[Doug Brown]

Ordered a Savage B-Mag in 17wsm & anxiously waited for it's arrival. I was a bit disappointed when I opened the box, very cheap looking & very lightweight stock, but I thought it'll shoot good. To the range; plastic rotary magazine feeds horribly, pretty much a single shot, remove the clip & tip the shell up, reinsert after each shot. My hand is sore from working bolt, it cocks real hard & because of this it is very easy to short shuck. Accuracy seems to be about 1-1/2"-2" at 100yds.

 

[claybrdr]

That's rather discouraging but thanks for the report.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

I hope the groups tighten after it's shot a bit. Two inch groups are not on a par with the 17 HMR. The whole idea behind the 17 WSM is so it can reach out further than the 17 HMR, and if it's going to turn in four inch groups at 200 yards, that's a miserable fail.

Please let us know what results you get after shooting it more.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

mac1, quote: <i>"what can you expect for 275.00"</i>

Savage has an excellent reputation for accuracy with their $200 and up line of 17 HMR bolt actions. They shoot all out of proportion to their cost.

Whether lightning strikes twice with the new 17 WSM remains to be seen.

 

[Catpower]

I hope they can clean up the issues with the gun or perhaps it was a lemon, it looked like a nice round and rifle at least in the pictures of the NRA magazines

How much do the rounds cost? The only ones I have found on line was at Gun Broker, and I hope they were scalpers selling them, cuz they were pretty high

 

[smokintom]

WalMart had them for $14.99 a box of 50.

 

[Catpower]

I could deal with that, on GB they were pretty steep

 

[whiz-bang]

I looked at one today at our local Fleet Farm. The appearance of the rifle looked cheap to me. Light weight barrel black stock. I would like the rifle with a heavier barrel and Walnut stock. In other words a sporter grade like a Remington 541S or T. They did have about 6 cases of ammo for $13.00 a box and was told I could buy it buy the case.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

If I can pony up some spare cash next year I've got my eye on the Winchester 1885 Single Shot that's being chambered in 17 WSM. Waiting feedback on the accuracy of the cartridge. AFAIK this is the only alternative so far to the Savage.

 

[almostaaa]

I was really disappointed with my first look at the new Savage. It screams "CHEAP," and the reviews as to build quality and accuracy have been mixed. It looks like a terrific little round, but I think that it will need some quality guns chambered for it to succeed. I have two Savages in .22 and .22 HMR with Boyd stocks that are very accurate, better after I replaced the crappy Accu-Triggers. It is too bad that Savage elected to initially go to market with such a poor example of their workmanship. Guess I can't sell my 22 Hornet dies quite yet!

 

[Doug Brown]

Sent gun in 12-23-13, nothing yet.

 

[wolfba]

The gun is by all accounts not the prettiest. I have one (and had it for sale briefly here) Mine feeds rounds flawlessly and the bolt while stiff did seem to loosen up after a couple boxes of ammo.

The ammo has been suspected to be the cause of the poor accuracy, but then again others have faulted the stock. Boyds has started selling stocks in multiple versions so the later issue should be solved.

Mine did seem to tighten up the groups after a few rounds but then again I was shooting at 25yds off a bipod and with a AO scope that only adjusted to 50yds. It may just take some time for the barrel/gun to break in.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Thanks for the updates, please keep'em coming.

 

[zblack]

Ruger makes one in their m77/17 model. I have not seen one, but the msrp is much more expensive than the savage. Looks like a quality rifle though.

 

[John55]

A friend just picked his up last week. Looks very cheap, action was very rough and not anywhere near the quality of their 17HMR rifles. I'd love to try the cartridge but I'd never waste a dollar on that rifle. Can't believe Savage couldn't do better than that.

 

[wolfram]

From what I have read about the round, the major design challenge involves getting a firing pin system that has enough force to crush the rim and ignite the priming compound. That would explain the difficulty in cocking the bolt and would also contribute to accuracy problems. Hopefully those ignition problems can be resolved with other rifle designs. Pretty bad that the magazine didn't work - that is the second time I have heard that.

The good news is that we still have the 17HMR and its hard to imagine anything more fun than a day shooting ground squirrels with that wonderfully accurate and trouble free round.

 

[Game Warden]

The Ruger noted is in .17 HMR not .17 WSM.

 

[zblack]

@ Game Warden. Sorry, I misinterpreted the .17 hornet as a .17 mag

 

[7bcshooter]

A friend of mine purchased a Savage B-Mag in 17 WSM and has since sold it. He didn't comment on the accuracy, but stated that the bolt was very hard to lock down. These rifles cock on the downward stroke of the bolt. Craig

 

[rooferbob]

I have one coming next week in the 17 wsm it is the Savage B mag.
I will let you all know first of next week.