Testing the water here...thinking about a .17

.17 rem or .17 Fireball.....????


Pros and cons?...think extended shooting sessions....



Mag mod needed on a 700 for the Fireball, or just a block and small follower?


Talk me into it or talk me out of it....

Travis will disagree, but I would go with the Fireball. In fact, if I had to settle on one centerfire .17 that’s what it would be. To me, the recoil is significantly less, and the barrel doesn’t heat up as quickly or as much. With a 20-grain it matches the velocity of a 25-grain in the bigger Remington—and, for all practical purposes, the trajectory out to where most of us can hit a PD most of the time. With a 20 plastic tip at 4000+, you can sight in an inch high at 100, hold on the middle of a PD to 300, and hit it.

I guess I'm pretty much a one trick pony when it comes to 17's. My choice has always been the 17 Remington teamed with Hornady 25 grain HP's and IMR-4320. It is a combination that has worked really well for me and I just never changed. Of course when I bought my first one the internet was in it's infancy, there were two readily available 17 caliber bullets, both 25 grain. One was sporatic in its performance and the Hornady was always consistent in its performance.

I would echo John's advice though for extended shooting sessions. The Fireball would probably serve the purpose well and you wouldn't have to deal with the vicious recoil of the 17 Remington.

Yep, my shoulder starts to hurt after a few hundred .17 Remingtons. Of course, if I wasn’t too cheap to fit a Limb Saver….

My other comment is that if you already have a .204 Ruger, you’ve got a rifle that can shoot either 32’s (basically the same trajectory and wind drift as 25’s in the .17 Remington) or 40’s, with noticeably less wind-drift than any .17 Remington load. The .17 Fireball is a very useful round for when the wind isn’t blowing so hard on PD towns, or when shooting gophers anytime.

John, thats the kind of common sense answer I needed....Ive got a .204 and love it for the big open...


Don't need a .17 of course...


But I have this stock, and this action.......

Longer shooting sessions speaks loudly to the 17 fireball. Feeding great from the mag speaks equally loud to the CZ 527 action to me.


I picked up a lightly used CZ527 that was originally a 17 rem. Owner had Bob green re-chamber the rifle to 17 FB. while the rifle shot great and fed OK from the 17 Rem magazine. I ended up springing for the 221 FB mag well & 221 magazine.

Previous owner opted to settle on one 17 FB rifle an REM 700 which he had threaded for a supressor.

17 fireball cartridges load and feed great from the 221 FB mag. If you can hold out till next year I understand Whittakers is planing to offer a special run on the CZ527 in 17 FB. CZ 527 17 FB special run, would be my favorite option.

If you happen to be a 700 fan feel free to ask me about a couple REM 700's in 17 FB that may be for sale. Most of the gunsmiths I have seen comment on 700 mag mods seem to encourage a guy to find a REM 700 originally set up for 17 or 221 FB.

Guys seem to fall into one of two categories with the CZ's either you love them or hate them. The CZ surly has grown on me.

Feeding was an issue Im glad you addressed...I know the .17 Rem will feed, but everyone says what you do about high volume shoot.....go Fireball.

I am a Remmy slut, and have an action and stock in place, and have all winter to mull over what Im gonna chamber and barrel it for....

Looking for something for gophers under 200 yards...and I have almost enough .222s (4... )





I love the way CZs shoot and work, but can't get all the aftermarket crap for them I can for a Remmy...

Ingwe: Years ago I had a custom Varminter in 17 MachIV built on a Remington 700 action.
It has a very heavy Shilen stainless steel match barrel that is 26 1/2" long. It has a Jewell "Under-Lever Saftey" trigger and a McMillan Marksman (Winchester pre-64 Model 70 Target Rifle style) and a Leupold 6.5x20 variable scope.
This Rifle weighs 11 pounds 1 ounce and believe me you CAN see bullet impact.
This Rifle has killed every manner of Colony Varmint along with predators, flying Varmints, a wild Turkey and Badgers - and has done so virtually without failure!
I liked the Rifle/caliber so much that when the Remington folks came out with its heavy Varmint "twin" (Remington 700 VSF in 17 Remington Fireball) I bought one of those as well!
My custom 17 MachIV is only a tad more accurate than my VERY accurate 17 Remington Fireball Remington 700 VSF.
I have killed Coyotes with my 17 Fireball out past 300 yards!
I use the wonderful 25 grain Berger bullets in all my 17 caliber Rifles.
I have three Remington 700's in caliber 17 Remington (including a rare Remington 700 VSS all stainless Rifle with heavy barrel 26" long) and am impressed with the accuracy of all of them.
If you are going to Hunt mostly Colony Varmints I would go with the 17 Remington Fireball - if predators are often going to be on your menu then I would opt for the perkier 17 Remington.
Best of luck to you with whichever caliber you choose.
Your posting was a bit vague as to your uses and if you are going to "make" your own rig.
Please clarify.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

P-dogs are nice, but which 17 is best for deer?

The 17 Rem will always be my Huckleberry when it comes to the 17 centerfire

.17 Remington.

Fireball is a bastard case with bastard issues. It's slower which means it's slower which means it sucks hind tit.

If you don't like your bullets going fast, you'll find the .17 Rem shoots just as tight at retard speed.

I'll not dignify that POS cartridge Ruger introduced by mentioning its name in the same post as the .17 Remington.



Travis

PS- +1 on the Bent Nail comment.

The 17 hornet is THE one for gofers. 700 rounds per pound of powder.......

Don, I'm with you on the Whore-gnat...my pard shoots one, which spurred on this idea...but I don't think i can chamber the rem my for it and have it all work.

Passed up a minty used ruger for $500 a couple months ago...kicking myself for that one....

Elitist.

You gotta quit hanging with Shrap or start piling up the Sakos....

The truth shall set you free.





Travis

Isn't yours an old school BDL?


I could build one of those!

Mine was.

I upgraded to the BEST .17 REMINGTON IN THE WORLD.

If you even THINK of going BDL and .17 Fireball, you should be kicked in the balls.



Travis

True dat on the FB and BDL....


Ive got a new Mtn.Rifle stock...a Syn that B&C makes for Remmy....very Ti-like.....

Got the right bolt face and mag box set up...could screw on a .17 Rem and rock on.....


Seriously, how many shots can you run through before it gums up or accuracy goes to schitt?


Thinking must be done....

17-222 Magnum.

Because there is one thing all those 204 cases and 17 Rem. dies can be good for....

Given a choice I would choose a .17 Remington only because I've owned several over the years and they've all been tackholers.

I scored this mint 1983 model 700BDL .17 Remington and few years back and its never let me down.

25gn Hornady hollow points and Varget(2208) is what it likes !

Those foxes look pretty haired out, mores than others Ive seen from Oz, and the 17 seems to be "fur friendly"
Nice...

I'm heading back to Texas this winter for some predator hunting , can't wait....

These are our grey foxes, more an animal of the southern states, we get reds up here...

we get housecats down here.....

ingwe, I went with a 17 Rem mostly because I'm a lefty and well, options were limited at the time. That and it seems brass is easier to find for the Remington then it is for the FB. The 17's seem to suffer from neck splitting more than any other case I've owned, especially when you start pushing towards 4000, but YMMV.

I cant speak to HV shooting as far as heat, but cleaning wise I'm north of 200 rounds without cleaning it (bore snake only) and it's still shooting dime size groups with 25gr Hornadys and 4320. At 24gr of powder I get just under 300 rds/lb and velocities ~3850.

Good post and all true. ^^^^

I'm 700 fan too, have two 17Rem 700's, but IMO a CZ with the smaller mag/bottom metal (or a Sako Vixon) is the only way to go if you want a reliable repeater in 17FB.
The only 700 action I'd even consider would be one that started life as a 17FB. The extractor is positioned differently which is supposed to cure the cycling problems but it's still hit or miss.

Another option for your 700 action, and what I'd do if I were to ever build another 17 would be a 17/222. The best of both worlds if you can tolerate making brass. Whatever you decide, everyone should have at least one 17cal though,,,,,, (and a 222:).

Hunterapp's definitely right about CZ's growing on you. Hope my 700's don't hear this but my CZ 17fb has become my favorite walking varminter over the years. If you lived closer, I'd let you take it out for a spin.

If you're set on using that Remington action, there's no way I'd fugk with a FB.

If I have a really good day (north of 300) I soak it in Hoppes for about 8 hours, then that foam cleaner schit for a day. Just like my .22 cal stuff.

The fouling issues are a total myth IME.




Travis

I have to agree with Travis on the cleaning. I bought into the, "17's foul after 50 rounds and have to be cleaned religiously," myth when I had my first one. Wasn't a big deal when I was just fur hunting.

When I went out for a ground squirrel hunt that cleaning crap got old in a hurry. Shoot 50, clean. Shoot 50, clean. After the first day I said screw it. If I ruin the barrel I'll put a new one on it. I shot the rest of the weekend with it without cleaning. It shot as well at the end of the shoot as it did going in. It shot as well many years later and after numerous annual ground squirrel shoots with minimal cleaning.

17 Rem. is my choice also. 25gr. or 30gr. Nagels, IMR4320, IMR8298, and H414/W760 for the big 30 bullets. Rem 7 1/2 primer and never look back.
The cool 17 shooters do it with controlled round feeders such as CZ's, but the super cool 17 shooters do it with Kimber Montana's in 17 Rem. Just sayin'.

K22,

No doubt your .17 Rem is UBER.

But mine is the UBER'est....





Travis

US WAY COOL dudes do it with SSK Contender carbines or 14" factory barrels in the 17 Rem.! I have been following the 17 Hornet for a while now and have been actually thinking of having my low wall Hornet re-barreled. However I can call SSK and have a new 24" 17 Rem (have 800 cases) barrel for a little over $450. The one I have now is about worn out (21") and still shoots under an inch all day w/H414 and 25 gr Horns. I think I'll just get a new longer bbl. and load it down a bit w/a faster powder, SPS blems and shoot the cases I have. Comments?-Muddy

Buy a rifle.



Travis

Sell the thing to some other cheap bastid from back east that has never known the joys of a repeater.


And then do like Travis said.....

Travis, Try'in not to wear out my old bent bolt 77V Swift outside of Augusta, that is a rifle!- Muddy

Yes it is! Love those Ruger Swifts.




Travis

If high volume shooting is THE primary purpose, then Don is correct in that the hornet is the cats meow. I've got the hornet, the fireball, the Rem. and a .17/204 and when it comes to lots of shooting in a short period of time the hornet wins, hands down. Fireball heats a barrel darn near as quick as the Remington does, just does it with less powder.

OK...thanks to Clark and others...this stuff is good to know, as the .17 Rem would be the easiest to put together. I presume some of the new copper fouling resistant powders help with this...

What powder is the fave in the .17 Rem?

I found IMR 4320 to be excellent in the 17 Remington.

If you're building, for .17 FB you want an action that was either a FB to begin with or possibly .300 blackout. The extractor is "clocked" a little from the std .222/.223/.204/.17 Rem, I think to clear the action on extraction. I believe a Sako / M16 extractor conversion will fix it as well.

Mag parts ... sheet metal and follower are available pretty cheap through Remington's service center. I might have a spare mag, don't think I have a spare follower. PM me if you need it.

.17 FB was easy-peasy for me. I had a blued SPS. 20 grains of H335 under a 20 grain VMAX, Rem brass, Rem 7-1/2 primers, 3/8ths inch groups, no recoil, and after the first 100 rounds or so, no copper fouling.

.17 Remington .. love it. The 25 grain VMAX gives it delusions of being a .22-250 with less blast and recoil. I've had good luck in various rifles with MR4320, Varget, AA 2520, H380. Some rifles shoot the Hornady 25 grain bullet well, most seem not to. The VMAXes are consistently good, at least with a 1-9" twist.

I would say "do it." I think the .204 Ruger is possibly more practical but the .17s are just friggin' addictive.

Given how much more fun the .204 is than the .22 calibers, and given how much more I like the .17 than the .204, someday I want to take the next step and try a .14.

I'm not sure which .17 I'd recommend more. If you're only doing one, I'd let action availability guide the choice. If you're starting with a .223 action, do the .17 Remington, if you've got a .300 blackout action, go .17 FB. .17 Remington is probably going to feed a little smoother if that's an issue for you.

Tom

ingwe,

4320 is the old standard powder in the 17 Rem., and still gets it done (much like 4198 and the 222), but there are plenty of other powders that load well in in it.
I've gotten good results with Varget, H322, 4064 and Accurate 2460, with Varget and H322 being most preferred of those four.

Of the newer powders IMR 8208 loads excellent.

If you want to keep it simple on powder supply, seeing that you've posted many times about IMR4895 in other rounds you shoot, you can get fine results with that as well, and it wouldn't be a bad place to start until you get a chance to play with some of the others.

Good luck,
-Ted

Good info Ted!


Thanks!

Spot on ^^^^^ it's hard to find a 17Rem that doesn't respond well to 24-25grns of 4320.

Couple of other's I've had good luck with were W760 (accurate and meters well but it's kinda slow) and N140.
N140's a tich more accurate in my two, burns cleaner, and meters better so I bought a lifetime supply the last time a found a good deal on it.

Tom,

A few more comments, after returning from Canadia:

On purpose, I found an early 700 BDL .17 Remington to find out if the fouling stories were true, as I had started to suspect they were mostly due to the dirty-burning spherical powders of the day. Found a second-year rifle with a barrel that I couldn't even tell had been shot in the bore-scope, and shot it around 120 times without cleaning before groups started to open up. Then treated it with Dyna Bore Coat and it would easily go twice that without cleaning.

I like spherical powders in all the .17's because they meter so accurately and flow so nicely through the tiny neck when cranking out ammo for gopher and PDS shooting. Travis apparently has never tried anything other than 4320 in his rifle, but I found Big Game works great in the round. Ramshot hasn't published any data for it in the .17R but my loads have also worked great in Shrapnel's rifle, both for speed and accuracy.

In the .17 FB TAC shoot great and of course burns cleanly. (As you know it is very similar to a temp-resistant and clean-burning 335.) CFE223 also works well, but I've never had any problems with copper-fouling in the FB either, and mine never fouled at all after installing DBC.

As Huntsman stated, the .17 Hornet is THE gopher round of the .17 centerfires, partly because powder goes such a long way, and will also do for most PD shooting as far as most people can consistently hit 'em. Like the .17R and .17FB it's also really easy to find good powder/bullet combos, in that aspect easier than the .22 Hornet. I've found at least 8 powders that work well in the .17 Hornet, far more than really perk in the .22 Hornet. In my rifle A1680 is probably tops, but others are so close it's not a big deal.

17 Remington in an old BDL here. I use 20gr Vmaxes and 25gr Hornady HPs over CFE 223. Accuracy is superb and I have zero fouling issues. I have some old Barnes Original 25gr SPs that I want to stunt shoot a deer with sometime. Know a couple brothers that live down around Kodiak that are 17 fanatics. They've shot many foxes and blacktails with both the 17Rem and the FB. The prefer the 25 Hornady and the plain vanilla 17rem.

John, Kid....thanks guys.....This rifle is probably gonna be the winter project, and you are giving me good intel on the .17s for sure...

I don't have a .17 centerfire, therefore........

Let me sum this up for you so your life is easier:

.17 Remington

IMR4320

Remington 7 1/2.



Get crackin'.



Travis

Sure I have.




Travis

Clark, can I rely on your tutelage should I decide to go the 17 Rem route?

It would mean the world to me....

Oh yeah. I've loaded and shot/owned four of 'em in barrel lengths from 14-24".

No think. Just build.




Travis

I'm overwhelmed...don't know what to say...

Just keep filling your glass and remember:

.17 Remington.

IMR 4320

Remington 7 1/2.




Travis

10-4

As usual, perfect advise.

'Gwe,
I had a .17 delimma myself a couple 3 years ago.
I sought advice here.
I bought a FB CDL and put it in a Ti & .17 Rem BDL that I put in a McMillan.
JB suggested loads and I took his advice. Life was beautiful.
Flava Flav contributed his thoughts and I bought a Thai hooker, a case of Budweiser, 25 grainers and went Telly Savalas on the chrome dome.
Sometimes less is more.
Fireball all the way.
Good luck,
Wageslave

I've had good luck using the CCI 41 primers when 7 1/2s were unavailable too. They have a thick cup for shooting in autos and seem to work just as good as the 7 1/2s in my rifle. Just FYI incase supplies get short again for some reason.

Im not leaning toward the FB....I am not an aficionado of the "short fat' cartridges...


But I honestly feel like I have been given great advise ( usually ,my threads deteriorate at warp speed) and whilst I mill about wondering what to do with my winter...I have been given the gift of food for thought....

Thanks guys!



Are the .17 center fires fur friendly???...I'll bet they are....

Can't fault you for going Thai and beer.
You are already bald.
Use protection.
Love,
Won Hung Low

You're right, the .17Rem is fur friendly, especially when those tiny 25gn pills are driven hard enough.
Even these moggy's suffered zero pelt damage. Not that it really matters with bloody cats though!

20gr Vmax. One .172 hole in the hide.

I blew a leg off a big red fox one time with the 25 grain Hornady HP, but other than that I have found the .17 Rem to be very fur friendly. I have no idea how many coyotes/fox/rock chucks/bunnies/turkeys have been killed by that bone stock BDL .17 Rem of mine.

I use CCI 400s and 23.5 gr of IMR 4895. I have not experimented much (a very little bit with IMR 3031), and for good reason. Sub 1/2 inch groups don't need messed with.

I would caution though, the 20 grain VMAX can fail to penetrate a coyote's shoulder at 10 yards. The 25 grain HP and VMAX though, have been incredible coyote killers.

I don't have much experience with the fireball/Mach IV, but have not been disappointed with the vanilla Remington.





She wears a Leupy 6x42 now

All the .17's tend to be very accurate, even in sporter-weight rifles, I suspect because the tiny hole makes their barrels pretty stiff. All I've owned have averaged .5 or less with more than one load at 100 yards, and that's for 5-shot groups, not 3-shot.

I've "heard somewhere" that Shilen has supplied more than a few .17 barrels to Remington. Or was that .20?

edit: The search function started working again, so I found the older conversation.

Trav knows his schit.




Dave

Your new Delta name will be, Kojak.




Travis

I like the Fireball/Mach IV a lot but if factory brass availability is a concern the 17 Rem is much easier to find.

Nothing fur friendlier.



Travis

JSH,

I've found .221 Fireball brass very available, including Lapua, and one pass through FL die turns it into .17 FB.

So Ingwe does't loose sight of his quest...............

1. Fur Friendly


2. Accurate



3. Classy......absolutely Uber Coolest while doing 1. and 2.

OK guys...if I was to do this on a sporter, what length barrel, and what R.O.T.?


I have idea, but I want them confirmed.Or Denied.

24" with a 1/9 ROT.

Could I get good velocities out of a 22"????

No. Bullets will barely fall out the end of 22" barreled 17. That extra two inches makes all the difference.

Just for grins and giggles I ran my favorite load of 24 grains of 4320 under a Hornady 25 grain HP through Quickloads. A 24 inch barrel shows 4179 fps and a 22 inch 4088 fps.

So you can see the extreme velocity loss you'll suffer by cutting back 2 inches.

OK...best go the other direction....26 or 28 " ?



If that thing gets under 4000 it probably wont kill schitt....

26" = 4259
28" = 4332
30" = 4399
62" = 5004

That's probably pretty close considering every barrel, bullet, and powder combo is different.

I can tell you for a fact that I lost 140fps when I cut a Pac-Nor SS SM 9twist down to 22" from 24".
That was with N140 and Nagel 25's.
It was worth it though as that shorter barrel's so much handier for walking around rig.

Matter of fact, I like it almost as much as my CZ 17FB. Almost:)

Good to know....22" is indeed my fave, for the reason you stated....I think I can squeak by with 4000fps....

Me too.

Both my 700 Classic and 527 American are 22" and I'm kicking myself for not having my smith cut that SPS I morphed into a 222 down while he was at it.
Still might one of these days although it shoots so good now I'm reluctant to touch it..

I heard that....

Had my last 223AI done at 22" and still get great velocity out of it. Had my first "build" a std. .223 done at 23"....Gunsmith asked me how long for the barrel, and I told him " short enough to turn around in the cab of a pickup"

It works!

On these little cartridges, Im thinking they'll burn enough powder in 22" to get the bullet out there....

They will.

I was suprised at the velocity loss on my 700 Classic though.
Most every thing you read from the "experts" claim 25fps per inch as a hard and fast rule but I was almost three times that amount.
I got most of it back without pushing the cases too hard though, and I don't shoot high volume with this gun so barrel wear due to the hotter loads isn't a big issue. I'm happy with the results even if I ain't an expert.

22", #2 Douglas, 1-9" ROT.

8" probably couldn't hurt given the times we're living in.




Travis

Mountain Standard?

FWIW an old friend of mine swore that 3800fps with a 25. Was the magic muzzle velocity. He killed a crapload of wolves and a half dozen caribou with his old BDL and the Hornady 25 pushed by 3031. So I don't guess I'd worry about 2" less barrel.

I believe that Kid,,,, both of my 17R's are the most accurate at 3850+/- so that's where I run em.
I've never killed anything bigger than a Coyote or Bobcat but I can't tell the difference in 3850 and 4000.

Field the animals can't tell the difference either, jus sayin.

If it doesn't have to be a repeater, I would go with a 17 FB over the 17 Rem for extended shooting sessions.

Repeater then a 17 Rem or 17-223.

My newest is a 17-204, but I only use it for predators like coyotes and such.



This post reminds me that I have a brandy new NIB CZ Varmint in 17 Rem that I have to decide what I wanna do with it.

Sharp rifle there!!!

You're probably right but I can't confirm....and I've asked but they ain't talking.

Love that stock Dan. Beautiful!!!!

Its gonna have to be a repeater.Leaning towards the .17 Rem...


NICE hunk of lumber on that one!

Nice wood! What twist? Something that big should be shooting 30-grain Bergers...

Yup!

I have a bone stock 17 Rem LVSF I bought in 2009. Just got a Classic Edge and sent it to Eddie for some work and bedding. I'll post pics when I get it back this week!!!

You're gonna be lovin' it.




Travis

The little Fireball case is exceptionally efficient and would undoubtedly be the perfect foundation for the .17 bullet.

20 odd years ago I had an Anschutz Hornet rebarreled to .17 Ackley Hornet using a hand lapped German barrel. I shot many small helpless animals with it. It was wonderful squirrel medicine within a couple hundred yards, if the wind wasn't blowing. However, for coyotes, it was either spectacular or ghastly in it's performance. One in the throat and it was lights out. One in the ass and it was rodeo time. For ass shooting coyotes I would recommend a 340 Tyrannasaur.

Anyway, I usually felt undergunned when coyote hunting with the Hornet, so it eventually left the stable. Now I shoot a .221 Fireball.

Ingwe, If I had to choose a new build I would be looking hard at the .20 Vartarg.

Yup...........

My new deuce kills them too.....




Do I NEED a .17......?

I had it put together for the 30 gr's. They are all I shoot out o it. 1-9 Lilja #4 contour, 24" long.

Fireball2,

What bullet are you shooting for coyote out of the 221? Good or bad on fox? Thinking about picking a CZ 527 up!

Good luck finding a 527 in 221.
If ya do, let me know.

There's some around and more coming....possibly even in 20VT and 17FB.

Yea,,, I've been hearing that for a couple years now.

I already have the worlds best CZ 17FB;) but I wouldn't mind finding a good deal on a plain ol 221.

I said the same thing when the 221's hit the shelf this year. Originally, CZ claimed they were going to do both the 221 and 17 Rem for 2015. A few CZ 452 22lr American's hit the shelf about three weeks ago. I wasn't fast enough though. Supposed to be another shipment soon!

Need?

OK...got me there.

Stupid question.

Yea,,, I hear ya bud.

I don't know who starts all the rumors but they obviously ain't keeping CZ in the loop.

Tip of the Day: Only one dealer is receiving the limited runs as of right now. They seem to have a pretty good relationship building.

Now back to 17's...

Ingwe need has nothing ta doo with it...Does it make you HAPPY n sooth the lil itch in your trigger finger...ScottyO

If you're going to go calling, you'll probably grab the .17 Remington more than any other.






Travis

Very true. When I bought my first one I pretty much put away all my other varmint guns for calling. I would take the 222/20 gauge out occasionally, but the 17 went more than any.

I shoot a 40 grain Nosler BT at just over 3K. Any faster and the barrel heats quickly, so I keep it mild for extended shooting sessions. Entrance hole only on coyotes. Never shot a fox with it. Longest kill on a coyote is 450 yards, but that's the exception. Most are called in to 50 yards or less. They almost always fall straight down in their footprints.

Thanks Fireball!

You're welcome. 19 grains +/- Reloader 7 with the 40 grain bullet is a standard load that excels in the Fireball.

You're talking 221FB, right? 40 grain bullet?

Yes

Supposedly 221 Fireball brass turns out a bit short after necking down. Have you found this to be the case, John?
Either way probably not a big deal.

I have a 17 Mach IV and a recently-adopted 17 Rem, and my brother has a 17 Fireball. The Mach IV is a 15" Bullberry, and the others are Remington BDLs.

Have to say that I didn't think I'd like the 17 Rem that much, but after working up some loads, the majority of which were around 1/2" (5 shots), I am pretty enamored with the cartridge. The most surprising aspect was how forgiving it was, as I tried 4 powders, CFE, Varget, 4320, H4895 and all gave great accuracy with a broad charge wt range. Moly'd Hornady 25 HP.

My bro loves his Fireball. It doesn't seem as forgiving as the 17 Rem, but that isn't really an issue. I also really dig the M4. Those little bullets spinning so fast throw stuff sideways on impact. Fun to watch!

Smaller charges in the FB and M4, and screaming speeds, even with the 25's. I suppose if I was purpose-building for gophers/pd, I'd go with a FB. Cute little cartridge. Less powder=less heat=moar shots in a string before things sizzle. I have a hard time heating up that Bullberry with aimed shots. MOAR!

As an aside, bro and I worked up some small game/grouse loads for the FB/M4 using 20gr Dogtown and V-max with Titegroup. 3.8-4.2 gr gives 21-2500 in his gun, so a M2 to an HMR. Perfect for grouse, testing has shown. I've not chrono'd them in the M4, but I'd guess speed is not far off from the 24" FB, and irrelevant.

Good info!

They have a nice Sako .17 Rem. in the local shop.. Looked at it several times, but that little hole in the barrel reminded me how difficult they are to clean.. Everything has to be so small.. 5 calibers smaller than a .22.. 5 calibers above .22 would be .270..

Still a cute rifle..

GWB planted a seed in my head concerning a Sako Bavarian...I looked it up, they apparently make one in 223 with a 1 in 8 twist.......


Its eating at me.....

Good luck with the 17 cal project gun, Ingwe. Did you decide on the cartridge yet?

Probably gonna do the 17 Rem...if I decide to pop on the project...meanwhile the current barrel on the donor still has some life left in it!


Im working on wearing it out as soon as I can!

JSH,

Missed your posts the first time.

.221 brass is nominally .01" shorter than .17 FB. Never saw that it made any difference in my rifle.

How much?



Travis

Get your fugking schit together for fugk sake.



Travis

Thats no way to talk to your elders!


Im retreating to my own private little world.


Bite me.

Travis, it was $1145.. It looked almost new.. If you need more info. drop me a pm.. We are heading out for a couple days bird hunting..

Here's at quick pic of the LVSF I recently restocked:



Didn't have much time or sun for better pics this weekend.

The gun started out as a bone stock LVSF 17 Rem. It shot so-so, but knew it could do better. Had Eddie bed the new Classic Edge stock, re-crown and blueprint the trigger. Trigger was set at 2.5#. I added Talley LW's and a VX-3 3.5-10x40. Shot it yesterday and put four out of five into a 1/2" or so at 100 yards. Load was 24 gr. of IMR-4320, Berger 25 gr Match Target, Rem 7 1/2 and R-P brass with a .010" jump. Oh, I have a GreTan Fluted pin assembly installed too.

Stock is OD Green with black and grey specks.

I'll get better pics with better light soon.

You done good.

Mine is still better though.




Travis

Haha

Thanks

Forgot to mention Eddie bushed the firing pin for me too.

You only say that when mines not around.

Mine is still the greatest .17 Remington IN THE WORLD.




Travis

One of the nicest rifle I have ever owned,built by PO.Ackley back in the 50's,L46 Sako 17-222,Canjar trigger,old K10 Weaver with 1/4 min do.Chronograph old 20gr Sisk bullets at over 4300 but they shed the jackets,can get 25 gr Hornady's real close with excellent accuracy.

Very nice!

Very cool old school.




Travis

Some better pics of the best 17 on here:

get that POS bloodied.....

I do like the looks of that one!


But Don is right....it needs to be blooded.

Only been out once with it so far for predators. Not many chances up here anyways. Only a couple a year. Next year will be great to get out after the crows though.