I have been thinking of getting one to add to my collection of varmint rifles. If you have or had one in the pass how did you like it? Is there any advantage of having one over the new 204s , 17HMR and others?

I've been very impressed with the HMR. Don't know about a 17 Remington

The .17 rem is a great chuck, fox, and coyote gun. 200 yards for smaller critters - for the larger ones would keep it inside 150 yards.

I love it. Lots of fun for prairie dogs. Good coyote gun also

love mine. 300 yards and watch the bullet hit.mine is a t/c encore with a mgm barrel.

I used a 17-223 last winter for a calling gun; ballistics are very nearly the same as the 17 Rem. I really liked it. Fast and flat obviously, only had one coyote with any damage and it was mangey anyway. I used the 25 Hornady hp and will again this winter. The 204 may be more versatile but I think those 17’s running 4000fps are pretty good.

Do they still make factory loads for the 17 Remington? I remember when that gun came out back in the 70's. I thought it was obsolete.

There is still factory ammo made, last I knew. I went with the 17-223 just because I reload and already had what I needed to form the brass from 223.

The 17's have been around for much longer than most think. Ackley necked down a big verity of calibers to .17 The 17 Rem first came out in a factory rifle in 1971. But as a wild cat it had been around as a 17/222.

In about 1943 Charlie O’Neil asked P.O. Ackley to make a 17-caliber barrel for him. With the war effort in full swing, Ackley had trouble acquiring the tooling and did not get the barrel made up until 1945. By then O’Neil had lost interest in the project. The first cartridge that Ackley made up in 17 caliber was the 17 Pee Wee, a necked down 30 Carbine case.
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It quickly became obvious that there were no actions that would readily handle the 17 Pee Wee and surplus .30 Carbines were still years away from the market. Consequently Ackley quickly realized the need for more useful cartridges in 17 caliber. So, he moved on to the 17 Ackley Hornet, 17 Ackley Bee, and eventually the 17/222. In his “Handbook for Shooters and Reloader”

Ackley stated that, “Experience has shown that the 222 Remington simply necked down without any other change is about the best, and most easily made since it requires no trimming or fire forming. This cartridge is about maximum capacity for the 17 bore and only a slight increase in velocity has been possible by necking down larger cases.”

The lineage of the 17 Remington is clear, it goes back directly to Ackley’s work with the 17 caliber.

I built one in the late 70s or early 80s when they came out with the Mini Mauser action don't remember the load I worked up but it was a tack driver I still have it but I use my Ruger 17 hmr the most.

Bought my first .17 rem in the early 80's. Killed piles of fur and rodents with them, Just bought a new barrel to put on the shelf for a future project.. Hornady discontinued the 25 grain hollow point that has been the main stay of most .17 shooters.

Reloads are inexpensive, recoil non-existent, excellent round if you understand it's limitations.

I have shot the .17 for over 40 years. I believe it’s the best fur cartridge ever produced. Don’t expect too much out of factory ammo, it’s a handloaders round. Team it with a good 30 grain bullet and you will have a wicked taker.

Would you share your load for that 30 grain?

I’ve used mine since the early ‘80s and love it. It stayed home on Night hunts and Windy days but is the “go-to” the rest of the time. Mine was part of a recall after I’d shot a few boxes. They replaced the barrel.

I studied Ackley's books and had to have a 17. In the 1980's I found a used H & R in 17/223. Most things shot had the pin hole in and nothing out. I did shoot three deer with the 25 grain Hornady bullets. First traveled about a quarter mile or so before it was finished with a 270. The second dropped dead after two or three jumps. The third is still running for all I know. Sold it to Cabelas & kind of wish I had it back.

Pm sent.

My son has one, He killed 14 coyotes with it this past winter using the 25 gr Hornady bullet. it is a tack driver but the fur damage was the worst I have ever seen. most even shot perfect had holes as big as a soft ball. He switched back to his 204 for the rest of the winter. He is going to try the Burger bullets this winter, He worked up a load with the Burgers that are a 5 shot group you can cover with a dime

I have a 17 REM but all I have ever used was remington 25gr HP's. I should get her back out with some other bullets

Exact opposite experience as super cub son.

Been killing coyotes and bobcats for over 30 years with one and hands down the best fur caliber I've ever shot.

Used to check in at the calling contests and other contestants would start calling BS and inspecting for trap marks because their was no blood in the truck bed.

Tiny entrance hole and explosive destruction inside. "They kill almost like magic"

Speed, rotation, cross section, and bullet weight/construction are what harvests fur good and bad. Once the projectile leaves the barrel it doesn't matter what was head stamped on the case.
Delicate balance to arrive at something that does it all. Impossible really but the .17 Rem is as close as it gets.

If your having fur damage with the .17 or any other small bore on COYOTES it could very likely be fixed with patience and shot placement which go hand in hand

ML

Run a few test rounds with a 30 grainer before you buy a bunch.
My custom built rifles don't have the twist for them.

Woodchuck Den out of biz so far as I know? Too bad because they made great bullets.

I didn't know anyone else made 30s ?? Please share.

ML

Chan Nagle was making 30's a while back

Most .17s won't handle 30's with out slowing the twist just a tad.

Like Mercer, out of the hundreds of fox,cats coyotes I've dumped with numerous .17's I cant ever remember a hole that I was disappointed with. Even in fox a .50 cent piece size hole is rare. I did have a run of 28 straight coyotes a few years ago that required zero stitches.


I have run 25 hornadys in my .17 Remington's since day one, slowed down to about 3550.
Here was a good night/morning of calling with a factory .17 Remington. not much blood at all.