17 Remington

Has anyone used one? Likes? Dislikes? I want to buy one so I would like to hear what others thinks about this caliber first. Thanks

As a fur Hunter using the right bullets ( which in a factory ) round is hard to find, I think it's one f the best there is.

Best varmint gun I ever owned--my barrels have lasted over 2500 rounds easily-loaded very hot...

Great fox gun, shoots flat little recoil. Pick up a bullet to get a feel how tiny it is.

I’ve taken several hundred coyotes with a 17 Remington. Factory ammo is junk, to reach its full potential you should reload, but brass and good bullets are getting hard to find.

excellent coyote gun,rarely have an exit on broadside shot.On fox about tennis ball exit. That's with 25gr hollow point or v-max.

I built one years ago when they came out with a mini mauser action love mine.

I love the .17’s. Great little rounds. But like stated above, factory ammo sucks - you need to reload to fully appreciate the round. And don’t believe everything you read about the .17’s, lots of people like to bash them but most have never actually hunted with one.

I have had one for close to 40 years. I have never shot a factory round out of one, so I can not say anything about it. I feel it is a very under utilized round. You hear people talk about wind drift with it due to the light bullets. I feel it is no worse than any other round. There is more in the wind drift formula than bullet weight and wind speed. The bearing surface and time of flight are less so the drift is less than a larger diameter bullet going slower . As said above most people that bad mouth them have never shot one. I would guess every big game animal in North America has been taken with the 17 Rem. One of the big things I like is the number of rounds you can load out of a pound of powder.

What bullet you shoot mark?

Loved mine. Wish I would have never sold it. I had a H&R ultra wildcat. Deadly accurate. Good old divorce.

I am shooting Remington 25 gr HPs. I started shooting them shortly after I got my first 17 and stocked up. I still have over 1000.

Good bullet.

I would guess you're wrong.

What do you think has not been shot with a 17 Rem?

for one thing, you said "taken", not "shot"...

let's go right to the top...

you think a brown bear has been "taken" with a .17?

if so, please provide details.

Thanks.

I have shot a 17 rem for many years.Mine have both been tikka's and shoot lights out.love the caliber! like was stated above you can load a lot of rounds with a lb. of powder .I shoot bergers out of mine and really like them a lot.IMR 4320 powder has worked well for accuracy as well.Light recoils so you can see impact etc.

PO Ackley shot about every thing with a 17 Rem. He shot a grizzly with it. Is a grizzly and a brown bear the same thing. I am sure you will say "no" I shot a caribou with min in AK. I shot it in the rib cage. It went straight down. I would say it was taken with a 17 Rem, 25 gr HP. I am guessing you have never owned one.

Wind.

I didn't know anything about the 17 Remington. So I ran on online comparison with some other common small caliber rifles. Impressive!

got a link to the Ackley grizzly kill?


you are correct in that I've never owned one.

but if I DID, I'd never trust it for anything much larger than a coyote.

It is in one of Ackley's books. A 17 Rem kills by hydraulic shock. Not drilling a hole through something. When you shoot something in the ribs, the lungs will run out a hole the size of a dime. They are soup. I have opened a lot of coyotes that were shot with a 17 Rem and it liquefies them inside.

GREAT fox gun.

Boone Liane what bullet are you using and how fast?

Haven’t owned one for a loooong time. Shot bergers when I had one.

Aren’t enough fox left to warrant having one around.

Just in case you are interested-I load 20 grain Vmax bullets with AA 2700--27 grains and it is super accurate-15 grain Bergers were the same but are no longer available. Sounds like alot of people on here are very happy with the .17. And with good reason!!!

You actually went on a caribou hunt with the express intention of killing one with a 25g hollow point out of a 17 Remington?

Yes, I did. I was living in AK.

I've wanted one since the 80's.


finally got around to buying one.


Its kinda like the geezers talking about new hips: "I shoulda got one 10 years ago".










This is the only varmint I've pointed it at so far.
















Didn't you guys ever see those old eskimo films where the guys shoots a polar bear with his .222?

I know of two guys who really like the 17 rem for wolves. One of them killed his first polar bear with it. Not by choice but the bear came out of some rough ice right close to him and he was able to shoot it in the head before it seen him. I’ve never tried one but I’ll take the two guys word that it is a great gun for wolves.

Really accurate fun to shoot- but as mentioned you better be a reloader. I stocked up years ago on HSM factory rounds- 25grain bergers in them- they will explode a fox if the bullet does anything besides slip between the ribs. Great gun for calling/ fast shooting no time to range scenarios- super flat shooting. I wish someone would load me some fox friendly rounds!

I shot & killed three deer one day with my 17/223 which is almost a 17 Rem.

Nice rifle Marty B. Custom barrel stuff is sure nice.17 Rem is probably one of the most under rated cartridges.Like Boone says it is an excellent fox caliber.I use it for coyotes quite a bit.Ya some of the 22 centerfires may knock them down better but I hate sewing where it isn't needed.For calling coyotes etc..in my opinion it is super tough beat this caliber.Standing shots are lights out in the chest area and very rare to have an exit hole.

Bought my first .17 rem in 1989 killed piles of fur with it. factory 700 BDL loaded 3500 fps with the now discontinued 25 grn. Hornady HP.
Living in an area where all three fox species plus cats and coyotes may come to any call, it's hard to beat a .17 center fire.
Have since re-barreled the old girl and gave her a little sister (17 mach IV)

If I looked, I might be able to find 4 or 5 boxes of those Hornady's. Gun is gone sold it to Cabela's.

Can you provide details on your rifle? Looks like a great setup.

Can you get 4000fps out of factory rounds or do you have to hand load?

How difficult is it to find factory ammo?

Wouldn't trade mine for anything. You'll hear people say they're not enough for coyotes, they probably just can't shoot.

Best fur round ever commercially produced. Like a laser.

Original Remington factory was 4040 fps if I remember right. I think Remington still produces ammo along with a few others.

Handloading is a better bet. 4000 can be a little rough on fox 3500 just right and coyotes don't know the difference.

How often do you have to clean your .17 Remingtons? Mine had to be cleaned every 10 shots or it would spray. Then you had to shoot it once to get it back to true. So were then good for 9 shots, then clean it again.

Break in is everything with the tiny bores. Calling and shooting 3-5 shots a day mine will go 50+ rounds. clean well, foul with 2-3 good to go. Prairie dog shooting, maybe run a couple patches every 25.

Wanna see something special? Punch that out to a .17-204. fun,fun,fun


.17 rem is a reloader cartridge if strictly for coyotes in my opinion.
There are a few fellas making GOOD quality bullets.

Been shooting .17 Rem for near thirty years. Started with factory Rem 700 and have had a few customs since.
Phenomenal coyote calling cartridge. Not the best prairie truck gun on longer running yotes.

Personally I can't agree on the "great fox round" kills them a little too dead. Too much speed. 3500 fps like Monster says would fix that. Fox usually come close enough for the twelve.

Shot a few hundred bobcats at night with the .17 Rem then switched to the smaller Mach IV and the .19 Badger. .17 Rem just hits them a little hard.

Chronoed the factory 25 g rem soft point ammo once and got 4050. Always have struggled getting my hand loads up there. I run around 3900 with 25 grain Kindler bullets.

Used to bring my coyotes to the contest check - ins and they would pull them out checking for trap marks cause their wasn't any blood. Bang flop and no blood.

ML

So far as fouling easily I've never had a problem with any I have owned/built. A bad barrel fouls quick. Quicker if it's a .17 because the groove depth is less than larger bores.

ML

I shoot only moly coated bullets and no cleaning is necessary-I might clean at 1000 rounds or so or I might not-also I really liked to shoot the 15 grain Bergers but they are no longer available-can't say I shot more than just a few yotes with the 15's- though it killed the few I did shoot with it...

If you want something easier on barrels, consider the .17 Hornet.
Downloading the .17 Rem will extend barrel life tho

The 17 Hornet will fix the overkill problem on fox and cats. I played with one for a year before I moved overseas and it will be my primary calling rifle in the northeast from here on out.

I would love to own a .17 rem, however, I am currently torn between the rem and the hornet. I now own a .17 wsm and it is an awesome gun. I would only imagine the rem would be that much sweeter.

I remember a factor 55 great bullet in .223 was 3200 ftps not 3000