Hello Varmint Gurus,

Anybody here reloads .17 Rem ammo ?

My request may seem odd to you but I am looking for solid bullets (not hollow-points) in 20 grains or 25 grains.

Does anybody make the solid tips ?

Any advise on solid bullets will be greatly appreciated. I just want to punch a small hole without doing any internal explosions.

Thanks in advance.

Not unless it's one of the custom bullet makers? To my knowledge the Berger Match with it's very small hollow point is the closest thing out there commercially made.

FWIW,

Todd Kindler at the Woodchuck den also has a 30 gr. 17 caliber bullet you might try.




I've loaded some over 27 gr. of w-760. Gonna try them tomorrow. will chrono and post results. I'm shooting a 22" barreled Rem LVSF
GWB

Well, I went to the range to try out the 30 gr. woodchuck golds in my 17 rem. Got there at 8:15 AM and the bench rest section was completely full. Took an hour to get set up. Then the wind picked up and was gusting between 10 to 15 mph. Shot a couple groups with a kimber montana in 260 and could tell that my mind was not right. Cleaned the kimber, packed up and came home. Will try again soon.
GWB

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
Well, I went to the range to try out the 30 gr. woodchuck golds in my 17 rem. Got there at 8:15 AM and the bench rest section was completely full. Took an hour to get set up. Then the wind picked up and was gusting between 10 to 15 mph. Shot a couple groups with a kimber montana in 260 and could tell that my mind was not right. Cleaned the kimber, packed up and came home. Will try again soon.
GWB

How much do those bullets cost per each?

M in C
Let's see. With tax, $54.75 for 200, so that would be $0.273750 each according to my calculator.
GWB

27 cents plus a little per shot. thanks for the info.

M in C,

I load for the 17 ackley hornet, 17 hebee, 17 fireball, 17 machIV and 17 remington. I have 18 & 22 gr. bergers, 20 gr and 25 gr. hornady's and 23 and 30 gr woodchuck den bullets. I bought the w/d bullets as they have a boat tail and it makes it easier to load with rcbs dies vs. wilson hand dies. with oals under two inches and flat based bullets, it can be a challenge to load the bullets in straight and not crimp the cases. I love shooting the 17's. Talk about efficient. A little over 10 grains in the 17 ah and close to 3800 fps
GWB



left to right
7mag, 140 gr accubond, * 17 ackley hornet, 18 gr berger * 17 hebee, 23 gr. woodchuck den * 17 rem fireball, 20 gr. hornady v-max * 17 mach IV, 25 gr hornady hp * 17 rem, 30 gr woodchuck den gold * 20 tactical, 40 gr. v-max * 22 hornet, 35 gr. v-max *
221 fireball, 40 gr nosler ballistic tip * 7mag

Now there's a guy who has the .17 caliber spectrum pretty well covered...

After loading up 250 rounds of the 17 Fireball for an older friend, looking at those little rounds... it sure is hard not to want to throw all your gear in the truck and go out to shoot some varmints on the spot...

I wonder how long it will be before those new 20 grain FMJs that are being loaded on the 17 HMR are going to be available somewhere, either in bulk or as factory seconds for we handloaders....

in a Fireball, that would certainly upgrade that rounds potential substantially...especially as a turkey round in states that allow centerfires to be used on them...

Seafire2,
I love living and hunting in Texas, but I envy you guys that have the opportunity to hunt ground squirrels and prarie dogs at will. If I go out of a morning or afternoon, its usually for fox or coyote. Very seldom do I fire more than two shots unless I'm shooting at starlings, turtles on a pond or stalking crows. I'm probably going to have to break down and go on a varmint safari some day soon.
I'm going on a Javelina/varmint hunt with some guys on the Huckaby ranch near Ft. Stockton, Tx. at the end of July. I'm going to try the 40 gr v-max out of my Cooper tac20 on javelina. We'll see what happens.
GWB

yeah GW,

We take that for granted at times...but that is why I moved here...economy sucks, but the shooting opportunities don't...

before I lined up some of my places to go on private land, I asked someone who was bragging about where he went, where it was....

his response, was that was like asking someone for his girlfriends phone number...

we differ on equipment...

you are using that wonderful little Cooper...

I am looking to upgrade to a Savage one of these:



with a 4 x 30 Bushnell 6500 Series Elite, with Mil Dot reticle on it..

that should be a 15 lb rig....but I am shooting off the hood of my 4 Runner, or else from a table in the trailer I tow behind it...

I'll warn ya though.. once you get out and shoot 500 plus shots in a day, you'll get addicted..

when I go thru only 200 rounds in a day, that is a pretty crappy day for me...

a good day is when you have to quit due to the headache you have from scope squint all day, not because you ran out of opportunity...

one notably famous guy who shoots the same 4700 acre ranch I do, was telling me that he shoots between 18,000 to 20,000 rounds a year down range on that property....

you'd think that would run out of targets, doesn't seem to make a dent in the potential available...

Seafire2,
Unfortunately, it seems my lot in life at the present time to pet my rifles more than I hunt them. I do go to the range weekly to get in some time at the bench. As I said before, I'm envious. That's one of the things I enjoy about AR and the forums, I can live vicariously in my imagination through the posts of others and their adventures. Gives me something more to dream about and aspire to. Best to you and yours.
GWB

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
M in C,

I load for the 17 ackley hornet, 17 hebee, 17 fireball, 17 machIV and 17 remington. I have 18 & 22 gr. bergers, 20 gr and 25 gr. hornady's and 23 and 30 gr woodchuck den bullets. I bought the w/d bullets as they have a boat tail and it makes it easier to load with rcbs dies vs. wilson hand dies. with oals under two inches and flat based bullets, it can be a challenge to load the bullets in straight and not crimp the cases. I love shooting the 17's. Talk about efficient. A little over 10 grains in the 17 ah and close to 3800 fps
GWB

left to right
7mag, 140 gr accubond, * 17 ackley hornet, 18 gr berger * 17 hebee, 23 gr. woodchuck den * 17 rem fireball, 20 gr. hornady v-max * 17 mach IV, 25 gr hornady hp * 17 rem, 30 gr woodchuck den gold * 20 tactical, 40 gr. v-max * 22 hornet, 35 gr. v-max *
221 fireball, 40 gr nosler ballistic tip * 7mag

Nice line up.

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
M in C,

I load for the 17 ackley hornet, 17 hebee, 17 fireball, 17 machIV and 17 remington. I have 18 & 22 gr. bergers, 20 gr and 25 gr. hornady's and 23 and 30 gr woodchuck den bullets. I bought the w/d bullets as they have a boat tail and it makes it easier to load with rcbs dies vs. wilson hand dies. with oals under two inches and flat based bullets, it can be a challenge to load the bullets in straight and not crimp the cases. I love shooting the 17's. Talk about efficient. A little over 10 grains in the 17 ah and close to 3800 fps
GWB



left to right
7mag, 140 gr accubond, * 17 ackley hornet, 18 gr berger * 17 hebee, 23 gr. woodchuck den * 17 rem fireball, 20 gr. hornady v-max * 17 mach IV, 25 gr hornady hp * 17 rem, 30 gr woodchuck den gold * 20 tactical, 40 gr. v-max * 22 hornet, 35 gr. v-max *
221 fireball, 40 gr nosler ballistic tip * 7mag

Geedubya you da man !!!

Great lineup of .17's Amigo, we gotta work on those .20's though. Ya need a few to complete the step ladder effect with the .20's ya have nicely filled with the .17's. Glad to know I'm not the only sub.22 caliber crazy here .

Montdoug, I'm pedaling as fast as I can. I picked up a cooper in tac 20 and I'll be sending off the sako s491 action to Greg Tannel next week to do a 20 vartarg.
GWB

"BINGO"!!! And so it begins .
That Bee case sure makes a dandy .20, we call it the .20 Killer Bee. A good buddy designed it off quick design.





Just like your HeeBee only with a 40 degree shoulder. There's a .17 Killer Bee as well . Tannel did this one also, single pointed the acton , bushed and double sleeved the bolt and so on. She's a ripper! The madness never ends.

BIG P.S.
Extremely sorry for Hi Jacking the thread!!! Small caliber talk always makes me crazy!

Doug, hijack away. I always enjoy your posts and pix.
Gotta love the varmint extreme. Not that many 20 killer bees swarming in that configuration I bet.
I picked up 300 pieces of 218 bee brass cheap. I also came up with about a hundred 17 hebee formed cases. I might just have to do a 20 killer bee since I have the makings. Now all I would have to do is come up with a rifle and dies.
GWB
PS: I just posted pix of my latest Cooper snags in the small caliber forum.

Tannel has that .20 Killer Bee reamer Geedubya. Loni at Hornady can punch out the dies for ya from our prints I'd bet. Just in case ya want to pedal a little harder .
Then there'd be six of em but only one on a Cooper, unless maybe...HMMM???

We use bullets made by my friend Todd Kindler in several calibers.

They are extremely accurate bullets.

Saeed,

Perhaps you might remember this.


I have every copy published of SCN, from the first issue through the 11th year.


A certain fellow named Saeed was listed in the first issue under the caption
"Technical Team"

Some time after that I ran across AR and it has become an integral part of my life. Very seldom does a day go by that I do not take advantage of the AR forums.
Thanks,
GWB

I have them all as well Geedubya. They function as text for many a small caliber junky. Todd is a good man and I hope he is doing well. I call him from time to time and shoot some of his cartridge designs on a regular basis. The .20 VarTarg should be legitimized, it is truly a classic varmint round as is the .20 Tactical. When the .204 came out many of us strongly believed the .20 Tactical to be a better balanced design, still do although it's picking nits cause both are ballistically so close in performance.

Doug,
I haven't yet broke down and bought a 204 ruger yet. Maybe I will. I recently sold my thompson contender rifle. It had a 27" bull barrel chambered in tac 20. I had it made by Virgin Valley around 1999 or 2000. Replaced it with the Cooper Classic in Tac 20. I have 200 pieces of Dakota Tac 20 Brass, which at the volume I shoot should last me quite a while as I don't max the loads.
I may get tempted at some juncture if I come up on a bargain for a Rem model 7 predator, a Cooper (in either the classic or varmint persuasion) or a Sako Varmint. Being a junk man at heart, I have a hard time passing up a deal. Two of the three Cooper Classics that I own I paid less than $900 for. The 22 hornet I snagged for $1k, but it had a Leupold 4.5 x 14 x 40 AO Vari X III mounted on it, so I went ahead and stepped up and paid a little more for it. The Montana varminter chambered in 6.5 x 284 was also an exception, upgraded wood, fluted stainless barrel and I did not have a rifle chambered for that round. I paid just over $1300 for it. Hard not to feed the addiction.
On another note, I've got two Rem LVSF's, one chambered in 221 fireball, the other chambered in 17 rem. Either one of them would make a great platform for the 20 Vartarg. Also have my eye on a old Kimber of Oregon model 82 in 218 bee that might make a "killer" 20 caliber bee if someone had a reamer and a spare barrel blank.
GWB

Saeed and Geedubya,

Thanks for the contact info, I will contact Mr. Kindler. Maybe he can run a batch of 20 grain solids for me.

Regards.

Oz

quote:

Originally posted by collector:
Saeed and Geedubya,

Thanks for the contact info, I will contact Mr. Kindler. Maybe he can run a batch of 20 grain solids for me.

Regards.

Oz

If Todd can't help you out you might try here.

Gunhaus Bullets

Ask for John or Drew, great guys. I believe they are p-dog hunting as we speak but should be back next week.

montdoug,

Thanks for the contact info. I checked out their website, that is exactly the kind of knowledgeable manufactureres I was looking for. Appreciate the help.

Not to rekindle (apologies to Todd) the 223 Blue Dot peeing match, but if you own a 17 Rem, you already have all those rounds - in one rifle!

Big cartridges can be little ones but little ones are little ones forever. I load my SAAMI 17 Rem quite short of max and enjoy the same polite performance of the wildcats. This regrettably means I don't get to twiddle with neat gear and more rifles, but I get to spend more time murdering God's furry, cuddly rats instead!

It's all good

Mark