Remington 17 Fireball??

L

lpel

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OK I have done some research on other sights, but looking for your input. I borrowed a bud's 700 SPS in 17 Fireball this weekend to do some gopher control work. I was impressed.

I already have 700 VLS in 204, 223 and 22-250 so I know I don't need another rifle, but............

Anyways looking for input. Worth getting? Where can I get one for a decent price? Any idea of barrel life?

Pros and cons would be appreciated. Thanks fella's.
 
Well, I've been a .17 calibre fan for many years myself, and I built a .17 Remington on a used 600 Remington action about 25 years ago. (It was formerly a .222 Remington.) I took it to Alberta for gopher trips for many summers and always felt it was one of the best calibres I ever used. High velocity, flat trajectory, no recoil, and absolutely impressive results! It has a major amount of "IVG" .... "Instantanious Visual Gratification"!
I shot it for about 1,500 rounds in the standard .17 Remington version, and then my local gunsmith turned the barrel back one thread to freshen up the throat and re-cut it to the .17 Remington "Improved" version. It straightens up the case body and gives it a 40 degree shoulder, which gave me much longer case life than with the standard version, plus about an extra 100 fps that really wasn't needed to be honest.
It finally "cashed in" the original Douglas barrel at about 2,500 rounds total and so we re-barrelled it into the same 'improved" version of the .17 Remington with a new barrel. Sadly, I haven't had time in the last few years to get back out to Alberta to try and wear this barrel out as well.
To my mind, the new .17 Fireball version should give a little longer barrel life with it's somewhat smaller capacity case, and that cartridge case seems "square" enough to not have the stretching problems I encountered with the slope shoulder and tapered body of the original .17 Remington factory cartridge.
Just my two cents worth .... but I think the .17 Fireball will be a winner with the dedicated crowd of shooters that love using smaller than .22 bores.
It tempts me ..... and I already have it's bigger brother!
:sniper:
If I had to list any "cons" to the idea, it would probably be that you will need dedicated .17 cleaning gear and brushes, but that's not a huge issue. You might notice a bit of barrel fouling with the high velocities, but again good solvents that are currently available should take care of that too. If you have big "mitts" like I do, reloading such a small cartridge with tiny little bullets can be a bit of a challenge, but again it's not that hard to deal with.
Hope this helps you to make a decision, but in the end ... if you really liked it .... buy it!
Cheers,
Reverend Al
 
17 Fireball

This for the input so far. Keep it coming.

Not worried about having to purchase cleaning stuff. As you said no big deal. I really like the no recoil aspect.
 
221 FB is only chambered in the 700 LVSF and CZ 527

anyways, 17 FB will be a hoot to shoot, I wont bother listing the positives of it, as they are well known. Negatives - expensive factory ammo, hard to find brass as of now...that's about it

buy it
 
got mine this spring, 700 sps varmint, very accurate past 300 yds. put about 400 rounds through so far. I also have a 222, 22-250 and 17 hmr, but the fireball is by far my favorite. my buddy fired 30 rounds or so at some prarie rats this past weekend and swore he would have one next spring. the only negative points so far are that brass is hard to get, besides buying factory loads [expensive] and shooting in windy conditions is an adventure. by the way I am loading the 25gr. hollow points, lots of acrobatics.
 
17 Fireball

Pretty much convinced I will be getting one. Next decision is should I get the varmint or regular SPS. I already have 3 heavy barrels.

Thoughts? Primary purpose will be gophers and paper. Some day I will get in to coyote calling (retirement thing).
 
It's a neat round. I had a 17 Rem for a while - the 17 FB's bigger brother. I found that anything the 17 Rem could do, the 204 Ruger could do so much better, so I sold it. I expect the same can be said of the 17 FB. Get a 221, or 223, or 204 instead
 
Got one!!

So I found an SPS (non Varmint Model) and now have it in my hands. Now for scope, rings etc. Will be a while before I have things put together. Goal is next gopher season.

Will let you know how load development goes.
 
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