.17 CF actions

[Elwood]

Such as the 17 Ackley Hornet or Fireball, can anyone tell me what actions these are based on, presumably something like the .22 Hornet?

 

I only ask as I'm quite keen on something like this in the future and I have just missed a CZ527 Hornet.

 

I'm thinking of buying the action/complete rifle and storing it with my local RFD until I figure out exactly what type of .17 CF I want.

 

I'm thinking of something short and light to be used as an everyday truck rifle, which will more than likely replacing my .17HMR

[Redfox]

Remington Light varmint synthetic fluted 700, is already around as 17Rem ( I have one) can be made into other versions. Although I like mine and it is extremely accurate and light to shoot and carry.

There are Sako/ Tikka s as well with the right bolt face, a friend bought a 223 and sent it to Sako to be rebarreled as 17 rem, it too came back a tack driver. There are Parker hale and BSA hornets out there that could be modded too. I have owned a few CZ/ Brno rifles and they are not in the same league as the above rifles/actions, they work but are in the "nearly but not quite" category on finish and quality and require a fair amount of work and spending to make a really nice thing out of them.

Redfox

[MarinePMI]

Redfox,

 

If your comparison of CZ/BRNO's to the Tikka's and such is of the newer variety, I'd have to respectfully disagree. The CZ 527 is a very clean action, with fit and finish on par (and in some regards better) than the Tikka T-3's (I'm not a fan of plastic bottom metal or magazines like the T-3 uses these days).

 

As to the Remington's...well, I'm not going to get into that debate again. It does say something about Cerebus though, when you consider the huge loss they took when Chrysler went under, and I'd venture to guess cost cutting measures will be felt throughout their holdings to account for the losses. It's too bad, as it appeared as if Remington was cleaning up some of their QC issues and turning out some pretty accurate rifles of late.

 

For an HMR replacement I'd say the 17 AH is probably right up the alley of what Elwood is looking for. The CZ 527, Browning Micro Medallions and Ruger 77/22H's make good candidates (with the nod going towards the first two for fit, finish and handling).

[Guest dasherman]

If you had mentioned this last week Ian I'd had brought my Sako A1 fireball to Bisley for you to have a look at.

[Elwood]

If you had mentioned this last week Ian I'd had brought my Sako A1 fireball to Bisley for you to have a look at.

 

Dang!

 

Redfox and Marine, I should add all I want is the action, the barrel will be taken off and thrown away and the stock I will either sell or use as kindling wood.

 

So can I conclude that a .22 Hornet will have the correct bolt face for a .17 in some form or another?

 

How short could I go with the barrel without losing accuracy? I'm not bothered about the FPS loss, which I know will be substantial.

[MachIV]

Hi

 

The little Sako actions are good. Mine is a Mach IV (the original Fireball!) Sako L461. Nice and light, short action, decent trigger and it cycles the rounds no problem.

 

 

[Cornishman]

My experience rebarrelling a Cz 527 Hornet to 17 Ackley Hornet has been very encouraging. The base gun was good in terms of the squareness of the action so very little work was necessary in truing it: Basically my gunsmith screwed a new barrel on. The magazine doesn't work so well but that's probably because I've not taken the time to fiddle about with it. I fitted a single-shot follower and feed it that way. An excellent rifle for field use.

 

When I considered my conversion I rejected the Sako as the Hornet actions were getting a bit old and getting magazines was a problem. That decision was also coloured a bit by problems I had when blueprinting a Sako Vixen - the action was badly off-square and needed a lot of work to true it up. That was a surprise as I'd always reckoned Sakos to be a cut above.

 

Cz also make a 221 Fireball repeater that should convert to Mach IV (17 Fireball) with just a barrel conversion (query - are Cz making a factory gun in this chambering yet?? Dunno).

 

Cornishman

[MarinePMI]

Elwood,

 

You'll need to decide what 17 wildcat (or factory) cartridge you want to go with to determine the bolt face. If you're looking for a light, fast, frangible 17 with low report, then I'd say the 17 AH would fit the bill. If report is not a concern, and you've never wildcatted before, I'd recommend just going with a 17 FB (standard factory cartridge) and lop off what ever barrel the stock rifle comes with, and be done with it.

 

As to accuracy, you could have a four inch bbl and (if done correctly) it'd be accurate. That being said, velocity does matter with the .17's, as that is what makes it work the way it does. Without high velocity (of some degree) you'll really limit yourself with range and wind deflection, as time of flight will be longer, and the wind will affect the (already) low BC bullet.

 

Are you going to have a can installed? As mentioned before, if that is case, 18" might be a good length. If not, then I'd suggest a 20" bbl.

 

Remember not all actions can be made into repeaters for some of these smaller sub-caliber rifles. The rem 700 comes to mind, Savage is another. If you go the route of a stubby sub-caliber you'll probably need an action that is fit for it (i.e. a micro or mini action). The CZ 527 Hornet, Browning Micro Medallion were purposely built for the smaller cartridges, as was the mini-mauser (Rem 799).

Remington 799

 

Decide what caliber you want, and I'm sure we'll all be able to offer advice...

[22/250 foxer]

there is a nice 17 rem sako a1 on the guntrader. worth a look

[Alycidon]

6PPC here built a 17AH on a new CZ 527 action a few years ago, Callum was impressed with the quality of the action.

 

A

[Vermincinerator]

Hi Marine,

The Remington 799 is not available in the UK we only get what the importers think we want .

 

Ian.

[ChrisF]

BE very greatful , THAT you cannot get the Rem799 , as its a Yugo made Mauser , and they are not that GOOD , the minis I have played with ALL had a very sticky cycling action , even after using a boatload of Auotsol on it .

 

Later Chris

[casts_by_fly]

Like Marine said, you'll have to decide if you want a hornet based cartridge (17 AH) or a 223/222/221 based cartridge. They are different bolt faces. If you want an AH, then you've got the CZ as the leading choice in this country. The Ruger would be more common than the browning, but I'd take the browning over the Ruger given the choice. I think I'd probably take the Browning first overall, except they are a bit more expensive and I don't think you can get them here very readily. An Annie hornet would do the job well too I would think. Cooper has factory AHs but I've not seen one in this country. If you don't want a repeater or bolt, then you could get an Encore/Contender, Ruger #3, or a Martini hornet. If you want an AH, I'd probably stick to the CZ.

 

If you want something else, then it depends on the something else. if it is the FB you want, then get the CZ FB action or a Sako A1. Super sweet and sized perfectly for a 17 FB. If you can't find one of those, then a 17-222 is a 'light' wildcat (no forming required aside from FL sizing in a 17-222 die) with moderate case capacity that should cycle through a lot of actions. If you want to go big case capacity (and with a moderator, why not) then the 17 Rem is the more practical choice, but a 17 Tac would be a pretty good choice also. All of the above would run on the same actions (223 based/sized actions).

 

For what your'e proposing, the 17 AH is the ideal cartridge performance wise as it is small, cheap, and still packs a little wallop. The 17 FB is a more practical choice as you don't have to get custom dies, you get a little more horsepower, and with a moderator you won't notice a difference.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[Redfox]

Marine PM1, hear what your saying about Rem etc, Mine is a few years old now and fine, the later ones when Rem were sold out I dont have one so cant compare.

The CZ is ok and I have been round the factory a while back, but it is a budget action with a few drawbacks which require work to correct.

Sako/Tikka are still good despite Berretta's attempts to foul up the company.

The Tikka plastic as you call them mags are actually high pressure moulded with glass reinforcement and dont break or go rusty, I have no issue with them and I have 3 in different cals, it was very much done to make a good everyday work tool, not to cut costs and the action is very well finished to tight tolerances and is strong too.

As he says he is looking for an action only most of our suggestions dont really apply, although I personally would not start making a custom expensive rifle in these cals as the factory made rifles I have suggessted are more than accurate enough at the ranges the round is capable of, spend it on a longer range calibre.

My Rem lvsf is a one hole at 100yds and better than 1 inch at 250yds ( wind permitting of course) with home loads, what more do you need?

It killed 2 foxes in the last two weeks drt, one at about 80yds and the other about 160yds and both entry points were right where I aimed, nuff said.

 

Redfox

[MarinePMI]

Redfox,

 

I'm curious, how was the factory? Any pics?

 

As to the CZ needing some work, I think we agree, all factory produced rifles do.

 

I do recall 5-6 yrs ago that CZ did have a crappy run of rifles. It was right when their popularity went through the roof, and they couldn't make them fast enough. Saw a little 7.62x39mm 527 Carbine that had the barrel seated with epoxy to account for a screwed up threading job. To date, that has been the only one I've seen like that, but I guess every factory puts out a turd every now and then, eh?

[Redfox]

Factory was interesting, no camera allowed, and as with all former iron curtain countries, they had really good people who were dedicated to succeeding. They knew they had to change to meet the competition and were starting to invest in better kit for manufacture. They had previously sold at subsidised low prices to get western currency ( for the Ruskies) and realised higher prices meant a better product was needed. I was lucky to have a local who did the interpreting for me and arranged the visit, as I say great people and they will do well.

I am sure that as each year goes by they will increasingly give the competition a good run for their money in the middle range market place.

In this instance buying just an action he will be looking at the older stuff hence my comment.

Sad thing about Remington is they were for ages noted as one of the most accurate "out of the box" rifles, but it has all slipped away recently.

Redfox

[njc110381]

6PPC here built a 17AH on a new CZ 527 action a few years ago, Callum was impressed with the quality of the action.

 

A

 

 

I'm impressed with it too, it's mine now.

 

If anyone wants a cheap .222 CZ action check out the for sale section