Need advice on a .17 caliber

[BLACKJACK]

Looking to get a gun to shoot starlings with in the spring and squirrels with in the fall, I've heard a lot about the .17 calibers. Is it really as flat shooting and accurate as people say? How far out? I need to pick the starlings off at about 60 yards, off my martin houses.

Whats best, bolt action or semi-auto? What kind of scope, and what power do you have?

Would like to hear from some people that have one. Any recommended models and makes??

Thanks for your help!

[picksbigwagon]

yes they are that accurate. We (buddies from college who also hunt with 17hmr's) target shoot at dummy 22-250's loaded with powder and a primer at 50 yards. off of sandbags I can hit them all day long.

I have a bolt action savage with the bull barrel, and I highly recommend it. Mine has the thumbhole stock so it is not the lightest squirrel gun, but I will trade weight for accuracy any day. It has the accutrigger so that helps with the shooting as well.

I have not heard of too many semi auto's that can stand up to the recoil of the 17hmr. Remington had to recall their 597 semi's.

[BLACKJACK]

Dumb question, but but how do you get a 22-250 into a .17 caliber?? Which brings up another question, if I'm buying ammo off the shelf, is it expensive??

What size scope do you use??

[Farley]

He's not shooting the 22-250 shells out of a .17, he's shooting AT them. We do it with shotgun shells all the time.

[picksbigwagon]

sorry, we push the 22-250 cases into the target board (sytrofoam/foil insulation) back up fifty yards and shoot the primers out. the cases go no where but there is a bang flash. I use the 3-9 scope that came with my rifle. I tried many different kinds of ammo, each one shot differently, and I found that 20 grain hollow points from Hornday were the best out of my gun. My friend (same gun) shoots the federal brand best, and the 20 grainers were horrible in his gun. He also purchased a second 17hmr, a Henry lever action, and that one shoots the cci's the best.

ammo is about 12 bucks for a box of 50, if I am going to plink around, I will grab my 22's and leave the 17 at home. For hunting, I trust my 17 out to 100 yards with my shooting sticks, 50 yards off hand, those would be head shots on tree rats, body shots get really messy with the 20 grainers.....

the Henry lever action is a great gun too, there is no adjustable trigger but it is light weight even with a scope on it......Like I said, my thumbhole bull barrel 17 is not light

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks picksbigwagon. Went out at noon and looked at a few .17's, the local Runnings had a bolt action Savage with the the thumbhole for about $229 without scope, sounds similar to your gun. Liked the 'thumbhole' feature, it also had the heavier barrel, but it didn't seem to heavy, its not like I'd be lugging it miles for pheasant hunting.

Whats the idea behind the special trigger?

Lots of differnent ammo availabel too!!! Whats the difference between HMR, Fireball, V-max, and XTP? The first two were Remingtons and the second two were Hornandy's. More spendy than .22 rounds but once its sighted in I don't forsee shooting it a lot.

[picksbigwagon]

the accutrigger allows you to adjust the trigger pull poundage. Set it light for a light trigger pull or set it higher.

my buddy uses the vmax in his (17 grain) I use the xtp's. you have to do head shots on squirrels, body shots are extremely messy

[HooknHorns]

Ive got a 17 in a Savage thumbhole, heavy barrel and the accutrigger. I wil tell you, you may not like shooting the rest of rifles after shooting the accu-trigger. Ive got a 243 Remington 700 that now hate to death because of that Savage.

[Archerysniper]

I agree 100% with picks get the savage with the accu trigger it is money well spent, as far as a scope any will work but I have played a lot with the bdc scope they make for the 17 and it is extremely accurate we were shooting really good groups on a calm day out to 200 yards using the bdc cross hairs.

[BLACKJACK]

Ive got a 17 in a Savage thumbhole, heavy barrel and the accutrigger. I wil tell you, you may not like shooting the rest of rifles after shooting the accu-trigger. Ive got a 243 Remington 700 that now hate to death because of that Savage.

Sounds like a ringing endorsment for the Savage!!! The one I looked at had both the thumbhole and the heavy barrel, I'll have to go back and look at it.

Only debate in my mind is whether I trade in my Remington 7400 30-06 to get it or buy it outright...

[TooTallTom]

Buy it outright. Then, when you fall in love with the Savage, you can trade in your 7400 on another Savage in .30-06.

[BLACKJACK]

Buy it outright. Then, when you fall in love with the Savage, you can trade in your 7400 on another Savage in .30-06.

Another vote for the Savage!!

[TooTallTom]

Yeah, I like Savage rifles. They shoot better than I do, but they're still pretty reasonably priced.

You can get a Timney trigger for the 110 series, which is one way to compensate for not having an AccuTrigger-equipped model (which wasn't available when I got my rifle).

Or, you can probably do a trigger job on it fairly easily. I say "probably" because I gave mine the stink eye when I installed my new trigger and thought it could be done fairly easily, but I've never actually tried. Just go slow, measure/ test twice, cut/ shave once.

[BLACKJACK]

Ive got a 17 in a Savage thumbhole, heavy barrel and the accutrigger. I wil tell you, you may not like shooting the rest of rifles after shooting the accu-trigger. Ive got a 243 Remington 700 that now hate to death because of that Savage.

How important is the 'heavy' barrel for accuracy?? Found a nice .17 Savage with the thumbhole, accu-trigger, wood finish, but it has just the regular barrel.

At this point, I'm debating between buying a plain jane Savage, with accu-trigger, black stock, used but in good shape, for $170, or new for $229, or I could go for the .17 Savage, called a 'Classic', the one I mentioned above, thumbhole, wood finish, new, for $350. If I wanted the heavy barrel, I'd have to order it.

Go for functional only or functional and nice looking?? Decisions, decisions. Going to clean up my 30.06 this weekend and think I'll take it around and see who cuts me the best deal, maybe with some bullets thrown in.

I do have a new 3x9 Burris scope that I plan on putting on whatever I buy...

[TooTallTom]

Can you get an aftermarket heavy barrel? That used one for $170, plus a heavy barrel might be the winner, depending on cost...

[HooknHorns]

If you dont need it right away just shop around. The best deal I found was at mills FF. I dont recall what I paid for it but also seen them at Cabs on sale once and awhile.