low power precission practice :) with range report

ultimate_monkey

ultimate_monkey

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well went for a little drive today and came home with this!

marlin 917 vsf

laminate stock that got sanded down and hit with bed liner

22" heavy fluted barrel with 1:9 twist

.17 HMR

BSA sweet17 scope

yeah its not the fanciest thing out there but i figure it will do for practiceing the fundimentals for long range with my limeted space. i was originally after a savage mark II TR but that are pretty damn hard to find around these parts. and this thing was onsale so i figure what the hell, for the price i might as well grab the last one they had and see how she does. trigger feels pretty heavy at around 5lbs (deff not the 1.5 im used to)
and it has some creep to it, but meh what do u expect for a $350 rifle..

any way on to a pic :) lol sorry its so s**tty, i lack the camera skillz and a decent camera haha, ill get some better ones up later

photo-2.jpg



any one else useing one of these?? how do they shoot?
 
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I've got a 917V with a Pine ridge 6-18x40 scope and a harris 9-13 bipod. Took it out for the first time the other day, and i was surprised. Once i had it reasonably sighted in, i tried shooting a few groups. At 100 yards using cheapo winchester 20gr from wallyworld. I only managed 4 4 shot (magazine capacity) groups before the blackflies were out in force. The largest of the 4 was just under 2", and the best was about 3/4. I measured it quickly with a ruler as i'm not exactly loking for bragging rights or anything. This is within the first 20 shots fired from the rifle, with me laying in the mud shooting from the bipod, so if that's any indication it should be a good shooter.

I agree the trigger is a bit stiff. In the reviews i've read it's reported at a crisp 6lb that feels like 5, but i think a riflebasix trigger replacement (supposedly adjustable from 1-2.5lbs) might be in its future. I read one review that said it shot better than their savage and ruger out of the box, the fit and finish was comparable to the ruger, and the price barely more than the savage, but that the only flaw was the trigger.

I would add that for me, while the stock is perfectly serviceable, fully free floated, and fits well, it doesn't look like much. I know it's a sin, but i'm probably going to paint it. Bedding will probably help too.

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I have a Savage 93 BRJ. Its great practice. Mine shoots about 1/4" at 50 yards, just under 1" at 100 yards and about 3-4" at 300 yards. (16 or 16.25MOA gets me from my 100 yard zero to 300 yards) Shooting the little 17 will really help you learn about wind.

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17's definitely are fun, but if you reload you should be able do do so for approx the same cost with a 17 cal center fire (compared to the 17HMR). Practice is the main thing no matter what you shoot.
 
yup i do reload, im awaiting a .223 but iv had tones of practice with one of them. and my 308 gets boring at 300 yds, i really was after a .22 but like i said for the price i grabed this thing for it will do for now haha.

i realize the 17hmr stuff is like 5x the price of 22LR but with a 20gn bullet, it should give me some good prictice at reading wind which is really what im after, im not bad but could deffinatly use some more practice. realistically down the road i will end up with a 22lr when i can get my hands on the one i want, then i will part with this, or it will just be another fun toy in my safe.


being single with no kids and unlike todays youth working a good job, droping some money into this and selling it later really doesnt bother me so ill enjoy it while i have it.

i would be posting a range report right about now, but in my sheer brilliance i packed every thing BUT my 17hmr ammo, so thats not goin to happen! but on a side note, in my 308 i swaped bullets to the 175smk, and wow what a change from my 168 hornady match, 300 yds consistantly getting .5moa groups out of my 5r with nothing more then a bedding job and lightened trigger..


vsf range report coming tomorrow
 
There we go! Glad to hear about ur 5R.

I sold my .17hmr last year but they are one he'll of a fun round.

How much powder did u use with the 175smk?
 
i was useing my looser 42.5gns or varget haha

im hoping the 17 is fun if not welll....... ill just go to the farm and shoot misc varmint out of the blue berry feilds hahaha
 
BeerBaron said:
You can load cheap .223 ammo for what it costs to shoot one of those little guys. Thats why I sold my .17 HMR. If I want cheaper than that I shoot .22lr.
Click to expand...

:agree: I bought a .17 HMR a couple of years ago. I soon found the cost of feeding it was not worth the effort. I was able to sell the rifle for almost what I had invested in it. I now stick to my .22LR's & center fire rifles & handguns.
 
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range report.....

the gun - hole hell! i must say i am damn impress with this thing, here is the firt 100yd group i shot im prettty confident in saying the flyer was caused by me not being used to the trigger. The stock seems to be fairly comfortable, the length of pull is a bit short for me, but im sure with a bit of time behind it it will be fine. the rest of the days shooting pretty much followed suit with this first group , took it out to 200ys and consistantly was .5MOA or better, even with the gusty 8-10kmh winds, i didnt have a 5 shot group over 1.5" , with my last 15 shots for the day i went out to 300yds no targets but once i had the scope dialed, i pretty much hit every rock (3-5") that i took a shot at.


the only negitive thing i have to say is the trigger, its incredibly heavy, i dont find the creep to be that bad but wow! after coming off a 1.5lbs trigger on my 308 and then shooting this right after it sure doesnt feel right. a trigger from rifle basix will be ordered soon thats for sure!


the scope - what a POS lol, the sweet 17 is set up as a BDC turret with no numbers to dial ranges, just what the scope should be set at . I have no idea who came up with the numbers for this thing, but they must have had their head 6 feet up their a$$ whle jerking off a donkey. 100 yds puts me dead on at 100, 125yds puts me 1" high at 200 and 175 puts me out to 300 so yea needless to say the BDC is pretty uesless. i found the retical to be to thick to be useable past 100. how ever the glass is suprisingly clear


and onto the one pic i bothered to take, was habing to much fun with this thing

photo1.jpg
 
I just picked up almost the same marlin less than a month ago. I also noticed the trigger on there could definitley use some work so I did a little research and came across some great info over on the rimfire central forums.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33044
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111868

Both the trigger spring replacement and shimming the sear spring is really easy. It looks pretty funny replacing your trigger spring with one from a pen. But I have to say after I tried this, it was like shooting a different rifle. The best thing is that it only takes a few minutes with minimal experience and you don't make any permanent changes, so if you want to go with the rifle basix trigger in the future, you still can.

Just make sure to stay safe and check the trigger after.
 
My Savage 17 HMR is by far my favorite gopher rig and sees more use than any of my other rifles. It is an amazingly flat shooting little cartridge and quiet for shooting in areas close to farmyards. While I handload all of my centerfire rifles, the argument that one can load a 22 hornet or .223 for the same price does not factor in the cost of your time, which for me, is valuable. How long does it take to load 1000 rounds anyways, which I can go through in a weekend in a good gopher patch? I do agree the price for 17 HMR ammo is a bit high, but it won't keep me from owning and shooting one (a lot).
 
EASY 9MM - thatnks for those links! im gonna strip my rifle down tonight for sure and try those tricks out! getting it down to 1/2 the weight it is now would make it that much more enjoyable! no i hope i can find a pen lol, im pretty lazy and dont wanna go out just for one . and looks funny? ha i couldnt care if i used a peice of lego in my rifle as long as it made it preform better!



Dpopl8r, i couldnt agree with you more, i hand load too, but if im gonna load 1000 rnds of any of my centerfire rifles, i sure dont want to waste the effort to shoot 100-150 yds with it tats for sure, and the .22 just doesnt seem to have the 1/4 moa accuracy of the 17hmr so if it means payin a little more so be it!
 
well after some lazyness, springs are done, 1/2 bic spring for trigger return, then used the other 1/2 to sleave the sear spring, removed the trigger again to night and CARFULLY filed it to reduce the sear engadgment ( disclaimer - i do not recomend this be done, iv verified over and over that what i have done is safe and the rifle will no fire if drop, jared or bumped and if i ever feel it is unsafe will not be brought out from the safe) tomorrow i will get some 2000grit and polish every thing in the trigger group.

as it stand the trigger is about 2.75lbs, id like to see it at 2lbs even
 
well i got in there today and some more and did some plioshing / reshaping... i guess when the trigger was made they did a s**t job of doing it lol, as i was ever so carfully fileing, 1/2 the thing snaped off haha, so needless to say i was just like wtf lame...

so as i sat around mopeing i did my finaces and found a way i can order my S&B now for my 338lm instead of in a few months, which made me feel better..


then i clued into the fact that im a moron cuz im a metal worker by trade so i have no idea why i was annoyed with a trigger thats metal, off to the shop i went, a little prep work, delicate welding and some more fileing, trigger is back in action, it must be a blessing in discuise cuz the trigger is sitting at about 1lbs now.. tonight or tomorrow i will work on hardeining the area i welded with out melting the plastic trigger off haha
 
yeah im really happy with it now, the tirgger was my biggest gripe, it shot amazinly for the price i paid and now witht the trigger done the scope will be next as i said befor the BDC is useless down the road the scope off one of my other rifles will end up on here once i save for a better one for that
 
I put a Bushnell Legend 6-18X40 on it today - wow! I shot a couple nice groups, and my overall grouping improved quite a bit.
Conditions: cool, slight wind gusts (5-10k), and a bit of rain. Benchrest, w/caldwell bags. 100yrds.
Initial groups slightly under 1.5" (blah) on a cold barrel with Win 17gr. and old scope.
Installed new scope, centered, 3 sight-in shots, then a few more to verify on different ammo.
Switched back to Win 17gr. and shot two groups (5min cool-down).
1st group: 1". Second: 1/4"! Nice!
Then I ran a target out to 200yrds. I didn't have my trajectory and wind drift charts, so I estimated hold-over. First two shots: 9/16"! Then I got excited, and it all went to crap (my heart beat went up noticeably! pretty funny) Groups weren't too bad, I guess (about 2") - but I know I can do better. The gun certainly will. Next time I don't think I'll shoot the 12g before trying for good 200yrd groups. Also, I did not have any 20gr with me - no doubt that will make a difference, too.
 
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