.17 WSM Small Game And Varmint Hunting

[Old Hickory 45]

It seems strange I have not seen any threads of .17 WSM hunting here.

My go to hunting rifle is my Savage BMAG .17 WSM for small game and an occasional varmint. It will be a family loaner when I receive my ordered A1 Sporter WSM rifle.

[Steeltrap]

I use a 17 Hornet and with a 20gr. bullet I get 3,667fps. I think the WSM gets 3,000fps with a 20gr bullet. I bought the Savage 17 Hornet when it first came out. Prior to that I had built a 17 Fireball. I may have lost a bit of velocity going from the FB to the Hornet, but the Hornet has a reliable feed magazine which my FB did not.

I use it for groundhogs and it's a great 300 yard cartridge.

[Daschhund]

I love the idea of the 17wsm it’s a great round we had a 17 Remington when I was a kid I have always been fascinated by the 17. I was gonna buy one instead of the 17hmr. I wanted more guns to come out chambered for it. I feel like the lack of decent guns is the downfall of this round. The BMag I’m not impressed with at all and the m77 is great but expensive. If ruger put it in the American or even CZ put it in the 455 I would have one. I don’t understand why they have not. I will say I use to see ammo all over for it I have not seen any in The past year.

[J.Baker]

Biggest disadvantage of the .17 WSM has been the guns it's offered in. When first launched it was only available in the Savage B-Mag and the Winchester 1885 Low-Wall. To put it nicely, the B-Mag leaves a LOT to be desired in terms of fit, finish and overall quality, and the sporter barreled models (only model offered the first year) had significant issues with accuracy and consistency. The Winchester 1885 was very limited production and almost impossible to find to be able to even buy one. With those factors in mind the .17 WSM hit the market with a huge handicap right out of the gate.

Things improved a little the second year when Savage brought a heavy barreled B-Mag to the market, but the quality of the gun itself still fell short in many regards. Ruger eventually came out with an offering in their 17/77 bolt-actions which is a much higher quality rifle than the B-Mag, but it came with an equally high price tag. Franklin Arsonal then came out with an AR15-based option, but it too has a very high entry price. Last but not least, Volquartsen started offering a Ruger 10/22-esque semi-auto 17 WSM a few years back, but being what I would call a "semi-custom" they're pretty pricey as well.

As a result of all of the above the .17 WSM never really took off. The gun most could afford (the Savage) just wasn't very appealing and most find the cock-on-close design of the action ackward and clunky. Every other gun chambered for the cartridge comes with a price tag most aren't willing to entertain for a rimfire rifle.

Another big factor was the fact that the .17 Hornet was standardized and hit the market right about the same time, and the vast majority of shooters that were looking at the 17 WSM opted for the increased performance and ability to handload that was provided with the Hornet.