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Prayers answered? Kak .17-5.56 ?

Wolfdog91

Silver $$ Contributor
So I've been pretty bummed trying to figure out how I could go about having a low cost .17cal center fire. Wanted to build my own on an AR platform but custom barrels,brass and and other stuff have been getting irritated. Well like my prayers where answer this just popped up on my 50th something search I know these guys make some nice off the wall AR stuff like a 300wsm upper and this looks like it might be the answers to my prayers !!
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I've been curious about these as well, but the only information I have seen has been from KAK or sponsored reviewers. If you get one it would be great to hear about your experiences.
 
FYI KAK has 15% off and free shipping for Thanksgiving on their site, it doesn't say when it ends. It looks like they have historically done 15% for BF so it's hard to say if this is the deal for the weekend.

Curious if anyone has any real world experience with these yet?
 
I started my wildcat experience with the 20 Practical, because it's like a 204 Ruger but I can make my own brass from LC. Next was the 20 Vartarg, also from LC.

I'm curious how you end up liking this round. KAK says in the listing that a 15.5 grain bullet would be in the 4200-4600 fps range! Dang, I'd be a bit concerned in burning out the barrel. Do you know of a comparable cartridge to this? I don't, maybe close to 17 Remington, but faster, etc.

Nice that Redding supported them in making dies, that's very cool. I'm amazed after all the years the 20P has been around that you still have to use a 223 die with bushings, no Redding dies. Even the 20 VarTarg is available from a number of makers to my surprise.

I got a KAK barrel in 7.62x39 but have yet to replace the no-so-great Bear Creek barrel. Hoping it's good.

Curious, have you figured out the suggested necking down procedure for the cased? Keep us posted.

Just found a YouTube video from KAK showing final sizing of their own .17-556 sold cases:
 
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You can neck down your own but you’ll need a .20 cal step down. Going from .224 to .17 crushed shoulders.
I’m running an 17-223AI variant. LOVE IT.
 
I'm intrigued by this .12/.223 setup. A buddy of mine just put together an A/R with a barrel he bought from KAK. He is getting 4,450 fps with the 15.5 bullet and around 4,100 with the 20 grain. His biggest exclamation about the rig is the lack of recoil - no need for a brake to see hits. I suspect it will be a short round-count barrel but this thing just plain looks like fun. KAK is only a few miles from where I live - thinking of driving over there.
 
ZenArchery said:
You can neck down your own but you’ll need a .20 cal step down. Going from .224 to .17 crushed shoulders.
I’m running an 17-223AI variant. LOVE IT.
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A Redding 20 Practical sizing die works great as the first step. Then the Redding 17-556 sizing die works with no wrinkles. I bump the shoulder a bit.
 
ZenArchery said:
You can neck down your own but you’ll need a .20 cal step down. Going from .224 to .17 crushed shoulders.
I’m running an 17-223AI variant. LOVE IT.
Click to expand...
..you know I just realized who you are after reading that and remembering a comment response on YouTube :D big fan man been watching your vids since I was like 14
 
JSH said:
I saw info early on. Hope some one is keeping good records, I am curious on barrel life also.
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The 17 Remington has been around since early 1970’s, which is a .223 Remington necked down to 17 cal. It is a barrel burner. The .17-5.56 appears to be just an updated copy. I suspect the barrel life is going to be much shorter than people expect. The .17 bore is small, especially for a .223 / 5.56 powder charge. The urge to treat it like a hypervelocity 10-22 will be hard to ignore in an AR15 with a 20 or 30 round mag!!! :D

If you want a realistic estimate on barrel life then simply do a search on 17 Remington. Something to also keep in mind is that the grooves in .17 cal barrels are shallow and have a tendency of getting filled quickly with accuracy falling off. Just something to keep in mind. This is not a .223/5.56, so expect to clean the rifle after every 50 shots or less to keep up accuracy.
 
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Oso said:
The 17 Remington has been around since early 1970’s, which is a .223 Remington necked down to 17 cal. It is a barrel burner. The .17-5.56 appears to be just an updated copy. I suspect the barrel life is going to be much shorter than people expect. The .17 bore is small, especially for a .223 / 5.56 powder charge. The urge to treat it like a hypervelocity 10-22 will be hard to ignore with a 20 or 30 round mag!!! :D

If you want a realistic estimate on barrel life then simply do a search on 17 Remington.

A few years back I bought a vintage Sako chambered in 17 Rem with a 17” bull barrel. The original barrel length was 26”-30”. The rifle’s barrel had been shot out (torched) and then setback/rechambered at least 3-4 times by previous owner.
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I can and have read a lot on the 17 Remington. I have two and zero complaints. When either is done, I won’t hesitate one bit on ordering another barrel. Common sense will go a long way when playing with one.
I am of the belief the 17 Remington still suffers from bad press in the early years, much the same way I found cast bullets. I am well past what a couple of buddies said I would get out of my barrel, and have cast and shot a ton or two of lead they told me would be better for sinkers.
Early articles written by unknowing gun writers, still haunts both. That includes everything from shooting them to cleaning them.

From what I have seen first hand, I am of the belief the long neck of the 17 Remington is better than a modified 223 with a short neck. Keep the 17R under 4000FPS and barrel life seems to double what many see.
I run nothing but 25-30 grain bullets and stay around 3900-3950. They don’t blow around like a Walmart sack on a fence either. Oh they drift, but what doesn’t in a cross wind.

Powders, bullets and barrels are a far cry from what was know or understood about the 17 Remington at its inception.

There are numerous good cartridges that need to be revisited and up dated, with powders available today.
Lol, I ended up with a #1 in 220 Swift because of the down falls I have read about.
 
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