repeater in 17FB or 20 vartarg?

[Neil S.]

Alright, I am getting exited for my next project... a 17 FB or 20 vartarg repeater. I am trying to decide on the best way to accomplish this at the moment. I have heard many success stories about using a cz 527 in 221 FB as a donor and that is probably what I will do. I thought I could save some cash by getting a cz in 17 rem or 204 ruger and having the barrel cut back and rechambered, but apparently 221FB mags wont fit into the bottom metal of these rifles? If not I suppose I will have to get the 221 FB version and have pacnor true up my action and screw one of their tubes on . Any help with this project would be appreciated, also which of the two calibers do you prefer? (I know its hard to choose!) This rifle will be used for walking around, shooting crows/small critters out to say 350, and calling preditors in brush.

[Sidewinderwa]

Remington sells 17 Fireball rifles that are repeaters, I have one. I also made a single shot 20 VarTarg from a Savage action. I prefer the 20 VarTarg over the 17 Fireball. I almost converted the Remington to a VarTarg when I had problems getting it to shoot accurately. I finally got it to shoot 1/2 inch groups, which is not as good as my other varmint rifles. We have shot prairie dogs at 600 yards with both calibers. My brother likes his 17 Fireball a lot. Either one will be a blast to shoot. Get one of each!

[Rick in Oregon]

FWIW, I own and shoot both calibers, and if I had to choose one only, it would be the 20VT for certain......as long as you're willing to do the bit of extra work to form the brass to .20 cal., which is really no big deal.

The 20VT will do everything the 17FB (or 17M4) will do, but the reverse is not true. I love my 20VT; it's become one of my favorite varmint calibers in only one season of shooting. JMO

[Neil S.]

Thanks for the input guys, thats two for the vartarg... I think I'm convinced! Sidewinderwa-I'm aware of the remingtons... I'm just not a huge fan of them. If anyone is trying to get rid of a CZ in 221FB I'd be interested !

[wirelessguy2005]

Neil,

If you run across a CZ 17 rem or 204 they will work for your build. All you need to make them a complete repeater is to get on the the CZ usa website and purchase .221 magazine and bottom metal. I did the same conversion with my CZ 17 rem and turned it into a 17 FB repeater. By the way it shoots lights out, one ragged little hole at 100 yards. Earlier this summer i was out in Colorado for a Pdog trip and it was my rifle of choice. By the way if you don't have a good smith lined up to do the work i would highly recommend Bob Green. He has done the work on my last 3 rifles and his work is superb. He also has the reamers for 17FB and 20vt and has chambered many rifles for the guys over on the Saubier forum. Feel free to PM or email me if you have any questions.

Brad

[Neil S.]

Hey Brad thanks a ton! I didn't know you could buy the bottom metal straight from CZ. I'm gonna be watching gunbroker and gunsamerica for a used CZ Varmint. I'm still trying to decide between 17 FB or 20 vartarg... I'm looking for less muzzle blast/noise but still some decent range. The tiny twenty is very cool and efficient, but I'm having trouble justifying (in my head) the gunsmithing expense and new dies just to shoot the same bullets 300 fps slower than my 204 Ruger. The 17 FB has a little less range and more wind drift tho. Decisions, decisions!

[wirelessguy2005]

i have had both the 17 FB and the 20 VT, They are both excellent little rounds. In my experience wind drift wasn't as much of a factor as you would think between the two rounds. When i was out in colorado shooting pd's at 400 yards the 17 FB performed just as well as my 204 Ruger in hit percentages. I was using the 20 grain vmax and 25 grain Kindler HPBT bullets in the 17 FB and 32 grain VMAX in the 204. In my particular shooting scenario the 17FB was right there with my 204 out to 400 yards. Beyond that range the 204 has some obvious benefits. Just my 2 cents.