It is based on the .223 Remington, necked down to .172in (4.37 mm), with the shoulder moved back. It was designed exclusively as a varmint round, though it is suitable for smaller predators. There are those such as P.O. Ackley who used it on much larger game, but such use is typically not recommended.

Extremely high initial velocity (over 4000 ft/s 1200 m/s), flat trajectory and very low recoil are the .17 Rem's primary attributes. It has a maximum effective range of about 500 yards (450 m) on prairie dog-sized animals, but the small bullets' poor ballistic coefficients and sectional densities mean they are highly susceptible to crosswinds at such distances.

The smaller .172 bullet typically has a much lower ballistic coefficient than other typical varmint calibers, such as the .22's. Because of this, the .172 bullet loses velocity slightly sooner and is more sensitive to wind; but by no means does this render the cartridge useless. The advantages of this cartridge are low recoil, flat trajectory, and minimal entrance wounds. A significant disadvantage is the rapid rate at which such a small-calibre rifle barrel accumulates gilding metal fouling, which is very detrimental to accuracy and may also eventually result in exponentially increasing, dangerous bore pressures caused by the fouling's constriction of the bore. Many .17 users report optimum accuracy when the bore is thoroughly cleaned after every 10 shots.

The .17 Remington is also one of the few cartridges in which powder charge weight is often greater than bullet weight. Though this condition has been know to degrade accuracy, the .17 Remington is noted for exceptional accuracy. This reputation for accuracy is undoubtedly due in no small part to the fact that only good quality bolt action and single shot rifles have been so chambered.

See also

• List of rifle cartridges
• .17 Remington Fireball
• 4 mm caliber
• Delta L problem

References

• 17 Remington article at TheReloadBench.com
• 17 Remington article at AccurateReloading.com