savage vs. marlin 17hrm

[juggaloxxl]

whic is more accurate? prefer to hear of benchrest test not what kind of grp a guy can get shooting offhand

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[tomcat]

ok iv had both guns and there is a old and a new savage.... as for (the new savage) and the marlin... there about the same...savage has a 1 up on the marlin do to the trigger..... so id say savage.....but i have had the old type with the step down barrel..(i sold my new savage and marlin) to get 2 older step down barrel..
hands down will out shoot the newer marlin and savage.... and a + it likes all the ammo.....the newer savage and marlin's are picky on ammo..

( i do like the fill of a marlin) and thay make a vary good gun... if i had to pick one ....step down barrel savage.....as for new savage VS marlin.....id go with marlin and rework the tigger..

if you lived by me id let you shoot my 17's......if your looking for all the info ever go here... <broken link removed> will be looking for days)))) HAHAHA

 

[deadeye]

Savage and they tend to like the Hornady ammo best. I have the older blue and stainless both non accu trigger with a Rifle Basix sear set at 13oz. The Marlin is OK but not as accurate, if going new I would suggest the Savage with the thumb hole stock. I tend to like the older with the replaced sear vs the accutrigger.

 

[tomcat]

o FYI i have a like new ....savage.. for sale.. got it for the kid and he wanted my 10/22....

 

[beezer66]

I have a new model savage synthetic/stainless and i like it a lot. I only shoot 17 gr Hornadays; 20 gr bullets hit high and right by about 3" at 50 yards, scope is set for 17s. I say sight in with one ammo and stay with it.

 

[Spitpatch]

Howdy Jug,
I am embroiled in my first .17HMR experience. Someone who says they love me gave me one for Christmas. I'm beginning to wonder about that love. It is the stainless, heavy barreled thumbhole laminated Savage (BTVSS). Buddies that have had .17's for a few years (both Marlin and Savage), said the Savages shoot better. Can't comment on that.

I can say, that as a stickler for accuracy, I believe the AMMUNITION is disappointing (not the gun). I do not engage in the frequent practice of embellishing the size of groups my guns will produce, and I can honestly say, this gun out of the box averaged 1.25" groups at 100 yards, with ammo it likes. Installation of the Rifle Basix trigger (the Accutrigger only drops to 2.7 lbs--not light enough for precision work), and a very careful and tedious glass bedding job, combined with installation of heavy bottom plate metal (Savage utilizes sheet steel which flexes under torque of the bedding screw), did not improve the groups significantly.

I think the problem lies in the ammo, as chronographing indicates velocity fluctations that correspond with the shots that increase group size. The gun wants to do well: some clusters run in the 1/2 to 3/4" range, but in a five shot string, one or two ALWAYS stray, and stray on the chrono too.

I don't put much store in reports from people who talk about their 50 yard groups with these guns. This is not a 50-yard cartridge. As with any rimfire, ammo exploration is a must. My gun prefers the Remington version with a V-Max. Rumors abound (some substantiated), that all the ammo loaded for this cartridge comes from either Hornady or CCI, regardless of brand. All I can say is that the version carrying the Remington brand shoots significantly better than the second-place contender, which is the Hornady version using the same bullet. The Federal Premium is the dud: 3-inch groups in my gun.

I will second the suggestion to visit the rimfirecentral.com website. Lots of info there: some from experts, some from idiots. As an expert in idiocy, I know both.

 

[jmac3434]

i currently have both the marlin 917 bull barell and the savage. The fit and finish on the marlin is quite a bit better but the savage is quite a bit lighter. as for accuracy goes I see no difference in the two personally. Savage is a little quarky in which ammo to put through it, as for the marlin you can use pretty much anything.

 

[Spitpatch]

Continuing on the ammunition theme, I am a firm believer that there are enough .17HMR people out there (either by choice or coercion--as is my case), that the first manufacturer to invest the time and money into developing match-grade ammo for this cartridge (such as has been done for .22lr) will find a devoted following of shooters willing to pay significantly more to see how these guns really can shoot with consistent quality fodder.

It may also be, that the huge majority of .17HMR people are merely casual shooters and are entirely satisfied with the current (lack of) quality of the ammunition. With all the buzz going on at rimfirecentral about this cartridge, persons that actually have bench-tested multiple brands of ammo with a goal of unbiased reporting are somewhat rare. Most are members of the "my gun does half-inch groups all day" club. After all, membership is unlimited, and one need not pay any dues.