.17 HMR Bolt Action

[spencerk]

Ok so i have Decided that i need to get a Rimfire Rifle to save some money on ammo (All i have is a Remington 700 in .243 win and a spaninsh mauser in 7.62nato). I was originally set on getting a 10/22 but after shooting some more .22lr rounds at the range i found that it really doesnt have the Range im looking for. ive always been a fan of .17 HMR so i decided to jump on that bandwagon and start looking for the right bolt action .17. I just had surgery and was able to save up some extra money (money not spent on ammo at the range) and now im positive i will have enough for a nice bolt action. the local big 5 has a mossberg 817 on sale for 160 and sports authority has a savage 93r17 for 197.

I am leaning towards the mossberg because it will also give me the option to use it in gunsmithing school for custom making a stock (no aftermarket for it yet) and insert sling swivel studs and a buttpad/adjustable cheekrest. the mossberg is also much cheaper.

my fall back isnt a .17 hmr though... its a Mosin nagant. again because of gunsmithing school.

Anybody here have a Mossberg 817? I really love the feel and size (will also be used for varmint and trail plinking) Post up some pix of your 817 if ya got em too.

[SoCal Bob]

I have an 817, out of the box the trigger was horrible. I spent some time with some stones and smoothed it out considerably, I would now say it has a really nice trigger. It does not come with sights so you pretty much have to scope it and the straight bolt handle is annoying with a scope mounted.

If I had it to do over again I would have spent more and bought the Savage. That being said, if you plan to use it as a learning experience it might work out fine and $160 isn't too bad a price. The Savage is good out of the box and probably wouldn't have much to do gunsmithing wise.

Good luck with gunsmithing school.

[shooterdude]

I have the Savage .17HMR with the heavy barrel and the composite stock. I put a 6.5-20 x 50mm Whitetail scope on it and it is an accurate rifle with a great trigger (Savage Accutrigger).

[spencerk]

What about the accuracy of the 817? How is it compared to the 93r17?

[SoCal Bob]

What about the accuracy of the 817? How is it compared to the 93r17?

Sorry, can't help you there. I don't have a 93r17 and I haven't had it back to the range since I worked on the trigger. I also put a different scope on it so I can't give you any meaningful info.

[TheExpertish]

Personally I'd say the Savage is the better buy. However, what is the range you are wanting. If you're looking to save money on ammo a .17HMR isn't exactly a swing in the right direction. If you're looking for a gunsmithing project and want cheep ammo look into some other bolt action .22's and add a match barrel and other upgrades to give you greater range and accuracy.

[spencerk]

Its less than half the cost for .17 hmr rather than .243. I wanted something hunt-capable out of the box (with some manual mods) and 200ish yards of accuracy. Please, point me in the direction pf a .22lr that can do that (i know there isnt). The .17 hmr is just the happy medium of performance and price to me.

On a side note i cant wait to see what .17 hornet is going to cost... Identical terminal performance as a .223 in a .17... Thats just down right sexy

[TheExpertish]

I know 200 yards is pushing things quite a bit, but I know of some custom builds that can. Why not have fun trying?

[kemikalembalance]

i love my savage. the first gun my son shot. the accutrigger is the best for the money. im doing 1.5 at 100 on a non-windy day. only thing that sucks with the 17, wind affects it allot. my vote is for savage.

[spencerk]

I just put a Mossberg 817 on hold at one of the 3 local big 5's in my area. lol. i compared it to a savage at sports authority and the 93r17 had a horrible looking stock with plastic trigger guard and not the greatest grip. plus neither me or the guy behind the counter could get the mag out. although the bolt was much smoother than the 817, i feel the entry level 817 has a better fit and finish than the entry level savage. im going for the mossberg tomorrow.

wish me luck!

[EvoXRiley]

i have the savage 93r17, its an awesome gun, the accutrigger is great and accuracy is amazing out of the box.

Rabbits fear me! aslong as there isnt any wind HA!

[spencerk]

Te savage 93r17 btsvss is on my 75 gun long list of rifles i want. No joke im actually keeping track... Lol

[dezerttim]

I have the savage 93R17FV. I really like it. It was my first rifle and like you I was looking at some cheap .22's but to be honest shooting cans at 50 feet sounded like it would get boring fast so I went for a rifle that had some range to it. Truth is my local range is only 50 yards, and when I shoot in the desert im probably no more than 75 yards so ive yet to shoot at 100 yards but i like how it shoots without wind. As said, its a light bullet so wind will take it. It was said the remington has no sights on it, same for the savage so I bought a bushnell scope off ebay for $60.

[spencerk]

nice. all i want is some scope rings to use with my nikon prostaff on the mossberg but also a fixed 4x zoom for it for when im using the nikon on the remington 700. .22's are kind of underpowered for me anyways. every firearm i want to own i believe should have the necessary power to protect ones self (.17 HMR is NEVER a good choice but is better than a .22lr in my opinion). The first thing im going to do to this rifle is paint the stock OD green. Itl be my little sidekick. BTW would a folding stock be legal on a .17 hmr? i know it is for .22 rimfires but ive never seen anything specific about .17's and folding stocks.

[dangerranger]

Ive shot the mossberg quite a bit. A good friend has one. it is very light. and is easy to carry.its also accurate enough till it heats up. so for a hunting gun it works great. as a target gun you have to set it aside after 10 rounds or so to cool. on very hot days the stock even feels mushy. he has been tempted to fill the hollow places in the stock with foam to see if it would stiffin it up some. so as a stocking project I dont think you could go wrong.

I have the marlin 25MN. I rebarreled it to 17HMR using a GM barrel. Its a great shooter but its not as friendly to carry around. the marlin was built from parts so Im only into it $175 including the scope.