SAKO Finnfire in 17M2

.22LRGUY

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Hey SAKO experts-have a question for you all! Years ago when I was shopping for an Anschutz 64, the size of the budget opened-up some options and a rifle I was also considering/hoping to find was a SAKO in 17M2. Memory is foggy, but I thought it was possible to buy a dedicated 17M2 from SAKO without being tethered to a 4-barrel kit and at least 2 barrels I'd never use.

Not that interested in a varmint-weight barrel, nor am I interested (at this point) of finding a 17M2 barrel to put on my 457.

Just looked @ the SAKO options quickly via STOEGER, and not seeing a dedicated 17M2 rifle for sale and by "dedicated"...I'm assuming they all have interchangeable barrels..I'm only after the one. With a wood stock. Not varmint-weight. I know I can buy the kit and try to sell the other barrels-not an appealing or sensible option in my case.

LMK if I'm looking for something that doesn't exist?

TIA
 
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I too have an interest in it. A few of my observations and comments on the subject…
I assumed Sako sold the dedicated rifle in .17HM2 (maybe in Europe and certainly in the US…I’ve heard of them on the forums) but i never saw a Sake P94 (Quad) or a Finnfire version I or II, for sale in Canada in a dedicated .17HM2 barrel. I have 2 P94’s (a Quad set and .17HMR in a Range). Aftermarket barrels are available from Lilja, Bartlien and possibly others for the P94’s. I bought a aftermarket .22LR Barlien barrel for my Range (and it’s incredible accurate). Currently not many new guns being chambered in .17HM2 either…aside from a new VQ Summit i picked up a couple years ago.
 
I gotta ask, why the interest in the 17HM2? Seems the 17HMR has more or less killed the HM2. Its no 5mm Rimfire yet, but it appears to be trending that way...
 
I have seen a couple factory sako quad (P94) rifles over the years with the 17hm2 barrels installed. I have owned and sold a couple and every once in a while, a barrel shows up on the electronic exchange. I was able to pick up another one up last year. If you contact Clay at Prophet River, I am sure that he can bring one in for you when Stoeger makes their special runs.
 
Sure wish that someone would get this lil round back up and running into full production again.
Have an itch for a CZ in 452 to burn that machII back into a gopher patch.
Rob

I heard from a buddy that Xtreme Range Outfitters in Saskatoon has 17hm2 in stock.
 
Hey guys-thanks for the replies. I did reach out to Stoeger with the question and they're looking into it. They did suggest that if it's something they can order, wait could be 14 months or longer. Still waiting on some details. Hadn't considered reaching out to PR, and Clay already sees weird question or two from me every year. lol Good idea though!

Why a 17M2? Why NOT?!

I've had at least 2-3 of them in the past, and even more HMRs. Occurred to me that the SAKO is one 17M2 I hadn't tried, and I've heard they tend to be accurate. I can say the Savage and Marlin 17M2s I've owned were decent. The interest in the SAKO is basically one more kick @ the can for me/17M2. I've used the caliber in some pest/varmint jobs. Allot to like!
 
My introduction to 17 Mach 2 is/was a Sako Quad, still have the rifle with all 4 barrels. As the OP has pointed out, 2 of the barrels have never been used by me. I have since found a NIB Remington 504 in 17M2. I was able to purchase a fair amount of ammo from one of the posters in this thread (Thanks Ted!) and am SK bound this month. Awesome little round!
 
Why a 17M2? Why NOT?!

I feel like the obvious answer is because 17HMR does the same thing but faster, and is far easier to get your hands on it. If the 17gr 17hmr is too fast, the 20gr 17hmr is only slightly faster than the 17gr hm2 isn't it?

Of course, I have no issues with Why NOT!? as an answer. I'm sure most of us have justified purchases with that reasoning, I know I have lol
 
I feel like the obvious answer is because 17HMR does the same thing but faster, and is far easier to get your hands on it. If the 17gr 17hmr is too fast, the 20gr 17hmr is only slightly faster than the 17gr hm2 isn't it?

Of course, I have no issues with Why NOT!? as an answer. I'm sure most of us have justified purchases with that reasoning, I know I have lol

Well, all true but I've seen 17M2 really shine on more than a handful of occasions that don't require HMR speeds or noise. The SAKO question has to do with having never achieved the accuracy I'm told this little round is capable of, and, I got my first chance to use a SAKO rifle (22LR) on gophers last summer and wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. Action/magazine=pretty sweet. Balanced so well that I was able to make offhand shots at greater distances than I've ever managed in the past.

To put it another way, I've spent the last couple of years contemplating a rifle in 218 BEE. lol
 
I bought my first 17m2 in 2008-had to drive to Calgary 6 hours for it from WSS. Still has moat of the Hmr performance and still 1/2 the price! I will pay $14 for a box of 50 but not $29 for 100m gopher target practice.
 
I picked up a couple bricks of 17 Aguila/PMC last year but haven’t tried it out yet. It’s a less destructive round and is supposed to function well in a bolt action hm2 firearm. There is an article on the web stating that if you install a 17 Aguila barrel on a semi automatic rifle, no modifications are needed to the bolt because of the lower performance of the shell.
 
The 17M2 was very desirable, when Eley flooded the market with quality ammunition, that cold be purchased for $6-7 per box, which was considerably cheaper than 17hmr at the time. I owned four different 17m2 rifles, and sold my last one with 16k of the Eley rounds, when someone offered me considerably more than I paid for them. With 17m2 loads pretty much the price of 17hmr, there is really no advantage to the 17m2 any more.
 
I believe the premise of the 17HM2 was a cartridge that was nearly as fast as a 17HMR but in a .22LR sized action w/22LR sized magazine (2100 verse 2500 ft/sec). When the 17HM2 first came out, ammo was about 1/2 the price of the 17HMR. Hornady thought there was a market for the .17HM2 and I thought so, too. Its is a sweet cartridge, IMO pretty much ideal for small, gopher sized game. Currently, ammo is relatively more expensive, and less available (I think only made by Hornady, CCI and Aguila, all using Hornady bullets). A couple of gun manufactures have recently started making guns again (Vudoo makes a V-22 barrelled action and VQ has the Summit in 17HM2). Is there a resurgence? I still have a couple of nice rifles that I won’t sell as long as there are gophers in the field and squirrels in my trees. Luckily I planned ahead and put up lots of ammo.
 
I believe the premise of the 17HM2 was a cartridge that was nearly as fast as a 17HMR but in a .22LR sized action w/22LR sized magazine (2100 verse 2500 ft/sec). When the 17HM2 first came out, ammo was about 1/2 the price of the 17HMR. Hornady thought there was a market for the .17HM2 and I thought so, too. Its is a sweet cartridge, IMO pretty much ideal for small, gopher sized game. Currently, ammo is relatively more expensive, and less available (I think only made by Hornady, CCI and Aguila, all using Hornady bullets). A couple of gun manufactures have recently started making guns again (Vudoo makes a V-22 barrelled action and VQ has the Fusion in 17HM2). Is there a resurgence? I still have a couple of nice rifles that I won’t sell as long as there are gophers in the field and squirrels in my trees. Luckily I planned ahead and put up lots of ammo.

I bought over 25k of the Eley ammunition at $6-7 per box, and it shot significantly better in my rifles than the CCI or Hornady loads. I could have shot my Cooper rifle for years until I used up the rest of the Eley loads, but I was offered significantly more than I paid for the rifle, and $10 box for the ammunition, so when I did the math, I shot my rifle for several years for free, and now have a rifle that it's much easier to find loads for, with much more selection, for a similar cost. It made too much sense to sell out of 17m2, with the deal that I was offered.
 
I bought over 25k of the Eley ammunition at $6-7 per box, and it shot significantly better in my rifles than the CCI or Hornady loads. I could have shot my Cooper rifle for years until I used up the rest of the Eley loads, but I was offered significantly more than I paid for the rifle, and $10 box for the ammunition, so when I did the math, I shot my rifle for several years for free, and now have a rifle that it's much easier to find loads for, with much more selection, for a similar cost. It made too much sense to sell out of 17m2, with the deal that I was offered.
I have a fair amount of Eley (enough to last my life time). I agree that it shoots better than Hornady or CCI in just about any rifle that I tried it in. The only thing I don’t like is the fired eley ammo has a bad smell. The boys at the range always give me a hard time…say it smells like burnt flatulence! Go figure? As coincidence has it, I also have a Cooper 17HM2. I’ll likely keep that gun. My wife can decide what to do with the rifle and what’s left of that stinky ammo when I’m cold and gone!
 
I compiled this test a few years ago. Interesting that the Sako was the most accurate rifle of the group (with Eley) and the Cooper was the only rifle that liked the Hornady ammo better than Eley.
IMG_1526.jpg
 
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