I am looking for something a little different to shoot at the cub and the 17 Remington has my interest? Looks like a nice round but so many others are going with the other 17 calibers and the 204. Your thoughts on the 17 Remington?
Mr. Andrews says he is "looking for something a little different to shoot" so my first reaction is that the .17 Rem is a "little different" and will probably get considerable, well deserved comment at his club. But just between friends, I suggest he will probably be more content with a .204 Ruger. The reason being that the .204 offers a much greater variety in riffle, ammo and loading components, which make life simpler. But having said that, the .17 Rem, indeed all of the seventeens, offer many volumes of interest, and sometimes spectacular performance. I say that as one who has been tinkering with assorted .17 cal cartridges even before the .17 Rem arrived on the scene, beginning back in the '60's when I was too young to know better and invested in a used .17/222 with a 3-groove Ackley barrel, loading dies and a supply of Sisk bullets. It was a pretty thing, built on a SAKO action, and I had visions of laying waste to groundhogs around our farm. But the Ackley barrel, or the Sisk bullets, or probably both, had bad juju, and I could never get it to deliver respectable groups. Other .17 experimenters of the time were having similar similar results so I expect this was how .17's got a bad rep that continues and is often repeated by onlookers who have no firsthand experience. Not one to give up because of one disappointment, I continued to try other .17 variations, some of which are shown here. On top is a standard Rem 700, in 17 Rem, that I had to return to the factory because the blueing was shedding from the SS barrel. It was returned with a different matt coating that has stayed on. Other than adjusting trigger for lighter pull the rifle is unchanged and delightfully accurate with about every load/bullet I've tried. Next pic down is a .17.223 on top with Shilen barrel, and below is a lovely custom stocked .17/222 Mag. with Douglas. shoots as good as it looks. Next pic, shows my .17 Javelina with A&M barrel and Mannlicher style stock made by Paul Marquart, a founding pardner of A&M and his personal prairie dog rifle. And a recently put together .17 Fireball, with Douglas barrel on a salvaged Marlin rifle. All of the rifles, except the Remington, were built on SAKO Vixen actions. If I were to name three factors that have contributed to later day successful .17's: they are better barrels, bullets and cleaning rods. If someone wants more variety in their shooting life I suggest trying a .14 Cal.