Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 17 Fireball-best barrel length

I have a 17 FB in the Rem 700 SPS that has a 26'' barrel. What velocity will I be prone to lose by cutting down to 24'' and having it threaded?

Next to none. Probably you would lose less than the variation between shots. 24" is PLENTY in the Fireball.

Good to hear that. I was actually thinking I might cut it to 22" and have it threaded.

Do it. If I was in your shoes, I'd probably go 20".

I wouldn't mind going 20'' if it doesn't screw up the balance.

I have the same gun in both heavy and standard contour barrel configurations. The heavy contour is very front end heavy so I thought about cutting mine down just for better balance. If I was cutting and threading mine, I think I would go 21" in the heavy barrel and 22" in the standard to provide better balance. I'd expect to lose 30-50 fps for every inch I cut off. But the .221 Fireball was originally designed as a short barrel pistol cartridge so I wouldn't worry much about the velocity loss.

Thanks. As I think through this, I am of the opinion that the velocity loss won't be too much a factor as my shots are under 300 yards and most are under 250.

Completely agree! 👍🏻

I have 17 FB in 14", 15", and 22" aftermarket Contender barrels, as well as a 24" Remington 700. The shorter handgun barrels give up 250 fps over the 24" with 20 grain bullets, and the 22" actually shoots a hair faster on average than the 24", but it is a Bullberry, with a minimum chamber and a hand-lapped bore. The FB is a very efficient little case. Even less velocity could be lost with 25 grain bullets in shorter barrels, I suspect, but I have a 17 Remington for those.

Lately, I've been testing cast bullets in the FB case, and getting far better performance than I thought possible.

OSU Sig: My factory stock Remington 700 VSF (Varmint Synthetic Fluted) in 17 Remington Fireball has a 26" barrel - and I prefer it that length.
My custom built Remington 700 in caliber 17 MachIV (the 17 Remington Fireball twin) has a heavy Shilen stainless barrel that I requested to be made at 26 1/2" long!
My thinking is it's free additional velocity and the extra mass aids in stability of sight alignment while firing afield.
I would recommend against shortening that barrel.
Long live the wonderful 17 Remington Fireball!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: Be sure to try (use!) the wonderful Berger 25 grain bullets in your 17 Remington Fireball - I have had amazing results with this bullet.

I disagree with the last post but often do when coming from this individual. I have actually chrono’d my fireballs and see no velocity advantage from 22”-26”. If wanting to thread and shoot suppressed I would consider a 20” gun. Good luck. Great cartridge and fun

Yes, I think 20-22 inches threaded will be good for my purposes. As efficient as the 17FB is, I don't think an additional 4'' is going to buy me much additional velocity.
VarmintGuy, I appreciate your input and know you send a lot of rounds down range weekly/monthly/yearly. I'll take a hard look at the Berger bullet. Currently, I use the 25 grain VMAX in my FB.

shootai: So... you are saying you have added or subtracted "length" to a particular 17 Remington Fireball Rifle and the "velocity" did NOT change with 4" added (or subtracted!) from a particular Rifle?
If... that is your contention then pardon me for not believing you.
As that is exactly the opposite of my experiences over the last 55+ years of centerfire Rifle shooting/experimenting!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

To some extent I suppose some loads may be more prone to loosing velocity than others beyond 18" of barrel length. If I had a can on a 17 fireball I would consider going as short as 18". If I was not using a can then then 22" to 24" barrel length is what I would be looking at.

I've decided to cut mine at 21" in case I'm not shooting suppressed.

👍🏻👍🏻 let us know how that works out for you in terms of balance and accuracy.

Will do.

I would make it a 24 and not thread it.....personally.

Now you chime in...

It was left at the gunsmith Wednesday.

I would think 22" would be just about optimum in the .17FB....


Should have no trouble burning its powder in 22"

To clarify I lost exactly 60 FPS from 26 to 22 tested on two ladrabdar’s. Not much loss for a much handier rifle. I only lost 15 FPS from 26 down to 24.

A 100 fps reduction in speed is less than 3% velocity loss.

Yep. Don’t tell VarmintGuy I gave up so much velocity. Lol

Are you guys kidding? Best barrel length is 17"...on an XP-100 pistol, of course. My go-to fur getter in the winter. Long live the XP-100!

Just picked up a 17 FB Barrel from Minnesota... 26 inch heavy barrel for a Savage Action from EABCO...

Figured I'll try it out... if I like it enough, I'll try one in a heavy magnum countour..

Was also thinking of a 17 Remington, on one of Howa Mini Actions.. or a Model 70 Featherweight.. that currently is a 223...

the Ruger 77 mk 2 is also looking possible as a candidate, as I have more than a couple of those collecting dust...

Was out in the back 40 with my brother shooting some 17FB test loads using Hornady 25gr HP and Longshot powder on Halloween. From 24" MGM Contender barrel, 10.5 grains produced nearly 3300fps with remarkable accuracy, 3-shot groups that hovered between .25" and .4". He's going to run that as his coyote setup this winter.