J. Scott Rupp takes a first look at the Springfield M1A Loaded rifle chambered in the popular 6.5 Creedmoor. Last but certainly not least, the ability of CFE BLK to reduce copper fouling in barrels gives it a big edge for high-volume shooting of prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and other varmints. Nosler unprimed brass and Federal Premium Gold Medal 205 Match Small Rifle primers were used throughout. Rifles chambered for the various .17-caliber centerfire cartridges often have extremely long chamber throats, and the Ruger Model 77/17H test rifle is one of them. Ten grains gave 20-grain bullets a velocity of nearly 3,700 fps, which is all you can expect from such a small amount of powder. It attained the second highest velocities with 20-grain bullets and the highest velocities with 25-grain bullets. Here's some great load data to help you achieve the best 5-shot groups. I also like using IMR8208 with the 25gr. Pushing 20-grain bullets to even modest velocities of 3,800 fps results in high impacts on small varmints such as ground squirrels and prairie dogs. Today, they are down to one offeringa 25-grain Varmint Hollowpointand its a very accurate projectile. Full-length sizing is fine if you want cartridges to headspace off the .17s rim, but that amount of sizing set the case shoulders back .005 inch, which can cause cases to split around the web after firing them a few times. Possibly more germane, I was unable to clean the barrel as often as I would have liked during testing, my pull-through bore snake was too short to fish through the 26-inch barrel. Pat Mundy The 527 has a single-set trigger with a pull of 3.5 pounds that contains some creep, but pushing the trigger forward sets it, and pull weight changes to a light one pound. The .17 Remington has a longer neck with the shoulder pushed back somewhat, and is .036 inch longermaking it unique. Another Bee Ill hang onto for a while is a Marlin 1894. Muzzle velocity was 3,488 fps at a chamber pressure of 46,400 psi. at 3,400 fps and zeroed the same is down three inches at 100 yards. The first commercial .17-caliber round, the .17 Remington, was hobbled by the inferior .17-caliber bullets available upon its release, often resulting in superficial wounds on animals such as coyotes. In 1950, Remington introduced the .222 loaded in a completely unique case based on no other. Whereas squeezing in enough IMR 4198 to reach top velocities with those two can be challenging, maximum charges of CFE BLK drop in with a bit of room to spare. Due to a higher density, more CFE BLK can be packed into a case. Pet Loads and Handloader are registered trademarks of Wolfe Publishing Company. Hornadys 20-grain Z-MAX is the same as the V-MAX in every way, except the polymer tip is Zombie green instead of Hornady red. All recorded groups are fired from a solid bench rest at an outdoor rifle range. The Sierra 40-grain Hornet is also quite good. It is about 600 fps faster than the .17 Hornets and an honest 300 fps faster than the Mach IV and the Fireball. They produce almost no discernable recoil. It fed cartridges measuring 1.750 inches just fine, but to avoid any feeding issues in the field, I reduced COL to 1.745 inches. Ackleys little cartridge, but loading CFE BLK is faster because it flows through a good powder measure with much greater uniformity in charge weight. Ballistic coefficients of those with plastic tips are considerably higher than the hollowpoints. 2 scale used in my tests detected no weight variation in charges of CFE BLK dispensed by the Redding measure, IMR 4198 varied by as much as 0.3 grain. Moving to bigger cartridges, when the Hornady 20-grain V-Max exits the .17 Rem. Parker Otto Ackley wore many different hats. Running the cases through a 17 Ackley Hornet full-length resizing die with its decap pin removed resized case necks and bumped the shoulder back just enough to allow entry into the chamber of the rifle but left the primer in place. Regardless of the powder used, velocity spread can be a bit high with the 17 Hornet, although it seldom affects accuracy enough to matter within the effective varmint-shooting range of the cartridge. Beyond that distance, the Swift was the clear winner at bucking wind and dropping whistle pigs in mid-munch. Even the report of most .17-caliber guns is mild, particularly that of rimfire versions. Regardless, it was a foolish stunt. Cases are available from Nosler and Normaand they are quite goodthough a bit more heavily constructed than the original Remingtonsso the handloader must take this into consideration and work up loads carefully if using data that was developed in Remington cases. During May 2016, he thinned the Idaho rockchuck and ground squirrel populations with a custom pistol in 17 Hornet built around a single-shot Sako A1 action. H414/W760 behind a 30gr. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Nitroglycerine content makes them double-base propellants. All rights reserved. barm # 13676946 03/21/19. 17 MACH IV. Using 18.5-, 19- and 19.5-grain charges of Ramshot X-Terminator produced .28-, .31- and .68-inch groups at 3,583, 3,687 and 3,809 fps, respectively, with a 1.81-inches OAL. Bullet weights from 15.5 to 25 grains were tested. bullet will surprise you also. In this cartridge, an overcharge of a fraction of a grain, particularly when working with near maximum loads, can produce excessive pressuresso a little extra care in this step is essential. bullet. The Remington case is about 0.006 inch larger in diameter at its body/shoulder juncture, and its head-space dimension is about 0.004 inch longer. I'm getting 3700fps (3/8" groups @ 100-yds) with the 700 Classic and 3670fps (1/4" groups @ 100-yds) with the 700 BDL. Seventeen-caliber rifles are just a little bit magic. On the faster burning end of the usable spectrum, and with lighter bullets powders like H322 can deliver astonishingly high velocity with excellent accuracy. The new rifle is built on an aluminum billet chassis with carbon-fiber forend and cheek riser featuring V-block bedding. .17 Remington (Using Hornady Bullets) reloading data with 77 loads. My LabRadar, which allows meeting deadlines during the endless overcast days of a northern Idaho winter, will not record speeds exceeding 4,000 fps. load in a winchester mod. Two of the very best choices are the Hornady and Sierra Hornet bullets weighing 45 grains. 17 September 2002, 13:14. AVERAGE GROUP SIZE WITH MOST ACCURATE BRAND OF AMMUNITION. It is a very small bore, very high-pressure round and as such, it fouls just like a similar, larger cartridge (think .22/250 or .220 Swifteven the .204 Ruger). Well guys, winter is upon us and I am in dire need to try out a few new loads getting ready for the spring time ground squirrel ritual. You won't be disappointed if you can find all the components. It pushes 25-grain bullets up to 3,200 fps. Lately, I have been experimenting with a 30-grain HPBT from a custom maker in Virginia, Don Unmussig. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Formed by necking down Remington's .221 Fireball case and increasing shoulder angle to 30 degrees, O'Brien claimed a velocity of 3,700 fps for a 25-grain bullet. Reiber's load consisted of the Remington 6 primer, Hornady case, and Hornady 20-grain V-Max seated out to lightly engage the rifling. leaves the others choking on its dust. That partial, full-length sizing helps reduce the stretch of firing and the squeeze of sizing to extend case life. Wind resistance? Hornadys 15.5-grain NTX (Non-Traditional eXpanding) bullet is a polymer-tipped, lead-free (California legal) option allowing screaming velocity combined with dramatic terminal performance on small varmints. Using 17.5 grains of Reloder 10x produced a .21-inch group at 3,787 fps. Of the two, the .17 HMR is far and away the most popular. CZ calls the 527 a micro-Mauser due to its nonrotating claw extractor that grabs the rim of a case as its pushed forward out of the magazine and blade ejector. Smooth flow is also convenient to those who load on a single-stage press as it allows powder charges to be dispensed by a measure as opposed to the slower method of weighing each charge. That put bullets 0.060 inch off the rifling, and while accuracy was not as good as with bullets touching the rifling, it was considerably better than with a longer jump. models. Give a Gift Pressure indications were still quite mild in my rifle. My most accurateand one I still haveis a Sako L46. Hodgdon lists as little as 0.3 grain between minimum and maximum powder charges for the .17 Hornady. Use a Rem 7 1/2 primer. It shoots projectiles in the 17- to 20-grain range up to about 2,600 feet per second (fps). I figured Hornady 20-grain V-MAX bullets would pretty much drop out of the air after they reached 200 yards, but the tiny bullets surprised me. ONeil of OKH fame. Ackley had his hand in developing decades previously. If the owner of that first rifle in 17 Ackley Hornet were still here, he would likely be tickled to see a load with his favorite powder slightly better the accuracy of CFE BLK. For years, Remington was the only one that loaded the .17 Rem., but now factory ammunition can be had from Nosler and Hornady, as well. As I mentioned, running the case through a 17 Ackley Hornet full-length resizing die bumps back the shoulder, allowing it to fit into the Ackley chamber. In addition to stabilizing in a 1:16 twist, their thin jackets make them more effective on varmints than bullets of the same weight and even lighter that are constructed for cartridges of higher velocities. The 20 grn Vmax had better accuracy and Mr. Nagels 20 grain pill was the most accurate. Years ago, a friend who worked at Remington informed me that more Model 700 rifles in .17 Rem. If the rifles are compared based on the average group size achieved with their favored brand of ammo the results are as follows. Several five-shot groups fired at 100 yards measured less than 0.250 inch. Taking a bit more time at the loading bench can avoid a problem later at the range. Like those bullets, the Sierra 40- and 45-grain Hornets expand on varmints quite nicely, but since they do not have flat noses, no more than one should be loaded in the tubular magazine of a lever-action rifle. Beth Shimanski of Savage introduces their all new straight-pull rifle. Speaking of casesgood cartridge cases are available from a variety of sources, as is loaded ammunition. maximum overall cartridge length of 1.720 inches to ensure its compatibility with the magazines of rifles originally designed for the .22 Hornet. Way, except the polymer tip is Zombie green instead of Hornady red 6.5.! Loaded rifle chambered in the 17- to 20-grain range up to about 2,600 feet per second ( )... Distance, the Swift was the clear winner at bucking wind and whistle... Faster than the Mach IV and the squeeze of sizing to extend case life you! 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