17 mach iv

[maddysdad]

for groundhog hunting and the 25grain bullets how far would you be able to kill one humainly?i was thinking with a speed of say 3900 fps 400 yards wuld be around max for that bullet combo.any thoughts on this?

 

[JSH]

IMHO, to get that speed with sane pressure you need to move up in case size.
I shoot only 20’s in my 17FB, speed freak.
I run 25’s and up in the 17 Remington, yes at 400 I am VERY comfortable with a critter that size at 400.

 

[Ackman]

for groundhog hunting and the 25grain bullets how far would you be able to kill one humainly?i was thinking with a speed of say 3900 fps 400 yards wuld be around max for that bullet combo.any thoughts on this?

Don't know about chucks at 400yds, really just can't remember. I've shot lots of them with the MIV out to about 300 and it worked fine, but it's been years since shooting them with the MIV. Nice thing about that cartridge though is using only about 19gr powder and zero muzzle rise, none. My first one in the 80's had a pencil barrel and became a favorite on PD's. Since then I've had a few different ones and had great fun popping chucks. When we discovered Hammett bullets they were the favorite in MIV and 17AH. After using 335 for a bunch of years I changed to AA2230 which works much better, best accuracy in mine with 25gr velocity at 3900. I'd shoot a 400 yd chuck with that load, but would rather use something bigger....there's a difference between killing them and KILLING them.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

I'd shoot a 400 yd chuck with that load, but would rather use something bigger....there's a difference between killing them and KILLING them.

Agree. If I'm chuckin' and the expected ranges exceed 300 - 350 yds, it's time for my 20VT or maybe even one of my 223's or 204's. Wind here gets to be an issue, so my M4 stays in the safe. It's great for humane kills on chucks to over 300, but I feel much better using both a heavier bullet in a larger caliber for rock chucks. I want to really thump them, preferably with head shots.

Even my 221FB does a fine job. These two shot just shy of 300 yds with the 40gr Nosler VG at only 3,100 fps....in the noggin' of course.



No crawl-off's for me.

 

[maddysdad]

thanks for the repleys

 

[Majday]

I know it’s not 400 yards but I’ve had no issues whatsoever thumping rock chucks at around 280 with 25 vmaxs out of a .17 rem at around 3800. I got a yote a 365 behind the shoulder a couple years ago dropped it. I wouldn’t hesitate on rock chucks one bit.