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Sweet .17 it may very well be contagious!
There were some key events that lead up to the eventual purchase
of my first .17, and I have to give credit to John Henry for
his contribution to the world wide web on his Coyote Gods
website. I read what he and others on the various chat boards
had to say about the .17 and was compelled to own one. The
thought of shooting a little tiny bullet at extreme velocities
intrigued me. The fact that this fictional-like character
John Henry used his .17s to dispatch coyotes out at 300+
yards lured me with an intensity that can only compare to
Rosie ODonnell after a candy bar. With confidence in John
Henrys infinite wisdom I could disregard the myths of barrel
fouling, and wind drift.
I remember my first .17 like it was yesterday. I was in the
gun shop and saw it up in the rack amongst some Remington
Senderos and Mountain Rifles. It was a Remington Model 700
Classic in .17 Remington. I had read about these guns on the
Go Go Varmint Go website, and the success that others were
reporting intrigued me enough to make me buy one. I had never
seen a .17 caliber bullet, but the gunshop showed me some
of the factory loads. That little tiny bullet perched on top
of that big case was a sight to behold I had to have it.
I had him throw in a trigger job and came to an agreement
on price. I also needed to buy a special cleaning rod, bore
guide, jag, patches. The owner of the store advised me that
I may need some Sweets and JB Bore compound. I bought a couple
of boxes of Remington factory loads to get started, figuring
they would also provide some brass for later reloading.
I didnt have any money for a scope, so I scrounged a Leupold
3-9 power scope from my .270. For the base and rings, a local
Jumbo Sports was going out of business and they had a black
one-piece base and some silver rings(all Leupold). So what
if I had a black base, silver rings, and a black scope with
a gold ring I was ready to shoot. I went to the range to
shoot the gun and had no rest or anything just a wooden
block with a rag on top to keep from scratching up my shiny
new stock. I had printed out some targets from Varmint Als
website and was ready to go.
I began shooting some groups and was astonished by the total
absence of recoil. I could keep my eyes on the target and
actually not lose sight of it. This was the first time that
I had ever fired a centerfire rifle with this little recoil.
The groups I shot were not remarkable, but I was pleased none
the less. At the time, I felt like I was doing so well with
the factory ammo, I began to think about reloads.
Funny how it worked out, but I got a bonus paycheck right
before a big gun show in Valley Forge, PA, and I knew right
away it was a sign that I should get my reloading stuff there.
I bought a Rockchucker press, RCBS scale, hand priming tool,
.17 cal funnel, Lymans 47th loading manual, and
RCBS .17 Remington dies. I didnt find any brass for the .17,
and most looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for
.17 Remington brass. I spent most of the show walking around
looking for my reloading goodies, and I burned up my allocated
cash rather quickly. Then, it happened like destiny, I stumbled
across the booth of Tom Thomas, owner of The Outdoorsman,
with all of his Coopers. In my eyes, these were the Holy Grail
of .17s I had the opportunity to hold a Cooper Varmint
Extreme in .17 Mach IV. I still aspire to own one of these
fine rifles (someday I will own a Cooper, I will own
a Cooper, I will own a Cooper). I had been emotionally
scarred and Tom Thomas was to blame. By then, the only thing
I could afford was a back copy of Small Caliber News and a
free Cooper brochure. I didnt realize it at the time, but
my addiction was beyond control. I left that show with a backpack
full of reloading goodies and high hopes.
When I got home, my excitement grew stronger, and so did
my addiction. There were still several things that I needed
before I could start reloading, so I decided to give Todd
Kindler a call at the Woodchuck Den. Todd gave me the advice
I needed, and I ordered a copy of the Sensational Seventeens
manual as well as some .17 Remington brass and a Wilson
Case trimmer with a .17 Remington case holder. Todd Kindler
is "The Go-to Guy" for the .17s, and I felt like
I knew him. He never seemed to get tired of all my calls and
questions.
I had to set up a work area to support my growing addiction.
I picked up an old bench that was being thrown away at work
and mounted my Press to it. This little bench was only 3 feet
deep by 4 feet wide and I have to say that it was a sorry
sight. I had it placed in my basement up against a concrete
block wall with no light. I had to string an extension cord
across the basement and plug in a halogen shop light that
was clipped to the floor joist above the bench. I had all
of my reloading stuff stashed in a plastic tote with a lid.
My little reloading area was not so pretty but I spent hours
there learning the craft. I remember my first night reloading
at that little bench until 2:00 in the morning.
To start reloading for my .17 Remington, I chose IMR 4320
powder, Hornady 25 grain HPs, and the Remington 7 primers.
I tried this combination and had moderate success doing so,
but as I was learning to reload I was also learning to shoot
(Im still learning at both). I read in my Sensational
Seventeens manual about Winchester 760 powder and saw
the pictures of the fine groups from the load, so I decided
to give it a try. My groups with the 760 were as good or better
than those I got with the IMR4320, but people warned me about
the temperature sensitivity of 760. Being a new reloader,
I decided I had better go with something more conservative
and purchased some Varget. The Varget didnt meet my expectations,
and I switched back to the 4320. Later I learned that I could
very well have continued to use the 760, even for shooting
on hot summer days. At that point, I purchased some other
bullets to try including some 25 grain Berger MEFs and some
25 grain Starkes. The Starkes, when combined with 24.2 grains
of IMR4320 is still my favorite load.
I had heard and read a lot about copper fouling in the .17
Remington. I would be lying if I told you that this gun doesnt
copper foul. The accuracy does decline some as well when the
barrel gets fouled badly, but it still shoots close to an
inch. With a clean barrel in light wind conditions, the gun
is capable of shooting " groups with its favorite load.
I can shoot a string of 25 40 rounds before I notice the
difference in the accuracy. Copper fouling shouldnt discourage
you from getting a .17, in fact, it hasnt discouraged me
even a little as you will see. What I found is that if you
get a factory barreled Remington, you will need to break in
the barrel carefully and possibly have it lapped. I have considered
fire lapping my barrel, but will probably shoot it the way
it is until I can justify a re-barrel. I want to see what
happens as the barrel gets more massaging from 4000-fps projectiles.
I decided that I would love to have a premium barrel custom
gun in a .17 caliber wildcat. I already had a T/C Encore handgun
and decided that I would like to have a carbine barrel for
this frame. It all happened as a matter of circumstance, and
the whole story of that gun is listed on this page as "Its
a Hebee?". One thing that I will say here is that Fred
Smith of Bullberry Barrel Works played a large part in contributing
to my addiction by providing such wonderful barrels at prices
that even a father of 3 small children could afford. I gained
more confidence and experience with that gun in both shooting
and reloading. I found that I could get a custom barrel made
for only a little investment. The word little should be considered
relative to the cost of a custom gun. I have also found that
the barrel is only the beginning, and the cost of brass, dies,
and time is much larger. The custom barrels that I have gotten
thus far are much better about the copper fouling. I have
to say that with the several Bullberry barrels that I have
gotten thus far, fouling is almost non-existent.
The addiction has now taken a firm grip on me, and I will
continue to provide information on my projects as they grow.
I now have a nice reloading bench with oak cabinets and a
Formica counter top. My reloading equipment continues to acumulate,
including my most recent acquisition of a Harrells Benchrest
Powder measure. Thanks to Todd Kindler for talking me into
this fine tool. I also have two chronographs that my father
gave me for Christmas.
Keep an eye out from time to time on the site to see how
my projects are coming and feel free to tell me about yours.
The .17 caliber projects that I am currently working on include:
.17 Ackley Hornet 10" Contender barrel.
.17 Mach IV 20" Encore barrel.
.17 Jet 21" Contender barrel.
Other projects I am working on that can still be considered
small caliber:
.223 Remington 15" Contender barrel.
6BR 26" Encore barrel.
I am doing articles for Small Caliber News on several of
the projects listed above, so I wont put them on the site
until after they are published. Please see the Long Range
Handgun contribution for now and look for that article in
an issue of SCN shortly. I hope to have it done for the Summer
edition since I missed the deadline for the Spring edition.
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