It was one of those days that fox hunters
dream of, cold and clear with a slight breeze. My hunting buddy Ken Deters and I were
watching a red fox work his way up a fence line half a mile away. It was headed for a
small patch of unpicked corn where we were confident he would stop for a midday siesta.
Our predictions were right; he entered the corn field and never came out. Ken pulled on
his white coveralls, looked at me with a gleam in his eye, and said, "Let me try out
your new.17."
I laughed and pulled out
my 700 chambered for the .17 Remington and equipped with a Leupold 6.5-20x scope and a
Harris bipod and handed it to him. After a long stalk, Ken was able to connect on the
sleeping fox with a 190-yard shot. As an added bonus, when he went to pick up the fox he
spotted a coyote that apparently also had been sleeping in the corn and had been awakened
by the shot. Ken connected on the coyote with a 100-yard shot. Although he was dead tired
from carrying both animals in the deep snow, he was grinning from ear to ear. We examined
both animals, and we were unable to initially find any entry wound. It wasn't until we had
skinned them out that we were able to find the tiny entrance wound. The bullets had
disintegrated inside the animals, resulting in absolutely no hide damage.
To back up a bit, Ken I live for fox
and coyote hunting in southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. Up to the previously
mentioned hunt, both of us had used .22-250s exclusively for predator hunting. The .22-250
performed nicely on coyotes, but we encountered hide damage on the thin skinned fox no
matter what bullet we used. Needless to say, stitching hides is low on our priority list.
After extensive research and reading excellent articles written by Tim Holien
and Mike Johnson on their success with the .17 Remington, I subsequently purchased a new
Remington 700 in that caliber. After tuning up the factory trigger, I took the rifle
out to the local |
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By Member Todd Nyhus
Todd Nyhus(I) and Ken Deters
show the results of a successful southeastern South Dakota fox hunt.
benchrest club (Dakota Bench Rest Shooters)
to break in the barrel and sight it in. After working up several different loads for the
.17, I have come to the following conclusions:
1. The .17 Remington is a
somewhat finicky caliber that requires considerable patience in developing the perfect
load.
2. Slight variances in
powder charges or different brands of primers can affect its performance drastically in
comparison to other caliber's.
3. Don't be afraid to
experiment with different powder, bullet, and primer combinations. Ken an I have used
several brands of .17 caliber bullets which include Hammett, Berger, and Hornady, and
found they all perform well. The Hammett and Berger bullets have distinct accuracy
advantages, in addition to having a wide selection of bullet weights, ranging from 15 to
30 grains. The two powders we have found to work the best are Hodgdon H-414 and IMR 4320.
We also used CCI Bench Rest and Federal Bench Rest primers for optimum results.
During my first season with the .17, I used a load consisting of 24.5 grains of IMR 4320,
Federal Bench Rest primer, and a 25-grain Hornady bullet. This load in my rifle produced
1/2-to 3/4-inch groups, acceptable for factory sporter weight barrel that wasn't free
floated. In addition to being an excellent fox and coyote load, it is also deadly on
prairie dogs.
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After one season, Ken was afflicted with
the.17 caliber bug and acquire a Sako varminter and topped it off with a 6-24x Pentax
scope. Ken's rifle shoots like a dream with his favorite load: 26 grains H-414 with a
21.9-grain Hammett bullet. This combination produced sub 1/2-inch groups.
After the season was over,
I took my rifle to Stan Ware of Stan's Guns, Rt. 2-Box 48, Westbrook Minnesota 56183-9521
(507-274-5649) to have it rebarreled. Stan installed 26" Shilen select match barrel
contoured to the factory Remington varmint barrel. He also lapped the lugs, squared the
action, etc. After Stan was finished with the barreled action, I put it in an H-S
Precision synthetic stock that was painted in a snow camouflage pattern. After the initial
break-in period, I tried several loads and selected one consisting of 25 grains of H-414,
Federal Bench Rest primer, and a 25-grain Berger bullet. This load produced an average
group in the mid 0.3 with the best group measuring 0.148" at 100 yards. Needless to
say, I was extremely pleased with the end result.
Anyone who is interested
in a serious predator rifle that produces accuracy combined with low noise and recoil,
plus minimal pelt damage should consider buying a .17 Remington. Your won't be
disappointed.
Anyone looking for an
excellent gunsmith who is also a helluva nice guy should contact Stan Ware. In addition to
being an authorized Remington warranty station, Stan produces beautiful custom rifles. He
knows what it takes to make a rifle shoot with extreme accuracy, and I highly recommend
him.
Happy Hunting! For more information on Stan's custom built rifles Visit our home page. |