If you were going to put a 17 calibre barrel on a rifle, what barrel brand would you choose and why? Twist? I'm thinking 17 Fireball.

Lilja or Shilen

Lilja on my 17 fb. I have several lilja and Shilen barrels and have had good results with both.

Lilja in 17 Rem. is what I went with. Very happy with mine.

Which ever of the 2 has the shortest delivery time is the one I would go with, given the same twist rate.

I've had great luck with Lilja,Shilen and PacNor. My suggestion is to twist it 1:9.

Lilja has a 9 twist Rem. Varmint profile in stock. -Al

Would that twist be the same in 17 Remington?

The donor would be a 223. Maybe the 17 Remington would feed better with no magazine block/spacer or other alterations than the 17 Fireball?

I've had 9 and 10 twists in the .17's and will always opt for the 9.

If feeding is a concern, the 17 Remington is a much better choice if your donor is a 223. In fact, on the factory Remingtons chambered in 17 Fireball, the ejector is relocated in the bolt so the empty will clear the loading port.

Good shootin'. -Al

Al, Good advice.

I'm thinking of sourcing a 223 Kimber Montana to create my 17. I have a 22-250 and the Fireball I currently have (Remington Model 7 Predator) is for close range, or areas I think have a high prospect of a fox or a cat, or an area close to a farm, much quieter than the 22-250, less chance of a pass through, or a ricochet.

What is wrong with the Remington? Nothing, it's quite accurate with the Remington Premier factory load (3 shots at 0.5" if I shoot well). It's just not a Kimber and I want all my rifles to have the 3 position wing safety. This is my last remaining non-wing safety centerfire and last Remington rifle. Kinda just want to be rid of it. Makes no sense.

AB,

I sourced a Kimber Montana in 204 for my 17 Rem. Feeding is excellent in mine. Great accuracy from the Lilja barrel that runs the Montana contour and length.

So far my .17s have been on PacNor barrels, all 3 L&G 1-9" twist. I would have no concerns about Lilja however.

I've only done 700s so far but I think a Kimber, either Montana or varmint, would be a very interesting consideration.

Tom

My 17 Fireball is a PacNor 9 twist. It is ridiculously accurate.

AB2506: My 11 pound 4 ounce heavy Varmint Rifle in caliber 17 Mach IV (17 Remington Fireball!) built on a Remington 700 action with a 26 1/2" Shilen stainless steel barrel is so wonderfully accurate I heartily recommend you try a Shilen barrel.
This Rifle is the only full custom 17 caliber Rifle I have undertaken.
So I won't (can't) comment on other brands of barrels today.
I strapped LOTS of scope power on this heavy Rifle and installed a Jewell trigger and again, it is sublimely accurate!
My Rifle's heavy stainless Shilen barrel has a 1 in 10" twist rate and absolutely loves the 25 grain Berger bullets!
Varmints don't!
Best of luck with your worthy project.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: By the way my factory stock (and rather rare!) Remington 700 VSF (Varmint Synthetic Fluted) heavy Varmint Rifle (with 26" barrel) in 17 Remington Fireball also LOVES the 25 grain Berger bullets.
Be sure to try them when things get rollin.

A friend just got in a X caliber 17 barrel, it sure is a shooter.

I'm not sure it matters all that much. My first 17 was in '86, a custom Sako with real skinny Douglas 17/223 barrel. Had it rechambered to 17MIV, the thing shot great for a few years, then rebarreled with a PacNor barrel, also MIV. Very accurate. A Shilen MIV on a 700 also shot well. Have a Wilson match 17AH barreled T/C, awesome little gun, great barrel. Another 17AH, a 77/22 re-done by Wessinger Custom has a Walther barrel and it's very accurate. A Sako with Lilja in 17MIV will surely be a good shooter when I get around to shooting it. There was a Douglas barreled Sako I let go that shot well, should have kept it. I've a couple still unchambered Pence barrels which back in the 80's were reputed to be fantastic. Today I wouldn't be too fussy about which brand to get. Whatever's your favorite will probably work very well. Keith mentioned X-caliber and they're supposed to be really excellent, I'd sure try one of those. Mine are all MIV, 10 twist, and used with 20-23gr. bullets.

17-204 ,PN 9 T

Like it much

The Kimber 84M Montana 223 purchase from Whittaker Guns has been initiated. I had to wire IRUNGUNS LLC who pay and buy gun from Whittaker. IRUNGUNS is the exporter/importer. They will deal with the US State department. Once appropriate permits are obtained, IRUNGUNS mail the rifle to me. With luck I get it by November 15, but it could be December 15.

Still undecided 17Fireball or 17 Remington. All set up for the Fireball, but if the 17 Rem feeds better, then it would be wise to go that route. I think I have a lead on a good Smith near Calgary.

If I cam source it, I think I am going Lilja. Wouldn't mind a slightly heavier contour than factory. 22" or 24"?

17 Remington feeds, fire ball, has to have the extractor in a different position than normal...what they did on rifles for that cartridge.

#4 contour from lilja is a good one, just slightly heavier than factory.

If you can find a gunsmith that has a good 17 Reamer, zero freebore to a .020-.030 freebore you will be in the money. Magic happened when I turned the necks on my 17 rem as varying brass thickiness opened groups a little. With turn neck, zero freebore chamber on a shilen, lilja barrel, expect sub 1/4" groups with quality bullets like Berger 25g Match or other custom bullets.

Have you ever seen a 1/4" 17 caliber group? DANG...that is a small group!

17 Mach 4 groups with turn neck, zero freebore chambers are simply idiot proof to deal with working up loads with 25g Bergers.

A 9 Twist in a 17 Remington shooting a 30g Bullet would be a coyote killing machine for sure.

Anyone know of a 17 Fireball or 17 Remington chamber reamer?

I’ve got a 17 tactical I’m thinking of selling, if interested you pm me. 3 contour spiral fluted barrel, rem action, McMillan stock, and is ceracoated. It also comes with all the reloading goodies. Best shooting 17 I’ve ever had. I just don’t want to deal with neck turning.

Kimber is on the way. Probably going with Lilja #9 twist on the modified 84M contour. End it at 22 or 24"?

Will it be a walk around gun or primarily bench situated?

Walk around.

22" if it was me. Think hard about balance and barrel contour. They don't take much metal out of a .17 tube pushing balance forward further than you might imagine.

A Kimber Montana in .17 Remington sounds pretty interesting.

22" or 24" doesn't matter much. My first bolt action .17 Remington was a 700 BDL with a 24" factory sporter contour. Last was a 700 LVSF with a 22" fluted factory magnum barrel. I would not get my panties in a bunch over the difference. On the other hand, at one time in between I had a 700 with a 24 inch unfluted #8 contour in an HS Precision stock .. that was somewhat ungainly and slow to get into action. Good from a rest, but not a packing rifle.

Tom

Kimber 223 Montana received November 28. Two local smiths order in Lilja barrels. They were within $50 of each other for price installed.

So I ordered from the shop that had a .17 Remington reamer as for the price of the other guy they are bead blasting it for a satin finish, truing action and bolt lugs etc. . The other guy I had to buy reamer and pay someone to put a satin finish on barrel. So I get more work for same money.

Lilja 1-9 twist. Probably 24".

A guy offered to let me borrow his 17-204 reamer. Is that a viable option?

204 cases much more common than 17 Remington.

I would in a heart beat.
Great Predator caliber. Stock up on 30gr. bullets.

Do 24” if you’re going with the 17 Rem.