.17 Predator loads

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1Coyotemaster
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.17 Predator loads

Post by 1Coyotemaster »

I know at least one other member shoots a Predator and was wondering what he was shooting for powder. I have been loading 27.7 of Big Game/ 30 Nagel for 4150 out of a 26" Shilen(according to a Shooting Chrony) Hard time finding powder right now and was wondering about H380 or H/IMR 4350. These 2 are powders I already have, I know VVN550 works well to when available.
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Tim Anderson
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Tim Anderson »

You could try H-414 or win. 760, suppose to be the same. Imr-4320 or 4350 may work but can't say for sure as I have never tried it. Could also take a look at Hybrid.. When working with wildcats I usually just look at a powder burn rate chart and use what I have that's close to the burn rate I want and will also go up or down to find the better powder... Hope this helps..

Edit to add: I use big game powder and woodchuck den 30 gr. golds... Also if you need to round out a group a little more try different primers, I like the BR primers myself...
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Coyotehunter »

I would not think H4350 would be a good choice............IMR 3031 and H414 I think would be good options. Not sure about the H380. It is a .22-.250 powder by design, fairly fast RQ rating.
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by 1Coyotemaster »

Thank you both--I do like ball powders in the .17 cases even though some are temp sensitive. Ram Shot powders haven't seemed to be bothered by low temps as much as others (AA2230 2460 both produced less velocity at lower temps in .223) I used VVN540 for case forming and found the pressure spikes pretty fast before the charge weight is even close to case capacity--it was very accurate at around 24.6 grains----but at 25.5 I was cratering primers really bad and some tight extraction.
I dug around and have some WW760 lying around and may give it a try.

Tim, the Big Game seems to be well suited the the Predator. I have killed some long dogs and have had very very little hide damage from 50 yds out to 500+. I may just have to be patient and see what develops in terms of availability. The season is getting close to over and I still have a little bit of Big Game left.
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Tim Anderson
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Tim Anderson »

the thing with reloading for and find a load is the 17 cal. can spike or peak out pretty fast, usually have to work up .2, .3 gr. at a time vrs. some of the bigger cases like a 22-250 you can go .4- .5 gr. as you work up..

First off each gun is different, have to find what it likes but big game seems to be the powder for the 17 Pred.. My rifles barrel is a little shorter than yours so I'm not getting the vel. you are but notice I'm getting a higher charge than you are before I max out..

N-540- 26.7 Max.
Big-game-27.8 Max.
N-550-27.1 max. by the way this is one of the powders you have to watch out for, its not temp. sensitive but Pressure sensitive.

N-140-24.0 gr. blew primers so this load is over max in my rifle.

RL-15-26.5 "MAX"

All loads tested with 30 gr. golds. Br. primers...
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1Coyotemaster
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by 1Coyotemaster »

Thanks for the insights Tim, I shoot BR4 primers/WW brass in the Predator and they do seem to shoot best for me. Do you think that Todd's bullets are worth the $$$. I tried the Berger 30s but that huge HP seems to slow it down faster then the Nagels--they do kill well however, Walt and I had an interesting conversation about BCs on .17 bullets. I have roughly figured the Nagel 30s are around .235 and the Bergers may be a little less--just my experience from shooting at range and checking drop with known velocity.
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Tim Anderson
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Tim Anderson »

I have always had good luck with the golds, can shoot them in most of my rifles. I've had issues with the Bergers and the only good 17 cal. bullet they ever made was the 30 gr. B.T., LTB.s and they stopped making them.. The Golds are also good on fur and dumped all the energy inside a coyote and have worked well on red fox.. I still have a dozen boxes of the LTB.s, going to save them for when I really need them..
If you ever have to make up any cases for the 17 Pred. try using the 204 cartridges instead of the 223, you can eliminate making the false shoulder when forming brass, plus you will gain a little longer neck..
B.C. is around .270.....

Another thing B.C. is something to be aware of when choosing bullets but you also have to keep in mind how far you can shoot them and still have energy to do the job. In a 17 cal. most any bullet B.C. will reach out and get it done if they are moving along at a good pace to start with.

As of late I have been reading up on the latest craze, heavy VLD bullets used in some of the big cases including wildcats, for most of the shooters they are just pissing away there money as nothing is gained by going that route. Most don't shoot far enough to see or gain an advantage or often enough.. Take a 22-250 Ackley for example using a 52 gr. h.p. loaded to go 4000 fps., good enough combo for out to 800 yds... Sure a little heavier bullet will drift less, but when using either bullet weight you still have to dial in the windage, so what's the diff.'s if you dial in 2 moa. for one and 4 moa. for the other....
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1Coyotemaster
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by 1Coyotemaster »

At the end of the day it is mostly about knowing your gun. I have seen the gadget guys who have much more invested in equipment than they can actually put to use as far as field craft. On one end of the spectrum a guy I hunt with has the newest Leica 1600 plus an app for his phone that shows the solution for wind drift, drop, temp effect and maybe Coriolis, but the thing is he doesn't connect it all in the field. On the other end of the spectrum some older guys I hunt with scoff at my Leica 1200 and Kestrel and dialing up on a 400 yard sleeper--preferring to guess the yardage, drop and drift. Whatever works I guess.

Thanks for the info.
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dpoperngr
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by dpoperngr »

You guys talking about 17 HMR?
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Coyotehunter »

This would be the .17 rem.
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Tim Anderson
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Re: .17 Predator loads

Post by Tim Anderson »

its a center-fire cartridge and would be considered a big brother to the 17 rem.
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