or mostly already dead? What say you?
It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the only magazine rifle available for that cartridge is fug-ugly.
fugly guns, no ammo to be found.
personally, it seemed to me it was made for a non-existent niche that didnt need filled...
with the current ammo availability and firearm selections, i can wait to see what volquartsen comes out with at the 2014 shot show.
No ammo and no LH Rifles available so it has no interest to me period.
I think that the lack of vehicles for the cartridge is a major factor in the 17WSM getting off to such a slow start. Plus, if you read the mostly negative feedback about the Savage B-Mag on RFC, there seem to be a lot of design and QC issues that weren't adequately addressed or resolved before the design was put into production.
I look at the 17 WSM as a varmint shooting cartridge and think that a heavy barrel rifle would have been a better vehicle than the light/sporter contour barreled rifle that Savage has put into production. That, and the fact that the Savage B-Mag sells for about the same price as the Savage Axis and the 17 WSM ammo is more expensive than 223 ammo.
Jeff
The lack of a good mid-priced rifle killed it dead, just as many predicted. The B-Mag is ugly as sin, and Winchester/Browning has dragged it's feet putting out the over-priced Low Walls, leaving basically one choice for it, those fugly B-Mags.
If Ruger or CZ, or anyone else, had picked it up, it might have had a chance, but no one did. Sales are thru the roof with their current production lines, so there was no reason for anyone to tool up for another rifle.
The WSM cartridge would likely need a Hornet sized action, and with the demand for .17 Hornets already pretty high, there isn't production capacity for another rifle right now.
Winchester's timing was screwed up beyond belief, rivalling Remington's..................
For a very short time, Savage made some single shot 93s in 22 Hornet. I have never fired one or even looked at one in detail, but wondered how well that action would handle the pressure. The Winchester 43 seems to be a more substantial action than the Savage 93 and the 43s had a reputation for having pressure issues with the 22 Hornet and 218 Bee.
The point being that if the 93 action would handle the pressure of a 22 Hornet, it ought to handle the pressure of a 17 WSM.
Jeff
I never hope for any cartridge to fail, but I don't see this one being a success. Reminds of the 17 Fireball. People had to wait too long to get access to either rifles or ammo to shoot. Plus the rifle available for the 17 WSM is not very appealing. I am guessing it will go the way of the 5mm Remington Magnum. I wish they would offer a larger caliber rimfire like a 24 or 25 caliber which doesn't have to travel at the speed of light. Oh well.
I do see ammo on the shelf,walmart,gander mountain ,Dicks sporting goods and a few smaller shops,right around 15-16 dollars per 50 rounds
What was said above, chamber a decent rifle in it and some of us would buy it.
Chamber it in a pretty rifle and I think it would fly.
chamber it in .20 cal. and it would work.
Chamber it in a pretty rifle and I think it would fly.
Where's Cooper when you need them?
Volquartzen is working on a rifle for 17wm, last they told me was a couple months ago it was close to done.
Shooting prairie dogs takes a lot of ammo. There are times when I don't feel like reloading for my varmint rifles. The 17WSM cartridge look good to me, but not the Savage rifle. Winchester had the equipment make the larger case and all they had to do is neck it down to 17 caliber. I think its unlikely that other companies could make ammo for the same price. CZ and Ruger would have to change one of their short CF actions to RF and use a stronger fireing pin spring for the thicker 17 WSM case or design a new action. Its likely the 17 WSM will die off faster than the Rem 5 MM RF cartridge. Ruger and CZ or not filling the orders for the new 17 Hornet rifles. Why would the make 17 WSM rifles now ?
No comment on 17 wsm , However,a little plug for a nice 17 cal rifle I am putting up for sale - 17/223 , Douglas bbl,on an early 4 Digit (non-prefix)Ruger #1 w/ Alex Henry Forearm & 3200 Redfield scope . 4400 fps . Very accurate if cleaned frequently.PM me if interested . thanks
I'd buy a 17WSM rifle if I could find one other than the ugly Savage. As much as I'd like to try out this cartridge life is too short for ugly rifles!
I think we will see quite a few companies offering rifles at SHOT in a couple weeks. A Ruger 77/22Hornet just begs to be in this caliber with very little modification beyond a different barrel. I heard rumors that Winchester will be offering a rifle (in addition to the 1885 they already make). The savage is selling as fast as stores get them in but IMHO it is a POS rifle. Ammo is hard to get but not as hard as 22LR. And since it's on a dedicated assembly line due to it's .27 caliber case I would think Winchester should be able to keep up with this better than the other rinfires.
The Savage may be ugly, as so many here claim, but a friend bought one early this fall. He had to wait about six weeks after a local store ordered it, and somebody offered him more money than he'd paid for it, so he sold it and ordered another.
My brother was gonna buy one last weekend at the Dick's in Loveland but had seen no rounds there or several other gun places. Scared him off the buy.
He don't care if its ugly only that its handy to slide out a window for varmint work at his deer lease up by the North Platte. And he wants a harder hitter than his HMR.
Suggested the .17 Hornet but said he hadn't seen rounds for it either.
I supect ranch folk are snapping up all the .17 fodder and most avilable rifles because its effective and easier on the ears.
Betcha TC will crank out some pistol and carbine bbls for both. NEF/H&R will surely have Handis out.
I reckon I will have to try the .17WSM.............but it won't be in a Savage.
I would buy the Savage if they offered it in Left Hand
I just bought a Savage "B" mag in 17WSM. It shoots good and is within 1 moa at 75yds (have not shot it at 100yds.) I have not killed a critter but I have no doubt that it would vaporize a crow and kill a coyote or hog easily. The rifle is ugly and the rotary mag on mine does not feed reliably. If a nicer rifle is produced, I will sell this one (paid $329 shipped, no tax) and buy it. Report is about like a 22mag. A lever action with a tubular mag would be nirvana.
Maybe Browning will chamber it in the T-Bolt
yeah....that would be good too.....
One thing I have noticed is that anytime a local store gets .17WSM ammo in, it disappears fairly quickly. Either people who have a rifle like it a lot, or profiteers are snarfing it up.
Probably the answer is both.
Yes, I bought two boxes at WalMart for about 15bucks each before I had even seen the rifle that shoots it! Rifle looneyism at its best. They haven't had any since so I shoot it most carefully. It is a wicked looking little round.
I seem to recall my brother buying a Savage 93V or something similar in 17 HMR when they first came out. I thought he was crazy because they where the only ones making a rifle I had seen and it was pre-acutrigger. I ended up buying it when he needed cash and couldn't find ammo for it so I sold it. Thought it would die out but it has hung in there so may be this will too.
While I don't care for the styling of the Savage B-Mag rifle, The guys I have talked to that have one are happy with the accuracy. Ammo availability remains a problem, but that is true of many cartridges right now. I hope the 17WSM ultimately becomes a successful cartridge.
Long ago I owned a nice kimber in .17Rem.
Wow, did that ever take ground squirrels apart. However accuracy rapidly fell off after 25 rounds, and pressures spiked. Cleaning and cleaning in the field while gophers are running all over the place is not my idea of fun. I sold the Kimber.
Up north in the Arctic the Inuit thought it might be cats pyjamas for seals and the small Perry's caribou. It killed them real well but not any better then the .222 or 22250. Wind drift was terrible with the tiny pills.
Accuracy fall off and stuck cases due to pressure spikes. Inuit at least those days never cleaned their guns. The .17 cal was a very short lived phenomena in the north.
Inuit soured quickly on it and got rid of them
If you like a hot rod 17, well prepare for a lot of cleaning in the field. Otherwise go up to the hot 22 cals.
There is no free lunch in life. That tiny bore fouls up pretty quick.
I suppose if you get a high quality lapped match grade barrel, it would not foul as fast and clean up much faster. I would not expect too much from a Savage barrel.
The ammo is meeting the velocity claims. Price is fairly attractive, and available hereabouts. The moderately priced rifles are turning out to be very accurate. Seems like a pretty good recipe for success.
"If you like a hot rod 17, well prepare for a lot of cleaning in the field."
About 28 years ago I got the 17 Bug... had to have the .17 Mach IV (Remingtons 17 fireball). Had heard all the 'have to clean after 20 rounds' info back then. The average I fired on a squirrel hunt was around 40 to 50 rounds and never had a fall-off in accuracy, always cleaned it after a hunt, then only because of the common wisdom that your accuracy would fall apart. The 17 mach IV and by default I assume the 17 Fireball are only doing something like 3,800 fps... which I would not rate as a hot rod.
YMMV and apparently some folks' did,
Jerry
I think that the lack of vehicles for the cartridge is a major factor in the 17WSM getting off to such a slow start. Plus, if you read the mostly negative feedback about the Savage B-Mag on RFC, there seem to be a lot of design and QC issues that weren't adequately addressed or resolved before the design was put into production.
I look at the 17 WSM as a varmint shooting cartridge and think that a heavy barrel rifle would have been a better vehicle than the light/sporter contour barreled rifle that Savage has put into production. That, and the fact that the Savage B-Mag sells for about the same price as the Savage Axis and the 17 WSM ammo is more expensive than 223 ammo.
Jeff
I think what Savage has done with regards to this cartridge and what they did with their builds with the 17 Hornady Hornet, future ammo companies should look to other rifle manufacturers for a better commitment to quality than Savage has given to these two new offerings. I'll be at the Shot show and see what BS excuses they have. G