Originally Posted By: gunsbam45Thanks for posting the pic, and for the advice. I'm thinking the same thing on rebarreling simply to get the faster twist, but I've got to find one first. I'm actually an FFL dealer, but small time into Ruger revolvers mostly, and never dealt with Kimber. A friend of a friend had one NIB years back he was going to sell me, but got to thinking about it and just couldn't stand to let it go. Do you know how many years, and about what years the .223 and the .204 were in Kimber's lineup? I've been out of the rifle loop quite awhile. Also, what's the best twist to go with to rebarrel the .223?
Also, I don't know much about the 17 Remington other than it's a necked down .223. What bullets do you run in the Montana you rebarreled to 17, and what do you use it for versus the .204?
I'm not sure what twist to use for a 204, but bullet weight and contour would determine it.
I've gotten along well with the standard 12T, but I don't shoot 40gr. VMax bullets which I hear don't stabilize well in some 12T barrels.
The 17 Rem. is not really a necked down 223, but you can neck a 223 down and have a 17-223. The 17 neck is much longer than a 223 and 223 brass is 1.750 to 1.760 while the 17 Rem is 1.796.
I run the 25gr. Nagel pretty exclusively in mine, but in the past ran the 25gr. Berger Match Varmint that Berger no longer makes. I also have a 30gr. load with both a Nagel bullet and a Blackhole bullet. When Genco bullet co. was still in business I ran Chappies 25gr.hp's with great success. I think Reed bullets bought his equipment????
From 1971 till about 20yrs. ago I used the 17 Rem. exclusively for Red Fox, but when the Coyote population began to take over it became my main Coyote rifle and still is.
Saving pelts was the goal for many years and the 17 Rem does that in spades, but so does the 204 with the bullets I use. In the last several years I've used the 204 more than the 17 Rem. just because....
Now with pelts in this area not selling for much I might switch to using my 9.3X62 which I'm sure will give me full penetration.