Howdy,

Anyone have any loads to share? I just received a shipment of Woodchuckden's 30 Gr "gold" bullets and started to load them. I own three models in this caliber and have noticed the Rem Model 7 is more accurate than the Special edition rifle they released last year. Any other bullets used and info to share?

I use 20.3g of H335 with the 20g V Max in my Mach 4 for 4250 fps and groups in the low .3"s.
No pressure signs, but I would start at around 18.5 and work up at no more than .2g at a time.
Win or Rem7.5 primers.That load is great on ground squirrels out to about 350-400 yards. REAL flat shooting to 350!

I have a Rem CDL, had great groups with 20. grs. H335 and WSR primers, 20 Gr. Vmax, Temp. 80 Deg. once fired brass. Got some new brass, loaded same load, on a varmint shoot at 65 Deg. and would burn holes in primer. Have since dropped load to 18.5 Grs, and switched to
Rem 7.5, no more pressure probs. same group but a lot slower, but speed isn't everything, and it works for me

CALIBER BULLET BRASS PRIMER POWDER LOAD COL NOTE

17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-335 18.5 @ 3,704 1.830, 40,600 cup Start Load
17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-335 20.5 @ 4,027 1.830, 50,000 cup Max Load

17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-4198 16 @ 3,811 1.830, 39,200 cup Start Load
17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-4198 17.3 @ 4,037 1.830, 47,800 cup Max Load

17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-322 18 @ 3,652 1.830, 37,500 Start Load
17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-322 19.5 @ 4,019 1.830, 49,200 Max Load (Com)

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-335 17.7 @ 3,510 1.830, 41,700 cup Start Load
17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-335 9.4 @ 3,744 1.830, 50,400 cup Max Load

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-322 17 @ 3,504 1.830, 38,500 cup Start Load
17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-322 18.3 @ 3,704 1.830, 48,900 cup Max Load

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-4198 15.4 @ 3,549 1.830, 40,500 cup Start Load
17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem Rem 7-1/2 H-4198 17 @ 3,789 1.830, 49,900 cup Max Load

17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-322 18 @ 3,769
17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-322 19 @ 3,965
17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-322 19.5 @ 4,132

17 FIREBALL 20 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-4198 17 @ 4,100

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-322 18 @ 3,641

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem WSR H-4198 16.5 @ 3,712

17 FIREBALL 25 gr Hornady Rem WSR RL-7 15.3 @ 3,475

17 FIREBALL 30 gr Gold Woodchuckden Rem CCI 450 RL-10x 18 @ 3,700
17 FIREBALL 27 gr Gold Woodchuckden Rem CCI 450 RL-10x 18 @ 3,800
17 FIREBALL 25 gr Gold Woodchuckden Rem CCI 450 RL-10x 18.5 @ 4,050

Reloading data is at http:data.hodgdon.com/main_menue.asp and in the Hodgdon's 2008 Annual Manual page 78.. I find that the 17 Fireball is one fine prairie dog rifle..

Know what`s REALLY neat? Now I can get factory ammo for my Mach 4! Tried a few in mine and there wasn`t any pressure signs at all! How neat is this?
Aloha, Mark

I love small calibers and have been shooting the seventeens for years. Back when virgin valley firearms was in business I had them make barrels for my contenders in 17 ackley hornet, and 17 mach IV. Both had 22†barrels that were light, fast and accurate. Two drawbacks,--single shot and with the original contender you have to open the action if you let the hammer down on an unfired round before you could re-cock the trigger.
For the last couple of years I’ve had the craving for a repeater in 17 mach IV. I have my share of heavy barreled varmint rifles and recently I have been doing much more game calling and “walking varmintingâ€. Most of my shots are 100 yds. and under. I wanted a light rifle that would have a 22 “ barrel and a synthetic stock and a repeater. I would mount a 2 x 7 up to a 3 x 9 scope. . To my mind the mach IV with a 20 gr. bullet at 3800 to 4000 fps is a great varmint round.
Remington must have been reading my mind because they came out with their model 7 predator in 17 fireball. I couldn’t resist.
I have 17 fireball dies and brass on order, but I do not have them in my possession yet. However, I do have 17 mach IV brass, dies and a number of loaded rounds using 25 gr. Hornady hollow points over 15.8 and 15.9 grains of H-4198. Being the impatient type, couldn’t wait to shoot the rifle and do some load testing. I mounted a scope and went to the range. I used some of these loaded rounds to zero the scope and to fireform some brass in the 17 fireballs’ chamber. My first outing was somewhat disappointing. Velocity was sup-par and groups were over an inch.
Needless to say, I was bummed. I went home and took the rifle out of the stock and worked on the stock to free float the barrel. I also dug out some of my old Small Caliber News mags. I had forgotten about using Reloader 10x, so I loaded up some 18 gr. Bergers ,some 20 gr. V-maxes and some 25 gr hornady hollowpoints, all over several different load densities of reloader 10x.
Loads ranged from 17 grains to 18.3 grains. One fellow reported loading 19 grains, but I wanted to be conservative to start with. I fired a total of 37 rounds, 4 shots to zero and then fired 11 three shot groups. I cleaned the barrel before this second outing. I figured the 4 shots I took to zero the scope would sufficiently foul the barrel. I did not clean between the first and eleventh group.

Observations:
Although I am a blue steel and wood guy, I like the camo barrel and synthetic stock on this little rifle. The new x-mark pro trigger breaks crisply at 3.5 lbs. After free floating the barrel, groups were tighter and more consistant.
+/ 3950 fps out of a 22 inch barrel and no pressure signs, and room to spare in the case. A velocity over 4000 fps should be attainable without pressure signs.
These groups were shot in a cross wind 10 mph+ At 100 yds. and under, wind shouldn’t be a factor unless you’re shooting in a hurricane.
The 18 and 20 gr bullets shot the better groups
The bullets were loaded to the same seating depth, and the 18 gr bergers’ at 1.720 oal shot just as good if not better than the 20 gr. V-maxes’ (the longest bullet overall) at 1.800 oal.
The first group (25 gr hdy h.p., 17 gr rl-10x) and last group were both sub inch. Chances are I can get off more rounds in a day than I’ll shoot before accuracy is degraded.

The following pix are of the model 7 predator and the 11 different groups using reloader 10-x.
GWB

Very nice, I actually collect the 17 FB and I found the Model 7 to be one of the most accurate of the bunch, the equal of my Cooper, the fancy CDL Rem 700 is the least accurate. I have been using my Predator on Starlings and house sparrows nearby, with very nice results . BTW, i put a 4-14 Mueller scope and its a great combo.