Is anybody shooting the 17 Winchester super Magnum?

[Gary in Illinois]

Originally Posted by fat cat

Good night coyote zapper!!! You didn't have to do all that to get the the B mag to shoot!

You apparently are one of a VERY few if you got one to shoot without going to extremes! Spending even a little time on some of the forums devoted to the B-mag will yield scores of posts from purchasers who have thrown the kitchen sink at this rifle with only fair results. Bear in mind that many / most of these forums are composed of dedicated Savage lovers!

I bought one of the early ones and I followed many of the recommendations (short of the Boyd stock) and still struggle to get any consistent groups near 1". My experience is far from unusual. I really want this rifle to shoot reasonable groups as it would make a good truck rifle due to light weight and low cost. Anyone who says that a majority of B-mags shoot 1" groups out of the box is surely living in another dimension.

[sgtg]

If I remember right (ya I'm old too) there was a 17 HMR shortage at the time the 17 WSM was introduced and no 17 WSM to be found either.

Sportsmans would give you a box of ammo if you bought a B Mag (wow cool)

Thought I'd wait and see, glad I did. sgtg out

[inKYfromSD]

This little round looked fantastic when it came out. Perfect for the shorter distances we can shoot here in Kentucky. Glad I waited too.

Early adopters of new rounds can get left out in the cold at the whim of the company that brings it to the market. I have a Remington 30 RAR sitting in the safe. Remington brought it out, claimed it was great, lied about the velocities they were getting, and then killed it. I have several magazines and enough FMJ factory rounds to supply brass for a while. At least I have an AR lower and an upper for a project when I decide what to do with it.

[Gerald D.]

Can't speak for any other area but .17HMR was about the only consistently available rimfire ammunition during the drought in my area, .17WSM was spotty the first six months to a year after it was announced.

[Alan in GA]

I'm hearing stories of case rim blowouts resulting in damaged rifles with 17 Rimfire. With case necks cracking just aging as factory ammo in boxes it came in, I have to wonder what happens if a guy has a brick of ammo just sitting and aging? The rifles were bolt action and apparently the rim is unsupported in spots and blowout happens with stock and magazine destroyed. Now the 17 WSM is here and I wonder if it will 'age well'?

[Hog Patrol]

I've had some Eley 17HM2 split necks but never anything with thousands of rounds of 17 HMR in a variety of rifles. The only "blowups" I am certain of are the ones where guys pull the bullets and concocted their own loads. They don't count AND they'll rarely admit they tried to juice up the ammo.

[moorepower]

Originally Posted by 260Ackley

I wish NEF would chamber it. For 200 I would be all over it just for the sake of trying. I can't spend 400 for an encore barrel on a whim. But 200 I can give it a swing. Maybe something in their ultralight model

They are no longer in business.

[l h jenkins]

Originally Posted by moorepower

They are no longer in business.

17 hmr barrels can be found used, either complete rifles or just barrels. a good place to look is go2gbo.com.

[Bambob]

Originally Posted by dungheap

Just to toss something else out there...

Would the conversion of a Remington 580/581 be feasible for this cartridge, and if so, could the original rimfire bolt be opened up and used, ya think?

I agree with the laments posted so far. It's a shame that some manufacturer hasn't taken the .17 WSM on. A Ruger with a decent barrel would be nice, but probably out of my price range (along with a whole lot of other stuff),

Sigh.

I rechambered a 580 that I had made up as a .17 HMR to .17 WSM. You have to open up the extractors to take the larger rim and I put in a "Wolff" firing pin spring to get a little harder hit on the tougher brass. It shoots well and have had no problems so far. I was a little concerned about the extractors being (less robust) after removing the material needed. Those extractors are getting hard to find. I have a 20" barrel and get 2876fps from the 20g and 2576 fps from the 25g.
Bob

[Jeremy(WI)]

I gave up on the 17 WSM after buying a CZ 527 in 17 HH. I had an early BMag and it shot patterns rather than groups. Even with the neck cracks on my HMR ammo I can shoot 3 shot groups at under 3/4 inch. I think Hornady found the better cartridge with the HMR