Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .17 Remington or .17 Remington Fireball "?'s"

I'm with DH on those Hornady's. And if I had to choose another pill besides Bergers, it would be the Hornady HP.


Travis

I am a fan of both Berger and Hornady 25gr HP's. The Bergers are generally a little more accurate for me.

Cocadori: I have killed Coyotes, Rock Chucks, Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs, Badgers, Jack Rabbits and many other Varmints with my 17 Remington Fireball, as well as with my custom 17 MachIV (the 17 Fireballs twin).
The 17 Remington Fireball is an EXCELLENT all around Varminting cartridge.
I use the wonderful Berger 25 gr. MEF bullets in both my 17 Remington Fireball and my 17 MachIV.
I have as yet to be disappointed with the 17 Remington Fireball - its accurate, lethal and no recoil to obscure your bullets impact points.
I go way back with the 17 MachIV and have 3 Varmint weight Rifles in 17 Remington as well.
The 17 Remington is also a very impressive Varminting round - it will warm your barrel a tad faster than the 17 Fireball - so your contemplation of using it for Gophers gives me reason to lean toward the super efficient 17 Remington Fireball for your useage.
I have a Nikon 6.5x20 variable scope on my Remington 700 VSF in caliber 17 Remington Fireball and it is just sublime on a Ground Squirrel or Prairie Dog Hunt.
It's hard for me to choose one cartridge over the other but for your uses and somewhat longer barrel life I would recommend you go with the 17 Fireball.
Best of luck with whichever you choose and be sure to try the Berger 25 gr. MEF (Varmint) bullets when you get to handloading.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It's official. I'm going to rebarrel my Model 7 to .17Rem when the 223 tube is toasted. Thanks a lot Travis, you [bleep].

Have had only 1 .17 Rem. and 1 17 HMR...both shot very well, but cleaning those little bores was a hassel for me..I like my rifles clean after a shooting session..this 17 Fireball sounds like somehting I need to investigate..haven't bought a new varmit rifle in several years...but in our area, varmits are declining compared to days gone by..but keeping the mind busy planning and doing is the key to enjoying life...

I've [bleep] more than few.

Let me help fuel your fire:



God bless,
Travis

Same here. That's why I don't clean them.


Travis

Nice looking dog there, for a hairlip.

And flying goph.

We see more fox than yote up by Chester. Is that normal? Or am I to blitzed to tell the difference?

HFFD to ya.

Travis, how many rounds do you run though your .17 Rem. before you DO find it worth cleaning???????

Top of the morning to you buddy! Happy Father's Day and GFY!

I have found where the good fox hunting is, I have a hard time finding dogs and vice versa. Not that I'm complaining...

Same rifle:


What kind of M2 do you have? This one was chambered for that, but the ammo kept exploding. I was scared I'd end up more uglier.



PS-NOT FOR SALE. So don't bother begging.


GFY,
Travis

Word, my friend.
Same story, prettier rifle. ( mine, that is)
When it drew blood out in the field one evening, it was gone.
Was a dandy slaughter machine, but not worth the chance.
Glad I had glasses on. It became a 22lr again.
So I use the salvage and 5 clips.

Re-P.S. nice fire wood for a tipi trip.

I can't count that high...

If I run it on gophers all day, I soak it with Wipe Out and push two patches through. But for regular dog shooting and hunting, it doesn't get cleaned.

I have found that with this rifle and the BDL, their being "dirty" usually made them 1" or 1 1/4" guns as opposed to 1/2" guns. For me, that's just not really relevant. Plus, I'm a lazy SOB.


Travis

I have contemplated one in a bolt gun. But man, this rifle is a killin' sumbitch. Have you tried those Bitteroot Valley 22's? They smack gophers hard.


Travis

No, haven't heard of those, but not surprising. I'm a loser.

I didn't see this question earlier.

I get around 4,000fps, but I believe when I clocked them in the shorter LVSF tube, they averaged 3,900fps. Are you getting good accuracy with the Big Game loads?

Biggest mistake I've ever made with a .17 Rem in the field is holding off hair...


Travis

I'm pretty partial to CCI since alot of friends work there and at times some good volume deals come my way. Mini-mag HP are my preference, as they fly true and do the job.
Stingers hit hard, but aren't that accurate. Not 10/22 fodder either.
HMR deals too.

Must be nice...

Give me some next time you are in my AOR. Thanks chicken [bleep].


Travis

Travis,

Yeah, I'm getting good accuracy with Big Game. It's flirting around 1/2" to 3/4" for 5 shots at 100, but I've only pushed velocity to around 3850 so far, since there isn't any tested data for Big Game. Am going to step on the accelerator a little for the next range session.

By the way, I cleaned the rifle after acquiring it, and since then haven't cleaned it for well over 100 rounds. Shoots in the sub-3/4" range with the initial load I worked up, 43.5 Benchmark and the 20-grain V-Max or Varmageddon. Is this due to the immediate, horrible fouling common to .17 Remingtons?

That sounds pretty promising! 3850 could wreck plenty of schit. Are you planning to work up data for the 30gr pills?

You are obviously doing something wrong. It should be a .14 cal by this point. You should read more, sir.


Travis