Anyone out there using the 17 Remington on P'Dogs?

How does the little 25 grain bullet perform? Does it generate explosive performance or just a Dog, just flopping over dead with the bullet passing thru it like an FMJ?

I can look at statistics, but actual experience carries a lot more weight than what I can read and speculate off of some printed material.

Thanks for the responders, for your assistances.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

Have used a 17 Remington with 25-grain Hornadys a fair amount on prairie dogs. Most of the shots under 200 yards. Got quite a bit of explosive action. But cleanliness of bore does not hold up well compared to 223 Remington.

Hammer

My friend has a Sako that has a heavy barrel about 1 1/4" he can see all of his hits on P-Dogs. He bought it at a gun show it was somebodys custom job. It loves the heavy bullets so I can only guess that it has a fast twist.

Good luck and good hunting.

Depends on the gun/scope setup, I'd imagine. I had a Rem 700VS in .223 w/ a 20" barrel, similar to the later LTR but w/ a slower twist, and it was scoped w/ a SS10x42 scope. Chunky little gun, worked very well out to about 300yds, and I could easily see my hits. A somewhat heavier gun like say a Savage, in heavy bags like the Dog-Gone or Uncle Bud's could probably manage the same w/ a higher power scope.

Monte

You got it right the 17 rem has less recoil than the 223 rem and it shoots like a lease beam out to about 250 yds. I just love shooting it. I also like to be able to spot the hits through the scope at 24x when shooting the 17 rem. If you get a 17 rem you will either love it or hate it, but I love mine.

The .17 Remington has been my coyote and prairie dog rifle for many years. Bullets I use are the 30 gr. Starke Red Prairie Varmint bullet (no longer available) and the Hornady 20 gr. V-Max. I am experimenting with the Kindler Gold 30 gr. bullet (BC of .270), but haven't found a load I really like yet. Hammett bullets will probably be next on my list for testing. I hear the 27.5 gr. and 30 gr. bullets have a real high BC and that the 27.5 gr. one is a super good coyote getter.

I really like being able to set my scope at 24x and see the bullet hit the prairie dog!!! Here's what an adult prairie dog that was about 200 yards away when hit looks like after being hit by a 30 gr. Starke bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3,650 fps.

This next photo is of a very young, small prairie dog that was shot with a 20 gr. V-Max bullet at a distance of 25 yards--hope you don't get an upset stomach!!



This next one, another very young, small prairie dog was shot with the 20 gr. V-Max bullet at 50 yards.



Last, and probably the most graphic photos are of a prairie dog that I shot with the 20 gr. V-Max at about 100 yards. He had his head sticking out of the hole and I could see right down to the juncture of his shoulders. The 1st photo shows the body and the second one the head.





On June 3 of this year I purchased a Savage Model 12 Varminter Low Profile in the .204 Ruger caliber. My scope, bases, and rings are supposed to arrive here on Monday, June 21, so I am anxious to get that put together, do some range work with it, and take it out to the prairie dog fields. My scope will be a Leupold VX-III 6.5-20x40mm long range side focus model with the wide duplex. I'd strongly recommend getting a .17 Remington caliber rifle. They are lots of fun for pottin' prairie poodles

Seafire:
Been a long time since I have been on this fourm due to work load, family obligations and shooting long range F class matches. I saw this topic and thought I would chime in. I have NO real world experience with the 17 Rem. but if you decide to rebarrel a 223, I DO have real world experience with it in fast twist barrels. If I were you I would not go with a 7 twist. I would go no faster than an 8 twist. The 8 twist will stablize everything up to the 90 gr. JLK bullet.

My personal preference is a 9 twist. The 9 twist won't stablize the 80 gr. Sierra MatchKing but if it is a true 9 twist it will stabilize the Hornaday 75 grain AMax and that bullet is a solid long range performer at 223 velocities. I have shot it at 1000 yards with good results. Using Vithavouri N540 I get 2910 fps from a 24" tube at safe pressures with it. Accuracy is sub .5 MOA. And the 9 twist does very well with bullets down to 50 gr. The 9 twist may work with the 40 gr. bullets, I just haven't tried them as I really have no need for a 40 gr. bullet. If Sierra comes out with a 69 gr. BlitzKing the 9 twist will shine with it at velocities approaching 3200 fps. IMHO you have made the right decision.

May I be half the man my grandsons thinks I am.....RiverRat

I can remember shooting prairie dogs with three rifles, side by side:
17 Remington
220 Swift
243 Win

The 243 threw them out of the hole, but the other two rifles let them slide down the hole.

I got to agree with ya on the 243, when you hits a p-dog with a 243 you really know you hit it. I like using 70gr TNT's on p-dogs.

Clark...

Were there powder in those cartridges? I have had many spectacular mound launches with the "lowly" .223 and 50 grain V-Maxes out to 300 yards or more. I do agree with your assessment of the .243...there isn't much crawling around after being smacked by a 75 grain V-Max (my personal choice).

There are no prairie dogs where I live, but I do hunt woodchuck which of course are bigger. I have a Remington 700BDL in .17Rem. but only take it out on calm days. Any degree of wind plays merry old hell with it. I much prefer using my .222Rem. Mag. or even a .22-250Rem. when it is less than ideal, especially out beyond 150yds. or so. I really enjoy my .17Rem. but a lot of times it can be a heartache. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I love my .17 and is the gun that I enjoy shooting the most. There are a lot of coyotes that don't particularly like it though. My 223 went to the back of the safe when the .17 arrived. 30 bergers for me.