Savage B mag .17wsm pt1

[angrybear]

The rifle in question is the 22" heavy barrel (screwcut) in a synthetic sporter stock, possibly not the variant most people would go for but I'm sorry I just don't like Boyds thumbhole stocks & those are the only two options.
There is quite a bit of flex in the fore-stock which was pointed out in the shop (Blue Fox Glade) & they said it had put off some potential buyers.
I think it's a good looking rifle, but then looks are personal opinion.

It comes with 1 Ruger style 8 rnd rotary mag which has a definite knack to loading, try to just push the round in & nothing happens, you have to use your left thumb as you do to snap your fingers, press & roll and the rounds pop in without fuss.

The bolt famously has a curious action, it cocks as the handle is pushed down, not as the open bolt is closed, so it slides forwards with no resistance then takes a firm effort to turn down, as there's not a huge gap between the handle & the scope ocular it's not the most natural or fluid of actions.

At this point I have to mention the safety catch which in conjunction with the bolt is either a very clever design or it's a complete PITA

It sits to the rear of the bolt & is easy to operate, but how it operates depends on the position of the bolt when it's applied
If you fire then immediately apply the safety, open the bolt eject the case & close the bolt again the rifle does not cock, the safety moves on/off & the trigger can be pulled as normal.
I like this as a way to store the rifle bolt closed without the need to dry fire.

However, if after firing you lift the bolt handle, then apply the safety before drawing the bolt back, when you close the bolt it does cock the rifle but the safety is locked in the safe position so the rifle will not fire to fire you must lift the bolt handle take the safety off & close the handle down again.
I don't know if this is intended as a deliberate double fail safe of some kind, but as it's the lift & close part of cocking that takes the effort it strikes me as a pointless PITA feature no quicker or quieter than a full bolt cycle.

The rifle comes with weaver rails so I fitted my trusty Sidewinder 4-16x50 in a pair of the very nice new Hawke precision steel qr lever mounts (high) & at the loud end fitted my superb Hausken MD35 .17 mod.

Using Chairgun I've gone for zeros at 55/130yds which gives a PBR of +/- half inch from 35-148yds, 100yds is 1/2 mil dot at 16x.

Zeroing prone 55yds is easy sub 1/2" groups,
100yds gave 4 consecutive groups with 4 shots within 5/8" but 1 flyer taking it to 1"+ I think my shooting position might be to blame for that so I need to get better organised & try again.

Ammo wise I used both Hornady & American Eagle 20gn, both grouped equally well but the Eagle POI was consistently 1/4" low left of the Hornady.

I'll add pt2 after some field use.

https://ibb.co/kJxm4e
https://ibb.co/eS2fVK

[angrybear]

Well I've now had the pleasure of taking it out Rabbiting, I had the Ward 700 & Ovrlux laser fitted & it made for a very accurate & nicely balanced set-up,
Not excessively heavy for walking the fields and I have to say it proved absolutely flawless.

I did have some reservations about the flex in the synthetic stock & whether there would be any problem with zero changing with hold/rest, but they proved groundless, off quad sticks it was superb.

The round itself is pretty devastating on head shot rabbits, at 100yds there was a puff of red mist & not much head left ,
I did take one chest shot just to see the effect, at about 60yds, there was some salvageable meat behind the ribcage but the little bit that was left of the front half was just mush.

Judging by the effect on rabbits I'd happily think this is definitely a 100yd fox rifle & then some.

I'm trying not to sound like a teenager gushing over the latest pop-idol, but I have to say this is love at first shot.

oh almost forgot,
£485 new

[Mod]

Cool - will be interesting to see how you get on with it in the future.

Not heard any other reports from users of this calibre & we have few truly new innovations available to us in the field-shooting community!

Rgds

Mod

[angrybear]

Remembered this thread last night, thought I'd update with pic's in it's Boyds sporter stock, now with a Barton gunworks picatiny rail & panther mod.
https://ibb.co/KVPh4W8
https://ibb.co/qmRfj1t

[rapidboy1]

Very smart looking, i have been thinking about one of these recently but ammunition is like hens teeth.

[angrybear]

Very smart looking, i have been thinking about one of these recently but ammunition is like hens teeth.

Thankfully no problem for me, dealer one way sells Hornady, dealer the other way sells American Eagle
Both are nicely consistent over the chrono.