.17 Fans

[roy reali]

I just got done reading an article from an older issue of Handloader Magazine. It was about the .17 Remington Fireball cartridge. This article has me interested in 17 caliber centerfire rifles. The article seemed to be fair, it did address both the pros and cons of this cartridge. But I want to hear from "real" owners of this or any other 17 caliber centerfire.

If you own a rifle in one of the 17 caliber rounds, how do you like it? Would you recommend it?

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

If I were starting over, I'd do the 17 Fireball... but I currently have a pair of 17 Remington rifles, they were my father in laws, & it's honestly a cartridge I really had no interest in... he was handloading, & getting around 4000 fps, but 100 yard group sizes of 1" were the norm, & often at 200-300 yards, the wind could move him off target, not to mention copper fouling of the barrels, & shorter barrel life... I have chosen to keep them, but don't really have an interest there...

I also collect Contenders, & barrels in all calibers... I had an old unfired 10" 17 K Hornet barrel, that I finally got dies for, & developed some loads for... I really like the cartridge, but having to fire form the cases, at a time that primers were all but not available seemed pretty counter productive, & a bit of a pain... loading tiny cartridges are a pain all their own... getting powder to pour through the tiny necks, dealing with the tiny bullets with not so tiny fingers... if you don't reload, the 17 Fireball or a rim fire are about your only option in 17... I'm currently building a custom 17 Mach 2... it should be like my 17 K Hornet, in that it's an efficient round, & should be good for farm yard varmints, with less richochet potential... but the sub calibers seem counter productive to me... they seem like they'd be great long range guns, but are effected by even the slightest breeze

personally, if it weren't for collecting purposes, & for a little more versatility, I'd look at the .204 Ruger... I don't have one, but from what I've heard, the are much more wind stable, than the 17's

 

[Sam06]

MWM, I am with you on the 17's. I have a 17 Rem and it is a pain to work with. I think the 17 K hornet or a 17 Bee would be a fun round and very efficient. The 17 does not do anything better than any other round except Go fast, foul barrels, and not damage pelts. That said it really kills all out of proportion to its size.

I will not get rid of my 17 Rem but I don't shoot it all that much. I find myself going to a 222 or a 223 for varmints at med to close range.

I almost forgot......They are a handloader only option except maybe the rimfires. I very seldom see 17 Rem ammo on sale anywhere. Then you have the special cleaning rods and jags.....oh yea you have to cut down patches. The wind really pushes the bullet around and if you are loading near max you have to watch what you are doing(Like not setting the rounds in the sun, yea i blew up an extractor on a rem 700). But all that said i like my 17's. They are a cool little gun and I would like a BSA Martini action in 17 bee with a long ass old fashion scope, that would be a cool rig...............Sam

 

[Dave R]

I have a .17/.357mag wildcat that is a certified varmit slayer.

Certified by me, of course.

For slaying small critters, there's nothing better. I find reports of wind drift to be over-stated. When I miss on a windy day at long range, its generally because I over-compensated.

Little recoil, relatively low noise. (May not be true for .17 Rem, but for smaller cartridges, certainly.)

For fouling, I run a bore snake through it every 20 rounds or so when I'm in the field. I use a foaming bore cleaner every several hundred rounds. That's all she needs.

Reloading is inexpensive. The bullets and primers are the same as any other round, but it uses little powder for its velocity.