Been thinking hard about a .17 cal. rifle , but it seems to me , most of the shooting I would do with the gun could be easily handled by the speeds you can get with the .17 Hornet or Mach IV .

Yet , the factory cartidge would be alot easier to get started with because of cases , dies , action fit and so forth .

So , has anyone had accurate success with reduced or moderate loads out of the Remington case ??

If so , the bigger case would be the most versiltile . You could always use the top end loads if they were called for .....

I can't really speak on reduced loads, but one thing that I found with my stock M700 17 Rem was that it likes to go fast. When I was working up loads, I started at the min and worked up to max in 0.2 grain increments. The light loads abosolutely sucked. As I increased the powder, the loads slowly got tighter and tighter until they began to fall off again just shy of max. It now shoots 0.5" groups at 100yds, but one thing you'll learn is that these things sure are finicky. It tells you what it wants to shoot, not the other way around. You just need to be patient enough to find that sweet load.

I have cut my 700 bbl and had it rehambered to MKIV. I have been down to 1200fps and up to 3900 in 18 in bbl there is a lot of data for sub sonic on the 221 FB and it is a starting point for powders to case capcity. I now have 2 MKIV's and 2 17rem bbls for my sw bbl and the 17rem just lay on the bench. PICS

I would be cautious about going with the 4,000 fps 17 Remmington. Go to a copy of the OLD Lee manual and read pages 90 - 93. For $5 you can get a disk that will reduce the powder[s] you are now using to a lower velocity.
My loads are [Both using 55 gr JSP.]
223...5.6 grs of UNIQUE [1 in 12 twist.]
.22 Hornet 4.1 grs of UNIQUE

Madison, I'm curious as to why you say "be cautious" with the 4000fps 17 Rem. I don't have the Lee manual you refer to. Ca you please elaborate?

Eight grains of SR 4759 will give you about 2500 fps with a 20 grain Hornady V Max. I used a similar load thirty years ago with a 25 grain bullet in my .17 Remington.

jethro:
I have always been told that any velocity over 36 to 4,000 feet per second will take out the barrel's riflings in about 500 rounds.

I've honestly never heard that. You would have to load pretty lightly to keep a 20gr bullet in the 17 rem below 3600. Does that apply to all rifles? I know my 22-250 is pushing 3800 and I have not had any problems even though I am well over 500 shots. Has anyone else seen this? Just curious.

Madison,

Just a quick comment. A lot of the hype around barrel burners is simply not true. This is spawned by ignorant writers and people who don't own them or shoot them. The first .17s definately had barrels of lesser quality. That combined with poor cleaning habits of most people and abuse can ruin a barrel quickly. Unfortunately, cartridges that have a greater need of care were victim of singular bad experiences. Had the cartridge really been as bad as some reported, it never would have been chambered commerically.

Heat, not speed, is what kills a barrel. Most subcaliber shooters today can testify that modern .17s foul no worse than any other rifle and with proper break in and care, are good for a long life. Talking with Weatherby and Cooper both, you will find that .22-250s and .220 Swifts are most suseptible to failure and damage and it largely is due to many rounds at once on a dog town. Throat erosion takes place most readily when you are blow torching the metal with 40 grains of powder time after time. These rifles will burn out quick too, if you are careless. Take a look at the .22-284. This screamer is notorious for scorching barrels, but consider the charge weight.

There are alot of people who shoot high velocity .17s like the Mach IV and getting almost infinite life. This is because there is so little charge and high effeciency. With a bullet coating or moly, a .17 can be expected to live a very long time, even with maximum loads.

jethro :
I have been reloading sine August 1970.
Everything I have ever been able to come across tells me to keep the velocity below 4,000 or risk barrel erosion.
The thing to do is to take paper and pencil/pen to your favorate gun shop. read the information in THEIR book, copy the address and take the appropreate action.

I have a .17Rem. and load it to 3900fps. max. That's as high as I'll go. I purchased two stainless steel barrels last year, and friend, they ain't cheap. My Remington 700BDL was purchased used, and the barrel was okay, but it does indeed foul. I didn't get the opportunity to break it in while new. It takes forever to get that sucker clean. I wouldn't shoot more than 15 shots without at least wiping it out well at the range. It's an interesting rifle. I like it. My only comment is it will indeed shoot - whenever it darn well feels like it! I find it common to shoot a sub .50" group and precede or follow it with a 1.3" group; temperamental little bugger. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I have 17REM has 18 1/2 inch pac-nor barrel have shot 35 to 40 rounds last 2 times out between cleanings no signs of fouling 3670ft per sec shoots 1/2 inch consistantly maybe Im lucky because I hear a lot about how bad the 17 fouls

Madison, if that's the load you like, then great. However, I get the best groups out of mine with that particular bullet at 4000+. If the barrel wears out, then so be it. I'll buy another one. Barrel makers have to make a livin' too. My point is, my 17 likes that speed. I'm not willing to go from 0.5" groups to 2"+ simply because I want to be able to put a few more rounds through a particular barrel. That wouldn't be very humane to the groundhogs I shoot at either. Yeah, I could probably keep trying hundreds of other loads, powder and bullet combinations, but why? I'll spend more money on finding a different load than buying a new barrel when this one wears out.