Favorite .17 center fire

psdan000

Member
I've got the .17 bug, wondering what the favorite of the crowd is? Already have an hmr so that's not on my list, must be center fire. I'd be loading my own ammo so not too worried about cost of ammo unless brass is impossible to find. Thanks for the input
 
17 Ackley hornet or 17 fireball.
22 hornet brass is hard to find but 221 fireball brass seems easy enough to get.
My 17 hornet6 zings 20 grain bergers at crazy speed and the rabbits just hate when it come out to play.
The 17 fireball shoots 25 grain bergers and is like a frickin laser beam.
 
never had a problem in 20 plus years getting reloading supplies for my 17.rem.i just seen brass and bullets 2 days ago in sportsmans and they never have anything
 
I would tell you to go .17 fireball but brass is really hard to come by right now. I just whacked a coyote a few days ago with it at 300 yards. It's definitely a fun gun to shoot.

If I were you I would get this .17 Remington. Nosler is making brass which is pretty good and 17 cal bullets are easy to find.

Plus as Rusty always says you can always load a 17 Remington down to 17 fireball speeds if wanted...


You could buy Lapua .221 FB brass and neck down to 17 also
 
I have a 17fb and a 17-223 and like them both. But I have enough brass on hand for the FB. If I was to recommend a 17 to someone it would have to be the 17-223 for the fact that you will be able to use any 223 brass that you want with a simple neck down.
 
Originally Posted By: psdan000I've got the .17 bug, wondering what the favorite of the crowd is? Already have an hmr so that's not on my list, must be center fire. I'd be loading my own ammo so not too worried about cost of ammo unless brass is impossible to find. Thanks for the input

What would you, primarily, be using it for? Lots of good choices, but I look at all the different 17's as kind of a specialty gun. They all have their certain niche that makes one a better choice than the other.

I think the 17 Hornady Hornet in a CZ 527 is a great little gun that has moderately more capabilities than any of the rimfires yet isn't to overly powerful so it can still be used in areas with somewhat limited space. It's kind of like a 17 WSM that's on steroids but you get to control the QC of your ammo. Something all rimfires tend to lack. I think even the factory loaded 17 Hornady Hornet has considerably better quality control with its ammo and it cost considerably less than nearly all the other 17 centerfire ammo.

But, if you want something with even more power and range, the 17 Rem. is one of the top dogs in the 17cal world. The downside is factory loaded ammo cost $1.40 per round and the 17 Hornet is $.60 per round. I know you said you'll be loading your own so this is just for comparison purposes as an fyi.
 
Robinhood21 If I were you I would get this .17 Remington. Nosler is making brass which is pretty good and 17 cal bullets are easy to find. Plus as Rusty always says you can always load a 17 Remington down to 17 fireball speeds if wanted... [/quote said:
Sure hard for me not to be in full agreement with that. But then, I bought my first .17 Remington in 1979 and wow- things are MUCH better now! Bullets, powders, cleaning rods (no more pellet gun stuff) and even brass. And less than an hour ago I got back from shooting ground squirrels again. I took a .22 rifle, a .22 handgun and one centerfire rifle. And that rifle was...(drum roll)...my .17 Remington!

Look guys, for those of you that have not seen what a 25 grain Vmax at over 4000 fps will do to a critter the size of 6 oz juice can you sure should. There is is all whiskers a quivering and then...well, it is not there anymore. Some of it is but most is just atomized. Just gone. Talk about a quick death! Here and not here flash bulb quick. Wow.

So yeah, the .17 Remington I sure do have a fondness for. But is it the best .17 Centerfire? Hard to say. But for sure, it is somewhere in the top two. At least in my book anyway.
 
Thanks for the input so far. I'd mainly be using for small critters, anything from squirrels to coyotes. But mostly just something fun to shoot. Ranges would be inside 300 yards. I'm not really looking for anything custom for this rifle, something off the shelf will do what I need it to.
 
Originally Posted By: psdan000Thanks for the input so far. I'd mainly be using for small critters, anything from squirrels to coyotes. But mostly just something fun to shoot. Ranges would be inside 300 yards. I'm not really looking for anything custom for this rifle, something off the shelf will do what I need it to.

There aren't a lot of 17 offerings out there....for an off the shelf rifle CZ still makes a 17Rem...they're accurate and have one of, if not the, best factory triggers made...
 
Originally Posted By: psdan000Thanks for the input so far. I'd mainly be using for small critters, anything from squirrels to coyotes. But mostly just something fun to shoot. Ranges would be inside 300 yards. I'm not really looking for anything custom for this rifle, something off the shelf will do what I need it to.

It sure sounds like the 17 Hornady Hornet in a CZ 527 would suit your needs quite well and won't cost much to shoot.
 
I have several rifles in .17 caliber and would suggest that if it were me, I would start with the .17 Remington. CZ makes about as nice a rifle as you could want for little money.

On the other hand, I have two 17 Ackley Hornets that I love to shoot, they are custom guns and cost a bit more that the CZ. Today, with the Hornady Hornet out I would not chamber a rifle in the Ackley. I am thinking of setting one of them back and chambering it to the Hornady Hornet to take advantage of the factory brass.

What ever you do, you will enjoy the 17 they are a blast to shoot.
 
I have an older Remington 700 BDL (back when they were still making high quality rifles, IMHO) in the 17 Remington. Hard to beat the standard 17 Remington, especially if you reload and don't have to buy ammo. Of course, no ammo is cheap today by any means regardless of the caliber.
That recommendation would be the direction I would send you.
 
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