"New" Rifle: Savage .17WSM

[SemperFiGuy]

SAVAGE .17WSM:

Not actually brannew; just "new" to me and my modest little gathering of prairie-dog-popping firearms.
Obtained it on Armslist at a good (for me, not the Seller) price and had it shipped in from Reno, NV to a local FFL dealer.
Picked it up this morning.  Checked it over.   It's in near-new condition.

Kind of a liteweight, plasticky little device but I've checked it out pretty thoroughly and the consensus of reviewers was sufficient to convince me to buy it.   And yeah....I'm kind of well-known pushover that way.

Will have to obtain a coupla more of those Ruger 10/22-type round magazines for spares and also get accustomed to that cock-on-close bolt system.

I'm mounting a Shepherd 4-12X40 Rogue scope on it, which is--like most good scopes--more expensive than the rifle.
And am wanting to use low scope mounts but will probably have to go all the way up to high mounts to give the bolt handle proper clearance.

After it's all set up, I'll go sight it in and get back here with opinions, verdicts, observations...............all that.

Might take a while.   I also bought 1000 rounds of Federal's 20gr V-MAX red-nosed 3000fps fodder for it.

You are invited to provide the GPS coordinates of your favorite prairie dog spot and the contacts for seeking permission.

sfg

[Gunscribe]

If you don't like the way it shoots with the Federal ammo try some other brands before wrapping it around a tree. I have the Savage B-Mag with the heavier barrel. It is not real fond of Federal in particular or the 20 grain in general. My best results are with the 25 grain bullets.

[SemperFiGuy]

Hi, Gunscribe:

Some webstories indicate that Winchester manufactures all the .17WSM ammo and it's rebranded by Federal and Hornady.   I don't really know if such is the case; it's just what I've read online.   And by now, Federal should be making their own branded ammo, IMHO.

My rifle is the thin Sporter barrel.

I have heard that the early .17WSM ammo was somewhat inconsistent in quality, especially respecting powder load variations, which caused some wide velocity variances and a lot of vertical stringing.  We'll see how mine turns out.  Got my ammo for $10/box from an Armslist guy, so it may be from ammo lots of early vintage.

I did get some Weaver scope mounts for the rifle at WalMart on Friday.   Being a tightwad, I bought the Extra-Hi for $10 vs. the same mount in Hi for $22.   Can't figger that pricing.   Anyhow, buying the Extra-Hi was a stroke of luck, because it just barely avoided a conflict between bolt handle and scope body.   This scope mounting was the EZiest that I've ever done.   No dumb mistakes that required redoing.   'Bout time.

Today the gun will be rough-sighted in at Omaha Gun Club's 50-yard range.   We'll see wot's wot.

Hope all is going well for you way out there in the Land of Enchantment.

sfg