17WSM yote

[1raggedhole]

I was shooting a new prairie dog spot this morning. While picking off pups about 50-75 yds out, this yote came over the next ridge and stood there so I could range it at 247 yds. Gave it best guess on wind and elevation hold and dropped it with Win 15gr lead free. Took two shots. First one seems to have been a bit back, but prevented her from running and I put the second into the boiler room. Young female, but was impressed how that tiny bullet did the job.

 

[SecretCode]

Nice. I finally saw some ammo for sale locally. Everything else has in terms of ammo has been back for awhile now but I kinda forgot about the 17wsm (not on my radar due ro not having one). It was a bit of a sticker shock at $60 bucks a 50 pack. Ouch!

 

[65swede]

Good shot!

 

[1raggedhole]

Nice. I finally saw some ammo for sale locally. Everything else has in terms of ammo has been back for awhile now but I kinda forgot about the 17wsm (not on my radar due ro not having one). It was a bit of a sticker shock at $60 bucks a 50 pack. Ouch!

It has been a bit exhausting to constantly watch for reasonably priced ammo. You have to buy the second you find it. I last bought 1000 rounds for $400, which is at the limit of what I feel makes sense. Much more and the rifle will go down the road and I’ll use the 22 K-hornet. That said, the 17wsm brings joy every time it pops a prairie dog.

 

[SecretCode]

That little cartridge was/is an interesting little thing but it'll be interesting to see whT comes of it in the next 3-5 years or so.

It has been a bit exhausting to constantly watch for reasonably priced ammo. You have to buy the second you find it. I last bought 1000 rounds for $400, which is at the limit of what I feel makes sense. Much more and the rifle will go down the road and I’ll use the 22 K-hornet. That said, the 17wsm brings joy every time it pops a prairie dog.

 

[TheCZKid]

I ended up getting a Savage B-Mag which is extremely accurate, back when ammo was still reasonable. My local Bimart would sell it on sale, and I kept picking more up. My target of choice has been Sage Rats, but within limits I could see definitely on P-dogs or coyote up close.
I ended up stocking a lot of ammo, and then got a 17 Hornet, so shooting the WSM less lately. Yesterday went out after sage rats and took 17 Hornet, 20 Vartarg and 20 Practical, any of those I'd trust for varmints.

 

[1raggedhole]

Ive shot everything from 22LR to 30-06 on prairie dogs. While the 17HMR is certainly fun on pups and short range, the 17WSM is significantly more fun. Definitely a big step up in range and destruction.
Ive tried a bmag early on, but was never that happy with the accuracy or the overall rifle. Have been really happy with the Ruger 77/17.
Once I am done wacking the close ones with the 17WSM, I typically switch to 20VT, then 204 Ruger, and finally the 6BR for longest dogs.
Last few years Ive been also using an 1885 Browning in 22KH, which is ballistically almost identical to the 17WSM (comparing bullet drop and speed).

 

[B23]

I ended up getting a Savage B-Mag which is extremely accurate, back when ammo was still reasonable. My local Bimart would sell it on sale, and I kept picking more up. My target of choice has been Sage Rats, but within limits I could see definitely on P-dogs or coyote up close.
I ended up stocking a lot of ammo, and then got a 17 Hornet, so shooting the WSM less lately. Yesterday went out after sage rats and took 17 Hornet, 20 Vartarg and 20 Practical, any of those I'd trust for varmints.

My 17 WSM is my favorite sage rat slayer for a couple different reasons. In the rimfire world the 17 WSM reigns King without a doubt and delivers a higher splat factor at all ranges then any other rimfire. Under 100 yards I can honestly say I don't notice as much difference between my HMR and WSM but the further you go past 100 is where the 17 WSM really shows its strength.

The other reason, especially with regard to sage rat slaying, is it saves me countless hours in the reloading room. Like TheCZKid I enjoy shooting my 17 Hornets but when you can go through 2-400 rnds a day and do that for multiple days in the spring rat season not having to load thousands of rounds of tiny little 17 or even 20 cal bullets is something I gladly welcome. I enjoy spending time in the loading room, just not that much time.

 

[riverwolf1]

I was fortunate to have purchased 2 17WSM rifles from a friend, and with them were 6 cases of ammo! Took both out Friday and shot over 100 ground squirrels, some out to 300 yards. The first of the 2 rifles is a Savage B mag that had a lot of work done to make it a Tack Driver. The second is a custom ordered Volquartsen with a McMillan stock and while it shoots extremely well, I don’t like it at all.

 

[TheCZKid]

With the B-mag I ended up doing my first action bedding job, and I was nervous! However, afterwards I took it out to test it and was pleasantly amazed at the accuracy. I was at 83 yards, shot first shot, then second I couldn't tell where it went, and 3rd I couldn't find either. I thought - this could be good or this could be bad... turns out 3 shots were .07 group. So, good!

 

[searcher]

I ended up getting a Savage B-Mag which is extremely accurate, back when ammo was still reasonable. My local Bimart would sell it on sale, and I kept picking more up. My target of choice has been Sage Rats, but within limits I could see definitely on P-dogs or coyote up close.
I ended up stocking a lot of ammo, and then got a 17 Hornet, so shooting the WSM less lately. Yesterday went out after sage rats and took 17 Hornet, 20 Vartarg and 20 Practical, any of those I'd trust for varmints.

With a nicely dialed-in .17 Hornet, I find myself not wanting to buy much rimfire .17 ammo. The cost of reloading that Hornet is ridiculously cheap.

 

[1raggedhole]

yeah, rimfire ammo at $0.40 per shot is not very appealing unless you are trying to reduce the reloading time. I am already loading about 3000 rounds each year for prairie dogs alone, so it is nice to shoot something that saves some time