17 centrefire

In three years and hundreds of foxes I don't recall losing a single fox using a 17 Remington and 25gn bullets from Hornady shot from a bdl across ranges upto and exceeding 300 yards.
SD;
I think that Hornady 25 grain soft point was the best available bullet for fox shooting.
Kb.
 
Had both a 17 rem and currently own a 17 hornet, 17 rem was the best rifle I ever owned absolutely loved the caliber but just could not warrant £48 a box for the bullets and reloading wasn’t an option, 17 hornet is still a cracking caliber but I find it very obsolete as I own a 17 hmr and a 223 also, the 223 will do everything a 17 hornet will do and more with more variety of ammo at virtually the same money,
 
Had both a 17 rem and currently own a 17 hornet, 17 rem was the best rifle I ever owned absolutely loved the caliber but just could not warrant £48 a box for the bullets and reloading wasn’t an option, 17 hornet is still a cracking caliber but I find it very obsolete as I own a 17 hmr and a 223 also, the 223 will do everything a 17 hornet will do and more with more variety of ammo at virtually the same money,

If you're home loading the 17H makes an awful lot more sense than the 223

It's also a heck of a lot of energy to be expending on humble rabbits. Whilst dead is dead, and any shot that's safe for a 17H will be safe for a 223 of course- blowing the poor things apart with a 223 does seem excessive. Excessively loud & excessively destructive.

The 17H will allow you to clear a field of rabbits with minimal walking- and it offers quite a lot of use able range and wind resistance over a 17HMR IMO.

It's an odd niche I agree though. Is it the best of both worlds, or the worst ?

I love mine personally.
 
If you're home loading the 17H makes an awful lot more sense than the 223

It's also a heck of a lot of energy to be expending on humble rabbits. Whilst dead is dead, and any shot that's safe for a 17H will be safe for a 223 of course- blowing the poor things apart with a 223 does seem excessive. Excessively loud & excessively destructive.

The 17H will allow you to clear a field of rabbits with minimal walking- and it offers quite a lot of use able range and wind resistance over a 17HMR IMO.

It's an odd niche I agree though. Is it the best of both worlds, or the worst ?

I love mine personally.
so slight update on the post I have since gone down the route of the .17 fireball and it’s unbelievable cheap to reload, as quite if not quieter then the 17 hmr but can stretch out to distances closer to 223
 
There's a few different bullets to try. I mainly used 20g vmax. Berger have a good variety of you can find any. Even 15g mef!
 
There's a few different bullets to try. I mainly used 20g vmax. Berger have a good variety of you can find any. Even 15g mef!
Currently loading 25gr vmax and 20gr vmax, was tempted to try some 17gr but thinking they might be too fast in the fireball
 
so slight update on the post I have since gone down the route of the .17 fireball and it’s unbelievable cheap to reload, as quite if not quieter then the 17 hmr but can stretch out to distances closer to 223

Beautiful looking cartridge. I can't understand how it's quieter than a HMR there's a fair bit more powder ?

How easy is the brass to source ?
 
Beautiful looking cartridge. I can't understand how it's quieter than a HMR there's a fair bit more powder ?

How easy is the brass to source ?
I have a 17FB with a wildcat panther mod on which is mad flat, accurate and quiet I can shoot rabbits from 40 yards to 200 and loads hang around for multiple shots, it blows my mind some nights and a beautiful looking round too
 
It's basically a scaled down 22PPC (the 17FB/MachIV). Hence why it looks so nicely proportioned. IIRC, P.O. Ackley referred to the 17 Mach IV (which he designed and eventually became the 17FB commercially with some slight changes) as the most efficient of the 17 calibers between bore size, bullet weight and case capacity.
 
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