I ordered mine in April and got it in August. Finally gave up on the dealer and bought two boxes of ammo on E-Bay for highway robbery price but wanted to see how it worked. Good thing as it consistantly failed to eject shells after firing. Took it back to the dealer who sent it back to Savage to be repaired. I shot less then a box of shells through it and can say it is accurate but the whole experience has been frustrating. I had wanted to use it dog hunting and that didn't happen.
rona, yep same here, I bought one box of 20 gr on Gun Broker for way more than I should have. I had the ammo for months before I got the rifle. Until this week, I have found lots of 25 gr, but no 20 gr. Finally found the 20 gr also. NOW, it appears that the 25 gr are best!
On and on, it goes....
ron
Looks as though I should have invested the 350.00 into reload equipment for center fire instead. Next time I will look at the big picture.
Rona, don't give up. Maybe someone will get it squared away.
BTW, I actually enjoy reloading as much as shooting.
Must be sumtin' wrong with me. The availability of powder/etc is starting to get better (since it couldn't have been any worse!)
ron
Reloading would solve my issues with no ammo, a form of entertainment for winter months, and would solve the frustrations of no ammo in Minn. I read both here and other websites that people do find ammo but evidently they have "connections" that I don't. The odd thing is some stores around here got one Bmag to sell and 40 boxes of ammo then the next one got ten rifles and no ammo. Just doesn't make sense. I am hoping there will be a good supply in about a year. There is all kinds of HMR around at a reasonable price so maybe in time things will improve.
If nothing else this experience has made me appreciate how smooth the rest of my life has gone. lol
Rona, I guess 'smooth' is a relative term. ha ha
On the .17 WSM ammo. Some folks are finding both the rifles and ammo at their local Wally World. I had the Dept Mgr scan my WSM ammo box and no number exists in their system. Evidently, different stores get different items.
Our local WM 'Superstore', actually makes it painful to purchase a rifle. My local gun store (who gets all my business, now) makes it a fun experience. I used to have an FFL back in Ky. The LGS is actually cheaper than Wal Mart's prices, too. Great guy. I go there every week (25 mile drive) just to look around. He has the 25 gr ammo, and I usually pick up a box or two. (no hoarding here) ha ha
Get into reloading, it's a great hobby. I started off with....wait for it... A Lee Loader for my .357 mag. Still remember hammering those cases! LOL! Will it save you $? Doubtful, unless you shoot a LOT. The satisfaction you get is almost unmatched. When I first started deer hunting, I always used factory ammo. I haven't used a factory load in decades. Then again, I don't really hunt anymore, just punch paper....
But I shoot several times/week....
ron
Funny as I got a Lee reloader for my 243 several years ago. Don't use it much any more and I think it would be over kill on p dogs. But it sure put the hurt on a lot of fox back in the days. I got a Savage 223 bolt action a few years back but for some reason it didn't "fit" me and I just never was as accurate with it as I wanted. The way the price has jumped on ammunition takes the fun out of it and that was another reason I went to the B Mag.
Concerning WalMarts we have 3 "super stores" near us and only one sells guns. The other two have ammunition but no 17 Mag. Not even in their records. I might go to the one that sells guns just to see what they have but wouldn't hold my breath. We have Fleet Farm stores which sell tires, fishing gear and all sorts of guns and ammo. I've missed 17 Mag shells there but they did have them. They had 17HMR Hornady for 11.99 which wasn't bad for around here.
We have several small gunsmiths that have started up in the last 3 years but I go to a different one that has been around a long time. He was the one that told me to hold off for a year with the B mag until they get the newness glo wore off and ammo becomes common. Guess I should have listened. He told me he wouldn't order any for at least a year because there was always bugs to work out.
Rona. I wish I would have waited. I'm just way too impulsive and convinced myself that the B Mag would be my last rifle. I have the .17 HMR, .17 WSM, and the (reloadable) .17 Hornet. I also have a collection of big bore handguns. Unfortunately, years of shooting IHMSA with both the .44 Mag and my XP-100 (rechambered to 7mm-08) have taken it's toll on my right wrist. I have NO cartlidge left in my wrist, and my .454 Casull did NOT help. ha ha
Speaking of my Local Gun Store. A few months ago, I asked the owner to get me the B Mag. A couple of months later, one of his guys calls me and told me the .17 HMR I ordered was in. Guess what? He was wrong. It was the WSM!! It sold quickly. He has had the ammo from almost day one, and called me last week to tell me they just got in another rifle (WSM). I told him, sorry, I already found one.
The HMR price of $11.99 is excellent for around here (Florida).
All the WMs are starting to get lots of ammo. No .22 lr, but I have all I'll ever need. NO, I didn't hoard it. My 2nd wife shot IHMSA with my 14" T/C in .22 lr, so we bought lots of different ammo to try. A month or so ago, I went to one of the Gander Mtn stores in Ga. They had .22 lr ammo by the PALLET load! I was stunned.
They also have more .17 HMR ammo than the factory, but it's $14.99.......
ron
Gander Mountain has always been higher then the competition around here. One of my sons has a contact with Sheels Sporting goods at Sioux Falls for equipping a fancy eating place and he wanted me to ride along with him to it. They had some Savage B Mags and ammunition a few days ago so am tempted to go for a ride with him and maybe get lucky. Their HMR 17 is higher then Fleet Farm but not sure about the rest of their ammo.
I haven't seen any 25 grain B Mag ammo but some people say it is more accurate in their rifle then the 20 grain. I guess it depends on the individual rifle.
Cabelas used to have a decent selection of ammo but their prices have jumped too. I am thinking eventually we will see over production and prices will fall back.
A few years ago I was involved in corn or wood pellet stoves to heat a home. There was a jump in popularity and a shortage. As a result a potential customer would contact several dealers trying to buy a stove. Each dealer thought that was a potential sale so increased the next order. These large orders made the companys either add onto their factory or add another shift of workers to produce enough stoves to satisfy this demand. Then the price of corn went up and the price of oil dropped and the demand for the stove just vanished leaving the dealer and companys holding the bag on huge numbers of stoves. Some companys went broke and lots of dealers took a hit. Just hard to beat the law of supply and demand.
Hi rona, btw, because of my last name, and a close personal friend named ron, our wives used to call us: 'ronb' and 'ronh'...
Interesting post. As I mentioned there seemed to be more 25 gr east of the Mississippi River and 20 gr to the west, but that is changing.
I'm no prophet, but if the B Mag rifle has 'problems', I HOPE other gun makers don't shy away from the ctg. I think it's a great ctg but would like to see a varmint model of 'something else'.... ha ha If Savage gets enough of the rifles returned (now that they are under new ownership), they might just scrap the model. Remember the 5 mm? I have to wonder if the other mfgs are taking a look-see attitude.
And I'll guarantee that Ruger, etc, have several B Mags in their lab. One of my jobs at IBM was to get competitive machines (a lot of them) and run the heck out of them to see how they performed.
I know a little about supply and demand. When I first started working for IBM (before PCs, showing my age here!), IBM could not make the Selectric typewriter fast enough. They had a HUGE plant in Lexington, Ky and worked 3 shifts/day building them.
As soon as word processors/PCs came out, that was the end of that.
ronb
Been a windy day today. My two sons and grandson were home to bow hunt deer and do a little pheasant hunting this weekend. One nice small buck (good eating size wandered a little to close) and 3 roosters so they were happy. I was going to do some target shooting but way to windy.
Found out Sheels Sporting Goods Store didn't have B-Mag shells on Saturday. So put the Mueller Eraticator scope and bi pod on another Savage I have and am waiting for some still weather again.
Oldest son bought a scope and rings for his new Savage 12 gauge bolt action slug gun at Sheels and will have to get something to replace the two little rails that the rings mount on as the scope barrel is to short to fit. Lesson to be learned buy everything at the same place and save time.
rona, good weekend! Sounds like you'll have some good eatin'. I don't hunt very much anymore, but we do have a good deer population (kinda) on the farm. I say kinda, because an ex-employee and his wife decimated the herd. They shot EVERYTHING they saw. It's been 2 years and the heard is improving, but bucks are scarce. We have a lot of coyotes, which doesn't help. OK on the scope base. I use nothing but one-piece Weaver 'style' bases on all my rifles now.
Here in Fl the deer are small compared to Maine and New Hampshire deer. That spoiled me I guess.
Do you do any Jerky? I just got a new dehydrator and spent the day, drying 'Ghost' peppers. Those are rough!
ronb
I have had a dehydrater for a few years now. Dried apple chunks at first then did some jerky for a couple years then this fall I dried a bunch of peppers. Forget what they were called but my son put a couple in a heavy bean soup last weekend and I thought it was a piece of green bean, NOPE and I will be more carefull next time. LOL
I got a cold and was coughing and sneezing so it would have been foolish for me to be hunting or in a tree Hopefully I can go out in a couple of days. My shoulder is no good any more so I got a crossbow and was going to try that. It is plenty accurate and now that most of the crops are out I may set up a groung blind. Trouble is if I get one I may need help dragging it out of the brush and woods.
We got coyotes and the deer population is down a lot around here. The seasons total out to 3 months which is way to long.
We raise corn and soybeans up here and after the crops are out the deer migrate towards some of our land which is on both sides of a river. Trees, brush, etc Plenty thick to hunt. I used to hunt every year since I was 13 but switched from slugs to bow and arrow for a while in the 70s then switched to black powder for a few years. Then one year I noticed I still had venison in the freezer from the previous year so quit hunting for a few years. I don't need the meat but it is a challenge and a doable one for me. I bought a Barnett Vengence crossbow from a company that is based in Tarpon, Fl.
Sounds like we are close to the same age. Retired? I am and some days I don't feel like it. Got to keep busy or I spend to much on toys. lol
Please keep things on topic.
If you just wish to chit chat, please do that via PM or in the off topic section.
For example, your favorite jerky recipes can go in the off topic section as well.
Specific game recipes can go in the appropriate (small game, medium sized game, big game) hunting section.
It's not that I am antisocial, but the forum works better/smoother when threads stay on topic.
If you want to change the subject, fine, but please don't hijack the existing thread, but rather I would ask you to start a new thread in the appropriate section of the forum.
Thanks for your help.
Sorry about that. Speaking of the 17Bmag No shells and now rifle has been sent back to the company for a malfunction. Talking about something else took the sour taste out of my mouth.
I am now a owner of a 17Bmag after we see how it shoots, will determine proud or remorse. This is the cheapest made rimfire I have ever owned, Savage could of not made the stock any cheeper, or scrimped any more on the gun. If the gun shoots great some of these things can be over looked! Sure is not the qualiy of my CZ or my Kimber 22, great round hope Savage, Browning, CZ or someone makes a quality 17WSM but sorry the bmag is not it.
Good Luck, hope yours is a good one...............
After contacting Savage yesterday, I will be receiving a new replacement B-mag. The email I rec'd said the gun I sent back was not repairable.
Not sure which issue was the cause for replacement but I am glad to see Savage standing behind the product.
CS also said it could ship out as early as next week, guessing I will see it just before turkey day.
I hope this one functions and shoots well !
gs, WOW! Something must have been horribly wrong. Maybe it had a .22 bbl on it. ha ha
I'm also glad to see that the CS is this good. I was concerned when I heard the company was sold and was cutting back new product development....
Please keep us posted...
ron
Hey Ron,I guess its just not cost effective to invest time and labor into such a low cost firearm. If you think about the cost of a gunsmith per/hr and the burden rate on machinery, I'd say scrap if it cannot be fixed in under an hour.
Sure would like to know what they found out with the accuracy issue ? Or maybe it never got that far since it had an extraction issue which involved the bolt.
gs, I DO understand, being a PE with IBM where the labor rate was off the chart. I sure wish the mfg would at least say what was wrong when you send something back......
I am fortunate (??) in that I purchased the tools necessary to have a machine shop, back when I had a great job/income. I still have all kinds of tooling to build 9" Ford rear ends, tubing benders to build roll cages, etc. I'll probably never use any of it, so I guess I need to sell this stuff.
Not only that, I have several engines, 5 TH-400 transmissions, and more than a few 9" rear ends.....sigh...
ron
WOW ! I wish I had some of your toys Ron...lol.
Manufacturers usually never disclose design flaws or short comings to the public as you well know. Especially now with facebook, twitter forums and the rest of cyber-world. I was a Tech service manager for a large manufacturing firm, now de-funked because of poor design and in-house testing.
Like you though, I would like to know what was the main issue. Mine is one of several I have read about which had to be replaced. I'll let you know how this one works out.
My 2nd B.Mag purchased new at Dick's Sporting Goods (again) for $229. J177831 and it has the new revised ejector :-)
Aries by birth, Taurus by choice.
Which Dick's is selling B-Mags for $229 ??
Update to post #68.
I received my replacement Bmag rifle yesterday. This one seems to be much better as far as assembly fit and functionality.
* Stock is straight and aligned with the barrel.
* Barrel is free floating all the way to the receiver.
* While patch cleaning the bore, no tight spots detected.
* Chambers, extracts and ejects all ammo.
* Savage gunsmith's provided a qualification check sheet, no target provided just a notations that the rifle passed inspection and targeting.
It took almost 5 weeks to receive my replacement, I can only hope this one shoots good without issue. I'm not expecting target rifle performance but 1"groups @ 100yds would be more then acceptable. (original bmag shot 3" groups at 50 yds) And with savage's 100yd evaluation check sheet marked "pass" in hand, I hope its a shooter !
Savage qualified the new Bmag with the 25gr ammo but I hope it shoots the 20gr stuff too since I have a lot more of it.
I test fire tomorrow weather permitting and report back.
Happy Thanksgiving too all !
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