Anyone using .17 Fireball?

[C h r i s]

I've been on a quest to find a 'better' .17 cartridge, having tried the various .17 rimfires, .17 Hornet and .17 Remington.

I won’t go into any depth as to why I don’t like the aforementioned cartridges, but having tried them I felt that I'd be happier with something between the Hornet and the 17 Remington - ideally it will feed and eject better than the rimmed Hornet case, and wont be quite as much of a barrel burner as the Remington.

Which has led me to consider the .17 Fireball, or Mach IV

Anyone on here using either? Is 17 Fireball factory ammunition available in the UK? I'm presuming that the rifles were a custom build or re-barrel, if so what was the donor action and who did the build? What barrel make and length?

Any observations on barrel life, rifle function (feeding/ejection) accuracy problems, finicky cleaning requirements or terminal performance?

Many thanks - lots of questions I know, but not a lot of info out there from UK shooters.

 

[Muir]

I had a Mach IV back in the 80's. Shot well and had good reach. ~Muir

 

[njc110381]

Not one you tend to see very often, but they are around. I too have had both the Hornet and Remington, and I know exactly what you mean when you talk about them the way you do!

I've done a good bit of research and have decided to go with a Fireball too. I'm in the early stages of my build having sourced an action (Sako S491). I'll probably use a Walther barrel and make it around 18", although I think if you want peak performance a few more inches will certainly help. Brass and ammo is out there but not easy to find. It seems most places are out of stock of brass at the moment, and the cost of factory ammo is eye watering!

Have you joined the Saubier forum yet? I don't generally give other forums a plug on here but it's a pretty niche cartridge and as good as the SD is, I think you'll get a lot more info there than you will here.

 

[finnbear270]

Have a read through here, I sold mine to Sir Slots A Lot (Alan),

.17 centrefire

I have a variation through to purchase a 17 cf. Im leaning towards the 17 hornet but could go for anything in 17 cal? what would you get if you had the option? also what rifle would you go for? their dosnt seem to be a lot of option in this calibre.

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

 

[FGYT]

I came to this desision a long while back after not being happy with the 17HMR and finally got a slot for a 17 centerfire on my ticket last feb , but havent due to covid etc got one yet

my intention it to have a Remingtom 700 rebarreled for 17 fireball and to reload for it Brass was a problem (you can make it from 221 fireball (Lapua make it ) or even 223 thos thats a PITA ) but i believe its now avalible again pretty sure there are no factory options on ammo .

Not decided on barrel length yet I do like a short barrel (current longest is 16.5" my 17hmr is 14" ) but this one may benefit from a bt more

Richard Utting has a vidio on his

 

[Mach IV]

Hi Chris
As my forum name suggests I do have experience of the 17 Mach IV. I love mine. Sako L461 action, Pacnor barrel. Excellent accuracy. Made the brass from 221 brass which is easy but does need neck turning.
It will feed if you are careful but I tend to use it as a single shot. Extraction and ejection no problem.
Have nudged just over 4,000fps with 20gn Vmax but that was on the ragged edge pressure wise. I run them around 3,800fps.
It just works and makes you smile.

 

[The Singing Stalker]

I remember a friend having one. The biggest issue was getting ammo or cases even to homeload. Just check your supply.

 

[dasherman]

Have built a few and using one myself on Sako A1 actions. Using 25g Bergers that have a massive hole in the front so don’t feed 100% but if using a polymer tipped built probably would. Lovely up to 200yd cartridge for taking the heads off rabbits and blowing up magpies. Cheaper to feed than a HMR once you have the brass.

 

[C h r i s]

All sounds very encouraging, definitely time to drop and bury my idea of buying a more accurate ".17 something" Anschutz, will contact the likes of Bowland Custom and see how I should proceed. Remi700 short action seems adequate.

Staffs wont be happy about issuing me with yet another 1-for1 variation...

Brass does seem to be scarce though....

 

[Border]

If I remember correctly the Rem 700 has a different extractor position for the fireball rounds. Not sure if magazine is different or not as well. Brass may well be an issue to find although Lapua now do 221 Rem FB brass.

 

[C h r i s]

Yes, thanks for the heads up, just reading up on this. Apparently the Remi 700 bolt requires an extractor modification or change to Sako type extractor.

Maybe a cheap 223 Tikka would be better.

Ordered some cases so will see how they feed in my 223 T3x.

 

[splash]

I have a factory fireball Remington model 7.
I’ve had it from new not had any problems with it with wind.
I shoot 25gn hornady and it’s my main fox rifle,usually no exit but soup inside.
various members of the crow family out to well over 300m
Home load cases where scarce for a while but i just buy a lot and they last well.
I was thinking about a build but was told they were hard to get to feed correctly on a custom rifle

 

[finnbear270]

Feed probs for me were sorted with a smartish bolt cycle.

 

[njc110381]

All sounds very encouraging, definitely time to drop and bury my idea of buying a more accurate ".17 something" Anschutz, will contact the likes of Bowland Custom and see how I should proceed. Remi700 short action seems adequate.

Staffs wont be happy about issuing me with yet another 1-for1 variation...

Brass does seem to be scarce though....

Why not speak to dasherman as he's chipped in and offered advice? He's a bloody good gunsmith, I have one of his rifles here and you'll be hard pressed to get a better one. Maybe also Jager Sporting Arms? I've got one of his guns too and that shoots bullet on bullet. One of his rifles just set a new tightest group for some long range club... Not knocking Bowland, I'm sure they're good too. I've just never used them.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I have a factory M700 in .17FB. It is probably the most-used rifle in my arsenal. No recoil, no ricochets, moderates well, cheap to run, and good on everything from squirrels to foxes that will keep more or less still in front of a suitable backstop. Frank's 17-grain value bullets are all I need, which makes reloading even cheaper. Cases are resized Lapua .221 FB. Formerly I used Remington .17 FB brass but it was inconsistent and less durable. Factory ammo is to the best of my knowledge unobtainable. However... I personally would prefer a .17 Rem as the stumpy Fireball case neither feeds or ejects as well as .204 or .223 in other M700s I have, or have had. I single feed my rifle, and that's no great hardship, but a swift reload I could count on would be welcome.

 

[sparky9]

had a 17 fireball for a few years, no problems home loading as i buy lapua 221 fireball brass, bought the kit from spud. I use 25g Hornady's.
Factory ammo is scarce but Dauntsey guns have some Remington fireball 20g @£44.95 a box.

 

[Ronin]

Thabks for the recommendations,

Yes I have worked on the likes of some Coopers with issues and sorted a 17 REM with headspace problems

But

Ive already discussed with Chris and advised I am not really set up for 17 caliber - though can obtain the tooling- it would be an outlay for essentially a one off build

I’ve also recommended a few people for doing the work he had asked for - (in no order of preference ) Neil Mckillop, Dave Wylde, Paddy Dane, Callum Fergusson

All very skilled in what they do

 

[Greenmist]

A firen of mine has one, he bought a Rem 700 in .223 and it was rebarreled by Les Bacon, he wanted a handy truck gun so the barrel is shorter than optimal. He had to use necked down .221 brass but this was a few years back, it performs very well with 25gr Vmax with 18gr of RS40

 

[C h r i s]

I'm going to make up a couple of .17 Fireball dummy rounds and see if they will feed in my T3 223, being a shorter case there is a real chance they will pop up out of the mag too early and not be aligned with the chamber. I need very reliable feeding/ejection so if this is an issue I could look at the 17 Rem, downloaded perhaps so less of a barrel burner...

 

[finnbear270]

I'm going to make up a couple of .17 Fireball dummy rounds and see if they will feed in my T3 223, being a shorter case there is a real chance they will pop up out of the mag too early and not be aligned with the chamber. I need very reliable feeding/ejection so if this is an issue I could look at the 17 Rem, downloaded perhaps so less of a barrel burner...

This can be avoided by a very smart bolt cycling action.