The wife and I went out yesterday and while in the gun shop I noticed a shelf full of the various .17 caliber rounds; especially the .17 Remington round.
I can honestly say I have never, until then, took time to even look at them but I did so yesterday. Neat little bottle necked cartridge, I must say.
But I have to ask, outside of target use or training a young shooter with a center fired rifle cartridge, is there any real purpose for this round?
I came home and took out the reloading manuals and from reading the data I can't see many other practical uses for the cartridge.
The largest bullet Lee calls for is a 30 grainer (heck, I have more weight in my toe nail trimmings than that, lol) and the FPS velocities are all 4,000 FPS plus. Translated: a very, very hot stinger.
Even if used for very small varmints like prairie dogs and small wood chucks (ground hogs for the city fellers) I can't see that bullet doing a lot of damage at those speeds and sizes unless you get a lucky vital shot.
I'm NOT trying to be a smart azz or alienate any one who favors the rounds since to each his own but are there any other applications for the round than for target, training and head shots to little burrowing critters?
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Hornady makes a 20 gr V-Max that can be loaded to 4300 fps and at those velocities the little .17 is explosive all out of proportion to it's size. Even with the light bullets they do OK in the wind because of the reduced time of flight. I just loaded 900 of the little B@$^@&%s for my brother in law to take on a varmint hunt in TX. My pudgie fingers and those phonograph needles they call bullets ment I got to explore the floor of my shop much more than was fun LOL!
you realize all the round is made from is a necked down 223 case. try using the 20 grain from hornady but it is a useless caliber in my opinion a 223 would do the job just fine
The .17's are a lot of fun. They get to be expensive sometimes, depending on how "into" them you get. Useless, no. Or at least no more useless than any other wildcat turned commercial. More than anything the .17 calibers are neat and fun just beacuse they are different, and can be pushed to such high velocities with less powder. Weights range from 15 grains up to 35. velocities are in the 4100-4200 region. Really anything more than 4100FPS or so, you usually begin to get a lot of fouling. Unless you have a lapped BBL, and even then problems will occur. The V-Max and other such designed rounds simply explode on contact. It's a great varmint caliber. Off hand I can name the following:
.17 HMR
.17 Hornet
.17 mach IV
.17 Remington
.17/223
.17/222
.17/222M
all the .17 ackley's
.17 Bumblebee
.17 Humpalina
.17/218 bee
.17 22-250
.17 224 Weatherby
.17/225 Winchester
.17/.30 carbine
From there we can also look at the .14 caliber, .19, and .20 calibers as well. Whole lot more than I care to get into.
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i havent ever shot one myself but after reading the thread b4 this 1 i think im gonna look in2 1. and i think they got alot of power.
this is a quote from MAX7.62 "I popped a yote right at 140 yds last November with mine and it took the top of his skull off!" thats pretty powerful for somthin that small
never shot the .17 centerfire but i have a .17hmr and its a great round....hornady vmax 2550fps realy does some damage to those chucks out to 150yds, but idk about the speed of the centerfire version. i would be worried it would pass right threw but im not sure.
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DEWmocracy, the few, the proud, the GREEN
you realize all the round is made from is a necked down 223 case. try using the 20 grain from hornady but it is a useless caliber in my opinion a 223 would do the job just fine
how can you compare a 223 to a 17? isnt it like 4 times the size?
and also isnt the cartridge based on the 22 magnum?
how can you compare a 223 to a 17? isnt it like 4 times the size?
and also isnt the cartridge based on the 22 magnum?
im pretty sure its based on the 22mag.....a .223 is way bigger, put em side by side and tell me if the 17 is a .223 necked down or not.......but it would be AWSOME if it was.
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DEWmocracy, the few, the proud, the GREEN
I didn't even know about a .17 centerfire before. I have a savage that is chambered in .17HMR and I can hit chicken eggs from 200 Yards with it. they just explode and leave egg stuff in a 5 foot radius of them. I think the rimfire versions are excellent and are not that expensive for a little longer range than a .22. The stuff I buy averages about .25 cents per round as opposed the about 32 cents of 7.62x54r, but that is a whole different story.
__________________ Well done is better than well said - Benjamin Franklin
Dale you need to get a copy of P.O. ACKLEY's hand book for shooter and reloaders, and read what he has to say about the .17 cal. he was a master gunsmith and gun builder and has some very interesting things to say about the little cartridge and its ability to give one shot kills.
steve
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I have no experience except with the .17HMR and I have to say that it was quite a bit of fun. I still prefer .22WMR though, but if I had the extra cash I'd go for a new .17HMR rifle haha.
