Are the .17cals really All That?

Originally Posted By: J.Mark I have down loaded 25 gr. berger match target to 2870 fps.

~and~

I think if berger gets a ton of calls to do a run of the 25 match.they would. I am going to call them and tell them Ill take 1000 myself.




2870 fps is still much slower than Fireball speeds ... right? Isn't it a case of them not having the jackets to make them with or is this not the case?
 
I typically use my 17 Ackley Hornet on Redfox and have had great luck with the 20 grain Vmax running them around 3700-3800 fps . My brother used to do the same thing with his 17 Remington, just loaded it down around 3800 fps. but he got the Hornet bug and is now shooting the same load as I'm shooting. Very rarely do they exit...
 
Any info on downloading the 17 Rem? Everybody keeps mentioning it (you can always down load a 17 Rem but you can't up load a 17 HH etc) but I can't find any reloading data on getting, for example, 3800fps from a 20gr bullet.
 
My 17rem is reduced velocity mostly due to barrel length. At 18.5", it is a flame thrower with factory fodder. Hodgdon lists the following load on the slow end for the 25's.

25 GR. HDY HP Hodgdon H322 .172" 2.150" 19.5 3656 40,500 CUP

I'm running 20.7gr. with the 25gr. Berger, so with my short barrel, I'm likely in the same arena which would be reduced by most standards. I need to chrono mine soon to see for sure as I can only guess they test with a more standard length barrel around 22"-24". Mine also is no longer a flame thrower like it was with factory ammo. So far my results on chucks have resulted in only one splash which was a glancing hit. All the rest looked like they died of a heart attack. The only fur it has taken so far is a single coyote shot poorly at 45yds and again in the back of the head at 110yds and a coon shot broadside at 40yds behind the shoulder. First one penciled through the liver and second never exited on coyote. Mange did much more damage than my bullets
tongue.gif
. The coon had a pinhole entrance and no exit with no bullet to be found when I autopsied him after skinning. No foxes volunteered for pelt testing this year
cry.gif
.
Coon entrance wound.
12-08-2012%20coon%20entrance%20.jpeg

Typical groundhog entrance without exit. Had to comb the hair back to find it.
PICT0122.JPG

Insides usually sound like a ziplock bag of jello and chicken bones
sick.gif
. Looking forward to more testing this year on chucks and other varmints with the 25 Hornady HP's as well before next fur season.
 
Originally Posted By: Ricky BobbyCurious to what kind of distances you could reliably take those fox with that Ruger pistol?
Not very far, like 50 yards. Should hit pretty hard and has a high novelty factor.
 
Originally Posted By: J.MarkI read a post were a guy said that a 20 gr.vmax at 4200 worked great on fox, not exiting. I am going to do some carcass testing with the 20 gr.If anyone has expierience with the 20 gr. on fox Id like to hear about it.
I may be the one you were referring to, I was shooting the vmax at that speed earlier this season but after one blew up on me, I switched bullets. Berger 15gr match, 20gr varmint match, and 19gr copper hollow points have been great for me. One of my friends took one last week with a 20gr XTP with good results as well.
 
Originally Posted By: Ricky Bobby

2870 fps is still much slower than Fireball speeds ... right? Isn't it a case of them not having the jackets to make them with or is this not the case?
That's less than Hornet speed. Berger has the jackets, they make them. They just are making other things right now, most likely .223 and .308, the most sought after and profitable. They are also being dicks about selling jackets to the small custom bullet makers, only wanting to sell 100,000 jackets at a time. Too expensive for the little guy to invest that much at a time in jackets. Maybe after the hoarding ends... In the mean time, a few of us have been getting Hornady to respond positively about offering more bullet choices. Being they are the ones who offered the new Hornet round, they might lead the way in more offerings. I'd like to see them sell the XTP's to reloaders, it's a bear pulling HMR bullets just to reload them and a waste of powder and brass. I'm starting to think a controlled expansion bullet might be the ticket for fur. Penetration and less chance of blow ups. You might get an exit but it will be 22 size or so and no splash on a rib or shoulder blade. In fact, I'll bet I could shoot a fox in the shoulder socket with one of my copper hollow points and it wouldn't blow up, and would surely kill the animal cleanly.
 
Great , great thread , minus the drama . mnshortdraw , with all fairness , your fox seems to be a lot larger that most deal with so results for us may vary. I would love to have a .17 and am lusting about the coming Win. Super Mag .17 . We mostly have been calling coons and I am wondering how this round would do for them on a body shot. Any gun shot to the head is game over but they are tough to put down fast as they need to be up in a tree near their hole. All of these bullets and speeds and results....The no exit thing is very desireable to me and the .22 mags we use have been good to not good on exits. Thanks to all for their knowlege and data here. Maybe we can get an "everything .17 " pin going. Jim
 
mnshortdraw. i ordered a test sampleing of those copper bullets you told me about. what kind of accuracy do you get? and what grain and twist do you have. thanks
 
Originally Posted By: borkonmnshortdraw. i ordered a test sampleing of those copper bullets you told me about. what kind of accuracy do you get? and what grain and twist do you have. thanks
Accuracy is very good with every bullet I have tried in that weight range in my Hornet, about 1/4" 5 shot groups @100. I have shot the 19's so far and have a 1:9 twist barrel. Can't remember if I chronographed that load or not. I did shoot the heavier ones in my 17Rem and they shot about 3/8" and that's a 9 twist barrel as well.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: spidermanGreat , great thread , minus the drama.


... and I truly apologize for that. It is no longer a concern or issue.
tongue_smilie.gif



Please keep the info flowing in. My mind is desperately trying to absorb it all. Any chance a member who might have a really good selection of .17 cal bullets could maybe line them all up & snap a pic of them? I'd like to see a pic of the Kindlers, H-Gs, Bergers, Hornadys, Nagels, or any other kind all in the same photo. Just to compare. Hook a fella up!
wink.gif
 
I only have 1 17 but I really like this thread. I will be getting the new wsm when it comes out. And if browning would make it in a T bolt that would be sweet. I have stuck with varget and the hornady 25 hp. I like to shoot stuff I can get and not have to worry about speciality stuff.
 
Today I got a small bobcat at 25 yards with a 25 Hornady HP @ 4000 fps, and I passed on a fox on the same stand fearing it would cut it in half. Maybe you can't really download a 17 Rem by a few hundred fps? You can cherry pick powders but even that doesn't really cut it much.
 
I just really want to figure out what bullet will work for me & then get some ordered/secured. I want enough to last me a really long time. Seems they always want to seize production on the darn things! At least the .17's seem to be like that.
 
Back
Top