I cannot speak to fox and bobcats with a 17 Remington but I killed a couple of truckloads of coyotes with a 17 Remington before I moved to Alaska. I have a new one in the works and it should be coming home soon. It's a Charles Daly left handed mini Mauser with a Pacnor barrel. It's at MPI getting a stock and cerakoted.
I shot most of my coyotes with the Hornady 25 grain HP. I used some of the Remington 25 grain bullets back in the early 90's but got inconsistent terminal performance. The Hornady bullets always worked flawlessly and the only time I ever experienced any fur damage was if I made a fringe hit. I don't ever recall a chest shot exiting but the effect was like shutting off the coyote's switch.
If I had to be limited to one fur rifle the rest of my life, it would be a 17 Remington.
