Thinking about getting a sporter-weight 17 caliber for prairie dogs, and fox and coyote calling.

Fireball versus Standard--which one and why?

Standard.

IMO the only reason to put up with any 17 is speed and miserly powder charges; the speed is first!

I'd say it's a wash because most .17 Rem's have to be backed off a bit for the best accuracy.

I'm sure there's .17's out there that shoot itty-bitty groups @ 4,200fps, I just haven't had one in my hands yet.


Travis

I have the Fireball. Never shot a 17 Rem. Fireball meets my needs.

What is the real world difference in velocity between the two rounds?

Do most find good results with high speed on the Standard, or does it need to be backed down anyway?

How well do they kill coyotes?

The Hodgdon data has .17 Remington loads that are 400 fps faster than the Fireball's. I don't know about accuracy, because I have only owned and loaded for a Fireball, and the only .17 Remingtons I've shot were somebody else's.

With my Fireball it's real easy to get 4000 fps or so (which is what Hodgdon lists) with the 20-grain Hornady V-Max with fine accuracy. That kills prairie dogs very well out to 350-400 yards, but doesn't put much of a hurt on 'em beyond that. I haven't shot anything bigger than PD's with mine, but suspect that one of those little bullets in the ribs wouldn't help a coyote much.

Has anyone used the 25 VMax much? Will it function and load easily in the Fireball?

What's a good 17 bullet for coyote?

The 25gr. V-Max is a good pill. Works dandy on coyotes and PD's.

I have switched to Berger recently simply because they shoot so damned well but before that it was the .25gr HP and V-Max.

I have never had luck with the .20 grainers but I think that was just my bad luck.


Travis

I've owned three .17 Remington's and loaded for and shot two others. All five had to be backed down to get the best accuracy. FWIW.

They [bleep] coyotes up.


Travis

130yds. No exit on a diagonal shot just in front of right shoulder.



73yds Quarter sized exit on broadside behind shoulder.

Grounds squirrels destroyed.

Fireball is pretty quiet.

Energy wise, I figure the Fireball is a reliable 200yd coyote gun.

How are you liking the Seven Predator? That's the one I'm looking at.

Do all the Remington Fireballs have a 9 twist?

What do I need to watch for with shooting and reloading?

Do they copper foul worse than 22 cals?

I can answer part of your questions with the experience from my rifle, the plainest grade pf synthetic-stocked 700 BDL.

The biggest problem I encountered in reloading was finding a powder that would flow into the tiny neck reliably. This turned out to be easy: Ramshot TAC flows very well, since it's a ball powder, and is just about exactly the right burning rate.

It also burns very cleanly and contains a de-coppering agent, so I didn't have much problem with my barrel fouling. Then I installed Ultra Bore Coat, and it hardly fouls at all. I've shot it hundreds of times without cleaning on prairie dog shoots, and it was shooting just as accurately at the end (5 shots in 1/2" or so) as at the beginning.

I have never measured the twist. Maybe I should! But I doubt Remington uses more than one twist rate.

Thanks. That sounds quite good. What's it do that my 223 cannot? [i.e. help me justify buying yet another rifle]

Don't try to justify it..just do it......

It will shoot flatter, and do less pelt damage to coyotes and such if that is your thing. Easier to watch the bullet make impact do to the even lesser recoil.

It's just plain fun to shoot, especially when you see the "Vapor trails" from the bullets. If used for a hunting rig, then I suggest the 17 Rem, if wanting to shoot log strings on prairie critters then a 17 FB. Less powder, less heat, less wear on barrel.

Basically the 17 FB does a little less than the 17 Rem with a little less powder.

I bought a 17 Fireball to use on fox.


I guess that's why I shot this one with a 6mm/223....

Kinda hard on the little grey reynard...

Bullet?

70gr Ballistic tip

I like it for prairie dogs partly because it kicks about like a .22 Hornet (much less than a .223 or even a .204) but shoots a LOT flatter. I sight mine in 1" high at 100 and just hold in the middle of dog out to 250 yards. At 300 (which is about as far as they can be hit consistently on most days) I hold right at the top of the dog.

Plus, it's cheap to run, almost as cheap as a Hornet. Bullets cost about the same, but the powder charge is a little more. I run 19.5 grains of TAC in the FB and 13.0 grains of Li'l Gun in the Hornet.

I have only shot one coyote with the 17 fireball, it was 220 yards broadside, hit just above the elbow and went down in his tracks. This was the 20 grain accu-tip, it did better than I expected. I have shot several praire dogs with it and I would agree that it doesn't seem to be as destructive as you would think given the velocity.

I like both cartridges. They're different animals, overlapping but somewhat different niches.

I'd probably pick a .17 rem with a 1-9" twist to shoot 25 grain VMAX or 30 grain bergers for coyotes. That's ok all around, but for a dedicated LITTLE rodent blaster, the .17 FB with 20 grain VMAXes is hard to beat.

I like the .17 Remington for the same things I'd generally do with a .223 and 40 grain bullets. The .17 FB's niche, at least for me, was more like how I use my .17 HMR. Not identical, but ... similar.

Tom

Keep talkin' guys--I'm heading down the trail..............

Here's my 17 FB XP-100. It was a 17 Mach IV until I had it set back due to excessive throat erosion. Put a lot of prairie dogs to sleep with it though before and after. It was my go-to coyote fur getter for a few years. I now use it for PD's almost exclusively shooting the lowly 25 Horn. HP at ~3350. I have a Nikon Buckmasters 6-18x on top with mil-dot reticle and use it at 18x where the dot basically now becomes a 1/2" dot instead of the mil-std. ~3/4ths (mil cal. is 12x). The dot to dot subtension is 2.4 IPHY, and i use the turret (1/8th") for elevation and reticle for windage. Have made some 1st shots at ~500 with it using this sytem. I absolutely love attempting those kinda' shots with this rig as it's quite the challenge to dope wind at those ranges--

Travis

I want one!

Dig that rig sscoyote!


Travis

Yup why did you have to post that????? Now I "NEED" one.

Were all the Remington factory 17 Rem in 9 twist? I know where there is a barrel, and an action, and a trigger......

Pretty certain they are all 1-9".


Travis

deflave, nice picture.

You guys are killing me. Had made up mind that I was going to sell mine. Haven't shot it much. It does a number on gophers. Everything is kinda small, would rather reload for something bigger.

Travis did u really blow that sucker that high with a 17? Lordy mon, wishin' i would've seen that 1 firsthand.




This crow was taken at ~530 on the 1st shot. Buddy of mine and i were shooting some targets out to 500 yds. using a ballistic profile from a ballistics program. We had this Simmons optic on top with the makeshift Stoney Point target turret i screwed on it. This crow landed on a pond dike at right around 530 i think it was. Buddy was shooting the gun so i told him how many clicks to run in and wind hold off using the plex reticle in that optic as a reference. At the shot the crow flew off and then landed out in this pasture, but i thought i saw a couple feathers fly off him when he shot. We went back to shooting for a few and then looked over at him laying dead. Couldn't believe it but that little 17 killed him at ~530 on the 1st shot calcd. That was 1 rewarding shot that my buddy (and i) will never forget.

Love the 17's for small varmint tgt. engagements even to long range.

Gotta' be one of the best posts ever on this board. Sums it ALL up right there in 8 simple words, artistically assembled!

I like the 7 Predator very much. Very handy and well balanced rifle. Have thought about getting one in 22-250. If I didn't have my Kimber 22-250, I think I would grab one in a heartbeat.

Sure did sir. Got a few pics like that and a video too.


Travis