.17 Remington Pet Loads

[WyleWD]

Thank you all for the information. First range trip was this morning with H4895 Norma Brass and CCI 400s. Results were not what I was after at all. 1 to 1.5" groups at 100 and I found pressure much faster than I thought I would. So back to the drawing board. I will try and find some CFE223 this weekend.

Be careful with those CCI 400's. The thicker cup primers such as Rem 7 1/2, CCI 450's, BR4 and 205GM are what I'd recommend with the 17's. Especially if you're new to the caliber and/or seeking high velocity. JME. WD

 

[screaminweasil]

23.7gr to 24.0gr IMR 4320 and 25gr V max seated on the rifling, Remington 7.5 primers, LC 5.56 Brass reformed.

CZ 527 Varmint 17 rem.

I tried W748, IMR 4198, Varget............nothing shoots like IMR 4320 (in my gun)

 

[B23]

23.7gr to 24.0gr IMR 4320 and 25gr V max seated on the rifling, Remington 7.5 primers, LC 5.56 Brass reformed.

CZ 527 Varmint 17 rem.

I tried W748, IMR 4198, Varget............nothing shoots like IMR 4320 (in my gun)

Does your CZ 527 17 Rem have a custom barrel or has it been re-chambered by chance because these factory built CZ 527's have so much freebore the bullet, literally, almost falls out of the case before you can touch the lands. I have three CZ 527's, all in different cartridges, and there is no way I can touch the lands with them.

 

[screaminweasil]

Does your CZ 527 17 Rem have a custom barrel or has it been re-chambered by chance because these factory built CZ 527's have so much freebore the bullet, literally, almost falls out of the case before you can touch the lands. I have three CZ 527's, all in different cartridges, and there is no way I can touch the lands with them.

No it's factory....bought it new during CZs last run of these a few years back. It easily touches lands with 25gr V maxes and 25gr Horn HP......and they still fit in magazine length as well. I confirmed OAL with hornady OAL tool and verified multiple times to get accurate readings.
I have a 222......223......17 hornet.....22k hornet.......and had a 221 fireball in CZ 527s. The only one besides the K hornet that will touch lands and fit in mag is the 17 rem.

 

[Phil]

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

Or you could cheat, like I do...

I use a Wilson in line seating die and pop the top off, drop the bullet down the neck, and replace the seating stem....No pinched fingers.....

 

[screaminweasil]

Does your CZ 527 17 Rem have a custom barrel or has it been re-chambered by chance because these factory built CZ 527's have so much freebore the bullet, literally, almost falls out of the case before you can touch the lands. I have three CZ 527's, all in different cartridges, and there is no way I can touch the lands with them.

Hornady 25gr HP touches rifling at 2.230"

Hornady 25gr V max touches rifling at 2.250"

This basically puts the base of the bullets at the base of the neck......which is perfect.

CZ designed the throat length in these .17 rems perfectly. Too bad they didn't shorten the freebore on the other cartridges.

Though, all of my CZ 527s shoot very well 1/2" pretty consistently at 100 yards, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Not quite 1/2 MOA "all day long"........ And that is seating them at "mag length restrictions".

 

[B23]

Hornady 25gr HP touches rifling at 2.230"

Hornady 25gr V max touches rifling at 2.250"

This basically puts the base of the bullets at the base of the neck......which is perfect.

CZ designed the throat length in these .17 rems perfectly. Too bad they didn't shorten the freebore on the other cartridges.

Though, all of my CZ 527s shoot very well 1/2" pretty consistently at 100 yards, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Not quite 1/2 MOA "all day long"........ And that is seating them at "mag length restrictions".

That's quite a bit shorter than mine touch. I'm just touching at 2.277 w/25gr HP

 

[screaminweasil]

That's quite a bit shorter than mine touch. I'm just touching at 2.277 w/25gr HP

I've got less than 200 rnds through mine. And it's from CZ s last run. What era did yours come from?

 

[B23]

I've got less than 200 rnds through mine. And it's from CZ s last run. What era did yours come from?

I'm not sure but I'd guess about the same.

 

[STOMP442]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the CFE223. Just make sure to start low and work up. I find that best accuracy in my rifles comes about a grain less than listed maximum without giving up an appreciable amount of velocity. After all, any bullet moving at 4,000+ feet per second isn't really going to miss those extra 100-150 fps maximum loads offer and with less pressure and wear!

I finally got my hands on some CFE223. I haven't even had a chance to touch this rifle since my initial outing. If the wind will ever quit around here I will get out and see how it does.

 

[SSL]

Hope you have as good luck with CFE223 in your .17 as I do. Let us know how you do.Good shooting and stay safe.

 

[Yote Hunter]

I know this thread was inquiring about 25 gr bullets but I just discovered a new favorite load. 24.6 gr VV 540 30 gr Nagel slightly jammed and a CCI BR 4 primer. 4030 FPS with 24 ES. Shot 5 shots into just under an inch at 300 yards with 3-7 mph winds. 27” Lilja 9 twist Tikka action.

 

[STOMP442]

Finally got back out to the range before work today with some CFE223. I shot a few loads with it last week but it was fairly windy so my groups were not great. I did have one load that showed promise and grouped decently so I decided to load up some more of that load and try it again this morning. Today the winds were maybe 2-3mph from right to left and this load will definitely work I think. Five shots at 100 yards with the 25gr Vmax and 24.5gr of CFE223 Norma brass and CCI 450s. The one in the Red was after I adjusted my scope for zero.

 

[SSL]

Looks like you are well on your way. Playing with seating options might even do better, but easily minute of groundhogs out to 300-yards or more. Good work.

 

[STOMP442]

Yeah, I think I will just leave it be. That's half moa or better and much better than the 1.5" groups this rifle shot with anything else. Plus I doubt I will very rarely shoot this beyond 100 yards. I am hoping to find time this weekend to try it out on a few jack rabbits to break her in.

 

[STOMP442]

Success. Took it out yesterday evening for a little evening Rabbit hunt and it did very well. I killed 7 or 8 rabbits from 40-120 yards and never missed. Up close the damage is way less than expected. It looks like shooting them with a .22 mag. The rabbits out there around the 100 yard mark pop pretty good though.

 

[bighornbob]

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

Where do you get the Texas Golds 30gr? I just bought a 1000 Kindler Golds. Paid plenty but my favorite 17 cal fur friendly bullet.
Bob

 

[WyleWD]

Where do you get the Texas Golds 30gr? I just bought a 1000 Kindler Golds. Paid plenty but my favorite 17 cal fur friendly bullet.
Bob

The last I read was that the dies for those 30gr bullets were destroyed in a house fire or something to that effect. The last ones I bought was 8-10 years ago. There may be some stashes here and there, but otherwise unobtainable. WD

 

[17VLD]

That’s sad news, the bullets made in those dies shot very well and worked excellent on coyotes. I had heard a story to the effect that the dies were in another out building and ok, so I was holding on to the hope they would someday be made again.Not sounding like that is going to happen now. Perhaps it’s time to investigate the possibility of a custom die maker making a new set.
This may be simply a fools errand due to the popularity of 20 calibers these days. A lot of the great 17 bullets are now sadly gone, but as someone who has shot and killed a few coyotes with the 17 I will definitely miss Todd and Montana’s Golds.
PS Thank God Hornady still makes the 25 VMax, imagine a 30 grain version

Matt

 

[6BRAIman]

I used IMR 4320 in mine for years, if I remember correctly it was around 23 or 23.5grs. A couple years back I thought I’d try IMR 8208 XBR and it shot great and don’t believe I’ll go back to 4320. I settled on 22.7grs of 8208 which isn’t the fastest in that rifle but I was looking for accuracy, that cartridge is already fast anyway. I’m using CCI 400’s, there was a day I used Fed 205’s and was piercing a few primers with Federal having softer cups. I have exclusively shot Hornady 25gr HP bullets and really enjoy shoot’n the little rifle but if and when the barrel bites the dust it’ll be a 20 Vartarg.
Good luck!