17 HMR vs 17 WSM

[4xforfun]

Anyone out there shooting a 17 WSM who is happy with the accuracy? I know the WSM had some issues with accuracy. I never did hear if it was ammo related or gun related, but never heard a good report on them. Of course, this was info I got off of the internet. I know lots of guys who have Savage 93 HMR's that shoot great and one guy who has a WSM that shot like crap, sent it in for a recall,and now it shoots good.

I have a bunch of Scheels and Cabellas money to get rid of. I see the Savage Stainless 93 in 17 HMR with scope for $379.00!!

Thanks,
Tod

 

[hogpatrol]

One of my friends is on his third WSM. First two went back to Savage. On a good day with the sun out, no wind, holding his tongue in the correct position and the with all planets aligned, he'll get ONE one inch group. Anecdotal reports on pulled ammo show inconsistent powder charges. My .02? Stick with what is proven, the 17HMR. The WSM is a bad dream.

 

[whocanitbenow]

Find a Ruger American Rimfire 17HMR & call it good

 

[shoot4fun]

I prairie dog hunted with a friend two years in a row that shoots a 17WSM in one of the heavy barrel models of the Savage. That thing is very accurate and the 17WSM really has much more killing power at distance than the 17 HMR.
True, 17HMR is "proven" and you're much more likely to get a good shooting rifle/ammo combo at this time than with 17WSM.

 

[4xforfun]

I ended up with a heavy BBL stainless Savage 93. After a big runaround I ended up mounting up a Nikon Prostaff 5 in 3.5 - 14 with the BDC reticle. I shot some 45 yard indoor groups with 6 different types of ammo. Ended up ordering 20 boxes of CCI 20 gr JSP's. My 4 group average was .257.

.257 divide by .45 = .571 moa (roughly) Pretty sure I could shrink this down some more with a little more trigger time as my first group sucked!!

Good enough for me!!

Thanks,
Tod

 

[shoot4fun]

I ended up with a heavy BBL stainless Savage 93. After a big runaround I ended up mounting up a Nikon Prostaff 5 in 3.5 - 14 with the BDC reticle. I shot some 45 yard indoor groups with 6 different types of ammo. Ended up ordering 20 boxes of CCI 20 gr JSP's. My 4 group average was .257.

.257 divide by .45 = .571 moa (roughly) Pretty sure I could shrink this down some more with a little more trigger time as my first group sucked!!

Good enough for me!!

Thanks,
Tod

In your house????
COOL

 

[4xforfun]

In your house????
COOL

Not my house. LOL. My buisness.

 

[scope eye]

I have one, I changed the stock and put a Boyd's and it is now a .75 gun at 100 and that is fine with me.

Dean

 

[Hookem74]

I love mine.. but am also seriously considering the Boyd's stock on it. Not a big fan of the cheap plastic. But still shoots great! Love the office setup!

 

[Schandler]

I’ve got two b mags in 17 wsm - one i sent back to savage because edge of trigger mechanism was broke and it shot like crap. Got it back from savage and one of the pieces at top edge was broke ! Still shoots good but i would not buy another bmag just for that reason. The other b mag shoots really good and i haven’t touched it as far as bedding due to just an odd design on action and trigger. I think if you like rimfire for the simplicity and you want faster than hmr or hm2 then i would at least consider the wsm just because it’s an accurate caliber. The thumbhole laminate stock in wsm is a keeper - i dont own the semi auto a17 in wsm but that’s my next purchase for the simple fact that i love the mach 2 and hmr in the semi auto action. Shoots great for a semi auto in both so i haven’t touched to believe the wsm would make a great rifle

 

[nmkid]

One of my nephews has one and hasn't shot it in months. No ammo in his neck of the woods, (California).

 

[searcher]

I have four buddies, along with myself who have done a LOT of shooting at squirrels and sage rats over the years. We all have used .17 HMR's for years -mostly the Savage heavy barrel model. They all shoot fantastically. I also have a Volquartson semi-auto that shoots good when it does - and bad when it is in a bad mood. I am the only one in our group to not have bought a .17 WSM, only because I have an oversupply of .17 HMR ammo to shoot up first. My buddies all like their Savage WSM's a lot in respect to accuracy, though where I live, we can no longer buy ammo through the mail, resulting in paying some pretty high prices for ammo locally - especially the WSM ammo. It runs around $18.00-$20.00 when they can find it, whereas the .17 HMR is around $14.00-$15.00. One of my buddies is going to sell his WSM only because he figures he can reload about as cheap, with much better performance in a .20 Vartarg, .17 Hornet, etc.. But back to your question - those WSM's from Savage are mostly excellent shooters. I read of people getting a bad one here and there - but all those I know have accurate ones.

 

[B23]

This is a nearly ten year old post so I'd imagine the OP has likely found his answer by now.

But, FWIW I much prefer shooting my 17 WSM over my 17 HMR's. My 17WSM is a HB SS Savage Bmag or Bgag as they are often called and rightfully so because they have to be one of the oddest designed rifles I have ever seen. Honestly, they're kind of a POS built gun and it's no wonder they get so much crap talked about them but after having some work done to mine and getting used to the oddities about them it is my most favorite sage rat gun and I've shot sage rats out to nearly 350yds with mine.

Inside of 100yds I don't notice a great deal of difference in splat factory between my HMR and WSM but when you start getting out there 125-150yds the difference is very noticeable and 150-250 the WSM still blows em up pretty good where with the HMR they don't really splat much. In the afternoons when the breeze picks up the WSM makes connecting at those further distances so much easier.

 

[Winchester1886]

My buddy has a Savage in Winchester WSM and loves it. Haven't heard him complain about accuracy and accuracy is paramount with him. He lives in Wyoming and says he can get hits much farther that others with the Hornady HMR. Says it kills much better at distances over 200 yards. I thing his best kills have been just shy of 300 yards on prairie dog.
Only problem has been ammo availability and price.

 

[Schandler]

I know it’s all about the ammo but if i had to choose between 17 mach2 and 17hmr and 17 wsm - well it would be a toss up between hm2 and wsm ! Love me some hmr but for accuracy after sorting the ammo on all 3 the wsm is smoking. Even though it cost 30% more than hmr ammo i would still pay price simply for the extra range and the splat factor. Also the semi auto a 17 version is as accurate if not more than bolt rifles. I am going to buy a a17 in wsm in next day or two only because the hm2 and hmr i have in semi auto are as accurate at 100 as all bolts. Makes no sense that semi auto outshoots bolt but I’m a believer and can not wait to pull trigger on wsm in semi auto. Not a fan of bmag wsm but it shoots lights out like semis in mach2 and hmr and the a17 in mach2 and hmr are very accurate after weight sorting ammo.

 

[Fern]

finding ammo is the biggest pain and it’s expensive when you do. If you’re not limited to tidier go with something relloadable instead perhaps 17hornet or 20cal.
I had two spotter barrels I sent back to savage since they shot like crap. I asked them to replace it with heavy barrels didn’t matter which kind. They sent me two heavy barrels in black and they shoot the lead free the best.
I go sometimes with friend in cali for sage rats and use it or his 17hornet

 

[B23]

Until the last six months or so if you didn't already have some 17 WSM ammo you weren't shooting any, or, if you were really desperate you could pay the insanely crazy prices and buy some off gunbroker. At one time guys were getting anywhere from $50-$100 per box for 17 WSM ammo. I once joked and said if I could sell my stock pile of 17 WSM ammo all to one person I'd give them the gun for free.

 

[TheCZKid]

I must have gotten lucky (or blessed) to have gotten a good one. I purchased the B-mag with heavy barrel and laminate thumbhole stock. Stainless action and barrel. I put on a Glades bolt handle, and DIP top rail.


My friend purchased one of the first Savage WSM's with a skinny barrel, and it shot like crap. That was their first run, and they had issues, and they sucked, gave the caliber a bad reputation. The one I got was one of the newer ones, and it shot about .5" to .75" at first.

I bedded the action, and it then shot like a laser! It's got small rear area for bedding, and the rear part of the barrel has groves, so I bedded that area. The blue is Brownells release agent.




It's one of my most accurate rifles, but it depends on the ammo as well. Most of the time it shoots about .4" - .6" groups with Winchester, Federal or Hornady. Browning makes it now too, but I've never shot that.

First three round after bedding, at 83 yards, .07" group.

 

[searcher]

My Savage .17 HMR shot "pretty good" (about 1/2 MOA) before I bedded it and notably better afterwards (3/8" or slightly better) Wish it shot groups like that WSM above!

 

[dirtclod]

Sold all my 17 HMR's due to wind, less splat, and shorter range vs 17 WSM. 17 WSM arsenal for sage rat hunting include:
2-RIM X
2- Volquarsten
2 -Franklyn Armory
1-Bmag, now strictly stays in shop to shoot pigeons and invasive doves