.17 Remington Pet Loads

[STOMP442]

Just picked up a beautiful Remington 700 BDL chambered in .17 Remington from an estate sale for a steal. Rifle looks to be in excellent condition with only a couple minor nicks on the stock up by the fore end and nice bluing all around. I did a search on the site and there seems to be plenty of info on the Fireball but not this one. I have a 3-9 Leupold VXII laying around and 100 Norma cases and 200 25gr Hornady Vmax bullets on the way via brown truck. What seems to be the better powders for this cartridge? This will be the smallest cartridge I have ever reloaded for, I doubt I have anything that will work in this cartridge so based on what you guys tell me will be what I will look for. Thanks.

 

[yotehater]

Congratulations on such a good deal.

Win760/H414 is hard to beat in 25 grain bullets. You might want to verify your twist rate for the long for caliber 25 grain Vmax. If you have a 9 twist look for 30 grain bullets. If you have a 10 twist the regular Hornady HP's or 20 grain tipped bullets might give you better accuracy.

 

[swd]

Mine likes 23.5gr of Varget, 25 VMax right at the lands with a Rem 7.5. I've owned several 17 Rem's and they're always just sort of magical to shoot. Mine's a 1999 700 Classic.

 

[STOMP442]

Congratulations on such a good deal.

Win760/H414 is hard to beat in 25 grain bullets. You might want to verify your twist rate for the long for caliber 25 grain Vmax. If you have a 9 twist look for 30 grain bullets. If you have a 10 twist the regular Hornady HP's or 20 grain tipped bullets might give you better accuracy.

From what little info I have found online the factory twist should be a 10. I haven't had time to verify it yet. Pesky things like having to go to work get in the way.

swd, I have half a pound of Varget two or three pounds of IMR4064 and H4895. I have had great results with all of these in the .204 Ruger will these be worth trying?

 

[pacificman]

I used to shoot the 17 rem. I'm trying to remember ...I used IMR 4198 and obtained an average velocity of 4165fps.
with the 25 grain v-max...but when I burned up the barrel I used rl-15 with 30 grain bergers at about 3300fps.
for about another year of prairie rat shooting. accuracy was good but lost all velocity after the throat in the barrel was gone.
I finally bought a new barrel in 20 practical. I learned more about working up loads and barrel wear with my 17 remington
than any rifle I've owned.

 

[STOMP442]

I'm hoping the one I picked up hasn't been shot a lot. It doesn't look like it. My plan is to use this on stands where Fox and Bobcat are likely to come in and an occasional Jack Rabbit for carnage sake.

 

[yotehater]

I'm hoping the one I picked up hasn't been shot a lot. It doesn't look like it. My plan is to use this on stands where Fox and Bobcat are likely to come in and an occasional Jack Rabbit for carnage sake.

You'll love it. Shooting those tiny bullets is plain fun.

Varget is really accurate. The main thing is a regular good cleaning to keep it from fouling. Wipeout Patchout is great stuff in the 17 Rem.

Have fun.

 

[STOMP442]

Awesome thanks for the tips.

 

[jcm24m]

23.8gr of VARGET & a 25gr bullet of your choice with 7 1/2 REM primer works GREAT with a 10 twist barrel that results in a bullet RPM of 273600. This extends barrel life and is hell on P-DOGS. That is my 2-cents worth ! TRY IT

 

[trader steve]

Imr 3031 works well also.i have several 17s.steve

 

[swd]

From what little info I have found online the factory twist should be a 10. I haven't had time to verify it yet. Pesky things like having to go to work get in the way.

swd, I have half a pound of Varget two or three pounds of IMR4064 and H4895. I have had great results with all of these in the .204 Ruger will these be worth trying?

From what little info I have found online the factory twist should be a 10. I haven't had time to verify it yet. Pesky things like having to go to work get in the way.

swd, I have half a pound of Varget two or three pounds of IMR4064 and H4895. I have had great results with all of these in the .204 Ruger will these be worth trying?

You'll probably end up with a little more speed with Varget. H4895 is a great powder but can be real unforgiving when you get towards max, but it's worth a go. I only played with IMR4064 in bigger guns so I can't really say. Varget has just worked really well in my last 2 17 Rems.

 

[B23]

Imr 3031 works well also.i have several 17s.steve

I have a CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Rem and was told IMR 3031 was a top performer with the 25's. I just bought it a couple months ago and haven't even scoped it up yet but when I get around to it, 3031 will probably be the first powder I try. QL shows IMR 3031 and IMR 4895 as two of the top powders for velocity with the 25's.

 

[STOMP442]

IMR 3031 is good stuff just way to temp sensitive for me. I guess I will start with H4895 and Varget since I have some. I am hoping it will like the 4895 since Varget is so hard to find around here.

 

[Yote Hunter]

I have a Remington 700 BDL 17 Remington from 1995, I believe. Best I can remember 24.8-25.0 gr IMR 4895 was really accurate with 25 gr Hornady HP not VMAX using Remington 7 1/2 primers. Fast and accurate and accounted for many many one shot kills on groundhogs well in excess of 325 yards. Longest being a 416 yard one shot kill. A real blast to shoot being the recoil is non existent and impacts are visible through the scope.

 

[WyleWD]

I've got a 9 twist Rem 700 BDL also. The 25gr Hornadays shoot really well in it. The "Texas Golds" (formerly Kindler Golds) in 30gr HPBT are a bit pricey but well worth it.

WW760/H414, 4320, 8208xbr, H380 all shoot well in mine. Definately use the Rem 7 1/2 primers or thicker cup brand primers. After owning this one for 7 years or so, I'm still amazed at the stopping power of the 17's. It's like flipping a switch. (FUN!) WD

 

[LarryDScott]

H380 and 7.5 Remingtons worked well for me in my PD rifles. I later discovered the 20Tactical and sold my 17s.
Do your self a favor and buy a PONSNESS WARREN window seating die. It saves
getting your fingers pinched. LDS

 

[steve123]

IMR 3031 is good stuff just way to temp sensitive for me. I guess I will start with H4895 and Varget since I have some. I am hoping it will like the 4895 since Varget is so hard to find around here.

I use 21.6gr H4895 with the 30gr Golds for a medium load. I'd say do a ladder test starting there bouts.

 

[STOMP442]

Awesome thanks.

 

[cath8r]

24.5gr varget
25 gr Berger
Cci small primer
Magic.... fast magic at that

 

[SSL]

Wouldn't be without a .17 Remington! Best powders I've used are AA2700 and CFE223. Only use the CFE223 anymore. Top velocities and minimal copper fouling.