Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Pros/Cons of 17 Fireball?

I am thinking of buying a 17 Remington Fireball.

What are the pros and cons?

Cons? There are none.
Ok, the tiny zombie bullets are kinda a beech when reloading. Maybe I got fat fingers though. That's it.

I think with good brass life I am loading fireball rounds for the price of HMR.
At 3900 to 4000 vs. a claimed 2550 on HMR, what's not to love.
It made squirrels fly in Oregon a couple Saturday's ago.

I have the 2007 limited 700 sf in a Ti. It's awesome.

I'm a big fan too. When shooting 20-grain plastic-tips at 3900-4000, you can sight in an inch high at 100 and hold deal on to 250, and head-high on a ground squirrel or small prairie dog at 300.

Another plus is that Ramshot TAC works great, just filling the case with a 20-grain bullet for around 4000 fps. TAC burns VERY cleanly, so works great for lots of shooting. I've shot over 200 rounds without cleaning and the rifle was still just as accurate. Plus, TAC's a ball powder so flows easily through the tiny neck.

I just got back from testing Nosler's new Varmagddon bullets on prairie dogs. One of the six rifles I took was my .17 Fireball, and the tipped 20-grain Varmageddon works great, and costs considerably less than many other .17 bullets, so now there are even more choices.

Hey, I'm using TAC and 20 grainers!
What a shock. I got the advice from a guy on here in your area.










Thanks.




P.S. were the Varmagddon bullets good groupers?

The Varmageddons shoot at least as well as Ballistic Tips or V-Maxes in all of the six rifles I've tried them in so far, and sometimes shoot a little better, probably because of the flat base.

Obviously, the BC won't be quite as high compared to boattails like Ballistic Tips or V-Maxes, but at normal ground squirrel or prairie dog ranges there isn't enough difference to worry about.

The hollow-point version is a little cheaper than the tipped version, and also shoots very well. But the BC is lower and the HP's don't flip rodents like the tipped version--which is my experience with hollow-points in general. But for anybody wanting an accurate, high-volume varmint bullet, they work. In the selection of rifles I tested (.17 Fireball, .17 Remington, .204 Ruger, .22 Hornet, .223 Remington and .220 Swift) the hollow-points worked best in the really high velocity rounds, especially the .17 Remington and .204 Ruger.

I'd love to have one of those, if for nothing else than shooting crows. It almost seems tailor made for the task.

Limited use of my 17 FB (model 7 Predator). Have killed coyote and fox with good results. For predators, know it's limitations.

I gotta get me one!

Had one for a while. I got talked into selling it. Doh ... dammit. One of the few deals I maybe made a little money on, but still ...

Get one. Be happy.

My gun liked 20 grains of H335 under a 20 grain VMAX, RP brass obviously, and Rem 7-1/2 primers. So easy it feels like cheating. Ditto what John says ... 3/4 to an inch high at 100 yards, aim for the middle, watch the guts fly. What's not to like?

Tom

PROS: No frigging recoil and a sweet shooting gun.


CONS: Need a few funky 17 caliber doodas to get it rolling and those LITTLE bullets.

I used Mule Deer's TAC load with 20gr Vmax. When I get this move finished I'm taking 4" off the barrel and it will be the yard pest gun.

I like mine so much I picked up another new, take-off factory barrel for when this one burns out. Have shot several .17 FB 700's and they were all very accurate, so have no worries about the factory barrel.

Am thinking about playing with loads to duplicate the .17 Hornet ballistics, to see if I actually "need" the .17 H, since I have plenty of Fireball brass.

It will be used for predators some--fill me in on the limitations of which you speak.

Has anyone messed around with loads for a 25 grain bullet? Will TAC work well, or Varget?

I freakin' love the 17 fireball for p-dogs! Mine is an SPS Varmint. I hacked around 4" off the barrel to help the balance and maneuverability, and it dropped the velocity off something like 75 fps. No noticeable increase in muzzle blast.

I used to run the 25 grain Vmax with Benchmark. Great velocity and accuracy. Switched to 20 Zmax's due to cost; performance on p-dogs is very similar. Will try the Varmageddons when I make another bullet order. What's up with all the stupid names for varmint bullets?

I'm just starting to do some varmint shooting again for the first time in decades and I really like the idea of the 17 Fireball - as i am shooting in an area where quiet is desirable. I grew up doing a lot of fox shooting with the 17 Rem, so i have a sweet spot for .17 cal. However, i can remember it sucked in even a gentle breeze. The .20 cals have got my attention because of the BCs and better performance in the wind of the 40 grainers, especially the Ruger. 20 cal seems to have a clear advantage currently with tha bullets available. Are there any higher BC .17 cal bullets available?

What's the maximum range that little 17 will still give those praire dogs some lift?

Mine(a Mach IV but close enough)also shot well with Benchmark, H322 and RL7. 3900 to 4000fps was not hard to reach.
Those tiny bullets do test a fella's patience when seating at times but it's worth it.

I don't have chrono results but I had good luck with the 25gr Hornady HP with Benchmark and H322 (3/4 inch 5 shot groups weren't uncommon). I haven't tried the two powders you named in the FB yet.

TAC works great with the 25gr bullets, also H335, RL7,Benchmark. H4198 works well if you don't mind clearing the fairly frequent jambs in the funnel. I think loading Varget into that tiny case neck may try your patience. Easy cartridge to get to shoot well with a surprising number of powders. Accurate 1680 was the only powder I've tryed so far that didn't meet expectations.

Energy. I looked what my 22-250 with 55gr Vmax @ 3700 delivered at 450yds.

I then looked at the 20gr Vmax in the 17 FB. It delivers the same energy at 200yds that the 22-250 delivers at 450yds.

Based on that, I would hesitate to shoot coyotes much beyond 200yds, unless a broadside shot to the lungs is available. I bought it because I wanted less noise, no ricochets, reduced pass throughs because I thought I would be doing some coyote control work in acreage areas.

I shot a coyote that was quartering towards me, putting the bullet at the base of her neck at 135yds. She gave a couple of bronco hops and then of course tumbled nearly to the bottom of the coulee. Just a 17 calibre hole in the chest, no exit.

I shot a fox at 75yds. Broadside shot, dime sized entrance, smaller exit.

Shot at the south end of a northbound coyote at something approaching 200yds. I thought I heard a healthy smack of a bullet strike. Coyote never slowed down and gave no indication of injury. Not sure if I touched it.

I did shoot a coyote that was sitting quartering towards me. At the shot, the coyote started doing the cartwheels and the flunky chicken, only to pick itself up and take off. I thought the onside shoulder was flopping a bit, but we never caught that coyote. Range was about 150yds. I put that one as definitely shooter error. I may have shot too shallow on the quartering and put the bullet between the shoulder and the rib cage only doing superficial damage.

So now you know my limited experience with the 17FB and predators. You do your part, within it's limitations and it is a very fur friendly round. You need to be precise, not much room for error IMO.