SAKO in 17M2

.22LRGUY

.22LRGUY

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
174   0   1
Location
Ontario
Calling on all SAKO rimfire owners to chime-in on their guns, be they the standard QUAD or the Quad/Varmint model. Any of you have these guns (or a barrel) in 17M2 you've used/are using? What's accuracy like? Does the standard barrel weight version of this rifle heat-up (significantly) with steady-shooting? Enough to throw-off accuracy?

Flirting with the idea of ordering either the standard, or varmint model with a dedicated 17M2 but without a strong sense of the accuracy potential, no $ will be moving. lol

It's already a bit of a niche caliber, ammo availability/cost bouncing around. If a 17M2 is entering my life again, it has to be a shooter=especially in this $ class.

If someone has a better idea (make/model) for a bolt-action 17M2 that shoots accurately, I'm all ears. Not after a semi, no matter how well it shoots.

Thanks
 
I wouldnt hesitate to buy a dedicated CZ in 17M2 if ammo was manufactured to dedication like the tried and true 22 rim fire....
Not an answer to your question/quest, but hope this lil rim fire will make a resurgence.
Rob
 
I've had a Sako Quad for over a decade now, and until recently the .17 Mach 2 standard barrel was my preferred grouse hunting rifle. I have since had Guntech convert a .22LR ISSC SPA into .17 Mach 2 with a barrel liner, and I have used that for the last two seasons with good effect. On a side note I also have a heavy barrelled Ruger 10/22 in the calibre, for mainly range and plinking. I really like this calibre, its accurate and noticeably faster than .22LR. Downside is cost / availability / choice of ammo. Droughts and gouging are common, and choice is limited to 2-3 variants.

To try to answer your query, accuracy is very similar to .22lr at 0-50 metres, with better performance at 50-75-100 metres going to the .17 Mach 2. Susceptible to wind more, and does not cut through light bush as well as a .22LR round. I do not shoot long strings of the Mach 2 normally, but did not notice any overheating when ranging in. (I shoot slow at the best of times!)

I am a big fan of the calibre, but if shooting targets / for accuracy I would go the 3rd party barrel route in a medium / heavy contour to suit the quality rifle of your choice. Add a good chassis and you should have an excellent range / target rifle.

If your going to do it, do it right?

Candocad.
 
FLHTCUI said:
I wouldnt hesitate to buy a dedicated CZ in 17M2 if ammo was manufactured to dedication like the tried and true 22 rim fire....
Not an answer to your question/quest, but hope this lil rim fire will make a resurgence.
Rob
Click to expand...

^well, that was the plan...N/A though.

I looked @ drop-in LW barrels for the CZ457, considered that route. Looked at LW barrel dropped into a T1x receiver, but apparently Tikka may as well weld the barrels to those receivers=separating them takes some resolve. There is certainly some reluctance to dive too deep into this caliber with so few ammo options available. When they even are.
 
Candocad said:
I've had a Sako Quad for over a decade now, and until recently the .17 Mach 2 standard barrel was my preferred grouse hunting rifle. I have since had Guntech convert a .22LR ISSC SPA into .17 Mach 2 with a barrel liner, and I have used that for the last two seasons with good effect. On a side note I also have a heavy barrelled Ruger 10/22 in the calibre, for mainly range and plinking. I really like this calibre, its accurate and noticeably faster than .22LR. Downside is cost / availability / choice of ammo. Droughts and gouging are common, and choice is limited to 2-3 variants.

To try to answer your query, accuracy is very similar to .22lr at 0-50 metres, with better performance at 50-75-100 metres going to the .17 Mach 2. Susceptible to wind more, and does not cut through light bush as well as a .22LR round. I do not shoot long strings of the Mach 2 normally, but did not notice any overheating when ranging in. (I shoot slow at the best of times!)

I am a big fan of the calibre, but if shooting targets / for accuracy I would go the 3rd party barrel route in a medium / heavy contour to suit the quality rifle of your choice. Add a good chassis and you should have an excellent range / target rifle.

If your going to do it, do it right?

Candocad.
Click to expand...

Thanks Candocad-lots to consider. No, wouldn't be taking something like this on myself, I'm interested in a factory 17M2 rifle with accuracy promise. Or possibility of accuracy. I also have a price point at which this whole idea stops making sense, and SAKO is almost already there. One plan was to pick-up a used Quad/.22, then source a 17M2 barrel down the road. Just don't need a SAKO quad in 22, nor do I see myself switching back and forth. That plan gives me a surplus .22LR barrel I no need/budget for. Sort of a "can't get there from here" proposition, this thread is/was fishing for someone who owns a 17M2 SAKO to tell me it's a stellar/accurate rifle worth the $.

A factory CZ in this caliber would have solved allot of problems. lol
 
The Sako Quad is accurate, but I would not say it is stellar accurate out of the box as opposed to a higher end fixed barrel target rifle. It's more than good enough for hunting, but those that compete or do more serious target shooting almost always use a third party barrel.

Just my observations.

Candocad.
 
The inevitable question is always what is the standard of accuracy expected. When Eley made 17M2 ammo, some rifles had a fighting chance at very good accuracy in that caliber. Of course, like 17HMR, there is no match 17M2 ammo, not even the Eley when it was being produced.
 
grauhanen said:
The inevitable question is always what is the standard of accuracy expected. When Eley made 17M2 ammo, some rifles had a fighting chance at very good accuracy in that caliber. Of course, like 17HMR, there is no match 17M2 ammo, not even the Eley when it was being produced.
Click to expand...

^and therein lies the issue (for me) going too far down this hole, only to end-up with a big $ rifle that doesn't shoot worth a damn. lol As curios as I am, and as eager to own a nice 17M2, this thread may have officially talked me out of the idea. lol
 
I have a sako quad with all 4 barrels - my 17m2 barrel is a heavy stainless lilja - I love it - it pretty much outshoots everything else I own out to 50 yds - I would love to get a cz or tikka in mach2- Ammo is a bit hard to find but I stock up when I can
 
I just recently got some Mach 2 ammo for my Sako Quad and tried it out a couple days ago. At 25 yards, it shoots well. I think with a scope other than the Burris Quad, it would be better.
 
I’m a big fan of the 17HM2 for varmint hunting. I have a number of higher end rifles so chambered, including 2 Sako’s Quads (one Hunter with factory barrel and one Range with a Lilja varmint contour barrel). After bench testing both I have not noticed a significant amount of barrel heating in my barrels. Both quad barrels will occasional shoot 5 shots within the 1/2” at 50m. The Lilja barrel might accomplish it a little more consistently than the factory barrel.

Based on my experience on the bench, my Sako Quads shoot very similar to my other 17HM2 guns. Some guns shot slightly better than others (probably due to better triggers, barrels or better fit stocks). None shoot badly and none shoot significantly better. Virtually all my guns prefer Eley ammo verses Hornady or CCI. This leads me to the belief that the ammo is the limiting factor in accuracy potential.

In my humble opinion, the 17HM2 is an excellent small varmint caliber but in general, the guns/caliber is not up to premium 22LR benchrest accuracy standards. In general, the accuracy potential of this caliber is most likely hampered by a lack of match ammo selection.
 
Although I have no experience with the Sako rifles, here's my 2 cents on the caliber....

17mach2, more jam than a 22lr, less cost than a 17 hmr. I had one for a number of years, shot piles and piles of gophers with it. Absolutely loved the caliber. But the more the ammo became scarce, the more I was worried that the caliber wouldn't last. So I sold the last rifle and a couple thousand rounds of ammo I had.... about a year later, Savage anouced they were chambering it again and CCI was going to make ammo. I'm still not mad I sold it, ammo was $5-$7 a box, not the $12-$18 I've seen lately.

The biggest down fall of the 17 mach 2 though? And really, the biggest downfall of the 17 mach 2, 22wmr, 17 hmr and 17 wsm, is a lack of quality ammo. Once upon a time Eley made good quality 17 Mach 2 ammo, but they don't anymore. Without high quality ammo, it's really hard to tell the difference between a cheaper rifle vs a really expensive and well made one.
 
gobigorgohome said:
Although I have no experience with the Sako rifles, here's my 2 cents on the caliber....

17mach2, more jam than a 22lr, less cost than a 17 hmr. I had one for a number of years, shot piles and piles of gophers with it. Absolutely loved the caliber. But the more the ammo became scarce, the more I was worried that the caliber wouldn't last. So I sold the last rifle and a couple thousand rounds of ammo I had.... about a year later, Savage anouced they were chambering it again and CCI was going to make ammo. I'm still not mad I sold it, ammo was $5-$7 a box, not the $12-$18 I've seen lately.

The biggest down fall of the 17 mach 2 though? And really, the biggest downfall of the 17 mach 2, 22wmr, 17 hmr and 17 wsm, is a lack of quality ammo. Once upon a time Eley made good quality 17 Mach 2 ammo, but they don't anymore. Without high quality ammo, it's really hard to tell the difference between a cheaper rifle vs a really expensive and well made one.
Click to expand...

^the exact answer I was after, having not really phrased the question that way. Thank you! :) Since all of my digging has basically resulted in the same answer, I've decided that if I want to just mess around/scratch the itch with the caliber, maybe a Savage is good enough for that. Turns out you can't really find those either. lol (bolt gun, not a semi)

I've stopped the sort of "settle for less" thing as decisions based on that rarely satisfy in the long run. Trying to either work towards the exact thing I'm after, or, abandon altogether. Tells me I should abandon, as the ideal gun (for me) would be a Tikka T1x just chambered in that round. For some reason, Tikka won't make one for me. And I've asked. :)
 
My savage 17mk2 gv shot pretty good. When its in my mdt lss22 chassis it really shines. Ive swapped the rifle back into a modified factory plastic stock and it shoots as well as it did with the wood stock but sports a custom paint job i like.
I think a heavy barrel savage can run with the higher end guns in this cartridge based on whats currently available for ammo. Fwiw my savage shot the hornady same or better than the eley that i had
 
brybenn said:
My savage 17mk2 gv shot pretty good. When its in my mdt lss22 chassis it really shines. Ive swapped the rifle back into a modified factory plastic stock and it shoots as well as it did with the wood stock but sports a custom paint job i like.
I think a heavy barrel savage can run with the higher end guns in this cartridge based on whats currently available for ammo. Fwiw my savage shot the hornady same or better than the eley that i had
Click to expand...

Very interesting, the mystery continues... lol Thanks brybenn! gbogh's comment about available ammo options (=not Eley) got me wondering if a Savage might just scratch the itch, though my luck with accuracy, in Savage rimfires, has not been great overall. I did sort of scour the places I would normally look in Canada, and did a pretty extensive online search-couldn't find a Savage 17M2 in stock. Well, there are a few A17s out there of course. Found a CGN hit, I think PR brought some in from Lipsey's at one point..but no more around, and there was a bit of a premium price attached as a result. On that note, there would have to be..having traveled from Canada to the US, then back to Canada. :)
 
Did Eley actually make .17Mach 2? Or was it a case of rebranded CCI. Did they actually make it in England and export them for a limited period of time. Would seem like an expensive exercise compared to simply rebranding another manufacturers production.

i have never been lucky enough to acquire, but would like to if anyone is selling:)

Candocad.
 
IMG_20191227_1030592.jpg
IMG_20191227_1030543.jpg
This is from my A17 M2...
Laying in the dirt at the farm.. 100 m I believe
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20191227_1030592.jpg
    IMG_20191227_1030592.jpg
    70.1 KB · Views: 45
  • IMG_20191227_1030543.jpg
    IMG_20191227_1030543.jpg
    81 KB · Views: 44
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom