Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Is the 17 Fireball Dying?

I wouldn't bother ordering more than 3-400.

You don't have to load it to 5000 fps.

Why go 17 22/250? The 17/204 is a beautiful thing with the 30 gr. bullets and kills with plenty of authority. Seems anything around 4000 fps is like a bolt of lightening on a coyote, according to the 400+ that I've killed with mine.
I've got 200 of Montana's bullets. Hoping to get a chance to do some load development next weekend with them.

I don't see anything wrong with a .17 on any case in the .222's family, however, if a guy has a .308 bolt face instead, and if the cost of .17/204 dies are roughly the same as .17x.22-250, why not? Or .. if a guy just wants to experiment, why not? Logic and practical are not attributes any self respecting gun loony requires. It starts with "I wonder" or "what if" and ends with "holy crap that was cool!" ... or "oops". Oops is ok, too: we often learn more from failure than from success.

Tom

Trying to decide whether I want a 17 Hornet or take a 221 Fireball and turn it into a 17FB or just find a 17 Remington and then it can be loaded down to levels that match either or can run it full throttle and beat both of the smaller cartridges.

Fireball seems like a neat little round, burns less fuel than the Remington version but gets close to its velocities.

well guys have already been there done that and it's been found that a .17 caliber bullet can't be pushed much faster from a 250 case then it can out of a .222 case. But each his own, it's not my money.

I like the Fireball. I'd never shot a centerfire that seemingly didn't recoil, even .22 Hornet. The crosshairs just sat there while there was simultaneously a big noise and squirrel parts leaving in several directions at once.

However ... mine did not magazine feed very well and despite the action being a FB action with the plunger / extractor / etc clocked for the short FB case instead of .222 length case, it would still dump the empties in the action instead of beyond it. I think in a 700 it would be a good candidate for a Sako / M-16 extractor conversion.

As you can imagine the 17 hornet is very similar in terms of no recoil. I prefer the 17 FB for 2 reasons, 1st I like recessed Rim as opposed to the protruding rim of the Hornet case. 2nd I feel the case capacity is as near Ideal as one may hope for with the 25 & 30 grain bullets. My 2 Rem 700's feed fine and my CZ 527 feeds great.

Now for my CZ 527 in 17 Hornet I do have to admit Case feeding issues have come up. Thus my decided preference for the 17 FB.

never had a feeding issue with the whore-gnat in the ruger rotary mags.......

I don't plan on loading the 17 22/250 hot, I just needed a platform that would work thru a Savage 99.

You already know the answer.....

I do FG. Just trying to find away to make the answer happen!!

Don't suppose there is any way we could nudge Remington into transferring all 17 FB ammo production over to Hornady? Great cartridge IMHO. Never regretted acquiring one of my 17 fireballs. My preferred bullets are no longer available. Seems the plastic tip stuff has taken over. Thankfully I likely have enough stock to last a few generations.