Dogfish
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I just won a .17 HMR rifle at a local DU event, a Marlin 917 VS. I ordered a BSA Sweet .17 scope 6-18x40mm for my sights, and I have about 6 boxes of different ammo types to try out.
1. Does anyone have any experience with this rifle/cartridge?
2. What is it good for?
I'm thinking it will make a great little plinker, and a pretty good little crow/barn pigeon gun. I'm not sure I want to use the 17-20 grain pills it shoots for coyotes, as they are a bit light. Any suggestions?
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Gooose
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Ancient Mod
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Looks like it will work just fine for yotes under 200 yards.http://www.henryrepeating.com/varmint.cfm
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Independent Advocate For The Fish
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Trouthead
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Subject of the Puritan Rep. of Washington
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Starlings, FB's real close, gophers
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Trouthead
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Musicman
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Thick Tail
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Good for you Andy, you sure are one lucky SOB..never had one but thinking of gettin one out here to plink the nasty birds....starlings and crows.
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JD
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WAID
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humpy
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check out rimfirecentral.com for info on the .17s. I've looked at a few of those marlins and they look like sweet guns.
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Dogfish
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I picked it up today. I thought I was getting the 917VS with the laminated stock, but I got a walnut stock instead. VERY pretty wood, especially for something with the Marlin name. It looks like a custom stock it is so pretty.
Only comes with one magazine, so I ordered two more, and my BSA Sweet .17 scope should be here tomorrow.
I found Rimfirecentral yesterday, and they do have a lot of info.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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Pinch_of_Snuff
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Alright, I'm jealous..
I was looking at getting one for a long time, but for the price vs. performance, I think I shifted my thoughts to a .22 mag. But they are great guns, my buddy has one, and I immediately went home and started looking at them. Congrats!
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BobK
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They are a nice gun.
I would consider a different scope, though, unless BSA has fixed their quality problems. I bought one about 5 years ago, and it was junk.
Just a thought on my part so you have enjoyment from your new "toy".
Enjoy your .17 HMR, they are a REAL FUN GUN!!
BobK
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WAID
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humpy
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I've been trying to convince my girlfriend that she should get one. Her dad agrees. I'd get one but I spent my gun budget for a while on a 10/22 sure would be fun to convert it to .17M2. Rimfirecentral is a bad influence when it comes to that sort of thing. Be sure to give a range report when you get that baby set up.
Edited by WAID (05/05/06 12:00 AM)
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Dogfish
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I got the scope set up on it last night, and the BSA Sweet .17 is nice and clear. I'll spend a little bit of time shooting it tomorrow. I read a few good reports on the scope, and the thing is built pretty well. Watch out starlings......"PUFF".
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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Dogfish
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I had a chance to shoot the rifle today and get the new scope sighted in. I fired 5 different loads including Hornady 20g XTP's and 17g VMAX, CCI's 17g VMAX and their 17g TNT HP, and Remington's 17g VMAX. My first comment was, "damn, that trigger is heavy", and my second was, "this rifle can shoot!"
The rifle really liked the Hornady loads with both rifles less than .75" center to center, and the XTPs shot about .50" lower than the VMAX rounds which were dead on.
The Remington VMAX had identicle performance to the Hornady VMAX, again a nice group less than an inch about .25" above the center of the target.
The CCI's were respectable, at about 1.25" for the VMAX at 1" high, and the TNT about an inch low and a 1.5" spread.
Every shot would have been in the money had I been shooting at just about anything other than flies. 
Ordered my Rifle Basix trigger right after I got back from the range, and I hope to see these groups shrink. I still can't believe a little rimfire like this can shoot that good without doing anything other than mounting a scope on it. I need to get out and shoot some more with this thing.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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BobK
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Thick Tail
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What distance were you shooting at? I used to have fun, plinking at spent 12 ga. hulls, at 100 yards with my .22 WRM from a bench. And any time I missed, it was my own fault!
The little guns are a lot of fun to shoot, and VERY accurate!
BobK
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Dogfish
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100 yards. Who'da thunk it? Once I get me new trigger group, a 2 pounder, I plan to stretch it out a bit.
I have a Remington 597 in .22 Mag that has proved to be good for 1.5" groups at 100 yards, and I have taken 4 coyotes with it.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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Musicman
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Thick Tail
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Good shooting Andy....I gave a lesson to one of my huntin partners one time while sighting in my Abolt Browning in .06 , started shooting 12g shells off the stump at about 100yrds....he was truely amazed...so was I to be honest. Best shootin rifle I've owned to date....Look foward to gettin me a small caliber plinker. Keep up the reports, might have to get me one just like yours.
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JD
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Dogfish
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I found a quick fix on the trigger at Rimfirecentral. What a different. Change one spring, and add a tiny shim and the trigger pull goes from 45.7 pounds (feels like it) down to a cool 2 pounds. This is before I have installed the Rifle Basix trigger group. That should be here on Friday.
Trying it out tomorrow at lunch on my way back from Raymond. Might have to bring a coyote call along, just in case. I'll post a pic of my groups if they are worthy. Nothing else was changed, so it should be a quick test fire to confirm "zero", then directly to precision group firing.
What a fun little gun.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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normgonefishing
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dual red striper
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just ordered a left handed savage in 17 hmr plan on putig a sweet 17 on top to in the 3-12 modle gun and scope s/b hee wensday or thursday next week can't wait to try it out
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Dogfish
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Got my new trigger group installed and I have it set at just about 1.5#. Shot a few hundred rounds on Saturday before baseball, and a rifle that shoots like this is almost unbelievable.
My best 5 shot group of the day was .420", center to center, at 100 yards. If you take out the "flyer", the best 4 rounds gave me a group of .227", center to center.
I don't have any large caliber rifles that shoot this good, including my 18 lb .22-250 with a heavy bull barrel and double set Timney triggers.
I bought a brick of the Remington 17 grain v-max ammo at Sportco on Monday. No time for any other ammo once I found that stuff.
If anybody needs some rounds to practice with to see what works best in their gun, let me now and I'll make you up a sampler pack of 10 to 15 rounds of each of the 7 types of ammo I have at $10 for 50 rounds. (This is the average cost for a box of 50 rounds.) I also have 5 or 6 different types of .22 Mag ammo if you are in the market that I'll do for $8 per 50 rounds.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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normgonefishing
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dual red striper
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just got my 17 setup went with a 4-12 bushnell it was a better scope imho after looking at a few in my price range. after breaking it in it shot better than any thing else i own with all 4 round touchiing in a regged hole. was using hornady ammo. would like to try others. are you going to make it to cowtilla/ i would take up up on 1 or 2 sampler packs pm me to let me know how we can make this work
thanks norm
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Dogfish
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I'll be headed to the Cowtilla, but if you want some rounds sooner we could arrange for a swap somehow. Let me know how you want to handle it. I could send the rounds via UPS ground.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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normgonefishing
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dual red striper
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cowtilla works for me i will be there friday to sunday hopeing to get a ride oneday, i relly like thar left handed savage. hopeing to get over east and do some rabbit shooting with it some time soon. thanks
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arroem
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steelie
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How do you like the Sweet 17 scope? I'm looking at the same one for my 17HMR. I have a Simmonds 3x9 on it now and need more Magnification and a smaller cross hair. How do you like the new trigger? Did it help with the accuracy?
Edited by arroem (09/21/06 10:03 PM)
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Dogfish
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The Sweet .17 is SWEET! The new trigger also helped a lot for the accuracy. Who would have ever thought you could put 4 rounds into less than a quarter inch group at 100 yards?
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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PT42
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egg
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would you be interested in selling this gun?
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Dogfish
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Nope.
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"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"
Be like Big Stick!
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KingFisher85
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110% Cracker
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I ended up getting a savage 17HMR with a heavy stainless barrel, wood laminated stock, and the BSA sweet 17....I thought that the savage trigger was way better then the marlin was.
anyways...nail heads at 100 yards with mine shooting CCI TNT 17gr, could not tell a differnce from the VMAX as they shot the same.
Sweet gun, wish the ammo is cheaper cause once you start shooting it you don't wanna stop. :grin:
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Keep it simple
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wageslave
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Spoonin' leads to Forkin'
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I saw the new Savage HMR with the thumbhole stock in F&S last spring and had to have one. It took me awile last summer to locate one, but I did.
I put a stainless BAUSCH & LOMB Elite 4000 2.5X10 on it and it looks great. Going to try it on ground varmits this weekend. I'll report how it does next week.
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"You can observe a lot just by watching." Yogi Berra
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