Ruger 77 17.
 

Know 3 fellows who have bought one. All state a well built rifle, theirs as pretty as the picture. One has shot a whole passel of ground squirrels one at 280 yards even. Another has been putting a good dent in Whistle pigs in his area.

http://ruger.com/products/rotaryMaga...17/models.html

A review is here.

http://www.varminter.com/ruger-7717-...-range-report/

:D Al

Everything Ruger makes is pretty well built and solid as a tank. I see that little pipsqueak shooter runs $1K!

That do seem a little high for something that you will generally only be shooting rats with. But to each their own. Guess I can't say much, I have a couple of .220 swifts and a couple .22-250's custom built that were well over 1500 total and I only shoot rats with them. But at least I can really reach out there and smack "Jerry". Whats the max on a .17HMR anyway? Around 200 at best without wind? Seems like a heck of a lot for factory rifle with a very limited range for shooting rats.

Alley, I have a very strong feeling that the fella telling you that he shot a rat at 280 with that thing was "stretching" the range finder a good bit. The .17 is VERY wind sensitive and the drop on them things out past 200 is pretty steep. Not to mention with that small of a grain weight the kinetic energy is just about nil at 200 .

I was never really sold on the 17 HMR till I bought one, all I have ever shot through mine is the 20 gr HP's, to date mine has killed 3 turkeys, 1/2 dozen deer on damage permits, couple groundhogs, a bucketful of squirrels, and a coyote at darn near 300 yards, held on the neck/shoulder junction just on the hairline, hit him 4" below that and put him out of commission, required a second shot but the lil 20 grain broke the neck and exited.
RR

Wrong 17...
 

Not to interject objectionably fellas, but this one isn't about the 17HMR, it's the new Win Super Magnum rimfire - 17WSM.

The price tag on the Ruger 77/17 Mag is a bit steep, but you're getting a lot more rifle than the Savage B-mag. Is that worth the price difference to you? That's up to the individual.

I don't have the Ruger, but I do have a B-Mag, and I'm actually very fond of it. I'm still working out the kinks for my plan to block and bed it effectively (holy crap this fire control group is massive!!!) but I really enjoy the rifle, and moreso the cartridge.

Most folks are aware of my affinity for Ruger's, so it shouldn't be surprising that I'd love to have one. But, since I own a B-Mag and the Ruger is almost twice the price, I won't be adding one for a couple years at least, if ever.

The 17WSM, so far, has lived up to my expectation. I have had a 17rem in the past, and have a couple of 17HMR's, and the WSM splits that gap. Absolutely more powerful than the HMR, noticeably on game especially. I haven't been able to call a coyote in front of mine yet, but I'm confident in it as a 150yrd coyote rifle, nearly double what I'll trust the 17HMR. Maybe farther, but we'll see.

From the specimens I have seen and the results from shooters that I trust that have them, I'd recommend the Ruger 77/17wsm highly - but not everybody is in the market for a rimfire rifle that costs as much as a midgrade centerfire.

I wish I had the dough to buy the latest new cartridge that comes along and improves on the ballistic performance of the one before it !

It took me a long time to buy a 17HMR, but I look at it as if it's my ".22LR".

I own a .204 because I didn't want a lot of fur damage on predators, but everything else I own are classic cartridges/calibers.


Spend the money on it if you are going to use it regularly ..................

Okay that clears it up a tad bit, the link he put up had both the HMR and WSM rifles there. I didn't look at the review link. Still a lot of bucks for a factory rat rifle. If I was going to spend that kind of money, it would be for a properly bedded, nice trigger, and a top end barreled something or other so I could reach out 400-450 on some P-Dogs or Ground Hogs. Dang near 5 pound trigger wasn't a well thought out plan for that rifle.

The 3 fellows I know that have them spent a average of 750.00 out the door for theirs.

:D Al

The best price I can find on the Ruger 77/17WSM is $775, which isn't a bad price for what it is - a converted centerfire design with a centerfire feel. It's really like comparing apples and oranges to compare the Savage B-mag to the Ruger, but if we're talking about a reliable rifle that delivers accuracy for its purpose, then the B-mag is the better investment.

The Ruger trigger is always a disadvantage, but they're serviceable.

Alternatively, the Savage B-Mag, a dedicated 17WSM action, is about half the price. The new heavy stainless and laminate model can be had for $475, the synthetic heavy stainless $350.

Mine started as a heavy stainless synthetic - sticker price $350, but I bought it during a Cabelas Member event for 15% off = $300 - but I used card points, so as far as my pocket book is concerned, it was FREE! Then I sunk it into a boyd's thumbhole stock, custom color = $115, but I got it during a 10% off promotion with free shipping, so I got it under $100. Slapped a set of Leupold Rifleman rings for $20 and a Nikon Buckmaster 4-12x40mm on top = normally $300, but on clearance at $150. So my total cost into the rig for RETAIL price would have been just under $800. Factoring the sale prices, it was only $575.

My out of pocket for my B-Mag was $275.

Cabelas near me has had a steady supply of both the 25 and 20grn loads. In the synthetic stock, it was just under 1MOA with the 25grn pills at 100yrds. I'm still devising a blocking plan for how to bed it properly.

I had a 77/22mag, they're great rifles, just very pricey for a rimfire. In times when 22wmr rounds are available, it's nice to get to practice with a cheaper, low recoil version of my hunting rifles, but that advantage isn't worth 2x price to me.