What 17 cal for new build

[Pmacc60]

Then go with 1:9 twist and 30 grain bullets , your still light for coyote's.I recently read on coyote stuff of a 30 grain Texas gold bullet that got good reviews .

 

[Pmacc60]

Hard to beat the 204 with 39 gr SBK bullets, kills coyotes to 500 like a lightning bolt. Don't mean to dissuade just feel it's a great coyote caliber.

I agree , there is a lot of difference between 17 and 20 cal in killing power.

 

[matt_3479]

Hard to beat the 204 with 39 gr SBK bullets, kills coyotes to 500 like a lightning bolt. Don't mean to dissuade just feel it's a great coyote caliber.

I already have a 20 tac im finishing up load development for. 35's at 4050fps and 39's around 4000fps. Just looking to add another to the stable

 

[Murtfree]

I had/have two .17 Rems that I used for chucks and other smaller game for years. I wanted something with a little more range and penetration so built a 17-204 with a Lila barrel. I worked up some amazing loads with Todd Kindler's 30gr Gold until they vanished. I was able to get some of the Nagel 30gr bullets which seem to shoot as well and am getting right at 4000FPS with RL26 and bug hole groups

 

[bob812]

Thank you, I found a bunch of 17 rem brass. Might be nice to just stick with a sammi caliber for the first 17.

What twist rates does everyone recommend

I run mine in a 1-9 Lilja Berger 25 gr over X-Terminator. Shoots these Sask. dogs dead to 400. Try Joe Ponto at RPS International he may have a barrel in stock and he's in Edmonton.

 

[noeesp]

I have been shooting a .17 Hornet and it has been lights out to 400 yards so far.

 

[DarryH]

If your looking for a .17 build my suggestion is let your instinct serve you, easy is best because any gained performance is minimal . Like pretty much all of us here I like builds and new calibers but in my opinion the 17 rem or 17 fireball would be the way to go. Brass availability would speak volumes to me but be advised that 17's don't kill like 20's . I hope I don't offend anyone but I've been a fan of the 17 rem since the Sports Afield ad i saw in 1971. I have owed all the commercial loadings of the 17 looking for fur friendly fox rounds but I have found that in winter conditions reliable ranges are max 200 yards! Wind plays havoc with accuracy and less than 30 gr. Pills perform poorly or at least inconsistently . They are fun to shoot and accurate on non windy days beyond description ! Good luck in your build

Your experience matches mine. I had fun with the .17 Rem, but ranges for me were always under 200 yards. I hated taking it out on windy days. I have not used a .20, but .222 .223 22-250 220Swift all work better for all around use for me. I have used .22 Hornet for ranges under 150 yards, and had a LOT of fun with it. My 17HMR is a disappointment for me. I hoped for a lot more from it, but have now relegated it for use on ground squirrels, gophers, English Sparrows, and European Starlings. I use the 22 Mag rimfire for similar use.

 

[436]

I had and have shot a few of the other .17's over the years, but when I bought my first 17 Rem a model 700 Classic it was over as far as looking. It did an amazing job on Yote's mounted with only a fixed 6x42mm plex M8 Leupold an absolutely perfect fit for the combo. I used Remington factory ammo which was one hole out of my stock M 700 rifle at 100 yards. Later I found what I believe to be the factory load with VV powder and Rem then obtainable 25gr HP bullet, my hand load would print right inside the factory load at 4040 fps. If the Yopte was 350 yards or under it was the end for him, anything farther on a Coyote, and my % went way down fast, funny how that worked. Here's the load if anyone is interested, it was safe with no signs of pressure but like all loads, "started low and work up" in your rifle.
I load Remington brass, used a Remington 71/2 BR primer, Remington 25gr. bullet, with 22.8grs of VV-N135 I also used Remington OAL for the cartridge. The velocity was dead nuts on 4040 fps. Good luck... cheers all

 

[Dean2]

I own or have owned most of the 17s. For gophers out to 500 or so yards I really like the 17FB. It is far easier to get along with than the two 17 HH I had and the brass is far better. They don't foul like the 17 Rem and have nearly endless barrel life. For your use, my choice would be the 17 Practical. It is a 223 case necked down to 17 with no other changes. Very easy to form and with the huge amount of free 223 brass around there is an endless supply of it. Many of the others are a good choice too but with component shortages this one makes the most sense to me. The ballistics are the equivalent of the 17 Rem.

 

[muleystalker]

Then go with 1:9 twist and 30 grain bullets , your still light for coyote's.I recently read on coyote stuff of a 30 grain Texas gold bullet that got good reviews .

Yes those are good bullets, These are made buy the guy that bought all the equipment from Todd Kindler who made the 30gr Kindler Golds back in the day.

 

[Pmacc60]

Thanks for the information , I thought they all dried up. It's good to know that these bullets are back in circulation

 

[436]

I own or have owned most of the 17s. For gophers out to 500 or so yards I really like the 17FB. It is far easier to get along with than the two 17 HH I had and the brass is far better. They don't foul like the 17 Rem and have nearly endless barrel life. For your use, my choice would be the 17 Practical. It is a 223 case necked down to 17 with no other changes. Very easy to form and with the huge amount of free 223 brass around there is an endless supply of it. Many of the others are a good choice too but with component shortages this one makes the most sense to me. The ballistics are the equivalent of the 17 Rem.

You know; I never had any real fouling problem(s) with mine, I kept it clean and cleaned it after 10 to 15 rounds on the range and after a day's hunt if it was fired. I know some folks talk about fouling and a drop in accuracy... I just never saw it in my rifle(s) and load(s). My .220 Swift was the same way, plus... I put a metric ton of ammo (for their caliber) down them and when I sold them they were both still shooting a ragged hole at 100 yards. Just my experience with my rifle(s)... Cheers.

 

[Dean2]

You know; I never had any real fouling problem(s) with mine, I kept it clean and cleaned it after 10 to 15 rounds on the range and after a day's hunt if it was fired. I know some folks talk about fouling and a drop in accuracy... I just never saw it in my rifle(s) and load(s). My .220 Swift was the same way, plus... I put a metric ton of ammo (for their caliber) down them and when I sold them they were both still shooting a ragged hole at 100 yards. Just my experience with my rifle(s)... Cheers.

Yeh, when I am talking about fouling I am talking high volume shooting like you do on PDs, gophers etc, not 10 or 15 rounds. A 17FB you can typically shoot 150-200 rounds before you need to clean, the 17 Rem maybe 30-40 before you lose minute of gopher. When I lived in Calgary I was shooting 15-25,000 rounds of center fire a year at field vermin, so a meteric ton of ammo, barrel life etc may be just a bit of a quantum difference to the two of us.

 

[matt_3479]

I run mine in a 1-9 Lilja Berger 25 gr over X-Terminator. Shoots these Sask. dogs dead to 400. Try Joe Ponto at RPS International he may have a barrel in stock and he's in Edmonton.

Thank you. Hard to find a 17 barrel in Canada. There is a Canadian company HW but never heard of them anywhere so was not thinking of going with them.