I have owned both, .221 in a 700 LVSF and .17 in a 700 SPS. The .221 was great, slaughtered ground squirrels with it for 2 seasons. 40 grain VMAX and some amount of AA1680 ... splat. The .17 was my favorite though. Even less recoil, less movement of the crosshairs when the sear broke. I could watch the hits even when I was in an awkward position. (I did not say anything about truck windows. DID NOT.) I left the plastic stock as is, stuck in a Jewell HVR trigger set to about 4 ounces, and mounted a Leupold 4.5-14X AO in Leupold dual dovetail base 'n' rings. Load was simple, 20 grains of H335 under a 20 grain VMAX with Remington cases and Fed 7-1/2 primers. 5 shot groups were around 3/8ths of an inch and after the first 100 rounds or so, I never saw so much as a hint of copper fouling.
I would definitely do either again if I could get brass but it's the .17 FB that really calls to me. I'll probably do .17 Remington instead because I've got the brass.
Tom
