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  #1  
Old 10-11-2011, 02:34 PM
Bad Wolf Bad Wolf is offline
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Default Why is the 17 Fireball not popular ?

I personally think that this is THE cartridge for rabbits, much further range and consistency compared to the HMR, but the only factory rifle manufacturer is Remington and they are reducing the number of models chambered in 17 Fireball.

Why is this ?
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:45 PM
ab_bentley ab_bentley is offline
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It's not unpopular. It's unique and once people get over the hype and banner appeal they loose intrest and move on it's been that way for years. I feel people viewed it as, HEY, it's new, small, and people don't have three or four of em' so I'll get one. JMO, Adam.
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Old 10-11-2011, 04:43 PM
jim barker jim barker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ab_bentley View Post
It's not unpopular. It's unique and once people get over the hype and banner appeal they loose intrest and move on it's been that way for years. I feel people viewed it as, HEY, it's new, small, and people don't have three or four of em' so I'll get one. JMO, Adam.
I tend to disagree with you. Only a very small percentage of new chamberings are bought just because they are new. Most buy because of a precieved need. With calibers that don't fit into the large game area its even harder to find a need. Now, the ones that feel the need are always elated when their favorite wildcat is picked up by the manufactures but its short lived. The sub calibers are used for small targets and quite often long ranges so they need to in the 1/2 inch area of accuracy. More often than not this requirement isn't met. The other is being able to afford shooting of large volums of ammo. Reloaders can do this but the majority do not reload so are left with paying up toward a dollar per round (center fire) and that makes it very difficult to go plincking with or to a dog town where 300 round day isn't out of the question. This is known by Rem., CZ and others. I think they jump in for the intial surge and make a pretty good profit then cut back rather quickly so as not to loose what they made. JMO
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Old 10-11-2011, 07:18 PM
sicero sicero is offline
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It took the 17 Remington 30 years.
You probably would have a hard time finding a reloading book that even mentions it.
Remington didn't even support the FB when they first come out with it.
Some dealers had guns with no brass or ammo to go with it.
It was two years before you could find brass for it.
Hornady was far better prepared with the 204 and several companys chambered rifles and made brass. Remington had thier head up you know where. They catch on very slow. Kenny
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Old 10-11-2011, 08:08 PM
Oleman Oleman is offline
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Default 17 FB not popular

You don't see to many after factory chambers yet. As for me it's real hard to get excited about a Remington Factory chamber/throat.
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Old 10-11-2011, 08:35 PM
woolenmammoth woolenmammoth is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oleman View Post
You don't see to many after factory chambers yet. As for me it's real hard to get excited about a Remington Factory chamber/throat.
It makes sense to us because we, whether we can always afford it or not, have a taste for the slightly exotic. Without trying to sound like a snob, I think the average guy looking at a 17 cal based on a 221 case is likely not looking for a factory rem, and the guys looking for a factory rem are likely easily swayed once they compare price per round w a .223.

Could possibly be as simple as that. Then add points already mentioned in this thread...

Or maybe Im just a snob
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Old 10-11-2011, 10:29 PM
wirelessguy2005 wirelessguy2005 is offline
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i have to agree with a statement made in a prior post about the cost of factory ammunition. I believe that is one reason why the 204 is more popular than the 17 FB. Hornady 204 ammo is around $15 a box while the equivalent 17FB ammo is every bit of $20 a box or more. Add in the fact that remington is the only company making 17FB brass and its easy to see why the 17FB has lagged in popularity. In my opinion if Hornady would produce factory ammo and Winchester would produce 17FB brass it would change things significantly.

All that being said the 17FB is still one of my all time favorite cartridges and I plan to continue enjoying it even if it does drop in mainstream popularity.

Brad
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Old 10-11-2011, 11:56 PM
sicero sicero is offline
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Any of you guys that were on here seven or eight year ago more than half the posts were about the Mach IV or AH. Kenny
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Old 10-12-2011, 01:46 AM
jim barker jim barker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sicero View Post
Any of you guys that were on here seven or eight year ago more than half the posts were about the Mach IV or AH. Kenny
yes but that was before the 17FB/M4 became an over the counter rifle. The Ah still draws lots of attention but that will disappear with the advent of the over the counter version.
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  #10  
Old 10-12-2011, 01:55 AM
mattri mattri is offline
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What does the .17 Fireball do better than a 20 Practical/Tactical/Vartarg? Not trying to stir the pot- real question.
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