Saw a nice one of these on the rack and was wondering if anyone has one...and would recommend is as shooting straigt for varmits up to 200 yards?

I got one last fall. Shot two coyotes, 75 and 250 yards, both died quickly.
Sent about 75 rounds at prairie two weeks ago, 20 grain V max at about 4000 fps. It worked very well.
Recoil is very light, almost none. I like it a lot.
Mine is a Rem 700 special edition, re stocked into an HS precision stock. It's easy a 3/4" five shot 100 yard rifle,
Brass has been very hard to find.
It would not be my "go to" cartridge for coyotes, despite my luck so far, but for smaller stuff it's great

I understand their a little rough on brass . Neck work hardens quickly ,so annealing is almost essential . JMO

I would opt for some thing in .224 caliber .
.222 .222 magnum 22-250 , .223 .

If for no other reasons then projectile selection barrel life and brass being no problem .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

I have an sps varmint model. It doesn't do well with factory ammo as of yet. When I get to it we'll see how it does with reloads. I discarded the cheap plastic factory stock for one with an aluminum bed. I am going to bed the lug and try the reloads. My 17 hmr does better at 100 yds than this thing does.

A guy had one at the range a couple weeks ago.

When we had no wind, he was grouping dime sized groups at 100 yards or better.

When the wind kicks up, the groups went to CD size.

I am thinking 222rem or 223 are better because they are less work.

I shoot almost exclusively sub.22 caliber wildcats at varmints and targets. I also have a Remington VSF in .17 Fire Ball.



Also it's ballistic twin the .17 MachIV in a Cooper mod 38 Montana Varminter. I was not fond of the factory chamber on the Fire Ball due to typical factory chamber slop as well as a long throat that is again typical for factory chambers. Because of my fanaticism and being used to custom wildcats I ended up sending the VSF to Gre'Tan Rifles in Colorado and had Greg Tannel set the barrel back and re-chamber it with a minimum spec zero free-bore reamer. He also single pointed the action, double sleeved the bolt and bushed the firing pin.
This is one of the first groups shot with it after it's return from the overhaul. This is believe it or not a 6 shot 100 group fired with two flags at 100 yards with an 8 mph quartering from the rear breeze.



That's what the round is capable of.
Many who haven't shot .17's will mention many horror stories so I would limit my info for consideration from those who have shot them and not .17 Remington factory rifles from 35 years ago which were the first .17's and were indeed problematic. Components, barrels and projectiles have all changed light years since then.
As to wind effect on .17's always keep in mind that the ballistic coefficient dictates how a bullet will perform at distance in the wind. Therefore a 25 grain .17 caliber Hornady V-Max with a BC of .239 will carry at a given velocity better than a .22 caliber 40 grain V-Max with a BC of .200. That's ballistics not opinion.
Here's the ballistic program data for two loads, one is my .17 Fire Ball and the other is my .223, please note the wind drift at 10 miles per hour.
First the .17 Fire Ball.

Load Data
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .17 Fire Ball with a 25 grain V-Max at 3,800fps
Ballistic Coeff: 0.239
Bullet Weight: 25
Velocity: 3800
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 4500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Range Elevation Velocity Energy ETA Drop Max Y 10mph Wind Deflect
0 yds -1.50 in 3800 fps 802 fpe 0.000 sec 0.00 in -1.50 in 0.00 in
25 yds -0.52 in 3699 fps 759 fpe 0.020 sec 0.08 in -0.58 in 0.05 in
50 yds 0.30 in 3600 fps 719 fpe 0.041 sec 0.31 in -0.52 in 0.20 in
75 yds 0.96 in 3503 fps 681 fpe 0.062 sec 0.71 in -0.42 in 0.43 in
100 yds 1.44 in 3409 fps 645 fpe 0.083 sec 1.29 in -0.26 in 0.77 in
125 yds 1.73 in 3317 fps 611 fpe 0.106 sec 2.06 in -0.06 in 1.23 in
150 yds 1.82 in 3227 fps 578 fpe 0.129 sec 3.03 in 0.20 in 1.80 in
175 yds 1.70 in 3139 fps 547 fpe 0.152 sec 4.20 in 0.53 in 2.48 in
200 yds 1.37 in 3052 fps 517 fpe 0.176 sec 5.59 in 0.91 in 3.27 in
225 yds 0.81 in 2968 fps 489 fpe 0.201 sec 7.22 in 1.37 in 4.17 in
250 yds 0.00 in 2885 fps 462 fpe 0.227 sec 9.08 in 1.90 in 5.19 in
275 yds -1.08 in 2803 fps 436 fpe 0.253 sec 11.22 in 2.52 in 6.37 in
300 yds -2.44 in 2723 fps 412 fpe 0.281 sec 13.63 in 3.22 in 7.69 in
325 yds -4.09 in 2645 fps 388 fpe 0.309 sec 16.34 in 4.03 in 9.15 in
350 yds -6.04 in 2567 fps 366 fpe 0.337 sec 19.35 in 4.93 in 10.74 in
375 yds -8.32 in 2491 fps 345 fpe 0.367 sec 22.70 in 5.95 in 12.48 in
400 yds -10.92 in 2417 fps 324 fpe 0.397 sec 26.35 in 7.07 in 14.34 in

Next is my personal .223 load. These aren't exactly apples to apples comparisons due to my Fire ball load being faster and the zero on the Fire Ball being 250 yards while the .223 is 200 yards but that doesn't effect wid drift and you can see the difference.

Load Data
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .223 Rem with the 40 grain BlitzKing @3,7000
Ballistic Coeff: 0.196
Bullet Weight: 40
Velocity: 3700
Target Distance: 200
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 5000

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Range Elevation Velocity Energy ETA Drop Max Y 10mph Wind Deflect
0 yds -1.50 in 3700 fps 1216 fpe 0.000 sec 0.00 in -1.50 in -0.00 in
25 yds -0.63 in 3582 fps 1139 fpe 0.021 sec 0.08 in -0.58 in 0.06 in
50 yds 0.06 in 3467 fps 1068 fpe 0.042 sec 0.33 in -0.51 in 0.23 in
75 yds 0.58 in 3356 fps 1000 fpe 0.064 sec 0.76 in -0.40 in 0.53 in
100 yds 0.91 in 3247 fps 936 fpe 0.087 sec 1.39 in -0.24 in 0.97 in
125 yds 1.02 in 3141 fps 876 fpe 0.110 sec 2.22 in -0.01 in 1.54 in
150 yds 0.92 in 3038 fps 820 fpe 0.134 sec 3.27 in 0.28 in 2.24 in
175 yds 0.59 in 2937 fps 766 fpe 0.159 sec 4.55 in 0.63 in 3.08 in
200 yds 0.00 in 2839 fps 716 fpe 0.185 sec 6.08 in 1.07 in 4.08 in
225 yds -0.86 in 2742 fps 668 fpe 0.212 sec 7.89 in 1.59 in 5.26 in
250 yds -2.02 in 2648 fps 623 fpe 0.240 sec 9.99 in 2.20 in 6.60 in
275 yds -3.47 in 2556 fps 580 fpe 0.269 sec 12.39 in 2.92 in 8.10 in
300 yds -5.25 in 2465 fps 540 fpe 0.299 sec 15.12 in 3.74 in 9.78 in
325 yds -7.38 in 2376 fps 502 fpe 0.330 sec 18.20 in 4.68 in 11.64 in
350 yds -9.92 in 2290 fps 466 fpe 0.362 sec 21.69 in 5.77 in 13.75 in
375 yds -12.89 in 2205 fps 432 fpe 0.395 sec 25.60 in 7.00 in 16.08 in
400 yds -16.30 in 2122 fps 400 fpe 0.430 sec 29.96 in 8.40 in 18.64 in

So much for the wind issue.
The .17 fire Ball load by the way is using 16.2 grains of H4198 (keep in mind I have a tight chamber and zero free-bore), and the .223 is using 27.4 grains of Benchmark. The .17 Fire Ball generates a lot less heat and makes longer strings possible in an active dog town without changing rifles. With the .17 Fire Ball I see every hit in the scope which is a gas, with my .223 the recoil takes you off target for a second or two.
There is my personal comparison of the two. I am not, repeat "NOT" saying the .17 Fire ball is better. Both excel at certain things. personally I'll never be without either of them.
As to the necks work hardening faster than other rounds I have to admit that that one is a new one I've not heard yet and certainly not experienced. I do indeed recommend annealing on .22 caliber cases being formed to .17 to avoid splitting necks on fire forming, maybe that's what guys have mentioned. Remington states .17 Fire Ball brass will be released later this summer. A lot of us have been making our own out of .221 brass (which is also scarce) or .223 or .222 etc.
Your question was about personal experience with the round, there's mine.

P.S.
The .17 Mach IV we've been shooting for years is a ballistic twin and one of the all time most popular small caliber wildcats right behind the .17 Ackley Hornet I'd guess but that's a whole nuther story. Hope that helps.

Depends on the type of varmints and conditions.

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

I like the 17 FB Remington 700 SPS standard (non varmint) I recently picked up. I purchased 60 rounds of factory 20 grain vmax ammo, mounted a Bushnell Elite 3200 5-15x40 and took it along with my cleaning equipment to the range. After sight and barrel break in factory ammo averaged about .8". I had a few groups open up to 1.20 and some that shot into .6".

I took the rifle out of the stock, lightened the trigger and painted the factory stock my usual camo job.

Handloads with 20 grain bullets averaged in the .8's (just about like factory ammo). Handloads with 25 grain bullets averaged in the .6's. One load with benchmark and hornady 25 grain hollow points shoots fantastic. This will be the rifles most used load unless I hunt coyotes.

Berger 30 grain bullets averaged in the high .7's and should make a dandy coyote load.

I have left the pressure point in the stock since given my uses for this rifle it shoots plenty good.

I have been shooting centerfire 17's for a long time. I know many folks complain that the little 17's will not shoot well in the wind. This has been not the case in my extensive hunting experience.

Mike.

I forgot to mention the range you asked about. Will a 17 Remington Fireball shoot straight at 200 yards?

Absolutely! I would not hesistate to take a shot out to 300 yards with mine on a coyote with a 30 grain bullet. 300 plus for predators would be pushing it for me.

300 plus for pdogs, bunnies, squrl's not a problem.

Mike.

I shot one last week at pdogs. First time shooting a 17 anything. Pdogs at 300 yds were not a problem. Wouldn't mind having one for myself, but the necks on the cases seem to dent easily.

Mine hit the P-Dog fields yesterday and was a gas! I can't say enough about seeing all the hits in the scope. It's a real effective rat spreader!

I have shot 160 rounds from my Remington Mdl 700 CDL SF Limited Ed. 17 Fireball rifle. I free floted the barrel and have adjusted the trigger pull down to three pounds. I have shot 6/10 th inch five shots 100 yard groups with the Rem 20 Gr ammo and my reloads using Hornady 25 Gr HPBT bullets with 19.0 Gr(MAX LOAD) Benchmark powder in Rem cases and Federal 205 M primers. I have shot around 50 prairie dogs with rifle at ranges from around 125 to 280 yards. There is very little recoil I can see the hits when the scope is set 18 X . The muzzle blast is low and the other p dogs did not run to their holes when the shots were past 175 yards. My little 17 Fireball rifle is a keeper.