Very accurate and fast in Remington 700 BDL sporter xswanted Gold $$ Contributor Feb 22, 2017 #6 I tried it. That partial, full-length sizing helps reduce the stretch of firing and the squeeze of sizing to extend case life. I had also scrubbed the barrel the night before. Formed by necking up the .223 Rem. Chris Johnson, FN Senior Product Manager, walks us through two new FN striker-fired pistols at SHOT Show 2023: the FN 510 Tactical, chambered in 10mm Auto, and the FN 545 Tactical, chambered in .45 ACP. Now lets take a close look at the performance of CFE BLK in several varmint cartridges. 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. While the S.A.A.M.I.-recommended maximum overall cartridge length is 1.680 inches, my Marlin 1894 feeds 1.720-inch-long rounds without a hitch. Introduced in 1965 with the .444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most powerful lever action of its day. The best groups resulted from 18 grains of N133 (.66 inch at 3,822 fps, including very low extreme velocity spreads), a 19 grain maximum load of IMR-8308 XBR (.73-inch at 3,874 fps) and 16 grains of LT-30 (.75 inch at 3,622 fps). The shoulder diameter of the Hornady case is also a bit wider in diameter than the Ackley. The new RIA 5.0 Sporting Pistol from Rock Island Armory features a patented RVS Recoil system that maximizes barrel mass and linear movement to give shooters super soft recoil. As with the above V-Max-equipped offerings, this load is best relegated to targets and non-edible species. In addition to delivering much lower velocity spreads, accuracy was better with IMR 4198 and H335. Ive been wrong before when predicting the cartridge-buying habits of small game hunters, but I hope Im not wrong about the .17 Hornady Hornet. In 1950, Remington introduced the .222 loaded in a completely unique case based on no other. They produce almost no discernable recoil. Well guys, winter is upon us and I am in dire need to try out a few new loads getting ready for the spring time ground squirrel ritual. Neither the author nor Outdoor Sportsman Group assumes any liability for accidents or injury resulting from the use or misuse of this data. Nosler makes both a hollowpoint and a Tipped projectile in the Varmageddon line, while Hornady makes a 20-grain V-MAX, as well as a 25-grain V-MAX if you like a little heavier option. was IMR4320. The .17 Mach 2 (.17 M2) cartridge is based on a CCI Stinger .22 LR case necked down to accept .17 caliber bullets. Introduced in 1965 with the .444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most powerful lever action of its day. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. [br] Other powders to consider are those in the same burn rate range. J. Scott Rupp takes a first look at the Springfield M1A Loaded rifle chambered in the popular 6.5 Creedmoor. When preparing loads for the Marlin rifle, I started with two flatnose bullets: the Hornady 45-grain hollowpoint and the Speer 46-grain softnose. The .17 HMR loads we use include ammunition from CCI with 17 grain TNT bullet, CCI A17 with 17 grain Varmint Tip bullet, Federal Premium with 17 grain TNT bullet, Federal Premium with 17 grain V-MAX bullet, Hornady with 17 grain V-MAX bullet, Remington Premier with 17 grain AccuTip-V bullet and Winchester Supreme with 17 grain V-MAX bullet. Two calibers stand out among those of .17-diameter ilk, although others of newer design may outstrip them in the future. Hodgdon lists as little as 0.3 grain between minimum and maximum powder charges for the .17 Hornady. Hodgdon CFE BLK, Shooters World Blackout and Alliant Reloder 10x were auditioned. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Hodgdon has data available online. I should have paid more attention to that OAL, as I seated these bullets .006-inch deeper, resulting in disappointing groups overall. There are a wide variety of custom makers that currently sell various configurations of hollowpoints and even softpoints in .17 calibera quick search on the net will show the way. During the first years of World War II, Mr. ONeil came up with the idea of a .17 caliber cartridge, believed to have been based on the .22 Hornet. 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. Drifts at 300 yards in a 10-mph cross breeze are 14 inches for the .17 Hornet versus 11 inches for the .223 Rem. The .17 Hornets tiny bullets and a small case capacity mean velocities vary considerably with a slight change in powder weight. Full-length sizing the fired cases, though, lengthened them .006 inch. With a price tag under $700, this Mauser is one of the most accurate deer rifles you'll find for the money. Hornady HP. It took Remington until 2008 to adopt the cartridge. A very accurate varmint load is 43.7 grains of H4895 and 58 grain Hornady V-max - <1/2" 5 shots at 100 yards. Formed by necking down Remington's .221 Fireball case and increasing shoulder angle to 30 degrees, O'Brien claimed a velocity of 3,700 fps for a 25-grain bullet. . Scott Rupp gets a chance to talk to Aaron Oelger about a few new products from Hodgdon and why reloading store shelves are empty. More importantly, the .222 Remington would spawn the elongated .223 Remington, introduced in 1957 (and today is Americas most popular centerfire cartridge); and the shortened .221 Remington Fireball. Its case is 1.796 inches long and while many assert that its nothing more than a .223 necked to .17, a quick examination of the cases clearly demonstrates that this is not so. The powder weights for all the loads but one listed in the table were weighed as precisely as I could on a balance scale. 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. Give it a shot and see what youve been missing. The Hornady .17 case, however, is a bit shorter in length and to the base of the shoulder than the Ackley case. The TaurusTX 22 Compact delivers class-leading reliability, capacity, and shootability in a 22 LR platform, and it's cut for a slide-mounted mini red dot. 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. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Up-and-comers in the .17 world are the recently introduced .17 WSM, which is the fastest rimfire-type seventeen in history and pushes a 20-grain bullet at 3,000 fps; and the .17 Hornet newly designed by Hornady (some term it the .17 Hornady Hornet to avoid confusing it with older, wildcat-type, necked-down versions of the .22 Hornet). The .220 Swift is a .22-caliber round that fires .224-inch bullets, the same as used atop .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .224 Weatherby Magnum, .24 Nosler and similar .22 centerfire cartridges. Parker Otto Ackley wore many different hats. Ill be testing this powder with other bullet weights moving forward. Introduced in 2018, it is rugged, simple, and accurate. Either powder is an excellent choice for P.O. The Cooper Model 21 Varminter I have been using for about several years consistently squeezes five shots inside a half-inch at 100 yards with the various bullet weights. Dimensional differences between the two cases are so slight that load data for the two are interchangeable. The factory ammo was and is very accurate ammo, this load may possible be Remington's recipe. Especially Remington brass. 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. Brass is easily formed by running .221 RFB brass through .17 RFB full-length dies and trimming to 1.40 inches. Cases did stretch some during firing and then sizing. Due to a higher density, more CFE BLK can be packed into a case. I was curious to see how Hornadys factory load would perform in my SSK Industries rifle. Hodgdons listing of 18.0 grains of CFE BLK as maximum for 30- and 35-grain bullets needs clarification. 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. 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. Don't recall the load but it didn't shoot very well. I have, however, owned and handloaded for the common .17s and the focus of this article will be the first, and in many ways, the finestthe .17 Remington. It has a three-lug action. The Sierra 40-grain hollowpoint also preferred 0.005 inch of rifling engagement. Whereas the Redding Model No. Two of the very best choices are the Hornady and Sierra Hornet bullets weighing 45 grains. The first one was the .17 Hornet, closely followed by the .17 Bee and later by the .17/222.. He killed 17 wolves and 6-8 caribou with that load plus who knows how many foxes and coyotes. This load shoots in all the .17 Remington's I've owned; at about 4040 fps', the advertised Remington velocity. Reiber's load consisted of the Remington 6 primer, Hornady case, and Hornady 20-grain V-Max seated out to lightly engage the rifling. Still, extreme velocity spreads ranged from 104 to 368 fps with IMR-4227, 142 fps with Reloder 7 and 162 fps with H-4198 shooting 20-grain bullets. The plastic tip increases ballistic coefficients for flatter long-range trajectories and initiates dismantling impacts on small varmints. This .65-inch, five-shot group was from Johns handloads with Berger 20-grain Flat Base Target bullets and Reloder 7. Pet Loads and Handloader are registered trademarks of Wolfe Publishing Company. BP-B2. 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. 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. Stocky's Owner Don Bitz walks David Faubion through the company's new rifle stocks for 2023. Copyright 2000-2023 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Muzzle flash in a 10.75-inch barrel is minimal, while touching off a charge of LilGun is remindful of how the 221 Fireball got its name. Up front, I expected more from this rifle. 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. One of my handloads with 9.5 grains of LilGun gave the 20-grain V-MAX a speed of 3,500 fps. Hornady Custom Grade full-length dies were used to size and load the .17s. A couple thousand of these discontinued bullets were acquired at a substantial savings after the Zombie craze subsided. CFE BLKs top velocity was 4,532 fps with this bullet using 18 grains of powder, but with poor accuracy. Hodgdon Powder is the only current source of handloading data I could find for the new and old .17s. My most accurate 222 rem. Running the cases through a 17 Ackley Hornet full-length resizing die with its decap pin removed resized case necks and bumped the shoulder back just enough to allow entry into the chamber of the rifle but left the primer in place. All rights reserved. I began my shooting tests by using Barnes CR-10 solvent to ensure no copper fouling lurked in the barrels of the test guns. The barrel and action include a protective Parkerized finish. This efficiency inspired some exceptional wildcat rounds, like the .20 VarTarg, and the .17 Remington Fireball (RFB) under discussion here. A Cooper rifle I shot performed best with the Federal 205M. I can say that IMR 8208 XBR is fast becoming my favorite powder. The new case most likely is shorter so it can be loaded with relatively long and pointed Hornady 20- and 25-grain V-MAX bullets and still retain the same 1.723-inch overall cartridge length of the .22 Hornet. I will say that the 20s, while attractive for the little stuff, are not always a great choice for predators at these velocities. Years ago, a friend who worked at Remington informed me that more Model 700 rifles in .17 Rem. That meshes closely with Hornadys 200-yard zero figures: +1.1 inches at 100 yards and -6.40 inches at 300 yards. 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. I have attempted to chamber Remington ammo in two .17 Mach IV rifles. This one was a real surprise, as it is the bullet my father wrings his best groups from out of this very rifle (19.5 grains Hodgdon H-335, 7 Remington BR primer, 1.77-inch overall loaded length (OAL), around 3,850 fps). Velocity from the 10.75-inch barrel of the XP-100 was just over 3,100 fps, with accuracy as good as that particular gun has ever produced. Bullets for the .17 Remington have come a long way since 1971, both in quality and variety. Price: $280 to $350-ish If you like cutting-edge firearms based on the wildly popular AR-15 rifle, this, Arguably the Rolls Royce of centerfire 17s, Cooper's, One of the best values in rimfire bolt actions, this, Fans of traditional styling and controlled-feed actions love, During a bear hunt in Canada one year, I discovered that, In reality, your best bet for a .17 Remington-caliber rifle is to pick one up used via, Built more like a true big game rifle than any other rimfire bolt action, Ruger's, Of unique design and featuring specialized operating characteristics required to reliably function the stout .17 WSM cartridge, Savage's. There were certainly some exceptional groups involved, but the rifle proved more finicky than I anticipated. Open sights are standard, and the receiver is grooved for common rimfire scope rings. In the .17s I have worked with, the CCI BR-4 has given me the most consistent accuracybut your results may vary. The 218 Bee was developed specifically for the Winchester Model 65 lever action, and despite its extremely light recoil, it has always been factory loaded with tube-magazine-friendly bullets with flatnose profiles. The S.A.A.M.I. Patrick's top picks for loading the .17 Remington Fireball are Hodgdon's CFE BLK, Accurate's A-2200, Alliant's Reloder 10x and Western Powders' Ramshot X-Terminator. Hodgdon LilGun is the powder for the .17. 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. While seen at its best as a metallic silhouette cartridge, it will work on deer at relatively close ranges when loaded with the right bullet. When carefully prepared handloads are fired in good barrels, accuracy of the two cartridges is the same. The Remington Model 700 SPS Varmint test rifles included a heavy (.82 inch at muzzle) 26-inch barrel and held a Swarovski Optik 3.5-28x50 P scope set atop Precision Hardcore Gears Tru-Level Picatinny rail. 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. It is based on a necked-down .223 Remington case and uses a .172 caliber bullet, making it an ideal choice for those looking for small-caliber performance with minimal recoil. Best with the.444 Marlin cartridge, the Model 444 was the most consistent accuracybut your results may.... Of its day two of the shoulder than the Ackley case with 200-yard. Small varmints breeze are 14 inches for the.223 Rem more from this rifle the fired cases though... Full-Length sizing helps reduce the stretch of firing and then sizing mean velocities vary considerably with a change... 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