Thread: 17hmr options opinions etc ?

Hey team,
I'm looking into a 17hmr for rabbits, hares and possums after trying @223nut bolt action 17hmr.
I was offered advice from a friend who does a fair bit of pest control to think seriously about the savage a17 semi auto.
Looking around at what else is available a tikka t1x would be in the same price bracket.
So my question is, has anyone had any real world experience with the a17 ? Are there other options I should be considering.
I do like the idea of an accurate semi auto pest rifle. But in reality would I be better off with something like the tikka ?
I just haven't heard much about the savage a17 platform.
Thanks everyone

@viper didn't you buy the A17?

the plastic a17 shoots ok but would pay a bit more for a cz512, solid looking cleans easier, not sure if it does .17. i have both a17 and cz512 22 mag.

the savage has a bolt that telescopes as a method of letting pressure drop before extraction of the spent case, the 17hmr is seriously high pressure and everyone else semi 17 has the occasional split case and a face full of hot gas is not present.
i had my hands on one of the savages but it seemed a bit light and flimsy for me.

Quite mixed reviews on the Savage 17 semi - mag and other issues. A good accurate 17 bolt is the Marlin 917 - here's one at a helluva price. Has me thinking...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...?id=2211472957

You often don't need to pay too much to get wee sharpshooters. Olivon an ok wee rimfire scope - had a couple.

Somebody buy this thing so I don't have to..

I have a Ruger american 17hmr, found it to be quite accurate (sadly it is me waving around like a barn door in the wind that makes it miss), nice weight to walk with. I like it, but dont love it. If I had a choice to buy again though, I would go for a 17wsm.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

Quite mixed reviews on the Savage 17 semi - mag and other issues. A good accurate 17 bolt is the Marlin 917 - here's one at a helluva price. Has me thinking...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...?id=2211472957

You often don't need to pay too much to get wee sharpshooters. Olivon an ok wee rimfire scope - had a couple.

Somebody buy this thing so I don't have to..

Yup has me very tempted but 1 I really need to labuy as don't have surplus funds and 2 fuck trademe there a pack of wankers
But yes if I could scratch up 425 I would buy it on the spot

I'd be staying away from anything .17 rimfire in a semi. After having a case explode in my .17HM2 semi on the very first round fired in a new gun, it ant worth the risk of loosing your eye sight or that of the shooter next to you.
I have a CZ in .17HMR and one in .22WMR - awesome pieces of kit.
Personally, I now only use my .22LR for possums, the .22WMR if hunting rabbits out to 120m and where there is a likelihood of running into a larger animal, and the .17HMR for out to 160m. Beyond that I pull out the .223 or the .22-250.


Go for a good bolt gun for the .17's
If you want an auto, go .22WMR. The latest CZ auto looks nice.

Righto, thanks.
Looking at shooting hares and bunnies mostly under spotlight out from 20 to 150ish yards, don't have time to muck around with ranging etc
So the 17hmr is a good option.
Sounds like the semi has mixed reviews so might just look at a bolt gun, to be fair multiple shots are probably not a necessity.

Originally Posted by Mathias

@viper didn't you buy the A17?

Hey Guys, no my brought a Marlin in 17HMR, laminated and stainless. Very accurate and has had 1000s of rounds through it now. Just an awesome work horse.
They are very good buying at $650 new for a wood / blued version at shooters world Gore.
The one weird great thing about them is they shoot best dirty, mine will do 400 rounds plus and is a tack driver.

I have had a Savage and it was shit, in fairness I think it was a lemon but never realised just how bad it was till I got the Marlin.
I have also used a Ruger American for a week and 600 odd rounds. Better than the Savage but not up to my Marlin.

Just my experience and opinion, CZ is nice also but for the volume of shooting I do the Marlin has proven to be a great rifle.

@StrikerNZ has put a fair few rounds through an A17

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

I'd be staying away from anything .17 rimfire in a semi. After having a case explode in my .17HM2 semi on the very first round fired in a new gun, it ant worth the risk of loosing your eye sight or that of the shooter next to you.

Thats why Savage designed a different type of action for 17hmr semi, everyone else was having those issues because they pretty much just upsized a 22LR semi action. Quite a different kettle of fish. Which is an odd saying, who puts fish in a kettle anyway?

I was running a savage A17 over summer that was loaned to me, it had a DPT suppressor on it and this is what I found:

1. The magazine would often drop out even though it was firmly "clicked" in place.
2. It would often not pick up rounds
3. Accuracy was inconsistent as it would throw rounds for no apparent reasons and I was shooting at bunnies at 100 mtrs with zero wind

All up I didn't like the gun, perhaps I had a lemon but my experience with using one over seven different shoots is I wouldn't buy one and certainly not recommend one!

I ended up buying a CZ455 American and put on a DPT .17 HMR can suppressor and bought a larger 10 shot magazine as opposed to the standard 5 shot. I found this to be reliable, super accurate as I've shot bunnies at 200 mtrs

A great gun!

Originally Posted by mudgripz

Quite mixed reviews on the Savage 17 semi - mag and other issues. A good accurate 17 bolt is the Marlin 917 - here's one at a helluva price. Has me thinking...

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...?id=2211472957

You often don't need to pay too much to get wee sharpshooters. Olivon an ok wee rimfire scope - had a couple.

Somebody buy this thing so I don't have to..

@mudgripz rest easy I just bought it, just means longer till I buy some torches

Great round Danny, longest I shot rabbits at is 190 metres, 4 one after the other off a bi pod, awesome cartridge. Take harpy’s advice, don’t clean the barrel till the accuracy drops of, that’s what I do!!