreme ranges get a lot of satisfaction when they make a hit way out there! I seen'em in action (Rifle types!) and it is an impressive accomplishment.
I get my satisfaction with a little more "volume" so to speak and not the extreme distances.
Keep after'em!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It is fun to watch them shot at extreme range. Honestly tho i think that most guys can't resist the gore factor when shooting them up close. Ernie came out to shoot that 1590 dog just to try and break the "world record,"...we think it is, that is. Pretty neat to see it happen tho.
I like spotting for these guys so much tho i bought a pair of Kowa Highlanders just to give them the best feedback i can--but dang the other oculars r upwards of $1000.