Sheldon Cooper Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Hi all is any one useing .17 fireball?? i have a hmr on my ticket (not bought one yet) and have been thinking about trying to change it to a fire ball. I am considering this this because. . could reload for this and have heard that the price of ammo is simaler to the hmr . have heard many people saying that hmr ammo isent what it used to be . more power more range . save money in the long run by only buying on rifle and not having to trade in the hmr . could use for fox (although it would mainly be for long rang crows and maggies) I did apply for a .223 and my land and i was passed on a mentor. At the time i thought that it was one thing to many so did not bother with the .223 as it was stated for fox only and there wasent a great need. I am now leaning towards the fire ball over the .223 as i think it would be to much gun for my land and quarry so a smaller calibre would be better. And i like he idea of a samall bullet with reduced chance of ricochets (due to the high velocity). Like i said i want it for mainly crows and maggies with he odd fox what are the chances of getting a swap on my fac and do you think i would have to get a mentor with the smaller calibre. All i have at the moment is a cz .22 and i live in lancashire. I hope this makes sense and thank for any help/ advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 sheldon, In broad terms, there isn't much difference between the fireball and the 223 when it comes to safety. Both are high power, extra high velocity centerfires and both need the same level of backstops in shooting conditions. I would expect a mentor to be likely for this same reason, though since this would fall under the 'arbitrary' discretion of your local it may vary. As for shooting a small 17, a lot of the things you said are true. If you are reloading them yourself, then you can probably reload them for the same price or cheaper than the HMR while getting a flatter shooting, harder hitting round. It is a great round for longer distance (out to 300 yds) crow/magpie/rabbits though the 223 will do basically the same. The 17's are harder to load and you need some more specialized kit to do it like smaller powder funnels, tinier cleaning rods, and thinner fingers. However, the benefit is far less recoil and noise, much less powder used, and a cartridge that few others have. I shoot a 17 hornet and really like it. I debated between hornet and fireball. I chose hornet because I was in a single shot (encore). If it were a bolt gun I'd have gone fireball. Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) Hi all is any one useing .17 fireball?? i have a hmr on my ticket (not bought one yet) and have been thinking about trying to change it to a fire ball. I am considering this this because. . could reload for this and have heard that the price of ammo is simaler to the hmr Yes . have heard many people saying that hmr ammo isent what it used to be Thats news to me, just who are these MANY people? . more power more range Yes, so is a .5 Barrett, do you need it??. save money in the long run by only buying on rifle and not having to trade in the hmr I wouldn't count on it, not many people only ever get one gun . could use for fox (although it would mainly be for long rang crows and maggies) So could a HMR, WMR, Hornet, .204, etc etc etc I did apply for a .223 and my land and i was passed on a mentor. At the time i thought that it was one thing to many so did not bother with the .223 as it was stated for fox only and there wasent a great need. I am now leaning towards the fire ball over the .223 as i think it would be to much gun for my land and quarry so a smaller calibre would be better. And i like he idea of a samall bullet with reduced chance of ricochets (due to the high velocity). The 17g HMR is not known for it ricochets, frankly only the .22lr is really Like i said i want it for mainly crows and maggies with he odd fox what are the chances of getting a swap on my fac and do you think i would have to get a mentor with the smaller calibre. Nobody here can answer that without more info, actually nobody here can answer that at all, try an informal call to your FEO or region and feel them out Edited January 31, 2012 by Dekers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Cooper Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) So for the same money or less i would be gaining say 200 yards range over the hmr for the crows ect ect and as for fox i agree that the hmr would kill a fox but the fire ball shoots a heavier bullet at much higher velocity which i would think would give me much more reliability. yes i suppose other calibre could do the job but i have a feeling lancashire do not like giving out cf rifles for vermin. and fox for rimfire. thus my thinking asking for a cf on the smaller end which would cover all my needs with one gun . Like you said i need to ring the feo and ask wot the crack is Edited February 1, 2012 by Sheldon Cooper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark@mbb Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I shoot a 17 rem out 300 yds after crows and rabbits and eveen fox i also home load so i get the best of both worlds Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rem223 Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I would never put anyone off 17 ownership. However I am a less than optimistic at the long term prospects of the 17 Fireball. Remington dont seem to be offering it in many rifles . It will be tricky to track a rifle down in this chambering and the brass will be ludicrously expensive. 17 Remington brass is around £45 per 100 where 22-250 despite being twice the size is almost half the price. I expect the fireball brass (when you can find it) will be just as expensive. If you are not in a hurry the 17 Hornday Hornet might be worth considering. It could be a while unfortunately before it makes it to this side of the Atlantic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.