The 17 Reminton Fireball and Varminting

Reminton sure did a great service to the varmint hunting world by bringing out the little 17.. Some people say that the 17 is the 17 Mach IV which is not true even though the Mach IV  is formed from a 221 fireball case it is still not the same. The 17 fireball is basically the 221 fireball necked down to .17. Plain and simple. Ballisticly speaking it is similar to the 17 remington but shorter.

Personally I have considered The .17 fireball cartridge a Ideal cartridge for 300 yd varminting especially in a high volume shooting situation such as ground squirrels, picket pins, chizlers ect. where this cartridge shines. While its cost of ammunition is as high as any but if you reload it the price goes down to less than that of the 17 hmr and you extend the reach of your gun by 150 yds or more. Some will argue that the 17 fireball will not preform well in a windy situation but I disagree. The velocity of the 17 fireball is well over 4000 fps and out to 300 yds that projectile will get there in an instant and have very little time for the elements to effect it as much as some would say. While I am not a ballistic expert I have 15 years of real world experience in varmint hunting and I have considerd this cartridge many times when looking into a new rifle. 

Depending on who you talk to the accuraccy of the 17 fireball is excellent if not superb. Most factory rifles with factory ammo are seeing sub-moa accuraccy. This in turn will dispatch even the smallest ground squirrels at 300  yds. Another reason for the success of the 17 fireball is the need for pelt hunters to have a fast flat shooting cartridge that will only leave a entrance hole and not an exit hole and the 17 fireball delivers that need. 

All in all the 17 fireball delivers! Fast , Flat shooting, accurate, low report, low recoil, inexpensive to load for a fun to shoot. The 17 fireball is a real winner.