I have to apologize guys. I kind of forgot where I promised to give the review of the Model 7 in .17 Rem Fireball. So, I ended up with it over at Coyote Gods. So, for your review, here it is here:
I was a little worried about the lack of over the counter ammo available since I don't reload and was assured that the Remington UMC 25 grain Hornady HP would provide excellent terminal ballistics on coyote. So, I ordered some of those and picked up a box of Accutip-V 20 grain to try to determine what the gun would prefer.
So, when the gun arrived I first lightly lapped the barrel with KG-2 bore restore. Being a factory barrel, I always figure I save a lot of ammo in the break in period if I use this step first. I took the gun to the range and started the break in process. Shot once, cleaned, shot once, cleaned; for about 20 rounds. I used KG-12 to clean the copper between shots. By about the 10th or 12th round I was getting little to no copper. On the last six rounds I fired for groups and although each and every shot was out of a freshly cleaned barrel, the gun printed two very pretty .8" groups back to back. I was very impressed, especially since the only scope I had to put on it was a 6x Simmons ProHunter which has a very heavy cross hair that tended to cover my 100 yard bull's eye. I ran out of daylight and had to wait until this morning to sight in the rifle and do the load testing.
This morning I arrived at the range to find excellent sunny weather with a 3-4 mph wind from directly behind the bullet. Got settled in and began to fire 3 round groups with the UMC ammo. Boy was I impressed.
Although the UMC tended to introduce a flyer every now and then (about 1 in 12), when those groups were taken from the mix, I got an average of 0.6" grouping overall with the UMC.
Here is an example of the typical group.
The flyers, when they occurred ranged between 1" to 1.7". Not a WHOLE lot to worry about since my typical shot is less than 100 yards and maximum would be 250 yards. I can reasonably expect NOT to get a flyer on those occasional long shots but if I do, I can see some tracking in my future.
Here is a typical 3 shot group with a flyer. This particular one, the flyer was the last shot.
Rem UMC 25 grain Hornady HP (typical flyer)
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the ballistics from this gun using the UMC ammo.
I then turned my attention to the 20 grain Accutip-V. I figure (although didn't chronograph) that this bullet is flying around 200 fps less than factory since I have a 22 inch barrel. So, I would guess it is leaving the muzzle around ~3,800 fps. Regardless, my Model 7 REALLY liked these bullets. Over five three shot groups, my average group was 0.48"!
Here is an average group from the Accutip ammo: Rem Accutip-V 20 grain
More impressive was that over five three shot groups, I had NO flyers.
So, I will be, for now, using the Rem UMC ammo for my hunting round. Now to find out if it is pelt friendly.
A couple of notes about the Model 7. Someone else mentioned a feeding problem with the Model 7 in .17 Fireball. I found this to be true. There is a filler block in the magazine to fit the shorter bullet leaving little room for fingers to load the gun. The magazine is exerting pressure on the rear of the cartridge only so the tip is not being pushed up. On the first two rounds I tried to feed, both jammed. I bent the spring and didn't have any more problems although feeding was still not smooth. This is something Remington, or the aftermarket folks, really need to work on. I would be the first to buy "a fix". Also, the X-Mark Pro trigger on the Model 7 Predator is frankly, GREAT; a wonderful trigger.