Looking at a 17 cal for My grandson

[Danger]

Hay fellers I have a grand son that loves to shoot .. I would like to build him a gun that he could see the impact such as 17 fireball 17-223 17-223 AI .
It will be single feed 20 inch med wt barrel left hand gun , I have very little 17 experience and would appreciate your views thanks DD

 

[pacificman]

Another caliber to consider would be he new 17 hornet. I am hearing it is a very accurate round and would be cheaper to reload so he could do lots of shooting. ;D Of course if reloading components become more available. :

 

[RJinTexas]

Ya might want to consider a 20 VarTarg rather then a 17 caliber. There's little or no difference in recoil and much less copper fouling, I've found that my 20 caliber rifles always seem to clean up much quicker then my 17's. Besides the powder volume of the 221FB case is just about perfect for 32 & 40 gr 20 cal bullets.

RJ

 

[MrMajestic]

With a 20" tube limitation I would rule out the longer cases. A 9tw Fireball will do everything you ask. As was stated previously the .17 Hornady Hornet is definitely worth a look. I have a 20" 10tw .17 Ackley Hornet that sees lots of Chucking action and is quieter but when I need 25 grain bullets the Fireball is pulled from the safe.

 

[Danger]

Great info thanks fellas this is going to be hard to decide I would love a 17 Fireball but the 17- 223 and 17-223 AI is got my eye I was hoping some of you all may have some experience with them thanks again D

 

[WyleWD]

Great info thanks fellas this is going to be hard to decide I would love a 17 Fireball but the 17- 223 and 17-223 AI is got my eye I was hoping some of you all may have some experience with them thanks again D

Google up Woodchuck Den and if you really want to talk to someone who knows 17's he's the one. Has a couple great books you might want to read, makes some of the best 17 bullets you'll ever shoot, and usually has some dies etc in the store room. Get his contact information from his website and give him a call.

That being said.... I think you would LOVE a good 17-223. I have the 17 Rem and when this barrel is toast it will wear a 17 from Mr. Lilja. Haven't decided whether to go with another 17 rem or 17 223 or what yet. WD

 

[moorepower]

Unless you are planning on buying custom bullets 25 grains is now a heavy for the .17. Loading at book loads, a .17-.223 is gaining only 100 fps over a max load 17fb with a 25 grain bullet. The .17 Remington will gain 200 fps over the 17fb with an additional 5 grains of powder. Out of a 20" barrel, I would guess they are alot closer.

 

[tuck2]

I have ben shooting the 17 HM2, 17HMR, 17 Fireball, and 17 Rem rifles while out prairie dog shooting. I also have a CZ Varmint 17 Hornady Hornet on order. There is also the new Win 17 Super Mag rimfire round . For fox and smaller varmints the 17 Fireball is handy but if one is going after coyote I like the 17 Remington. A few years ago I used the 17 HM2 and 17 HMR rifles in the spring when the prairie dog pups first came out of their holes. There were a lot of shots within 120 and 180 yards and ended up shooting a bit over 2,000 p dogs with the 17 rim fire rifles. I don't know the size of the varmints or the common ranges your grandson will be shooting but its always better to be over gunned than under.

 

[Danger]

2000 P Dog's holy cow !!!!!! how many shooters ? sounds like the old days lol

 

[Phil]

Don`t overlook a .20-222.

MUCH better brass than the .20VT.

 

[hogpatrol]

I have a gaggle of .17s, rimfires & a couple fireballs. They are finicky when it comes to cleaning. Some will go a while and still shoot, others want to be cleaned in 25 rounds. Did I say they were finicky?

 

[tuck2]

Danger: I am retired and live in prairie dog country. So I go out shooting often by my self and shoot over a number of prairie dog towns. I don't recall the number of days I went out shooting that year I shot 2000 p dogs . I only keep track of what I shoot. I like try out different cartridges but I use low recoil and muzzle blast rifles most of the time.

 

[woolenmammoth]

I have a 20vt (which is for sale) and would steer you in that direction if he is going to learn to reload. Top of the pressure curve seems to creep up much quicker in a 17 compared to a 20 in my experience. Dont know if that is a consideration, but worth mentioning. 20-vt or 20-222 is where I would look to see impact, unless you plan to build into a very heavy stock, w a 20 inch barrel I would think a 17-223 would move quite a bit.

 

[msalm]

Here's a real good option and they shoot very well, pick up a contender carbine and a 17HMR barrel. Rechamber to 17 Ackley Bee and you have a great round in a small package with little recoil and great performance.

I've got a barrel already done sitting around if you're interested.

 

[Danger]

I have six months to build the gun , I have the action it is a Schultz & Larsen I installed a Bold trigger the Stock is laminate custom cut .. The action is .378 bolt face . I had my grandson this weekend and He says he want a big gun like grandpa , Money always drives my projects ...I would love a 17/223 never had one I have plenty of brass heck maybe I should just build him a 223 AI by then he will have 10 to 15 pounds and 2 to 3 inches maybe he is right I should build him one like grandpa it would be easy for me He just wants to go out with grandpa God blessed me with him DD

 

[WyleWD]

I just love to read (hear) stories like this. Glad that you two have a special bond and a mutual interest.

Build a PAIR of 17-223's or 17-223AI's just alike except for his favorite stock color and yours or something. (??)

Man, If I only had a grandson like that........ WD

 

[Hal]

DD

You might think about a "standard" caliber so he will always be able to get ammo.

Hal

 

[snowpro440]

17's are a little more difficult to clean . Great fun though, just built a .17 fireball to play with .Might want to consider a .223 for something a little easier to obtain ammo .