Introduced in 1965 with the .444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most powerful lever action of its day. To barely bump back the shoulders of cases and set headspace on the shoulders, I turned the size die up a partial turn from contacting the shellholder. * We tested two different Marlin Model 917VS and Ruger K77/17VMBBZ rifles. A 50-grain V-Max exiting the .22-250 Rem. Through the years I have handloaded for several lever-action rifles chambered for the 218 Bee, and recoil is so light I never found it necessary to crimp the mouth of the case into the bullet, so lack of a cannelure on the Sierra bullets is not a factor. The original powder charge was then poured back in, and the factory bullet was seated to the original overall cartridge length of 1.712 inches. Bullets were made out of copper wire and results on small game such as prairie dogs were quite amazing. Perhaps you know someone who drives a Maserati, or a 1970s International pickup. He admitted to being stuck in his ways and did very little changing. I have tried 3 different 20 grain pills out of my 17 Rem. After thoroughly cleaning the tube at home, for instance, the added 25-grain Hornady V-MAX loads assembled impressive clusters. A proprietary hollowpoint design makes these bullets explosive on varmints, the lead-free composition making them relatively long for weight. The first 10 rounds were outstanding. Seventeen-caliber rifles are just a little bit magic. The .204 Ruger is essentially a .222 Remington Magnum case necked to accept .204-inch bullets, which results in 32- and 40-grain bullets being advertised at 4,225 fps . Having the tools, it was decided to make a few barrels. When developing its version of the .17 Hornet, Hornady shortened the .22 Hornet case about 0.050 inch to make overall cartridge length compatible with the magazines of existing rifles in .22 Hornet. .17 WSM ammunition includes Winchester Elite with 20 and 25 grain tipped bullets, Hornady with a 20 grain V-MAX tipped bullet and Federal American Eagle brand with a 20 grain tipped bullet. CFE BLK my go-to .221 Fireball rifle powder produced top velocities and good accuracy, including a .48-inch group at 4,250 fps with 17 grains of powder. Give it a shot and see what youve been missing. If Hodgdons recommended maximum of 12.8 grains is used, switching to the Remington 7 or Federal 205M primer is advised. Pet Loads and Handloader are registered trademarks of Wolfe Publishing Company. Published Jul 22, 2022 2:40 PM EDT. Granted, the barrel had undoubtedly become fouled at this point in the test, with no means to remedy that. Last but certainly not least, the ability of CFE BLK to reduce copper fouling in barrels gives it a big edge for high-volume shooting of prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and other varmints. 71/2 and 24 gr of 4320 under a 25 gr bullet gives me 3900 from a 22 inch barrel and is 1/4 -1/2 inch accuracy. Even the report of most .17-caliber guns is mild, particularly that of rimfire versions. 8208 is now my go to powder for the 17 Schism Feb 22, 2017 #7 bobcat93 said: I'm getting 1 1/2" -1 I'm using my cz527 These are 5-shot groups fired at 100 yard targets. Expecting to receive a half-dozen or so, I was quite surprised after opening the package to see more than 30 different cartridges ranging in size from the .17 Lilliput on a shortened .22 Hornet case to the .17 Swift on the full-length .220 Swift case. I'm getting 3700fps (3/8" groups @ 100-yds) with the 700 Classic and 3670fps (1/4" groups @ 100-yds) with the 700 BDL. The Fireball, fed lighter bullets, is capable of velocities well in excess of 4,000 fps. He did try some CFE 223 and was very happy with it. . Remember, the above accuracy results are averages with all brands of ammunition tested. <oneshot>. Russ, thought I would hijack your thread to report that my 17 Rem. Ackley created his first .17 caliber wildcat by necking down the .30 Carbine case. I just spoke to a gent this past week on this subject. 2 scale used in my tests detected no weight variation in charges of CFE BLK dispensed by the Redding measure, IMR 4198 varied by as much as 0.3 grain. 17 Remington cartridge with a 24 inch barrel makes 3900-4000 fps very easy with IMR 4198. Only a couple of characteristics plague .17-caliber firearms: tiny bullets require delicate rifling that is easily damaged by cleaning equipment; and tiny bores are, well, just plain aggravating to clean. As with the above V-Max-equipped offerings, this load is best relegated to targets and non-edible species. The Nosler 20-grain bullet was happiest at 0.015 inch. The factory 20-grain loads were accurate and had a velocity of 3,567 fps when shot from a CZ 527 American. This five-shot, 100-yard group is from 20-grain Superformance Varmint V-MAX loads shot from a CZ 527 American rifle. The barrel and action include a protective Parkerized finish. Not only that, but it is also stable in a 1:9 twist, which has become the standard in the caliber (from the original 1:10). I began my shooting tests by using Barnes CR-10 solvent to ensure no copper fouling lurked in the barrels of the test guns. I can consistently keep them under an inch with this load. In this cartridge, an overcharge of a fraction of a grain, particularly when working with near maximum loads, can produce excessive pressuresso a little extra care in this step is essential. In 1970, OBrien sold his company to Harrington & Richardson, which renamed the rifle the Model 317 Ultra Wildcat. It ends up with a shorter neck than a case formed from 22 Hornet brass, but prairie dogs dont seem to mind, and accuracy does not suffer. OBrien also offered custom XP-100 pistols chambered for his cartridge, and the barrels were marked .17 Mach III to indicate lower velocity in the shorter barrel. Of the two, the .17 HMR is far and away the most popular. at 3,800 fps has close to the same trajectory. Ill save those bullets for my .17 Hornet. Joined: Dec 2015. MSRP: $11.99 per 50-rnd. And Aaron,thanks for your info too. It varied among the three bullets tried. At 300 yards they dropped 5.50 inches. Dimensional differences between the two cases are so slight that load data for the two are interchangeable. J. Scott Rupp takes a first look at the Springfield M1A Loaded rifle chambered in the popular 6.5 Creedmoor. The round closely resembles the .17 Mach IV, created by wildcatter Vern OBrien in the 1960s. The .17 Remington, on the other hand, is the darling of predator hunters protective over pelts. Wt. The CCI A17 load has a catalog MV of 2650 fps and chronographed between 2775 and 2809 fps from our test rifles. Savage Impulse Big Game Straight-Pull Bolt-Action Rifle: Full Review, 7 Top .17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire) Rifles, .375 H&H Mag. Using bullets from Hornady V-Max, Hornady V-Max or HP. The magazine of the Ruger rifle will handle longer. Rem. Nosler unprimed brass and Federal Premium Gold Medal 205 Match Small Rifle primers were used throughout. Both of those loads will push a 65gr V-Max about 4,100 fps. Patches pushed through the bore came out with the black gunk of powder fouling but no blue color to indicate jacket fouling. For years, the powder in the .17 Rem. The .17 Remington is one of the children that the .222 Remington spawned. In testing the ability of the powder to Erase Copper Fouling, Reiber fired a 467-round string during the varmint shoot with no cleaning, except for occasional dry-brushing to sweep out powder fouling. The new 9mm suppressor can mount easily to any pistol barrel threaded x28 inches and doesn't compromise on sound suppression, gas blowback or recoil. Whereas CFE BLK proved to be an excellent choice for the two 17 Hornets, shot-to-shot velocity spread was quite high when it was asked to burn in the roomier case of the 17 Fireball. Today's favorites are the .17 HMR and the .17 Remington. At 100 yards there is still a healthy 3,389fps velocity and 638ft/lb striking energy that is more than enough for humane despatches. The Berger reloading manual shows the exact same maximum powder charge weights for both. When charging cases, use care. At those velocities, drift isnt as significant as some would lead you to believe, either. Hammer Bullets' 18 grain Dead Blow is another excellent nontoxic (California compliant) option milled from a single piece of copper. at 3,400 fps and zeroed the same is down three inches at 100 yards. However, maximum powder charges for the .17 Ackley are 0.2 to 0.7 grain heavier than for the .17 Hornady. Except for the CCI A17 load, all brands claim a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2525-2550 fps and in our chronograph testing actually delivered average MVs of 2550-2650 fps, depending on the load. Backing the sizing die a partial turn from contacting the shellholder on the press set headspace on the case shoulder instead of on the cartridge rim. Using 18.5-, 19- and 19.5-grain charges of Ramshot X-Terminator produced .28-, .31- and .68-inch groups at 3,583, 3,687 and 3,809 fps, respectively, with a 1.81-inches OAL. While the 17 Fireball is about 300 fps slower with all bullet weights than the 17 Remington, it is probably more popular today because it burns about 20 percent less powder with each squeeze of the trigger. There is an obvious allure in velocities of more than 4,200-4,300 fps, but I suspect a steady varmint-shooting diet of Hornadys 15.5 grain NTX would result in premature barrel wear. They are not the most accurate bullet of the bunch. 6 Best .300 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) Rifles, Remington .50-70 Rolling Block History: New York's Pick to Arm Its National Guard, .375 H&H Mag. This .65-inch, five-shot group was from Johns handloads with Berger 20-grain Flat Base Target bullets and Reloder 7. Reloder 10x performed exceptionally, assembling .40- and .55-inch groups at 3,950 and 4,051 fps providing an excellent combination of accuracy and velocity. There are a variety of .17-caliber bullets for handloaders to choose from. Tips, techniques, and equipment are applied to these classroom discussions on how to become more proficient and successful at making long-range shots while hunting with AR-platform rifles. Seventeen-caliber cartridges have always fascinated a certain group of handloaders for some mystical reason. Possibly one of the best varmint load - consistently under 1/4" at 100 yards is 75 grain Sierra (Speer and Remington shoot well too) with 58 grains IMR4350. Absence of copper fouling in the Shilen barrel of the SSK Industries Contender and the barrels of the Cooper Model 21 and the Sako L46 indicated extremely smooth bores. Introduced in 2018, it is rugged, simple, and accurate. Case life is long, and barrel life is normally around 7,000 or 8,000 rounds (at least for minute-of-varmint accuracy) due largely to the modest pressures and rather small powder charges. What load are you using with 8208 with the 20 grain VMax? Well Russ, you picked a bullet I've never tried. One of my handloads with 9.5 grains of LilGun gave the 20-grain V-MAX a speed of 3,500 fps. In addition to stabilizing in a 1:16 twist, their thin jackets make them more effective on varmints than bullets of the same weight and even lighter that are constructed for cartridges of higher velocities. The Gunsmith should have the rifle in my hot little hands in about 2 weeks. The .17 Remington requires consistent cleaning. I have also done a lot of work with the Federal 205 and 205 Match, and these primers also work wellbut will also start to flatten and can pierce more easily than the first three mentioned. The Hornets velocities are about 500 fps slower than the Fireballs. Hodgdons recommended maximum of 12.5 grains with a 20-grain bullet fills a case formed from Winchester 22 Hornet brass to its brim. Cases are available from Nosler and Normaand they are quite goodthough a bit more heavily constructed than the original Remingtonsso the handloader must take this into consideration and work up loads carefully if using data that was developed in Remington cases. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. The barrels of the Ruger Model 77/17H and the Remington XP-100 had accumulated some, but it vanished after only three applications of solvent. Reibers load consisted of the Remington 6 primer, Hornady case, and Hornady 20-grain V-Max seated out to lightly engage the rifling. Sizing bushings are interchangeable and available in .001-inch increments, allowing just-right neck tensioning to accommodate specific chambers (a micrometer is used to measure outside neck diameter of a loaded cartridge and .001-inch subtracted). Hornadys 15.5-grain NTX (Non-Traditional eXpanding) bullet is a polymer-tipped, lead-free (California legal) option allowing screaming velocity combined with dramatic terminal performance on small varmints. The .17 Remington is a fun and interesting round to work with. Powered by UBB.threads PHP Forum Software 7.7.5. If the owner of that first rifle in 17 Ackley Hornet were still here, he would likely be tickled to see a load with his favorite powder slightly better the accuracy of CFE BLK. The 527s barrel is slender with a diameter of just over .5 inch at the muzzle. The 20 grn Vmax had better accuracy and Mr. Nagels 20 grain pill was the most accurate. H414/W760 behind a 30gr. I may just have to try a few of those with the 8208 powder as well. Highly accurate cup-and-core, polymer-tipped and Partition bullets cover most bases, and new bonded bullets and several lead-free projectiles add to the .280's versatility. If you look at a burn rate chart and published reloading data, you will see other powders that are closeReloder 15, IMR4064, Varget, VV N-140, and H4895 are commonly referenced. Don't recall the load but it didn't shoot very well. If i had a bunch of those bullets i would try IMR 4320. I have 200 pieces of brass and I'm ready to go, The Official Predator Masters Search Engine. To show viewers how to succeed at long range, J. Guthrie gears up for a challenging shot while chasing Colorado pronghorn at long range with DPMS' Panther 6.5 Creedmoor. Hodgdons Ron Reiber was the first to try CFE BLK in the field. Up front, I expected more from this rifle. The introduction of LilGun by Hodgdon in 1999 was one of the best things to happen to the 221 Fireball, and I was curious to see how slower-burning CFE BLK would stack up against it. According to the story, OBrien wagered that his guide could not kill the bear with his rifle in .17 Mach IVand lost the bet. All RifleShooter subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. Wolfe Publishing Company | 2180 Gulfstream Suite A | Prescott, AZ 86301. Rifles chambered for the various .17-caliber centerfire cartridges often have extremely long chamber throats, and the Ruger Model 77/17H test rifle is one of them. Caleb Giddings, Marketing Manager at Taurus, introduces the all-new TaurusTX 22 Compact. A 50-grain V-Max exiting the muzzle of a rifle in .223 Rem. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. That powder seems to always work for me. Ackleys load data lists 25-grain bullets with a velocity of 3,585 fps from 12.0 grains of 4198 and 3,570 fps from 11.5 grains of 4227. Typically, groups with each rifle are fired for record by three or four Guns and Shooting Online staffers and/or contributors. The .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (.17 HMR) cartridge is based on a .22 WMR case necked down to accept .17 caliber bullets. sierra Gameking , AOL. Joe Kurtenbach and Caleb Giddings also look at the first-ever optics-ready carry revolvers with the new Taurus 605 and 856 T.O.R.O. This bullet was good in its day and set the tone for the .17s reputation as an excellent pelt caliber. Parker Otto Ackley wore many different hats. Factory .223 Remington loads often provide good accuracy, but the cartridge is a great choice for handloaders who want to duplicate or even exceed factory ammunition ballistics. Hodgdon lists as little as 0.3 grain between minimum and maximum powder charges for the .17 Hornady. Reiber's load consisted of the Remington 6 primer, Hornady case, and Hornady 20-grain V-Max seated out to lightly engage the rifling. The round was first loaded with an 87-grain bullet at the then-astounding velocity of 3,000 fps; the "3000" in its name was, of course, a marketing maneuver on the bullet speed. Subscriber Services. Good brushes, a good one-piece rod, a bore guide and a solvent at least equal to Shooter's Choice are all smart investments. After looking at load data for the 17 Mach IV and looking at Quickload, it seems something in the burn rate of IMR 4198, Vihta Vuori N110, Alliant 2400, Alliant Reloader 7, Hodgdon Lil'Gun, Alliant Blue Dot, and IMR 4227 would meet the requirement. The .17 Winchester Super Magnum (.17 WSM) is based on a Winchester .270 commercial nail gun case necked down to accept .17 caliber bullets. Longer stick propellants can bridge when flowing through purpose-designed .17 caliber powder dispensing equipment, and for this reason I always weigh my charges carefully and inspect the charged cases prior to the bullet seating operation. Smooth flow is also convenient to those who load on a single-stage press as it allows powder charges to be dispensed by a measure as opposed to the slower method of weighing each charge. Drifts at 300 yards in a 10-mph cross breeze are 14 inches for the .17 Hornet versus 11 inches for the .223 Rem. CZ calls the 527 a micro-Mauser due to its nonrotating claw extractor that grabs the rim of a case as its pushed forward out of the magazine and blade ejector. were shipped to Australian fox hunters than to dealers in the United States because it did not damage pelts as much as larger calibers. The factory ammo was and is very accurate ammo, this load may possible be Remington's recipe. Accurate: AAC-2460: Subscribe: 3741: Remarks: 20: Hornady V-Max: Accurate: AAC-2460 . The heavier bullets had much lower extreme spreads, with 43 to 45 fps for the 25-grain bullets and 30 to 66 fps for the 30-grain bullets. When introducing the .17 Remington Fireball in 2008, Remington copied the .17 Mach IV case with the exception of a couple of dimensions. The S.A.A.M.I. When a new cartridge is introduced, its origins can often be traced to a cartridge P.O. That partial, full-length sizing helps reduce the stretch of firing and the squeeze of sizing to extend case life. Hammer Bullets 18 grain Dead Blow is another excellent nontoxic (California compliant) option milled from a single piece of copper. That length allows Hornadys .17 Hornet to fit in existing magazines and bolt actions originally intended for the .22 Hornet, like the CZ 527, Ruger 77/22 Hornet and Savage Model 25. The interior magazine length of Remington Model 700 rifles chambered for this cartridge is shortened at the factory by the installation of a filler block. Accuracy of the two powders in my guns is about the same, but the new powder pushes 40- and 50-grain bullets faster at slightly lower chamber pressures. Patches wet with Barnes CR-10 pushed through the bore revealed a total absence of copper fouling. A steadily mounting accumulation of data makes the following list possible. I got to know Ackley while he was doing some rifle work for me during the 1960s and 70s. A number of the cartridges were Ackleys designs while the others had been sent to him by various other developers for inclusion in his two-volume Handbook For Shooters & Reloaders. Velocities from pressure barrels are usually higher than velocities from off-the-shelf rifles, but in this case it was quite close at 3,836 fps. | Although overall cartridge length is restricted to about 1.950 inches, there is still more than enough room to seat bullets close to the rifling should doing so be necessary or desired. My rifle is extremely accurate with the Hornady 40-grain V-Max and Nosler 40-grain Ballistic Tip, but it will not completely stabilize the 50-grain versions of those two bullets. To be completely upfront, Im not a Maserati man. (Photo courtesy of Lane Pearce) September 20, 2022 By Lane Pearce. advertised factory ballistics are about 100 fps less than the initial claim nearly a century ago. In the course of our rifle reviews we ordinarily test for accuracy using as many different loads as possible and tabulate the results. The full-page lead photo was filled with two hunters, one tiny rifle and a huge Alaskan brown bear wearing a hide that surely squared 10 feet or better. While shooting the Cooper Model 21, I experimented a great deal with bullet jump (or lack of it), and the Berger 30-grain bullet shot best when seated 0.005 inch into the rifling. Reloder 7 did its best with a maximum load of 16.5 grains; .53 inch at 4,039. It is a very small bore, very high-pressure round and as such, it fouls just like a similar, larger cartridge (think .22/250 or .220 Swifteven the .204 Ruger). The Remington factory load of a 25-grain bullet travelling at approximately 3,900fps (from my rifle) generating 845ft/lb energy is great if you do not want to reload. Tested on 75 & 80 degree days with no pressure problems.. It's just a GREAT load for the 17 Remington.. CCI-450 Primers 26.0grs IMR 4007SCC Regardless, it was a foolish stunt. Hornady Load Data Using .17 Remington Bullets: Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data. After the cases were trimmed, loaded and fired, they had not grown in length any appreciable amount. Lot-to-lot powder variations do exist and in a cartridge this small, they can cause a significant difference in pressure and velocity. Some seating-depth jockeying would likely reap rewards, and the stock could use some work, as a piece of paper will not slip between barrel and stock. A form die set is required if .221 Fireball cases are used, but those lucky enough to find Remington .17 Fireball brass can simply run them through a .17 Mach IV full-length sizing die, add primer, powder and bullet, and head for the varmint fields. During May 2016, he thinned the Idaho rockchuck and ground squirrel populations with a custom pistol in 17 Hornet built around a single-shot Sako A1 action. I also wondered if this rifle just didnt like heavier slugs, so I decided to try some 25 grain Hornady V-MAX I had acquired after assembling initial loads in a component-shortage swap with a friend. Just $1 per month , Everything you ever wanted to know about the .17 Remington, By With an Accu-Fit stock and left hand adjustable bolt, this rifle is a perfect choice for anyone! Remington introduced it in 1971, and soon thereafter a friend of mine bought a Model 700 BDL chambered for it. A few .12 and .14 calibers emerged, but those of .17 caliber ended up being the most popular. Plus, whats not to like about a cartridge with a near absence of recoil that shoots flat enough to take small game out to 300 yards? Precision Redding full-length Type S Match Dies with .195-inch titanium nitride sizing bushing and micro-adjustable seating-die head were used. On the faster burning end of the usable spectrum, and with lighter bullets powders like H322 can deliver astonishingly high velocity with excellent accuracy. It would not go 20 rounds without overheating the barrel and experiencing velocity excursions. He has been fooling with the 17R since the year it came out. Believe me, this is important as this small-caliber case does generate significant pressure and piercing or blowing primers is a real possibility at excessive pressures. All Rights Reserved. Determined to include a Berger 30-grain load in this report, I asked my friends at Hodgdon to shoot it in their 24-inch pressure barrel. The new Sako Finnlight II sports an innovative stock and Cerakote metal paired with the terrific 85 action. Price: $280 to $350-ish Copyright 2000-2023 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The reason the author made the first .17 caliber was the result of a deal with the late C.H. Formed by necking down Remingtons .221 Fireball case and increasing shoulder angle to 30 degrees, OBrien claimed a velocity of 3,700 fps for a 25-grain bullet. Compression is light when the Berger 30-grain bullet is seated to an overall cartridge length of 1.830 inches. The first commercial .17-caliber round, the .17 Remington, was hobbled by the inferior .17-caliber bullets available upon its release, often resulting in superficial wounds on animals such as coyotes. Vihtavuori N133, Hodgdon Benchmark and Ramshot X-Terminator (same as Accurate A-2230) were tried, with the best group just .62 inch at 4,043 fps with 18 grains of N133, .77 inch at 4,098 fps with 19.5 grains of Benchmark and .70 inch at 3,780 fps with 19 grains of X-Terminator. But by using a 7-inch drop tube, I managed to coax in 18.5 grains behind the Berger 30-grain and Hornady 35-grain bullets.