| .17 Ackley
Bee
I bought my first .172" caliber rifle in June
of 1999. It was a Remington Classic Model 700 chambered
for the only factory .172" caliber available, the
.17 Remington. Ever since that time, I have been a true
small bore fanatic! As any true varminter does, as soon
as (or even before in my case) having one project finished
another one is already in the works. As this is being
written, Im having a .17 Ackley Hornet built on a Martini
Cadet action. But while waiting on this one I needed
something else to do. Also being a fan of the T/C Encore
line up I figured this would be a good platform to base
my next small caliber from.
The plan was for a short fat barrel that could be used
in either a rifle or handgun formation. This required
a barrel at least 16 inches in length. Having settled
in on 16.25" as the finished length I now needed
to decide on a caliber. Only knowing that it would be
a .172" caliber and already having a .17 Mach IV
and .17 Remington in the gun safe, as well as a .17
Ackley Hornet being built, really narrowed the choices.
For some help I rang the phone of longtime barrel and
stock maker Fred Smith at Bullberry Barrels Works (www.bullberry.com).
Specializing in T/C Contender and Encore barrels I figured
he would be the one to help me out. Being a single shot
action, the possibilities were endless. After a brief
talk with Fred, I settled on the .17 Ackley Bee and
placed my order. While waiting on the barrel I called
Midsouth Shooter Supply (www.midsouthshooterssupply.com)
rounded up a set of Leupold Quick Release Rings and
Base that held the Burris 3-12X32 EER scope in place.
While cruising the web searching for information on
the .17 Ackley Bee I came across an extra attractive
package that was for sale. The package was a Ruger 77/22,
complete with rings and scope that had been rebarreled
with a Douglas tube reamed to .17 Ackley Bee! Not only
that, but it came with all the necessary reloading dies.
What a deal! Instead of having to go ahead and order
all the proper dies, I simply bought the rifle along
with the dies and had everything ready to go! Now only
if all projects would be this simple.
The .17 Ackley Bee is a necked down an improved version
of the parent case, the .218 Bee. It is also one of
the lesser-known .172" caliber rounds because of
the parent cartridge it is formed from. Though the .218
Bee parent brass for the .17 Ackley Bee can be a little
tough to come by, it does have its advantages. Famous
wildcatter P.O. Ackley developed it back in the 1950's,
and he considered it the ideal small case for the .172"
caliber cartridge. Mr. Ackley thought there is relatively
little gain in ballistic performance by using cartridge
cases larger than the .17 Ackley Bee and cases of very
much larger capacity often produce erratic results and
poor accuracy.
Unlike a similar .172" caliber wildcat, the .17
Mach IV (simply a necked down .221 Fireball), the .17
Ackley Bee takes on a whole new look after forming that
does not in the least resemble the parent cartridge.
The sloped shoulders that are the trademark of the Bee
do not exist when forming is complete. This is where
is gets those cool looking straight case walls and sharp
shoulder.
The 17 Ackley Bee, like the .17 Ackley Hornet, is chambered
mostly in single shot rifles. Bolt actions are sometimes
used but will not always handle the rimmed case well
when feeding from the magazine. The Ruger 77/22 I picked
up was originally chambered for the smaller rimmed .22
Hornet repeater but converted to a single shot when
rebarreled.
Being a rimmed cartridge made the .17 Ackley Bee extra
attractive for the Encore project. Unlike rimless rounds
such as the .17 Mach IV or .17 Remington, the rimmed
kind can be extracted from the Encores single shot
chamber by flipping the action open and pointing the
muzzle skyward. Unless the loads are hot, the case will
fall from the chamber effortlessly. This is beneficial
when in a fast shooting situation where more than one
shot may be presented at a time, granted its not an
every day occurrence when chasing Maryland pasture porkers
but it happens. The rimless rounds require that the
shell be plucked from the chamber by hand before a fresh
round can be chambered.
Forming brass for this wildcat requires a few simple
steps. The first step in the process is to run a lubed
.218 Bee case into the first form die. This step will
reduce the neck size to about .209." The next die
is Form Die #2, this one squeezes the neck down to about
.19." Finally the case can be run into the Full
Length sizing die which will give it the final little
squeeze to finish with an inside neck diameter of .172."
When trying to go from the original .224 inside neck
diameter to .172 in one step, the shoulder of the case
will buckle and crush, this is why it is necessary to
take it in steps and use all of the forming dies and
be generous with the case lube.
After the cases have been formed by running through
the dies, it is time to fireform. Fireforming offers
a few unseen benefits. The first is practice! These
loads, in my experience, are often accurate enough for
quality practice sessions. They also give you the chance
to break in a barrel without having to use good loads
for development. The fireforming loads used for the
.17 Ackley Bee consisted of 12 grains of Accurate 2200
propellant and 25gr Hornady HPs. These loads were very
accurate; in fact they were accurate enough to harvest
a few of the first groundhogs that were shot using the
Encore barrel.
After a piece of brass has been subjected to this much
manipulation it will "work harden" and become
prone to cracking or splitting. To remove this stress
I anneal each piece of brass after fireforming but before
full-length sizing. Annealing brass will return it to
the dead soft condition where it wont crack or split.
This is done by standing the cases in a shallow pan.
Then add enough cool water to cover about half the height
of the standing case. Finally heat the case mouth with
a small butane torch a noticeable change in case color
is detected, and then tip the case over into the water.
Change the water occasionally to keep it from getting
too warm. To dry the cases you can either heat them
lightly with a hair dryer or stand upside down in a
case rack and let drain. Be sure that they are completely
dry before seating primers or charging with propellant.
Bullet construction is not much of a concern for the
.172 caliber rounds. They dont have to penetrate thick
hides, break massive bones, or drive completely through
a large animal. The only requirement is for them to
explodeand do it violently! The high velocity and lightweight
bullets are the reason .172 calibers have become more
and more popular in the past few years. As suburban
areas creep steadily outward the need for cartridges
that produce low noise, light recoil, and non-ricocheting
bullets is becoming vital. Though not as readily available
as .224 caliber bullets, .172" caliber pills can
be had from a couple of suppliers: Starke, Calhoon,
Hornady, and Berger. As of late, the Starke Bullet Company
in Cooperstown, ND (www.starkebullets.com
or 701-797-3431) has been producing some of the best
bullet for use in the .172 calibers. SBC makes a full
line of .172 to .308 caliber match and varmint bullets.
The varmint line up is called Red Prairie Varmint Bullet
(RPVB). The RPVB is a beautifully constructed bullet
with a hollow point.
P.O. Ackley recommended IMR 4198, or H-4198, as the
propellant that produces the most uniform results. Since
his time there are many new propellants in the markets
that also work quite well: AA 2230, AA 2015, H322, H335,
IMR 4227, IMR 4198, and BL-C2.
Primers are a very important consideration when choosing
components for .172" calibers. They are a major
factor in getting them to shoot properly and most importantly,
safely. The recommended primer for anyone handloading
.172" calibers is the Remington 7 BR. Because
Remington is the originator of the .172" calibers,
they developed a special primer to handle the different
pressure curve on the .172" compared to other small
rifle rounds. Seventeens have a tendency to have a
"pressure spike" unlike other calibers. Their
small-bore diameter is very sensitive to changes in
loads and conditions. Because of this, the harder cup
of the Remington primer can handle the "spike"
and not pierce. A pierced primer allows propellant gas
to escape back through the action toward the shooter
allowing the potential for great harm.
Velocity from the shorter Encore barrel was much lower
than the .17 Remington, but that is to be expected since
the barrel is only 16.25" in length. After fireforming
loads were all fired, resized, and prepared for loading,
I began to experiment to see how fast this little bugger
could go. I must say that this set of testing was relatively
short. Not due to inclimate weather conditions or a
busy schedule though. The springing up of groundhog
cut range testing a little short and found me sitting
afield with the Encore .17 Ackley Bee. The best load
tested consisted of 13.0gr IMR 4198 and a 25gr Starke
RPVB. The velocity only rang up to 3170 feet per second,
but accuracy was top notch.
Like most of the small capacity .172" caliber
cartridges, the .17 Ackley Bee is noted for its mild
report and low recoil. It is a good 200 to 225-yard
varmint cartridge for use in settled areas. As of this
writing, the Encore .17 Ackley Bee has claimed 28 Maryland
bean munchers and the Ruger has gotten 19, but it also
sees a LOT less field time than the Encore. Using the
.17s on varmints is what got me hooked. At the crack
of the shot and a solid hit, a groundhog simply quivers
and goes limp. If the shot is anything less than perfect
they will run a little bit and expire, occasionally
making it back to their hole. The most movement from
a hit is on a shot to the head, the hogs nervous system
makes them flop around a bit, but as with any head shot
they are still dead.
In conclusion I must say that varminting with .172"
calibers is unlike anything else, the .17 Ackley Bee
especially so. It is a very efficient round, cases are
easy to form, with good loads it provides excellent
velocity, and case life is very respectable. The only
down side is that brass may be difficult to find at
times but once located and a decent size lot is obtained
the cases will last a lifetime. With good forming procedures
and careful resizing, some of my cases are up to eight
reloads. If you are looking for a top notch varminting
round with no recoil and low noise, and would like to
try something a little off the wall then give the .17
Ackley Bee a try.
Load Data:
- Bullberry Encore
- 16.5" Barrel
- Remington 7 Primer
- Starke 25 gr HP non-moly
- IMR 4198
- 12.5 grains 3025fps
- 3170
- 3220
- 3480
- 14.5 HOT 3575
- Ruger 77/22
- 22" Barrel
- Remington 7 Primer
- 20gr V-Max Moly
- IMR 4227
- 11 grains 3285fps
- 25gr Hornady HP Moly
- IMR 4227
- 11 grains 3092fps
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