Savage 17wsm opinions/suggestions

[Schandler]

i have read a lot of comments here and on rfc about the cartridge. Some post dating back to 2013 When caliber first came out and some more up to date. Read all about the inconsistent ammo and Tupperware stocks shooting 6” groups but I purchased because i bid minimum bid and nobody bid against me !! Shocked i won - So I’m the new owner of a savage Bmag but it is ss heavy barrel in the Thumbhole Boyd stock. Had no interest in anything other than this model because of the post on poor accuracy with other models - the 3000fps round did interest me too I’ll admit. Anyhow i should get the rifle first of the week. What i would like to ask is if anyone owns this model or similar - what grain ammo shoots best for your rifle and what mods were done if any. I am kind of excited about it because i enjoy playing with several cz in the 17hmr and mach2. No reloading and pretty dang accurate for a rimfire at 100. This wsm looks like 200 yards is very doable and the splat factor with the round. I’m planning on Wyoming trip for pd next fall and the truth is i want to take this wsm and maybe hmr and a 223. Not really sure about barrel life on the wsm and I’m not out to burn a barrel up but this will be my first pd hunt ever and it’s been something of a dream of mine for years. So what’s your thoughts on the wsm and I’ll say I’m sure i can get what i paid out of it if it doesn’t shoot like i hope it will. Thanks for any advice or input on the wsm

 

[DirtySteve]

First the gun is a piece of crap. Secondly all the ammo is made by Winchester regardless of whose name is on the box. Third, but most important, I have one and love it. Yes it has a bunch of issues but I tested several brands of ammo (again they are all made by Win.) What grouped the best I went and bought a bunch of. It is what most rimfire shooters do. Buy a bunch of boxes of ammo, test it, then buy a ton of the best lot number.

My wife and I have both shot P-dogs a little passed 200 yards (203 for her and 212 for me) with them. I bought her one with the laminate stock and thin barrel. I have the heavy barrel pos plastic stock. I like the little round so much I contacted VuDoo to see if they are going to make an action for it. Sadly they are not at this time.

This little POS gun is my go to gun for a quick outting to a near by P-dog town. It is just a plain hoot to shoot.

I Hope this helps in some way.
Steve.

 

[JSH]

I bedded mine as cavedweller on you tube shows. Made a big difference.

 

[Schandler]

Thanks for the info - jb well and release agent coming Monday - have you found the 25gr a little better accuracy than the 20gr ?

 

[Ccrider]

First, don’t believe all of the negative hype. I owned one of the first pencil barrels before they came out with the heavy barrels. Shot well but heated up fast and then threw shots.

I upgraded when they released the heavy barrel in the Boyd’s stock. It shoots all of the ammo reasonably well. The pencil barrel in a Boyd’s stock would make an unbeatable toting squirrel gun. The heavy barrel will for the bill well for pdog shooting off a rest. I have made some pretty impressive (to me) head shots freehand with the heavy barrel gun. The attached is 100+- yards out of the top of an oak tree. (Not for the weak stomachs).

As for which ammo, shoot all the weights and see what works best in your gun. You will find one or more that shoots much better than 1 moa. If not, you have a bad gun.

 

[fantastic]

Had one in a savage Bmag and it was not a very good rifle, I have seen it in a Ruger 77/17 which I can imagine is a better quality rifle. I have since moved to a 204 Ruger in a CZ 527 and couldn’t be happier. I can reload for the same cost at the 17WSM and I get way better performance. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the 17WSM but that Bmag was one crappy gun and ruined it for me. Another popular option is the 204 tactical, uses a necked down 223 and apparently is also a little tack driver.

 

[B23]

Because of its design, the Bmag is a real beeOtch to properly bed the action. Many take the easy route and bed the front of the barrel under the barrel rings like Cavedweller did in his youtube video. I know some claim bedding those barrel rings improves the shooting of their Bmags, but IMO bedding those barrel rings is a terrible idea because by doing so, you lock the rings into place and just created multiple recoil lugs and having multiple recoil lugs, again IMO, is a really bad idea, particularly when the barrel gets some heat in it and things start growing, moving, and shifting around.

My HB SS Bmag is one of my main "go to" sage rat shooters, I shoot it exclusively suppressed, if anyone knows much about rat shooting, it's generally high volume shooting and I've had my suppressor and barrel pretty darn hot and POI stayed consistent, but mine was bedded more like a centerfire rifle and there is nothing touching the barrel, it's free floated from the receiver to the muzzle.

Here is a pic of how my gunsmith bedded mine. He told me it was a real PITA to bed because the only thing you can really bed is in and around the front action stud where the magazine catch is and because there is nothing to keep the bedding compound from running out he had to build up a dam or it just all ran out through the mag well. In the pic you can see how mine has been filled up to the bottom of the receiver like a conventional bedding job so the bedding material is actually supporting/bedding the underside of the receiver. There really isn't anything to bed in the rear of a Bmag because the rear actually sits on the trigger so just a tiny dab of bedding is used to keep the rear centered. The Bmag is a VERY oddball design to say the least.

 

[Schandler]

Thanks fellas - Rifle should be in by wed and I’m going to check action screws clean barrel and sight scope in just to see how it shoots then bed action maybe this weekend - will post results before after. As of now all i have is the hornady 20 gr. Bought a brick just because i got a deal Will keep my eyes open for couple boxes of the 25gr The crow pic lol. I bought a 204 on rem xr action from a member here few years back and with crows not enough left to take a picture of except a couple whole feathers. I like to reload when i have time - kind of like going to see a really good movie with hun. You get out of movie and forget what time or day it is. Do most reloading in dead of winter unless i get lucky enough to acquire a new toy. - i believe the wsm will explode crow and all i have to do is grab the box of ammo and leave the brass laying - makes me feel a little lazy even

 

[Schandler]

When i bed i will try to stay just behind the rings on barrel and try to bed around the action screw. I can always add more if necessary. Anyone ever used the jb weld putty ??

 

[B23]

If you look around on the ole interweb or use ammoseek you can find ammo for under 10 bucks a box which is only slightly more than 17 HMR ammo.

I'd suggest cleaning the barrel, losen, then re-torque the action screws to 18 in.lbs and shoot it BEFORE you do any kind of bedding work. Also, I'd get a 1 piece picatinny rail from DIP Inc instead of using the two piece mount it comes with.

 

[Schandler]

Got it - will go shopping for the dip one piece

 

[Ccrider]

@Schandler, pretty easy to hit a crow at 100 if you know what the gun is doing. Gets more interesting when you are shooting head shots only.

 

[Schandler]

It’s hard to find the 25gr but have alerts set if any comes in

 

[B23]

If you come across any of the 15gr lead free 17WSM ammo you may want to pick up a box and give it a try. That 15gr LF ammo usually shoots very well and if you watch any of the videos over on varminter.com Eric has some great videos of that ammo blowing the bejeezus out of ground squirrels.

 

[JSH]

I won’t say I have shot mine a bunch, I will say I have looked at a lot of articles.
I forget who did it but the last on had a Bmag,Ruger and Volquartson. Consensus was it was more the ammo than the platforms offered. All shot under 1”@100, some better than others.
All I have used is 20gr Federal marked ammo.

I used liquid steel to bed. I did two different pours of the stuff. I was out of gel bedding compound. If I had the gel could have been done at one time.

I won’t argue with the thoughts of the heat causing issues when using the silly barrel grooves. If I see more problems I will sand them off and give a skim coat without them.
I still would like to know what the idea or thought was behind the grooves. Then again the elementary school genius engineer that designed it probably knows.

 

[fantastic]

I have the Savage B-mag in .17WSM. It's a good rifle. It's actually a very good rifle for it's price but it's not a great rifle.

I chose the .17WSM over the .17HMR because it was a little faster and would retain some more energy at longer distances. I don't think it's a huge advantage and ammo availability might make it not worth the extra. My decision was probably just a more-power (grunt grunt grunt) man thing and not really practical.

I think .22LR is a great round and I have killed a lot of small game and nuisance animals with it. But, I figure a .22LR is effective out to about 75 yds. I would hesitate to use it for anything other than paper targets past 100yds. Mine is sighted in at 50yds since I'll rarely use it past that.

.17HMR or .17WSM are good out to about 200yds. They can reach a little longer but I'll go with a center fire cartridge instead if I need to go farther. I very, very, very, rarely would need to go farther. In my experience, I can almost always get within 200yds of everything I've needed to kill. If I can't get at least that close, it probably didn't need killing.

 

[Schandler]

Well verdict is in for factory rifle - am i allowed to say. It shoots like shit. 4” grouping best i can get so i will be bedding this evening and tomorrow give it another try. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an action with action screws in the areas where they are. And a plastic trigger guard with wood screws holding it to the stock. I did order some 17gr and some 25gr but i have a brick of the 20’s . Going to watch a few more videos on bedding and give it a shot this evening or maybe tomorrow. Sure hope it helps. Any suggestions welcome

 

[Ccrider]

View attachment 1127256 Well verdict is in for factory rifle - am i allowed to say. It shoots like shit. 4” grouping best i can get so i will be bedding this evening and tomorrow give it another try. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an action with action screws in the areas where they are. And a plastic trigger guard with wood screws holding it to the stock. I did order some 17gr and some 25gr but i have a brick of the 20’s . Going to watch a few more videos on bedding and give it a shot this evening or maybe tomorrow. Sure hope it helps. Any suggestions welcome

What does the barrel look like?

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

We had one in the pd shooting group last summer,Savage blued hb plastic stock. Out to 150 easy with head or tail winds. Ammo was some type of 20 gr, everyone liked it until they shot my 17 rem at same to double distance. I liked it for all the sub 100 yard work.

 

[Schandler]

Barrel looks good. Ran a patch of butches down and and patched until clean and took the the rifle to the bench. Noticed last round in the mag always hangs. Worry about that after i get it shooting. Lil hard to get used to the cock on close deal.