Ok all you small cal fans, what is your favorite 17 caliber cartridge and why? Only interested in opinions on reloadable cartridges, not 17 HMR. Thanks for sharing your opinions!

I have a 17 Remington and really enjoy it. It is very accurate and you would not believe what it does to a coyote when properly hit. However my next one is going to be a 17/222. The 17 Rem. is to far overbore to suit me. The 17/222 or the
17 Mach IV are much more efficient. They take a little more attention when it comes to cleanliness(17s in general) but they are fun. My barrel is a 1 in 10 twist and does best with Berger 25 gr and the Hornadys are a close 2nd. I coat my bullets with laboratory grade moly-disulfide and highly recommend its use with the 17s. Moly has extended my cleaning interval from 9 or 10 rounds to 25 or 30 rounds.

I have two .17s, both are 17Rems. one a M700, and the other is an old L46 Sako single shot with a #4 Douglas ss barrel. I would vote for the standard 17Rem. Less hassel with forming cases, reloading dies cost less, and one thing people don't mention is the 17Mach 4 can and does give alot of feeding problems.
I don't run my 17s flat out. The Rem. that I use a bit for coyote calling(when I don't care about killing every coyote I see) I use a 25gr. Rem or Hornady at 3850fps. In the Sako(used strickly as a ground squirrel gun) I shoot 20gr. Horn. VMax bullets at just over 4000fps. These are both mild loads. I to shoot moly bullets, but I don't think it's nessisary. I have fired over 50 rounds squirrel shooting without cleaning the barrel of the Sako/Douglas. Biggest thing I like about the 17s is that they shoot very flat and have no recoil. Pete

I shoot two 17 Ack Hornets, 1 17 HeBee, a 17 Ack Bee, a 17CCM, a 17 Mach IV, a 17/222 and a 19/223.
I shot 8 crows with 9 shots Monday with the HeBee.
Picking the favorite is like telling me to pick my favorite grandson from the six. Can't be done.
Brooks

MKIV is my favorite you can go from sub-sonic to 4000fps mine is in a switch barrel Model 7 REM, I also have 17REM but the MKIV ie really NEAT

I currently own a .17/222 magnum improved 40 deg. which is based on a Remington 700 action, and shilen 24 inch barrel. It is the second rifle I have had using this wildcat.(first one was stolen) I have also owned during the last 30 years, a .17 Ackley Hornet (also stolen), and three .17 Remingtons.
The 17 Ackley Hornet is a delightful cartridge to shoot, as many others will testify.
The .17/222 magnum imp gives impressive performance. It has a case capacity of 30.9 grains, and will deliver 4400 to 4500 fps with the 25 grain Hornady, 4100 fps with the 30 grain Hammett and Berger (if it holds together with the latter), and 3800 fps with the 37 grain Berger VLD.

BLH is right!

Having over two dozen 17 caliber rifles....I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite. Most of the time it depends on what target I'll be shooting. From PD's to coyotes, there's a bunch of choices...from my 17AH to a 17PPC-VLD rifle.

brianwinzor....BTW, I notice you shoot the Berger 37VLD bullet in your 17-222Mag.AI rifle. What is the twist of the barrel?

Friend Of The 17
Kevin Gullette

shoota 17 CCM in a 21 inch Contender....Quite, fast ,cheapto reload...deadly on all small game...a winner for me

Kevin Gullette,
I agree with your comments about the variety of cases that can be used. It really is a matter of deciding what type of shooting you will be doing, and then working back from there, and choosing a case with the capacity to produce the velocity needed to do the job.

I have a 1 in 10 inch twist in the 24 inch barrel which is chambered for the .17/222 mag imp. I realised before chronographing that they may go sideways (keyhole), but I wanted to see what velocity could be achieved with the Berger 37 grain VLD. Predictably, they did go sideways through the screens and into an aiming target some 25 metres behind the screens.
The literature suggests that a 1 in 6 twist is required, but at 3,700 - 3,800fps, I have a hunch that a 1 in 7, or even a 1 in 8 would do the job.
After my experience with the 30 grain Berger's coming apart above 3,800fps, I wrote to Berger, to get their opinion on at what velocity they believed the 37 grain VLD would reliably hold together. Walt Berger advised that he thought 3450fps might be the limit, but I have not heard of anyone who has tested them at velocities above this.
If an alternative source of bullets in the 35 - 40 grain weight range could be found, then when I rebarrel in the near future, I will order a 1 in 6 inch twist barrel to accomodate them. If there is,it will certainly open up a whole range of possibilities, as the 17's are certainly great to shoot.
It is an interesting comparison: My .224 Clark uses 54.5 grains of powder to push the Sierra 69 grain HPBT with a BC of .331 to 3850fps, while the .17/222 mag imp. uses just 27 to 30 grains of powder to push the Berger 37grain VLD with a BC of .343 to 3800 fps. For the record 27.0 grains of H414 gave 3,777fps, and 30.0 grains WW785 gave
3,792 fps.

brianwinzor,

Be forewarned that the 37gr.Berger bullet, fired at 3200-3400fps in a 6.0" twist barrel, will unpredictably come apart...depending on fouling.
Bullet rpm is too high.

I know of two 7.0" twist barrels that are shooting in the 3650-3700fps range with few problems.

An 8.0" twist is too slow.....at least in the one barrel reported to me, about two years ago.

Hope this helps.

Friend Of The 17
Kevin Gullette