Rimfire advice. .17 choices/22 choices

[HUNTNMT]

This is how my Savage BTV 17 HMR shoots the Hornady ammo at 100 yards. The first shot landed a little high but the next 4 wadded into one ragged hole. This is the most fun gun I have had in a long time. I have only killed gophers with it so far but have no doubt that coons or rock chucks would be in serious peril if this hit them. My only complaint about the Savage was the trigger. Mine has an accutrigger but still required some "tuning" to make it nice. Great little guns for the money.

 

[threejones]

The first 17hmr I had was a Savage 93r17 FV. It started at 1.5" @100 at best with any ammo I could get my hands on. After a ton of research I got it tuned up, and my groups dropped to .75"@100 (but only with Hornady). The action screws like to be torqued down very lightly. It seemed too light to me, but I was told to start at 12ft#, and work up 1/2 at a time, mine liked 13.5ft#. Opening the barrel channel way up and bedding the action and about the first 2" of barrel made a big difference as well. I trimmed about 3/4 of a round of the trigger spring off too, brought the pull down to just over a pound (but still pretty creepy no matter what I did). It was a great little gun... Liked it so much that I sold it, bought a CZ with JP trigger kit, and now get better groups with any ammo.

 

[HUNTNMT]

The first 17hmr I had was a Savage 93r17 FV. It started at 1.5" @100 at best with any ammo I could get my hands on. After a ton of research I got it tuned up, and my groups dropped to .75"@100 (but only with Hornady). The action screws like to be torqued down very lightly. It seemed too light to me, but I was told to start at 12ft#, and work up 1/2 at a time, mine liked 13.5ft#. Opening the barrel channel way up and bedding the action and about the first 2" of barrel made a big difference as well. I trimmed about 3/4 of a round of the trigger spring off too, brought the pull down to just over a pound (but still pretty creepy no matter what I did). It was a great little gun... Liked it so much that I sold it, bought a CZ with JP trigger kit, and now get better groups with any ammo.

My Savage liked the action screws to be a quarter turn past snug. I do not have a torque wrench yet. The Savage accutrigger mods were simple for me after researching it on line.

 

[dust]

I'm hoping to do three accutrigger jobs this week

 

[SaskShooter]

This is odd. I've had two Savage rimfires, and both liked to have the crap tightened outta the action screws. My 93R17 TRR-SR can shoot 1/8" groups at 50 yards with a clean bore and snug screws.

 

[lewwetzel]

For my next rimfire, I'm holding out for the new Winchester .17 Super Mag. In a rifle made some company other than Savage.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

...The action screws like to be torqued down very lightly. It seemed too light to me, but I was told to start at 12ft#, and work up 1/2 at a time, mine liked 13.5ft#. ....

Are you sure it was Ft/Lbs?! That is 4x higher than I torque the action screws on high end custom rifles... I would forsee stripped screws & broken stocks at that rate.... At 40in/lbs (with 1/4 in screws) you are looking at over 1200lbs of clamping force. Now equate that with 13.5ft/lbs (or 162in/lbs!!)..... 4800(ish) lbs of clamping force.... Something is gonna break



OP, the competition level rimfire guys I've spoken with (.22s anyway) have always told me that .22's require a good bit of fouling before they start to tighten up accuracy wise. I don't remember how it works but it's been quite consistent for them & may be worth testing in your situation.


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[.303]

You cant go wrong with any of them all 3 have there good points,for me Plus 1 for the 17hmr,a friend has the 22 mag the 17 is flatter,You can't go wrong with it although the ammo has a short shelf life.I have found the brass cracks,I bought a case of hornady 17hmr ammo & found 150 rounds cracked,& the shop refused to take it back so I'm not buying cases for it anymore,that's the only bad point with the 17.i use the 22 for 50yards on rabbits & foxes its an awesome round,17 is better for 50 to 150 yards in zero wind,if its windy I keep the 17 to 40 or 50 yards

 

[COBrad]

All the bad press I read about the .17HMR and wind kept me from trying one for several years.
It is much better in wind than I had expected. With the speed it generates, I find it to have less wind drift than any .22 rimfire I have used.

 

[codyjoe1128]

For my next rimfire, I'm holding out for the new Winchester .17 Super Mag. In a rifle made some company other than Savage.

X2 on the 17wsm...sept ima stick with my savages....ill give my 93r17 to my wife....

 

[the shotty]

I picked up a used marlin 917 a few years ago for $350 with a Harris bipod, cabelas .17 scope, and three extra mags. The trigger was heavy but seemed alright. I very rarely put it on paper but my best group was a 300 yard 3 shot group that could be covered by a quarter. I shot squirrels, coons, and tons of pidgeons (my preferred targets) from 25-200 yards and never once cleaned it while I owned it with no issues. I loved the gun and kick myself for selling it. I started having extraction problems and sold it to fund my AR build. My .02 but I would/will buy another marlin.

 

[AH3682]

I have a very accurate savage 93 MK II in .17HMR that will put five bullets in the same hole @ 50yd. Here is how it has been shooting so far:

Session 1:
Sight it in with 4 power fixed scope. Then I shoot a .75" group at 50

Session 2:
At friend's range. Shoot at cans at various distances (15-50yd) and then shoot at the steel posts, (they are just standard steel posts set up to mark the distances every 25yd our to 100) no problem out to 75yd and second shot hit at 100

Session 3:
P dog out at 250yd first shot right, high. Second shot left. Third shot low left. Fourth shot a hit.

I'm not the most seasoned or experienced shooter out there and the fact that i even reached those ranges was a testamony for the gun's accuracy.

Hope this helped and happy shootin'gun)

P.S. getting a 3-12 scope soon, hope it will take the .17 farther

 

[Texote]

I really wanna buy one of them 17wsm! I had a17hmr and it was sweet. My buddy has a mach ii and they're really fun to shoot, they're really quiet!

 

[CBS]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned volquartsen. They are working on the 17 wsm in a semi auto platform that would be devastating to a prairie dog town.