Ruger, Marlin, Savage .17HMR: Which Would You Pick?

C

CommonSense

New member
I'm looking at buying a Bolt action bull barrel .17HMR and want to know what The firingline Community would choose. The perameters driving the purchase are overall highest muzzle velocity, Most accurate, and affordable... and of course quality. A good trigger is a significant factor in this game too.
You can only choose 1...is it the Ruger, the Marlin, or the Savage?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No one rifle from that lot has all of the qualities.
Muzzle velocity will be rifle-specific, not predictable by brand name.

Accuracy, if you dig through range reports on the internet, is roughly equal across the board.

Quality is subjective.
I consider the Ruger 77/17 to be the best rifle in the lot, but that's primarily due to fit, finish, and refinement. The other rifles are not "low quality". They're just manufactured with a different approach: stick a barrel in a piece of tubing, add a bolt, and add a magazine.

The fire control groups are all unique, as well.
Ruger triggers are not the best, and trigger 'quality' does vary rifle-to-rifle. But, it is not easily tweaked, and you never know what you'll get until you try it.
Savage rimfire Accutriggers are acceptable, but not as crisp as centerfire Accutriggers due to differences in sear and bolt designs. Non-Accutrigger Savage rimfires are absolutely terrible. You're better off throwing rocks at the target.
Marlin triggers are not quite as good as the Savage, but close.


So.... that leaves us with: None of the above.
Buy a Cooper, Kimber, CZ, or Remington. ;)
 
Not a fan of the Savage Accutrigger or the Marlin clone so I say get a pre-clone Marlin if you can find one and money is a concern, a Ruger or a CZ if you can swing it.
 
Savage rimfires are absolutely terrible. You're better off throwing rocks at the target.
Click to expand...

Don't think many savage owners would agree,;) My savage 9317 BTV will give me .500-.750 groups at 100yards consistently if I do my part, Savage, CZ and Marlin all provide a good product for the money.
I have three accutriggers all are excellent and without modification. Go to Rimfire central to gain a better idea of what you want/need.
 
Don't think many savage owners would agree, My savage 9317 BTV will give me .500-.750 groups at 100yards consistently if I do my part, Savage, CZ and Marlin all provide a good product for the money.
Click to expand...
That's an Accutrigger model. My statement was directed at the models without the Accutrigger.

You mis-quoted me, by cutting off the first word(s): "Non-Accutrigger Savage rimfires..."
 
I've heard that 243WSSM is a better caliber,maybe look into one of them as another option?

Oh an Lazzeroni rifles are supposed to be quite good.
 
Would not own a Ruger rifle.
Love my Savage 17hmr. I get sub MOA groups at 100yds.
Never shot a Marlin 17hmr but my old Marlin 22 is a good shooter.
 
I think savage rifles are garbage.

Ruger is the best bang for your buck.

Not a big marlin fan since it was gobbled up.

Just my thoughts based on my experience
 
I have a Marlin 917V. I got a replacement striker assmbly from factory after a recall. Did the bic pen spring trick at rimfirecentral to help lighten the trigger and polished all engagement surfaces with Mother's. Free-floated the barrel. I have a $50 scope on it and I can shoot .25 MOA with Hornady 17gr VMAX bullets.

I think the barrel on the Marlin 917V is sweet, they contracted Shilen to make it from what I understand. Good luck, whatever you get I hope it's a shooter!
 
So far I like the input. I have range time on a friend's Marlin 917 with the bic pen mod, and I own a Accu-trigger Savage in a centerfire caliber...wondered about how well the accu-trigger is in a smaller platform like the model 93s. I've never even seen (exept pictures) a ruger 77/17... I'm buying a .17 HMR when I get back from deploymment but I have a set budget on the rifle and I will only be able to afford these three. I live in Michigan and plan on playing with it at longer distances target shooting(beyond 100meter range). Also, its secondary purpose will be small game and lastly, varmint and pest control for my grandparent's woodchuck problem. I'm not a huge cyote hunter, but tag along with a friend about once a year, so it will play that role as well. It will be "kryloned" so the fancy "extras" like walnut stocks and stuff will not be in the package. I cannot bring myself to spray paint a nice firearm...but will not hesitate on a blued, synthetic rimfire that I plan on buying used. That being said, does this change anybody's input?
 
on a calm day with no wind at 50 yards my Savage 93R17GLV with a Weaver 44/40 3x9-40mm is capable of sub .500 MOA, with the ocasional round "overlapping" or hitting the same hole twice. i use Hornaday 17 grain V-max.
 
Love my little Savage 93 in .17HMR. Shoots great with .500-.750 groups common if I do my part. I didn't care too much for the Marlin, even with its Accutrigger Clone. Mine wears a Leupold VXII 4X12X40 AO scope and is money on tree rats.
 
I have an older Savage 93-17 no accu trigger. Almost same hole accuracy is all I could ask for. The ruger is too much $$$ and the Marlin just feels cheap/clunky to me
 
I can only speak about Savage since I have not tried the other brands in question. My first was not a heavy barrel, and that had poor accuracy. At least much less than I expected. So I sold that to a varmint hunter and he was happy with it. I replaced it with the heavy barrel model, and man oh man what a big difference! I did get the pin-point accuracy I was expecting. I told a buddy to walk out and stick a tiny target at whatever distance he chose. He did. He was curious to see if I could hit the target. After he came back I asked if he wanted the hole at 12, 3, 6, or 9 o'clock on the target. I then placed the hole where he wanted it to be. So just based on the pleasing results I got, I would suggest the Savage bull barrel. However, it pays to install a good set of rings, scope, and try assorted ammo brands for best results.
 
I bought a CZ in 17 HMR If you can not do your own trigger job and heat and bend the guide in the clip so it will feed and do your own bedding then figgure on another $200.00 for a gun smith to fix them, after i did all that on mine it is a very good acc rifle, but for the cost of them a person should not have to do all that stuff to a new rifle to get it to shoot acc.
 
craigman said:
the Marlin just feels cheap/clunky to me
Click to expand...

I know this is your opinion but I have to weigh in here. The Marlin and Savage have VERY similar designs. To me, they feel nearly identical and from a short distance I have trouble telling them apart unless the savage has a Boyd's stock on it (which you can buy for the Marlin). The Marlin design has been in use for a REALLY long time and there are few complaints out there from people who OWN Marlins or Savage .22 Rifles. For a used rifle I would buy a Marlin 917V. Pen-spring trick gives you an easily satisfactory trigger and all of them that I have known of were dead-nuts accurate. I've seen them for as low as $150-$175 in good condition without a score or anything.

Sent From My Galaxy S 4g Using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Savage. All the way i own one and love it. I can nail a golf ball sized target at 100 yds. I think my best group was quarter sized 3 shot group at 100 yds. Then I added a Kruger match grade barrel. Heaven on earth. If I have to choose a rifle other then my wasr-10 it's all ways the savage .17. Depends if you want quality,accurate, rifle or a marlin that looks like it.
 
I have the heavy barrel Savage 93 pre-accutrigger. This thing will out shoot anything I can do. I can hit quarter size targets at 100yds and I have taken Prairie Dogs out to 200. I upgraded to the SavR trigger but have not hunted it yet. Running the Nikon ProStaff rim fire 150 with BDC.

I have shot the Ruger Iiked it but not worth the extra cash. Best part was the rotary mag.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top