Savage .17 WSM B-Mag current production ?'s

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danno in va

New member
Considering one of these, but the older reviews were somewhat mixed. What do you folks have to say about the recent production of this model?

i picked up a Savage BVSS .17 HMR and Lucas custom rod guide before the WSM came out and cleaned but haven't fired it. If current WSM production is consistently good i'll get one and let the .17 HMR go, but pass on the WSM if sketchy.

Thanks in advance...dan

 
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The cartridge itself is great. The platform that Savage used to build the rifle is mediocre at best. Lots of guys have them and like them just fine but I’d definitely put your hands on one before committing to a purchase. I HAD one and it was very very accurate. I had a second generation stainless bull barrel model. I like many couldn’t get over the bolt. Way too chintzy.

I finally bit the bullet and got the Ruger and haven’t looked back.
 
Thanks for posting your experience, LR. What year was yours?

i considered the Ruger, but it's more coin than i'd like to plunk down for a rimfire.
 
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Unlike AR's I only own one of these. Mine is the heavy barrel laminate stock version. It shots well for me with sub-MOA at 100 doable. It is certainly no HMR in performance. I'm tickled with it. I would have gone Ruger but didn't have the extra $$'s and I just wanted one of the little speedsters.

Buy all the various ammo you can and then buy the crap out of the best performing one. I suspect like any RF ammo lot to lot varies on these too. I bought a 17 BSA Super Mag 4.5X14 IR for mine.. Price was god and I didn't need a Night Force..lol

Greg
 
The heavy barrel SS Bmags generally shoot pretty decent. Mine is an older HB SS that I bought before they had the models with the laminated stock from the factory so I ditched the POS plastic stock mine came with for a Boyd's Pro Varmint. Looks much better and mine shoots very well, no complaints with how it shoots.

The Savage Bmag certainly isn't without its oddities but, for me, they're nothing I couldn't live with.

Regardless of what the box says, ALL, of the 17 WSM ammo is made by Winchester so it's pretty much all the same but like any rimfire ammo, it varies from lot to lot. I've probably shot well over a thousand rounds through mine and so far, I guess I've been lucky because it has all shot about the same POI.

I don't notice a great deal of difference between my 17 WSM and 17 HMR shooting ground squirrels until I start getting past about 100 yards, then the 17 WSM really starts to show its strength and the further you shoot, the more noticeable the difference between the two is.

If a person lives/hunts in a rimfire only area, the 17 WSM is definitely the King of the rimfires and not only has substantially more kill power at the muzzle but sustains it much better than the rest, too. I shoot my Bmag suppressed and it sounds about like a pellet gun, they're very quiet shooting suppressed.

This is a pretty interesting list of results I found that many would probably find very surprising and some may even be upset to see.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/17HMR_rifle_accuracy_results.htm
 
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The ammo is made by Winchester but I see a difference in brand to brand with the same weight bullets. Oddly enough Winchester 20 grain cases will fail to extract on mine occasionally but I have not had that with others. A blind test of alternating loads both clean and dirty chamber has replicated the phenomenon. One thing is the advertised velocities are real.

I wonder how much Savage paid BOYDS to use that stock.

Greg
 
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All these informative posts are appreciated.

i tend to lean toward the heavy bbl and laminated stock, but thumbholes generally don't suit me...will have to heft one of these i guess. Am also figuring to do some JB Weld bedding. Too bad there isn't a stainless heavy bbl with laminated stock, but they still don't do that in .22 WMR -- ended up swapping stocks with a .22LR to get that configuration.

The ammo info is a little surprising to me and good to know about.

While accuracy is the most important, the Savages can be a bit hard to look at. Guess i've come to accept rimfires are by and large pretty cheezy. That is, with the exception of Anshutz, which is a whole different world that my piggy bank has no interest in exploring.
 
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Originally Posted By: GLShooterThe heavy barrel in laminate is stainless.

Greg

The "Target" model is a HB SS with laminated thumbhole stock but I don't think they make a HB SS model with a regular laminated stock and the one they do offer in HB with standard laminated stock is blued steel, not SS. But that's not to say you can't by one of the lesser expensive HB SS Bmags that comes with the POS plastic stock then put a Boyd's laminated stock, of your liking, on it. That's what I did with my HB SS Bmag.
 
Yep the standard laminate bull is CM. Not that I expect mine to shoot worse. I'll never wear it out..lol If SS was the goal then the cheapo with a retrofit would be in my marching orders.

I can't use the thumbhole as I'm left handed so I went the more traditional route.

Greg
 
Been there and done this: A few accessories here, a new stock there, plus some custom thingies, add up to where i could've bought something of better quality up front instead of polishing something not worth polishing. History shows that i can't really afford to cheap out too much. And i'm not much of a Ruger fan (done that, too), so i'll need to be objective about this caliber.
 
Originally Posted By: danno in vaBeen there and done this: A few accessories here, a new stock there, plus some custom thingies, add up to where i could've bought something of better quality up front instead of polishing something not worth polishing. History shows that i can't really afford to cheap out too much. And i'm not much of a Ruger fan (done that, too), so i'll need to be objective about this caliber.

The stocks Savage uses on their rimfire rifles, including the Bmag Target model, are made for them by Boyd's so if you put a Boyd's stock on a regular Sav. HB SS Bmag you will have the exact same quality gun as if you purchased their Target model because other than a different stock, there is nothing "Target" about them, besides the model name Savage gives them.
 
Several interesting videos on making the B-Mag more accurate. One guy made a recoil lug out of a washer and bed it into the stock. Looked terrible but made it shoot extremely well. Another guy, CaveDweller, beds the three rings in the barrel and it acts like a recoil lug. Made his rifle more accurate also.
 
All the prices for this caliber are the same regardless of type of stock on the Savage website, which seems a bit odd. So i was figuring to go with a laminated number up front instead of ditching the synthetic and buying a new stock.

Lots of good info here...Boyd makes the laminated stocks, Win loads all the ammo. Maybe Hornady makes all the bullets.

There are some fun videos on accurizing.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogSeveral interesting videos on making the B-Mag more accurate. One guy made a recoil lug out of a washer and bed it into the stock. Looked terrible but made it shoot extremely well. Another guy, CaveDweller, beds the three rings in the barrel and it acts like a recoil lug. Made his rifle more accurate also.

I've seen the video Cavedweller does on bedding the front part of the barrel and locking those barrel rings in with bedding compound. To me, that seems like a terrible idea with regard to accuracy and does absolutely nothing to provide a bed/support for the action which is the whole point of a stress free bedding job. Using those barrel rings as three recoil lugs just doesn't seem like it would do anything good for accuracy once the barrel started getting heat in it.

Due to its design, bedding the action on a Bmag is a real PITA! But, it is doable. I had mine done when I re-stocked it. My gunsmith is also a close personal friend of mine but when he got done with bedding my Bmag he politely asked me if I would not bring him one of these to bed again.
 
Spoke to a buddy of mine that has done a lot of work on some odd ball type actions and set ups. He thinks along the lines of bedding it in the screw pockets also.

I will own a 17 WSM, have to been stocking up on ammo,lol. Talk about getting the cart before the horse.
I see there are a few guys that have rebarreled as well. I am not against that either if it shows promise.
Jeff
 
More good stuff to keep in mind. Should i go this route the bedding may be a process. Maybe the ridges the 3 rings would leave can be leveled to make the pad smooth there. Bedding the screw pockets seems like a helpful idea...gets me thinking about pillar bedding in a different way. Bedding the whole action look problematic, but maybe there are some key contact points that might do well.
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterOddly enough Winchester 20 grain cases will fail to extract on mine occasionally but I have not had that with others.
I'm having the same problem but only with the Winchester ammo.
 
Thinking to shoot the Savage .22 WMR more, see how it beds and wait on the .17 WSM awhile.

Actually, the washer lug idea is interesting. Seems like there would be a shooting machinist somewhere out there who could make a lug to fit the 3 rings on the bbl. i would buy one or two for sure.
 


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