17 Fireball In a Pistol? This is for wilbur116

[FireBallGuy]

This is a reply to wilber116 as I appear to not be able to respond to his PM. This is a REALLY cool idea, only problems I see are the magazine on the savage action is STUPID long. On my remy's there is a substantial blocking plate in the magazine to work with the short cartridge and good smith should be able to remedy this for you in the savage action. Due to short barrel, stick to 20 grain bullets. Best powders used to date are H4198, Benchmark and RL-10X. My present fireball loves the last 2 and are used exclusively. Any other questions you may have can be answered here.

[Rick in Oregon]

Two other very popular powders for the 17FB or 17M4 are H332 and Vit N120. I use H322 in my Sako Vixen with a 24" Shilen barrel, and both the 25gr Berger or the 25gr V-Max zip along at 3,860 fps with groups running in the .3's. The "puree factor" on grojnd squirrels and PD must be experienced to be fully appreciated, especially with the V-Max. I use the 20gr V-Max in my .17 Ackley Hornet, and it runs 3,810 fps out of my 20" Pac-Nor barrel.

"Skippy Before"



"Skippy After"



Destruction at the molecular level. Pretty impressive performance from a rifle caliber that doesn't kick one bit, see ALL your hits, and eats a miserly 18 grains of powder to get it done. I'm sold. I know this doesn't address a 17FB in a short rifle/pistol, but highlights just how good this dinky little caliber really is.

[FireBallGuy]

Bang on RICK!! I have never had more fun with a centerfire rifle in my life.....PERIOD! Have sent more bunnies to the stew pot than I care to count, is my favorite for those MONSTER sized jackrabbits we grow out here! Have not seen a 20 grain bullet in a VERY long time....need some.....BAD! 25's work but for edible critters prefer the 20's.

[FireBallGuy]

Sounds like you have a slow barrel rick! My SPS will send 25's out the barrel faster than that....LOL!

[Rick in Oregon]

If I had not made a typo blunder, which has been fixed, you would have read "25 grain V-Max" out of my 17M4, not the 20gr, which I use in my 17 Ackley Hornet. The trajectories are almost the same, but the larger case gives about an extra 100 yards of danger zone for Skippy.

You want REAL small caliber fun? You ain't had it until you shoot the .17 Ackley Hornet. Imagine that kind of performance from about 13 grains of powder! It's a great Contender, carbine, bullpup, or short rifle cartridge. A nice Cooper 38 in that chambering is sweet too. (imagine that).



Neck turned, fireformed and annealed 17 Ackley Hornet with 20gr V-Max, WS2 coated. Skippy Headache No. 17.

[FireBallGuy]

You are a man after my own heart rick!! Thought about something smaller in 17 but the fireball has been working just fine for many years now. The 17 rem project is still on track, picked up sopme brass on the weekend.....OUCH!! Going to try and find some dies on saturday.

[wilbur116]

Well I finally found this post. Thanks FireBallGuy for going out of your way to respond to my inquiry. I really appreciate it.

I will look into the magazine issue as that was one of my major concerns. So as long as the Savage Striker 17 Fireball project looks feasable I should start looking for a good deal on a .223 unit to get started on.

[FireBallGuy]

That is about the only snag I can see you having for sure. Sounds like an interesting project wilbur keep the boys up to speed with how it is going! I have a small mountain of reload data for the 17 fireball, if you need anything further.....don't hesitate to ask.