17 Remington?

[Yotehntr]

Are there any other 17 Remington shooters on here?  If so do you reload?

[HuntnCarve]

I have one Brad.  It's been a few years since I shot it, but I used Varget powder with the 20 grain V Max bullets.  Also used Benchmark and AA-2700 powder with Hornady/Berger 25 grain Molycoated bullets.

Dave

[slagmaker]

Never had one but I want me a 17rem. I know one other person who had one and he let me shoot it on my range. I liked it! Negligible recoil and his was damm accurate. Don't belive he reloaded for it but I can ask.

[Yotehntr]

I guess I have the addiction pretty bad (I have 3) they're a lot of fun to shoot. The reason I asked was to share some new to me info. Because of the reloading shortages I guess my hoarding nature kicked in and I was trying to get hold of some powder. Actually mostly for my 22-250, the hodgdon site showed they had Winchester Staball 6.5 in stock. I quick looked up to see if was any good for my 22-250 and bought a couple pounds. Before it showed up I got hold of my prefered powder for the 22-250 (Varget) and wondered if the Staball 6.5 was any good for the 17 rem. They have some crazy velocities showing for it. I've loaded the 30 grain bullets before and was getting 36xx fps and wasn't very happy with it so I was sticking with 25 gr bullets. Hodgdons site Data showed 3904 fps for 30 bullets with the staball powder. Well I worked up to a full load no psi signs at all when I got to the full load my old chrony only gave me 1 reading for my 3 loaded bullets. I got 3830 fps I've got a new chronograph on the way so hopefully I'll get more trustworthy numbers but I'm impressed that should make a very fur friendly set up.

[Okanagan]

Don’t own a .17 but have a story about one.

A grizzled old pro wolfer friend of mine hunted for awhile with a wealthy accountant who hadn’t started hunting till in his 40’s.  Probably a midlife thing for the accountant.

The accountant bought a fancy .17 Remington with a pricey scope and hand loaded for it with the best components, tools and skill that his money could buy.  He bragged on it while the old wolfer kept ribbing him as to whether it was big enough for serious coyote killing.  The older fellow carried a .243 and killed coyotes for a huge ranch, especially during calving season.

The wolfer had a three mile circle he would walk in the winter, starting at daylight and making a loop along and around a long ridge loaded with coyotes.  He would skin them on the spot and bring back the valuable hides on a special shooting rest packboard that he had designed.  He invited the account one morning, who was delighted to go along. 

What the account did not know was that the wolfer had stretched a coyote hide over a plywood cutout of a broadside coyote, and placed it in some thin sage near the end of their three mile jaunt.

The wolfer spotted the “coyote” at nearly 300 yards, pointed it out to the accountant and set him up on a rest to shoot it.  The first shot produced no visible effect and the wolfer wondered aloud if it was a miss or if the .17 wasn't enough gun to kill the coyote.  “Shoot again,” he whispered. The second shot had no more effect than the first.

The accountant was getting suspicious that something was not right because the critter had not run away but the old pro convinced him to slip into a ravine so they could sneak closer.  The fellow shot again from 150 yards or so, again with no effect.  By this time the wolfer was giving him grief that the lowly .17 simply was not powerful enough to kill a coyote.

They often stopped by my place for a coffee on their way home, and it made for some fun razzing and counter razzing.

Yotehntr, am impressed with the velocities you are getting!

[Yotehntr]

LOL that’s just wrong! Sounds like something just about any of my friends would pull on me though! Of course I wouldn’t do any of them like that   

[JohnP]

Brad - Ya ever want to get rid of one of them .17's please let me know, even if they don't kill coyotes. 

Had a PA deer hunter out here several years back and while going up the mountain he stumbled and fell, rifle (.243) came off his shoulder and fell down even further down the ravine.  I went down and got it and then suggested he shoot it to make sure the scope is still sighted in.  We picked out a target at about fifty yards for him and he shot at it and missed, shot again, and missed he shot a total of five times and missed.  He then pulled the bolt out and looked down the barrel and said damn barrels bent, I looked and it looked pretty straight to me.  I told him he could use my .243 for the hunt which he did and he did kill a nice buck.  When we got back home I told him I would give him $150 for the rifle and scope, he said okay, still have the rifle and scope, and have killed more than a few coyotes and coues with it.

[Yotehntr]

  can't give 'em up John! After dropping his down the slope you had to give him at least a warning if he dropped yours!

[Okanagan]

That accountant was a good man whose company I enjoyed the few times we got together. I think he passed of cancer awhile back.  His eagerness plus lack of experience made for some great stories. He started his hunting career with money in his pocket, asked good questions to credible hunters and bought good stuff.  Besides the .17 Rem he bought himself a .280 Rem and a .375 H&H magnum, a battery to handle anything he might hunt in North America.

He’s the man I have mentioned who shot a black bear in the rump with the .375 and when I helped skin it, we found the hefty Nosler Partition bullet under the skin on its forehead.  Between the eyes… from the rear. 

I forget the details but the wolfer had spotted a bear and with the accountant stalked it up close in a tight dry ravine. The hunter missed it and I know for sure that the bear ran toward them.  The wolfer told me that it was running from the echo of the shot and the splash of the bullet.  The hunter thought it was charging him and missed it again, very close.  The bear swapped ends and the hunter shot it in the rear as it ran away.

The accountant would not shoot small or average bucks, always holding out for a wall hanger.  He came home one day with big eyes and a confused story of seeing a HUGE mule deer, maybe record book size, on the east slope of the Monashee range.  He saw it inside of 100 yards two or three times, and he either missed or as I recall, never got a shot off.  His story was an odd one, with gaps and jumps, the tale of a man who either got excited and could not remember what happened or more likely, didn’t want to tell some of it on himself. 

After the man left the wolfer growled, “He ain’t shot enough little ones to be ready for a big one.”

[JohnP]

Okey-Doky sounds like some stories spun around the campfire, but hey I believe them.



Let's have another.

[Yotehntr]

more likely, didn’t want to tell some of it on himself. 

I can relate to that! LOL Guy I hunt with we go back and forth pretty rough on each other He's a retired Army Ranger, we were crossing a fence (holding each others guns etc) as he crossed the pole went between him and his coat. I set everything down quickly and ran to help... asked are you ok? Thought it has skinned his back but he was laughing hanging there so yes I got a pic before helping him down! 

[Okanagan]

Okey-Doky sounds like some stories spun around the campfire, but hey I believe them.



Let's have another.

John, you and I have enough years and miles on us to have a collection of odd events and stories unusual enough to raise an eyebrow, some of them we will never tell.

I debated about telling the bear with the bullet on his forehead because it sounds so tall, but was feeling in story mode the other morning since I'd cancelled a dawn patrol and was home and mellow with a hot cup instead of out in wet snow and mud.  I was in on skinning the bear or would put an asterisk by the story myself.  Before we touched a knife to the bear we noticed an odd bump or swelling on the bear's forehead. It was a Nosler Partition bullet but I can't recall the weight but seems like it was 325 (275 grains?) whatever Nosler makes about that size in .375.  Medium average size bear, likely around 150 lbs.

My wolfer friend supported the hunter's story of what the bear did and how he shot, etc. and never mentioned that the bear was not charging except to me when we were in private.  He said that the bear was running from the echo and shot splash and didn't even know the two men were there till the fellow lurched up and shot again.