So, not long after Remington came out with the 17 Fireball, I acquired one - much to my dismay! I always liked the concept of the Mach IV but the gun I had was chambered quite poorly. You could have probably stuck a ppc case in there; the chamber was that oversized! Needless to say, it shot poorly, brass life was only about 3 firings, and after much angst and frustration; I gave up on it, pulled the barrel off, sold the magazine box and then turned it into a 204 Ruger. This contributed greatly to my mental well-being as the first five rounds out of that 204 made a pretty little cloverleaf. It’s amazing the difference a Shilen select match barrel can make! If only Remington would employ some machinists instead of plumbers to fit and chamber their barrels!
Fast forward to now and I’m wanting to get a 17 Fireball running again in a walking varminter. I want a repeater so I’ll go with a Model Seven action. I see PT&G offers them with what looks like one of their custom bolts. Regarding the bolt, I know the Remington factory extractor is positioned a little higher on the Fireball bolts as the 204 in the former 700 Fireball action likes to bounce the occasional spent brass off the L-R scope knob. It’s not a real problem but it does reflect that Remington did at least put a little thought into proper ejection of the little fireplug case that is the Fireball. Too bad getting this little cartridge from paper to production apparently failed so miserably! Looking at the PTG bolt offerings, there’s three extractor options: Remington extractor cut, the Sako extractor, and the mini-M16 style. Here’s where I need some help. What extractor option would work best to ensure proper ejection for my project? Anyone have any experience to make this a success?
Thanks for the input and Happy New Year to everyone!
BL
Fast forward to now and I’m wanting to get a 17 Fireball running again in a walking varminter. I want a repeater so I’ll go with a Model Seven action. I see PT&G offers them with what looks like one of their custom bolts. Regarding the bolt, I know the Remington factory extractor is positioned a little higher on the Fireball bolts as the 204 in the former 700 Fireball action likes to bounce the occasional spent brass off the L-R scope knob. It’s not a real problem but it does reflect that Remington did at least put a little thought into proper ejection of the little fireplug case that is the Fireball. Too bad getting this little cartridge from paper to production apparently failed so miserably! Looking at the PTG bolt offerings, there’s three extractor options: Remington extractor cut, the Sako extractor, and the mini-M16 style. Here’s where I need some help. What extractor option would work best to ensure proper ejection for my project? Anyone have any experience to make this a success?
Thanks for the input and Happy New Year to everyone!
BL
