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What's With 17cal Varmint Guns?

sw282

Silver $$ Contributor
For the first time in almost 10 years l am going to shoot prairie dogs in May.. Reading and looking

around l see lots of references to 17cal center fire varmint guns and cartridges... My question----

How do these 17 center fires compare to 22 center fire ctgs on prairie dogs.. First hand experiences.

thanks

282
 
17s are a lot of fun because you can spot for yourself and see hits at all ranges that the 17 is capable of hitting at.But since its been a while for you,the 20s have really come on fast as of late.May I suggest a 20 VarTarg.
As much as I love my 17Mach1V the 20VT really throws dogs in the air and you still get to watch the action,and they reach out there.My best shot with a 32 grain bullet was 542 yards in Montana.As for 22s I havent shot one in awhile,I think they are better for bigger varmints like chucks and coyotes way out at distance,just my quick .02
Matt
 
Volume P-dawg shooter here.. I like my 22 cal's, and my 204. But I have a 17 HMR and last year bought a 17 Hornet.. The 17's git er dun. 17 HMR is good to around 150 or so. Even in the wind it is good after you get it doped out. The 17 Hornet is great. 20 grain V-max, and it matches the 223 in drop to 300 yds.. It is becoming my favorite rifle..
 
Great shot Matt.. 542yd rifle in a 17 Fireball would make me a ''0ne gun man''

l fly most of the places l hunt/shoot. l take ONE gun and 5kg/11 lbs of ammo..

Airline limit. Packed factory boxes.. The lighter the round the MORE l can take :)

My present travel varmint gun is a 700Remington VSF in 221FB
 
Ideally it's best to have 3 or 4 guns. That way if you get in a good town, you can let one gun cool off and switch to another. short to mid range shots, a 17 HMR is perfect. Then switch to something a little bigger for those 150-400 yard shots. I have a 20 practical for those. Really any of the .20 cartridges is the best option, they are just so much fun to shoot. Vartarg, Tactical, Practical, .204 Ruger, there are just so many options.
 
With a 22 cal you probably either need a heavier gun or a muzzle break to see your shots. With my 17 and 20 cals, I do not. My eyes water when I shoot with a break. Laying in the dust of a PD town I don't want "particulate matter" being blown into my face or lungs.

I can also shoot MUCH longer strings with my Fireball and Vartarg than I could with a 223 or bigger. Personally, my fireball is more spectacular on PD's vs the VT, but, I attribute that to the twist rate.

Less fatigue and more accuracy.
 
On flat wind days the 17-20 cal are a lot of fun but my 22-250 still goes on every trip. The 55 grain BK's at 3700 fps are great in the wind and late in the summer the dumb ones are gone and shot tend to be a little longer.

All my guns are threaded for suppressors. One other trick is to use a front bag from www.dog-gone-good.com. It soaks up recoil from larger calibers and allows seeing your shots.

You must have the "show'
 
No expert here...
i shot a Khornet, a 17HMR and a 222 when I went. Shots with 222 to 350 yards. The 17 was great to 150. The K filled in to 275.

I can see a real place for a 17 Hornet, a 20 VT, a 223...

All would do enough for me, at appropriate ranges, and PD's die easy.

Now for groundhogs, different story.
 
They allow a person to fire in less than optimal shooting positions and still spot your shot. With that being said it really comes down to what you like and how you shoot. A relative of mine shoots nothing but 22-250AI rifles. He pulls in with his RV and once setup he never goes farther than 50 feet from it. That is only to access the generator. He is happy staying put and shooting only a hand full of rounds.

I have gotten to the point I really only take out 223's any more. Sure I have other rifles put together for PD but they mostly sit in the safe and have not been out on a trip in what is getting to a long time.

I am a very high volume shooter when it comes to PD and I can not justify adding a new caliber to the pile of ammo I already have to take. What I would do in your position is try one. Shoot the heck out of it and if you are not a fan sell it off and get something else.
 
Great shot Matt.. 542yd rifle in a 17 Fireball would make me a ''0ne gun man''

l fly most of the places l hunt/shoot. l take ONE gun and 5kg/11 lbs of ammo..

Airline limit. Packed factory boxes.. The lighter the round the MORE l can take :)

My present travel varmint gun is a 700Remington VSF in 221FB
sw282 The 542 yard shot I was referring to was with a 32grain bullet from my Cooper 20VarTarg.I have shot and killed a pd at 380 yards on the first shot from a cold bore with a 22 grain Berger MEF which kinda surprised me because of the lower b.c. and I have shot and hit the 500 yard balloons at the VHA shoot with 30Golds out of a 17 Mach1V,but I really feel that if you are just bringing one rifle out West,you would be well served with a 20VT.
Whatever you choose I am sure it will be a good time,have fun.:)
Matt
 
I don't think there's going to be enough of a difference between the 17's, 20's and 224's to sweat it too much....Either one will work fine......The 17's and the 204 Ruger are flat shooting little buggers but runs out of steam pretty quick with their lighter weight, low BC bullets. The 17's were more popular years ago....yes there are quite a few different variations now but I see many more folks using 20 and 224 caliber rifles.

If this trip will be typical for you and you aren't going to take more than one gun I'd probably go with a 223 or a 204. You're kind of limited to targets within 600 yards or so with those but they will allow you to shoot volume if the need arises. Sure you can shoot a lot further than that....I got into the 500 yard club with a Savage BVSS 223 connecting at 830 yards or so...But it took 10 shots to hit that guy and usually wary dogs won't stay up and let you shoot at them that many times.

My brother, two sons, a friend, and I are going to shoot prairie dogs this summer. I'm going to bring 5 rifles for me and my boys......A 204, a 223 AI, and a 223 AR15 for the close(r) shots. Then a 6mmAR and a 6.5 Grendel for the longer work. We've done this enough to know that as the day goes on and if you don't feel like switching shooting positions all the time the targets get farther and farther away.....I want to be ready for the long distance action.....that's the fun part for me.....but we will be driving to our destination so we can take as much hardware as we'd like.

If you could bring two guns that would be much better.....in that case I'd still go 204 or 223 and then something in the 6mm range for the long range stuff. Either way you're gonna have fun.....it's so peaceful out west on the Great Plains that it makes me wonder every time I'm out there why the heck I live in Tennessee!.....Then reality sets in and I remember that my great paying job doesn't exist out there!
 
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I've owned a bunch of 17's. They're just super high in fun factor! Flat shooting, low muzzle blast and non existant recoil.
 
The 17 fails in only one area... WIND ! It's a safe bet that the 20-224 bullets fair much better in the winds of the West. The .17 is an awesome little round but has its limitations as do most bullets.
 
The 17 fails in only one area... WIND ! It's a safe bet that the 20-224 bullets fair much better in the winds of the West. The .17 is an awesome little round but has its limitations as do most bullets.
The 204 bullets are a little better but not as much as you might think. Comparing a 17 Rem and a 204 Ruger, the 204 has about 2" less drift at 400 yards in a 10 mph full value cross wind. And inside that where most varmint shooting gets done they get closer and closer together. And realistically if your regularly beyond that your in 22 and 6mm territory.
 
223 Rem loaded with a 40 gr bullet at around 3700 - 3800 fps, either Nosler Ballistic Tip or Hornady V-Max, both work great on PD's. I have no problem seeing hits even out of my Sporter contour barrels, it is a matter of follow through rather than recoil.

In the same weight stocks when using a 40 gr bullet in a 223, and a 32 gr bullet in a .204 there is only a 1/2 foot-pound difference in recoil, hardly enough to be noticable.

I tried the 17's and 20's for a couple of years, the wind drift on the 17 was hard to deal with, and they are a pain to reload, the 20's were not as bad for wind drift but the brass is hard to come by and expensive when it can be found. About the only 20 I would consider would be the 20 Practical because it is simply necked down 223 brass which is available cheaply everywhere. But by going to the 20 Practical you are back to burning as much powder and within a 1/2 foot-pound of recoil again, so to keep my life simple and not have to deal with various wind drifts and trajectories I just use a 40 gr bullet in a 223. Life is simple and good.

drover

p.s. - the 223 also has the option of being commonly available at reasonable price should you be on a trip and run out of ammo, something to consider since you are flying.
 
The 204 bullets are a little better but not as much as you might think. Comparing a 17 Rem and a 204 Ruger, the 204 has about 2" less drift at 400 yards in a 10 mph full value cross wind. And inside that where most varmint shooting gets done they get closer and closer together. And realistically if your regularly beyond that your in 22 and 6mm territory.
Yes if ranges are reasonable with wind, the 17 is ok. Just that the BC numbers on any 17 bullets aren't nearly as good as the 20-224 bullets. Limitations mean alot.
 
I've been wanting to build something using the 221 Fireball as the parent case. At first I was leaning the direction of a 17-221 or one of its variants but after more research I believe I'm going to go 20-221FB and shoot the 32's.
 
I've been wanting to build something using the 221 Fireball as the parent case. At first I was leaning the direction of a 17-221 or one of its variants but after more research I believe I'm going to go 20-221FB and shoot the 32's.

That would be a 20vartarg. You will love it.
 

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