# New 17 Bmag



## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

I just couldn't take it any more and had to throw a scope on my new Bmag. I bought it 8 days ago and hadn't had a chance to shoot it yet. I put my Nikon 3X9X40 on it and bore sighted it Friday night after the wife went to bed. (She doesn't know I bought it yet) Went out to the shooting range this afternoon to try it out. This gun is really fun to shoot. I started at 25 yds to see where it would hit and adjusted the scope so it hit about 1/2 inch high. Set up some targets at 100 yards and shot 4 times at the first target and the group was about 2 to 2 1/4 inches. There was also winds from my right that were blowing 20+ mph so that is probably what caused the large group. Or this gun needs some more bullets down the tube to break it in. I shot at 3 more targets and the smallest group was probably 1.5 inch, but the wind was still gusting sometimes above 20 mph. I am going to wait until I get the scope i bought from Farmall and get it sighted in on a calm day and shoot it over the crony to see if the 25 grain bullets are actually coming out at 2600 fps as the box says. I'll post some pics of the targets this coming weekend if the wind isn't blowing too hard again as the scope should be here by then.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Nice ! Are you gonna tell the wife we pressured you into buying it ? Peer pressure is a wonderful thing !


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

youngdon said:


> Nice ! Are you gonna tell the wife we pressured you into buying it ? Peer pressure is a wonderful thing !


 HA !! I already sent her a e-mail asking for another 8 day forgiveness extension!!!


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## birdginski (Mar 19, 2010)

Tis always better to beg for forgiveness then to ask for permission. :hunter:


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## 22magnum (Feb 10, 2013)

birdginski said:


> Tis always better to beg for forgiveness then to ask for permission. :hunter:


And once the swelling from your eye goes down, post an update 

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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

youngdon said:


> Nice ! Are you gonna tell the wife we pressured you into buying it ? Peer pressure is a wonderful thing !


Sounds like a good plan to me



hassell said:


> HA !! I already sent her a e-mail asking for another 8 day forgiveness extension!!!


Boy I hope not. lol



birdginski said:


> Tis always better to beg for forgiveness then to ask for permission. :hunter:


That is the philosophy I am using for now.



22magnum said:


> And once the swelling from your eye goes down, post an update


I'll let you guys know after I tell her.


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## Scotty D. (Feb 23, 2012)

I've been watching these reviews on the WSM closely. Seriously thinking about buying this or the .17 Hornet. Trouble finding components/dies for the Hornet. The WSM is looking better all the time. Thanx for the review.

Oh, and a romantic dinner at a nice restaurant while presenting her with a nice piece of expensive jewelry might be your only solution to keep from living in celibacy.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

Scotty D. said:


> Oh, and a romantic dinner at a nice restaurant while presenting her with a nice piece of expensive jewelry might be your only solution to keep from living in celibacy. :smile:


The only problem with that is, She really doesn't like to eat at restaurants much. She prefers a meal at home. And the last time I bought her some jewelry (Emerald necklace and matching earrings) when she opened it up she started chuckling. I asked her what is so funny and she looks at me and said, You bought me this set 3 years ago. I said no I didn't. She goes upstairs and comes back down with the same set that was in the box. Guess I did, so I told her to take it back and exchange it for something she doesn't have. :doh: :doh:


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

LOL that is freakin' funny I told the wife about it and I ain't lookin' so bad right now ! Thanks dw !

Now all I have to do is try real hard to keep my mouth shut !


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

I picked up a Savage B-Mag a few weeks ago and I'm in the same situation - not with my wife, but the gun. Haven't shot it beyond 50 yards and had parallax issues. I couldn't get behind the scope with low mounts and had to install high rings. Waiting for Fred's ammo shipment to give it a workout.

Too cold to chronograph right now but all reviews indicate it is what it says it is.

It has the velocity at 200 yards equal to the .17 HMR at 50 yards and twice the energy of a .22 mag at 200 yards. At .83" high at 100 yards, zero at 150 and 2.2" low at 200. Accordingly, I may have an obsolete .17 HMR in the safe. Dang.


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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

Your ammo went out Yesterday 

Don't tell the wife.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

She's still not figured out how all the guns in the safe keep having babies.


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## 22magnum (Feb 10, 2013)

Our local bass pro finally has them in.








I need to start stockpiling ammo. I can't get a new gun just yet. :'(

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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

That's $1.00 less than it is here.


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## 22magnum (Feb 10, 2013)

fr3db3ar said:


> That's $1.00 less than it is here.


I think all my reward points I've been collecting will be going towards the gun. How's your gun holding up mr b3ar?

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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

Good so far. I haven't shot any round since sighting it until Sunday when I missed a squirrel twice. I have to receck zero since I never checked it after my big fall last month.

There was no other reason to miss the squirrel as I was rested against a tree and the squirrel was vertical against the trunk. I aimed at the base of the neck.

We'll see what the targets have to say later today.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Looks like they've got the price of the gun at suggested retail. Make sure to plan on some high rings, if you get one. Otherwise, it's impossible to get behind.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

glenway said:


> She's still not figured out how all the guns in the safe keep having babies.


Thanks for the great idea. The 22-250 had a baby. I think that might work. lol



glenway said:


> Looks like they've got the price of the gun at suggested retail. Make sure to plan on some high rings, if you get one. Otherwise, it's impossible to get behind.


The price around Bismarck ND is 329.00 and thats with all the paperwork.

I have a medium high rings on mine and the bolt clears the scope just fine. We will see after I put the Redfield Revenge on it though.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Yeah, DWT, my low rings allowed the bolt to hit the scope and even with the high rings, there's no room for grabbing the bolt to operate it. It must be done without wrapping fingers around the knob. Also, I couldn't get lined up low enough to see through the scope properly.

A solution for the bolt issue:


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

Got the new Revenge installed on the Bmag today. Had to change the mounts as the rings that came with the scope didn't fit on the existing mounts. I put on a taller mount and the rings that came with the scope were taller also. That sure made a difference when shouldering the rifle. My eye lined up much better with the scope. Anyway, I went out to the range to sight in the Redfield and as usual the wind was blowing again about 10 to 15 mph from the SSE. The range is set up shooting from the north to the south so the wind angle didn't have too much affect today. The snow was coming down though. I put the targets at 100 yds and started to dial in the scope. When I got done, I shot 3 rounds at 3 clean target and the tightest group was 7/8 inch with the largest being 1 1/8 inch. Didn't take any pics of the targets as they were not that impressive. I think that grouping is not too bad for a rim fire though. All in all I would give the Savage Bmag a 8.5 out of 10 rating for a very fun rim fire to shoot. If it had a little better stock on it and a redesigned bolt handle I would give it a 9.5. In the accuracy department, I would give it a strong 8.5 also. The accutrigger gets a strong 9. Overall the rifle is definitely worth the price. This one is going to stay in the truck for those times when I need to shoot something I happen to see in the field.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Thanks for sharing you findings dances. I'd take that 7/8 at 100yds. I bet it'll tighten up after you put a few more through it.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

If it does tighten up, that would be great, but for a rim fire cartridge, I'll take it. I have about 55 down the tube so far. Going to have to slow down on the fun shooting until there are some more bullets in stock at the stores.


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## Roblor1985 (Feb 7, 2013)

I put X-High scope rings on mine. I had High but my thumb would get pinched between bolt handle and scope when trying to cycle after firing. After putting X-High on no more issues. I have a BSA Contender 4-16X40 Mil-Dot with Push/Pull turrets. I love that scope and it is very crisp and clear and I think it looks amazing on the B-Mag.

I had no issues sighting my B-Mag in. I shot 35 rounds the first time out. I started about 50ish yards away and then moved as far back as I could (it was close to 100 yards - range finder said 97-98). I shoot only the 25 gr rounds. The box says no change from 50 to 100 yards but I noticed it was shooting a little high when moving from 50 to 97-98. I was able to stack my shots just above the X in the center. Very light wind on the day I sighted it in.

Next range trip I had the same sort of setup as you - wind gusting 20mph or more. It really pushed that round around and my shots were inches apart. I do not think it is your rifle - just the wind playing hell with that small round. I wouldn't trade my B-Mag for anything in the world at this point. It is very light and easy to carry for long distances. Amazing accuracy with just light winds. Plus side for me is it is a rimfire that can shoot 150+ yards with minimal drop and still have some power at those distances. Most of the public land I do hunt on is restricted to rimfire/shotgun/archery only for furbearers


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## Roblor1985 (Feb 7, 2013)

Oh yeah on another note: If you have a Wal-Mart near you that you would shop at - check them for some .17 WSM ammo. The Wal-Mart near me had about 10 boxes in stock at $14.77 a box. That is dirt cheap compared to some other stores I bought from ($19.99 from local farm store).


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

All 3 of the Walmart stores here are out of the 25 and 20 grain bullets. Hopefully they will get some in before I run out. Still have probably 140 left.

And I have to agree with you, its the wind that was blowing the bullets around as it was 20+ constant with gusts up to 40. Just waiting for a calm day to try it out again. But like you, I am definitely going to keep this one. Better than my Ruger 10-22.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

I am going to take Glenways advise, the 22-250 had a baby. I ordered another Boyds featherlight stock to match the 250 stock. Will have to re-sight it in (dang) after the new stock gets installed. I'll post pictures of the proud papa and baby after the stock gets here.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

That's cool, DWT. The factory stock seems almost flimsy, although super lightweight. Then maybe lower rings will work, too. Gotta see the finished product.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

Here is the 250 and the 17 together. 17 is on the bottom as it is the baby of the family now.









I tried Glenway's idea and told the wife the 22-250 had a baby while it was in the gun safe. Then I showed here the new 17. Doctor said I should be able to go back to work in a couple of days when the swelling goes down. LOL. Actually she didn't get mad (hardly). I think she is finally used to me buying guns without telling her.

Hopefully this weekend the wind will be down to normal around here (10 mph) and I can go recheck the zero after putting the new stock on it. Had to do some very slight modification to the new stock to get things to fit right. Minor filing on the mag retainer and some filing on the wood to get it to fit right. Other than that the receiver fit great. It is heavier now (+2 lbs) but has a more solid feeling. Feels like a rifle should now


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Real nice setup trees, should be a shooter.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Wow! What a difference. Good luck with the testing.


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## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

Very nice!


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## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

What a difference.


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## Roblor1985 (Feb 7, 2013)

I'm jealous.


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## LeadHead (Feb 11, 2012)

Boyd's makes some pretty decent stocks for the money. I have a couple, including a Featherweight Thumbhole on my Rem 788 22-250 and a Prairie Hunter on my Ruger 77 22-250. I really wanted the Featherweight TH on my Ruger, too, but they don't offer it for the short action tang safety rifles. Dunno what their problem is since they do offer it for the 77 long action tang safety guns.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

Well I took the bmag out today to recheck the Redfield scope settings. I put up 8 targets at 100 yds and started to check my zero. I was shooting off bags for a good rest and the 17 was shooting all over the place. 2 shots were on the target and the 3rd hit ????, wasn't even on the paper. I hadn't adjusted the scope yet as I didn't have a group to go by. After the first mag was empty, I set up the chronograph and had the following results. 17 shots with the high being 2565 fps and the low being 2498. The average was 2538 fps. I noticed the group was there now after the gun got a little dirty (I had cleaned it after I put the new stock on it) so I decided to adjust the scope for zero. The target below shows the first shot placement and then I adjusted down too far and not far enough to the left. 2nd and 3rd shot were more adjustments. 4,5,& 6 were for group with no adjustments. Not too bad considering the variation in the bullet speeds.









Then I tried shooting off my bypod and what a difference that was. The circled shots on the left, I was aiming at the center mass of the shoulder area. After changing the location of the rest back some the shots came down. The 3 shots on the right, I was aiming center mass of the head.









All in all I am very pleased with this 17 bmag. Just cant clean it real good or it looses it accuracy. Definitely going to keep this one.


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Thanks for the report, should be a good one. Pull the bolt, bore sight at 25 in order to get the scope where you want it, saves on ammo plus other problems than starting from scratch at a 100.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Thanks, DW for the report. The extreme spread on your chronograph's findings doesn't seem that bad for factory fodder. Wondering if you have considered weighing the cartridges and segregating them to some degree in similar lots.

Looks like you have a good tool for the practical range of the cartridge already. The weather here is a bit too much for any meaningful testing with my B-Mag but I can't wait to compare notes when I get to it.


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## Roblor1985 (Feb 7, 2013)

I have read on other sites where people with the B.Mag would weigh each round and group them. They claim they got better results. I have read where people also swear up and down no matter what they do the grouping sucks, etc...

The consensus is the 20gr fly all over and 25gr are usually within the ball park.


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## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

See my new post "Bmags first"


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