17 wsm in A 17

[Schandler]

I have an itch for a savage semi auto in 17 wsm but just can’t find a fair price even with cyber this black this days. I have several rimfire 17’s and am real pleased with all as far as accuracy but have a bolt 17 wsm that just shoots tiny little holes and a semi auto savage in 17hmr and hm2 that shoot as good as any of the bolt rifles. I would like to hear from anyone with a 17 wsm in semi auto (A-17) in savage before i blow 650-700 on a rifle. Thumbhole 47800 savage is the plan unless i hear bad comment. Thanks

 

[CRS]

Did you buy the savage a-17wsm?
If so do you like it?

 

[Schandler]

I did and am sad to say it shoots like crap ! To be fair - i have cleaned barrel a few times in between shooting a few while sighting in and backed off on the very tight action screws trying to improve accuracy - good scope and mounts solid. I had to send a bmag back to savage but when i got it back it did shoot great. The reason i wanted this semi so bad is because i have one in mach2 and one in hmr that both shoot great. I want to bed action but afraid to do if i have to send back to savage. Would like to hear from other A17 wsm owners - theres not a lot of info out there on this particular semi auto even on rimfire site. If it’s a bad barrel i hate sending a rifle back. A little quality control would save them some money for sure. I am going to try different ammo but feel sure that’s not going to help.

 

[JSH]

Maybe more input/info at rimfire central?

There are a few of us 17WSM shooters here, bolt guns. I go tired of waiting on them to get the semi auto out. And, from the reviews I saw when Volquartson made a few accuracy was not enough better for me to spen the $$$$ on another rifle than my ugly savage.
I have ruled it as a 1-1 1/2MOA rig, though it has and can shoot better I feel that is the average with mine using different lots of ammo.
I am with a few others at this point, it should have been a 20 caliber.

 

[Old Hickory]

I have an itch for a savage semi auto in 17 wsm but just can’t find a fair price even with cyber this black this days. I have several rimfire 17’s and am real pleased with all as far as accuracy but have a bolt 17 wsm that just shoots tiny little holes and a semi auto savage in 17hmr and hm2 that shoot as good as any of the bolt rifles. I would like to hear from anyone with a 17 wsm in semi auto (A-17) in savage before i blow 650-700 on a rifle. Thumbhole 47800 savage is the plan unless i hear bad comment. Thanks

I have a Savage A17 Sporter .17 WSM that is going back a second time to Savage for problems. I received it from them and it had problems after I fired a couple of rounds so now after my phone call, they are sending another free shipping label.

 

[Knotwild]

1 A friend bought the Savage B mag plastic stock. Shot bad.
2 So we put it in a Boyds thumb hole because he likes thumb holes. No bedding, but it didn’t improve one bit.
3 Sorted some ammo with no discernable improvement.
4 He offered to give it to me, so I took it back to his house so he would not forget where he left it.

 

[Ccrider]

If you want a 17wsm that is accurate get the target model bmag.

 

[Schandler]

CC i have a target bmag and yes it shoots very well ! But also have the semi auto savages in hmr and hm2. The semis shoot just as well maybe better than the bmag !! The a17 in wsm is coming around after almost 200 rounds down the tube. Shoots better with a little dirty barrel and Hornady ammo that i weight sorted. I purchased a Winchester xpert in 17wsm recently. It has a cheap Tupperware stock and no option to buy a replacement stock - they’re just not made i guess because of how magazine release is part of the thin plastic stock. Anyhow the xpert is a shooter ! It’s bolt action but still accurate !

 

[Ccrider]

CC i have a target bmag and yes it shoots very well ! But also have the semi auto savages in hmr and hm2. The semis shoot just as well maybe better than the bmag !! The a17 in wsm is coming around after almost 200 rounds down the tube. Shoots better with a little dirty barrel and Hornady ammo that i weight sorted. I purchased a Winchester xpert in 17wsm recently. It has a cheap Tupperware stock and no option to buy a replacement stock - they’re just not made i guess because of how magazine release is part of the thin plastic stock. Anyhow the xpert is a shooter ! It’s bolt action but still accurate !

I have been through three bmags. The first was a pencil barrel that heated up after a few shots and shot like a shotgun. The second was a heavy barrel that shot 1 moa that I exchanged the pencil barrel for. A year later Savage released the target model. They allowed me to trade in and upgrade to it. The target model is 1moa or a little better.

The A17 sport ref is tempting and I have read some good reviews on it. The Winchester Tupperware stock is a no go for me.

 

[Schandler]

Well i have a ton of ammo for wsm and i also have a disease -I keep wanting to buy a wsm rifle that i dont have !! Not willing to spend 1500 $ on the expensive stuff so that’s why i bought the xpert. Yes i cant stand the plastic stock but have to say its almost as rigid as the rimfire tikkas and for a 300 dollar rifle it shoots pretty good. Crow or squirrel at 125 yards is not a challenge !

 

[Leveraction35]

Well i have a ton of ammo for wsm and i also have a disease -I keep wanting to buy a wsm rifle that i dont have !! Not willing to spend 1500 $ on the expensive stuff so that’s why i bought the xpert. Yes i cant stand the plastic stock but have to say its almost as rigid as the rimfire tikkas and for a 300 dollar rifle it shoots pretty good. Crow or squirrel at 125 yards is not a challenge !

Interesting… I’ve been eyeing up those xperts

 

[cclfn]

Interesting… I’ve been eyeing up those xperts

I have an old 24" Ruger that is a great shooter after a Jard trigger and stock work. I wanted a shorter pickup gun and for the price I had to try one. I can tell you it is way to light, terrible trigger, bad rotary mag, but is surprisingly accurate if you pay attention to your shooting techniques. I will try it out this spring on sage rats but Winschester still isn't selling extra magizines for them.

 

[Schandler]

I kinda like the rotary mag but trigger needs work! I may play with it with a stone in future but the rotary mag pretty dang easy to fill and the accuracy - well I’m pretty happy with it and how light it is - I’m getting used to it ! I see it laying on seat of wood truck out in middle of back 40 just waiting to pop a coyote ! For 300 i can smile when i pull trigger on something

 

[TheCZKid]

I've got a B-mag target model with stainless barrel and gray thumbhole stock, and it shoots wonderful. My buddy got one of the first B-mag rifles, with plastic stock and thin barrel, and it shot poorly. Savage really marred the reputation of the 17 WSM with their first offering of their rifles, they shot pretty bad.

I didn't realize Savage came out with a semi-auto version, sounds like it's not doing as well as the bolt rifle, too bad, dang! Volquartsen had their semi-auto, but I didn't have the budget for that, and my bolt model shoots so well, I've been happy with it. My CZ 17 Hornet gets more use now, but for sage rats at 150-200 yards on in the 17 WSM is really hard to beat!