.17HMR advice for scope and ammo

Mike Oxbig

Mike Oxbig

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As some of you read i won a 93R17 BTVS .17 HMR rifle (savage) and have never even shot a 17 in my lifetime. I've always wanted one but had no use for it as there's no ground pigs here in this part of the province.

Every gun i've ever bought i did so after extensive research and planning and had a purpose for it before buying. Not this time.

Well now i've got a nice one and need to research ammo and scopes.

I've heard nothing but great things about the .17HMR and will likely use it mostly for target shooting. What ammo is good to fire through it and what should i stay away from?

Any ideas on a decent scope that won't break the bank for this gun.

Even though i have no urgent need for it, i absolutely love the whole aura of this one and am dying to give it the MOA test.

Let me know what these are all about!.

Mike

PS. I'll provide a range report as soon as i test it out. I understand this is a new 2008 model.:)

Cheers
 
I'd like to hear and answer on this as well. I'm not sure of the manufacturer, but I believe the scope is called "Sweet 17"? It's basically a mil-dot scope with the milliradians calibrated for the .17hmr ballistics.

Most of the .17hmr ammo I've seen is high end stuff, and looks like any brand would get the job done???
 
Caboose said:
I'd like to hear and answer on this as well. I'm not sure of the manufacturer, but I believe the scope is called "Sweet 17"? It's basically a mil-dot scope with the milliradians calibrated for the .17hmr ballistics.

Most of the .17hmr ammo I've seen is high end stuff, and looks like any brand would get the job done???
Click to expand...
When i signed for the gun, the guy mentioned the very same "sweet 17 scope" Worth a look me thinks!
 
http://www.bsaoptics.com/family.aspx?family=36

Is this what you were told about? The link is all of their "sweet" series scopes. Just copy and past.
 
I'd throw a Tasco Varmint 6x24 on it. You're not breaking the bank and the reviews I've read say they're pretty good. Also, I've found with my Savage that it likes the 20grn ammo better than the 17grn. I usually use Hornady or Winchester.
 
go look up reviews on the BSA Sweet 17.
every single online store customer feedback/review section i have seen on them has constant complaints of customers having issues with these right out of the box. they have to return them 1-2 times and get replacements before they get a 'good one', which then they are all happy with and get years of service out of. but a large portion of the scopes have issues that need replacement.

now consider that for these people, they either get it shipped back to the store in the states for free, or they just go to their local gunstore and get it replaced with minimal hassle.
for YOU as a canadian, you have to order them from the US, get @%#raped by customs, if you have a problem you have to send them all the way BACK to the US and then get @%#raped by customs again on their return (even though the box may be marked 'WARRANTY REPLACEMENT).

as a canadian i would not buy a BSA scope. it seems like theyre a good deal in the states because its just a matter of driving up the road to get a replacement but this is a huge deal from canada and i dont feel like getting @%#raped by customs several times on one 'cheap' scope. the odds of that cheap scope ending up costing more than just buying a better brand in canada right off the bat seem pretty high.
 
I use the hornandy .17hmr ammo in my .17 and it works good. I don't print much paper with it but i know it's deadly on gophers. I put a leupold vx-1 3-9x40 on it and it works good but I am condisdering a more powerful scope for it. I've often thought the burris fullfieldII 4.5-14 with ballistic plex reticle and AO would be an excellent choice for my .17hmr.
 
If you want a nice scope for the $ look at the Waever V series 4-16x42mm Ajdustable Objective with target turrets. I bought mine on here (CGN) for 250.00 Really nice scope for the money. I think it would be a nice scope for your 17HMR. Take care! Tikka
 
manbearpig said:
go look up reviews on the BSA Sweet 17.
every single online store customer feedback/review section i have seen on them has constant complaints of customers having issues with these right out of the box. they have to return them 1-2 times and get replacements before they get a 'good one', which then they are all happy with and get years of service out of. but a large portion of the scopes have issues that need replacement.

now consider that for these people, they either get it shipped back to the store in the states for free, or they just go to their local gunstore and get it replaced with minimal hassle.
for YOU as a canadian, you have to order them from the US, get @%#raped by customs, if you have a problem you have to send them all the way BACK to the US and then get @%#raped by customs again on their return (even though the box may be marked 'WARRANTY REPLACEMENT).

as a canadian i would not buy a BSA scope. it seems like theyre a good deal in the states because its just a matter of driving up the road to get a replacement but this is a huge deal from canada and i dont feel like getting @%#raped by customs several times on one 'cheap' scope. the odds of that cheap scope ending up costing more than just buying a better brand in canada right off the bat seem pretty high.
Click to expand...

Ordering rifle scopes from the US, shipped to Canada? Not legally.

But I agree with your sentiment on these BSA scopes. They sell a lot of them at Wal*marts in the states and there are a lot of returns on them. I called BSA about a month ago to find out about the Sweet series of scopes in Canada and they didn't have a list of Canadian retailers or distributors. But I know that DL airguns used to sell some BSA scopes maybe they'd be able to tell the OP more.
 
BigBadBlair said:
Ordering rifle scopes from the US, shipped to Canada? Not legally.
Click to expand...


you only require an export permit for military scopes, AFAIK. civilian scopes carry no limitations. either way i think the BSA sweet 17 is $99 so its a non-issue.

im just saying that after customs, shipping and the inconvenience of the highly possible scenario where you have to send it back for a replacement and go through all that again, you may as well just go and buy a $200 scope here.
 
Sweet 17

BSA Sweet 17 === CRAP!! My son & I both had (have) them, optics are good but mechanical have failed on both of them on one it was the windage turret & other was Elevation turret , they just went to hell after short period, they aren't worth the Postage
 
At P&D we've sold a fair number of these scopes in the Sweet 17 and the sweet 223, we haven't had one come back yet. I had one on my Ruger 204 it worked for me. We stock them at P&D in Edmonton. FS
 
Lots of good buy's on scope here on GUNNUTZ .
If you want new? Look at the Weaver Classic V series. Nice scope for the money. I bought one on here for 250.00 Weaver Classic 4-16X42 with Ajustable Objective. This would be a great scope for your 17HMR. If you want to spend more $ and get into the Leupold VXII or VXIII contact Accutip
here on gunnutz. He has good prices.
 
not sure if this is a factor for .17s seeing as i dont own one, but for rimfire i always look for a scope that has ajustable AO. i have a 10/22T that wore a 3200 elite for awhile but had serious parallax issues around 30-50 yards, which is around my usual pest range.
 
My 93 likes the 17gr hornady v-max only doesn't seem to like remington or cci as much but not that bad of a difference. Still will shoot that stuff at about 1.5" at 100 yds. For optics check out the bushnell banner 3.5- 10 x 36 its made for the 17 and comes with a bdc (bullet drop compensator) turret. I have one and love it. nice and clear and cheap !
 
yeah you definitely want to get a scope with an adjustable objective for any rimfire, IMO. most of the things you shoot with rimfire are under 100 yards and parallax issues get much worse at shorter ranges.

savagelh - did that scope come with other BDC turrets or just one for a .17?
would you recommend it for a .22?
 
tasco makes a dedicated 17hmr scope

i really like the model of scopes i have on mine and my dads rifle they are decent not overly heavy and man are they nice one thing is they fog up easaly if i have them out on the cold or wet will probly need to do something about that not sure about my dads sincei have only had it out on warm summer days
 
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