44 replies to this topic

[tuck2]

I should have stayed out of the sporting store. I asked about the !7 Fireball round and what rifles they had for the round. The sales person went to the storage room and came out with a Remington bolt action Mdl 700 CDL Stainless 24 In fluted barrel ,wood stock , Limited Edition ,17 Fireball rifle. I ll not shoot it untill Rem starts to sell emepty 17 cases and I get some reloading dies. Now I can start looking for a scope ,mounts,rings, sling and sling keepers. Has any one got a 17 Fireball ? Have you tried any Rem factory ammo ?

[Uncle Buck]

While I do not have a 17 Fireball yet I have heard outstanding things about them for the fur hunters. I suppose it's a matter of time before I get one in an Encore configuration. I do use the cousin of the 17 Fireball, The 17 Remington. I actually have two and would not part with either of them. Wait to you see how the 17's work on animals. You will not see any entry hole. However if you were to take the pelt off the animals. The body looks like jello. It hits hard but does not destroy those valuable fox, coyote, bobcat, and or coon pelts. You will be able to sale the fur and get all your money back for your purchase too. Enjoy your new toy. Keep us up todate how it handles the critters?

[Mongojoe]

Big Congrats on the new rifle..... When you start shooting it, let us know how it does. I have heard some good things about this cartridge, but have no experience with it myself.

[savage]

Can't you neck down 221fireball cases to reload?

[Hands]

Never had one, but congrats on the new toy!!

[WrzWaldo]

tuck2, on May 16 2007, 09:33 AM, said:

Has any one got a 17 Fireball ? Have you tried any Rem factory ammo ?

Yes and Yes.

I finally got mine out to shoot last weekend (May 26th).

I have the 700 SPS Varmint (26" heavy barrel). I shot a box of 20 grain Accutips and was pretty impressed for factory ammo. The first 5 rounds were MOA (.91) and the last five were very much sub MOA (.479). I only expect this to get better when I start loading my own (waiting on dies). I hear that the 17 Fireball brass will not be available until 2008, so you will have to shoot up some factory stuff or get the forming dies and use the 221 FB brass if you want to reload right away.


Shot at 100 yards.

First five.







Last five.

[Mongojoe]

Some fine shooting...especially with factory ammo..... And welcome to the forum WrzWaldo.

[WrzWaldo]

Thanks Mongo! Look like a nice place to hangout.

[mac]

WrzWaldo, on Jun 2 2007, 12:06 PM, said:

Yes and Yes.

I finally got mine out to shoot last weekend (May 26th).

I have the 700 SPS Varmint (26" heavy barrel). I shot a box of 20 grain Accutips and was pretty impressed for factory ammo. The first 5 rounds were MOA (.91) and the last five were very much sub MOA (.479). I only expect this to get better when I start loading my own (waiting on dies). I hear that the 17 Fireball brass will not be available until 2008, so you will have to shoot up some factory stuff or get the forming dies and use the 221 FB brass if you want to reload right away.


Shot at 100 yards.

First five.







Last five.

I have the same rifle. Have to say that I was not overly impressed by the factory ammo, I have shot 4 box full so far and it shows excessive spread between high and low velocity in all boxes. They range from a low of 3815 fps to a high of 4008. My average group size has been the same as yours with the factory ammo, but I am picky when it comes to my varmit guns and 1" groups at 100 yards isn't acceptable to me.
I have a set of Hornady dies and have been experementing with loads. So far BLC2 powder and Winchester SR primers with Berger 20 grain varmit bullets, are producing the best groups and velocity. Under .5 inches at 100 yards and just under 1" at 200 (5 shot groups) with avg vel of 4062 fps and a high low spread of 52 fps.

You can't just run 221 fireball cases in the 17 dies, you need a seperate sizeing trim die for the first step. Then run them thru th 17 fireball dies and fireform in your rifle.

There is no currant reloading data for the 17 fireball but you can start with the same starting loads as the 17 Mach IV. A word of caution though DON'T use data listing RL 7 powder, the first load I tried blew the primer, stuck the bolt closed and the case was stuck in the face of the bolt when I finally did get it open. Thank God for Remington 700 actions.

Good luck to all those who try this new round, it looks like it will be a terror for gophers and othe small varmits.

[WrzWaldo]

mac, on Jun 4 2007, 07:26 AM, said:

I have a set of Hornady dies and have been experementing with loads. So far BLC2 powder and Winchester SR
primers with Berger 20 grain varmit bullets, are producing the best groups and velocity. Under .5 inches at 100
yards and just under 1" at 200 (5 shot groups) with avg vel of 4062 fps and a high low spread of 52 fps.

Not sure what you are looking at but the two groups I shot of the first box of factory ammo through my rifle
were both under 1", the second group was under .5, that seems to match what you are loading right now.

Quote

You can't just run 221 fireball cases in the 17 dies, you need a seperate sizeing trim die for the first step. Then
run them thru th 17 fireball dies and fireform in your rifle.

That's why I said you would need the forming dies.

Quote

There is no currant reloading data for the 17 fireball but you can start with the same starting loads
as the 17 Mach IV. A word of caution though DON'T use data listing RL 7 powder, the first load I tried blew the
primer, stuck the bolt closed and the case was stuck in the face of the bolt when I finally did get it open. Thank
God for Remington 700 actions.

That could not be further from the truth! Hodgdon has load data for it!

I'd like to thank the guys over at saubier.com for getting the data, and Mike at Hodgdon for releasing it before the web site was updated!





While I was impressed with the factory ammo groups it will not satisfy my accuracy needs (that's why I reload).
I suspect this gun will shoot .2 consistently and has the potential to shoot .1 groups. My XR-100 in .204 Ruger
will shoot .2 all day and that is from a factory stock rifle.

[Mongojoe]

Mac, just wanted to welcome you to the forum... Hope you enjoy it here.

[Snake Guy]

Can any of the folks using the .17 Fireball give me some input on how loud the round is, say compared to a .204 Ruger or .223 Remington? Is it closer to a .17 HMR or to a centerfires in report? Noise is becoming an issue at some of the places where I hunt, so I was wondering if the .17 might be a good alternative to a .204 Ruger.

This is my first post on this forum-thanks in adavnce for your help!

[WrzWaldo]

I shot my 17FB and 204 Ruger the last trip to the range and there was a noticeable difference between the two. Actually I think I laughed a little after I sent the first round down range out of the 17FB. I'm planning on shooting both again this weekend, I'll see if I can record both of them.

[Snake Guy]

WrzWaldo, on Jun 6 2007, 12:18 PM, said:

I shot my 17FB and 204 Ruger the last trip to the range and there was a noticeable difference between the two. Actually I think I laughed a little after I sent the first round down range out of the 17FB. I'm planning on shooting both again this weekend, I'll see if I can record both of them.

I take it that the 17 FB was pretty quiet compared to the .204?

I'll be interested to hear the results from this weekend. Thanks!

[Mongojoe]

Snake Guy, on Jun 6 2007, 07:46 AM, said:

This is my first post on this forum-thanks in adavnce for your help!

And welcome you you as well, Snake Guy... Glad you could join us.

[Snake Guy]

Mongojoe, on Jun 7 2007, 01:27 PM, said:

And welcome you you as well, Snake Guy... Glad you could join us.

Glad to be here-thanks!

[tuck2]

The web site http://data.hodgdon.com has added the reloading data for 20, 25 and 30 Gr bullets for the 17 Fireball round . I called Remington -no brass untill 2008 so I may have to purchas four boxes of factory ammo when I get some reloading dies. I will get a Leo 6-18 X scope ,mounts, sling,etc when I order the dies.

[WrzWaldo]

Hey tuck2,

Lets me know if you have any brass problems with the factory ammo. Out of 40 rounds I had 1 split neck.

Here is something else to watch for (I hear the 700 SPS (17 Fireball)) is having problems with this. --> Brass Eater

[NimrodMar10]

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum and new to the 17 Remington Fireball. Picked up an SPS at Gander Mountain last week and I'm impressed. Trying to get a site or the Fireball. Just started it this week and it's still rough but hopefully it will get better. Take a look and let me know what you think.

http://17remingtonfireball.com/

NimrodMar10

[WrzWaldo]

NimrodMar10

While I'm fairly new here myself I have a couple of observations.

It would have been nice if your post would have contributed a little something more than just an advertisement for your own web site. You may have been better off creating a new thread rather than hijacking this one.

Just my .02 worth

As for your page, it will be interesting to see how it develops over the next few weeks. And may I suggest the use of some type of spell checker? Do you plan on setting up a forum for us 17 Fireballers?