The first project of 2008
So the New Year is upon us & quite naturally, with the festive season rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror, a chaps thoughts turn to which rifle he is going to christen 2008 with. Now if you recall, in December I gave you a menu of 3 options & possibly not surprisingly given that even though I say so myself, what fine choices they were, the voting was remarkably close:
Blaser LRS2 7.62mm/.308 - 35.1%
H-S Precision Pro Series 2000 .223 - 33.8%
Custom .17 rig - 31.2%
Now the one thing that I didn’t factor in at that stage was price. The first two are quite easy, as ignoring dealer discount, the Blaser is in the rack for £1,400 & the H-S Precision, £1,150. I suspect that if I had put the price tags on, that might have changed one or two opinions. Anyway, forget all of that, the next project is going to be a .17HMR semi-custom build - I am certain ... well sort of.
However, I am never being one to take an easy path when it comes to firearms, partly by being left handed, but also because I know what I want, even if I cant have it now; & what I really want is one of these
a Savage Arms .17 HMR 93R17 BTVSS bolt action rifle, complete with thumbhole laminate stock. The only addition I would make, save for the addition of a scope & bipod, would be an over the barrel PES Sound Moderator, shown here, mounted on a Ruger No.1.
In my humble opinion, I think that the light laminate stock married to the stainless steel action looks fabulous & the moddie would give it a very ‘purposeful’ look. I would particularly go for an over the barrel moderator, rather than the T8 already have as they cut down on the overall length of the weapon & as anyone who has been out lamping from a vehicle at night can testify to, length or at least lack of it helps.
Sadly to the best of my knowledge (& several dealers I have contacted), Savage don’t do a left hooker - curses! Thwarted once more. However what is available is this
The Savage 93R17 GLV 17 complete with heavy barrel which on UK imports is ready cut to accept a moderator, so you dont need to get it reproofed. I have seen right handed versions advertised for £280, so on a special order, it might be possible to pick one up for say £300.
Now I know that there are those of you that would say I should be buying a CZ as their left handled version is widely available however to date & in the manufacturers infinite wisdom, they have not yet produced a heavy barrel version. This does seem strange as .17HMR is essentially a vermin control round & a lot, if not most vermin shooters prefer heavy barrels for their nocturnal japery.
OK, so assuming my man can supply the OEM version I will be off first base. Sadly it will be blued & not stainless, but if that is the only concession I have to make, I certainly wont be too disappointed.
The next thing to sort out once the moderator is fitted will be a custom stock & lets be honest here, what it comes fitted with is hardly a thing of grace & beauty. The obvious choice is McMillan, but even by my normal black tac standards, the stocks are damn ugly - yes, even the 'sporting' ones. So at the moment I am starting to think about one of these, in a racey laminate, to jazz things up a little. I suspose that one advantage of replacing the stock will be that there are one excuses for not getting a really good bedding job done at the same time so that that is taken care of. One of the advantages of the Savy is that it comes fitted with one of their half-decent triggers so that is one little task/cost that you don't have to worry about.
So there you have it, the first little project for the New Year which regular readers will know, should consume at least the first half of this year. But my mind is made up on this ... but on the other hand, what about the H-S Precision??
Comments
BSA Martini re-barrelled to 17 HMR, screwcut with a bull barrel and scope rail? Deep Oil finish and colour case hardening to the action?
Now that would be kinky!
Posted by: EX_STAB | January 4, 2008 9:41 AM
Does the Savage come with one of their Accu-Trigger assemblies? I'm not up on their latest stuff, but I thought that all new Savage rifles came thus equipped.
If this one does, then grab it with both hands. A moderated varminter with one of Savage's extra-accurate barrels and the Accu-Trigger?
I need a cold shower.
Posted by: Kim du Toit | January 4, 2008 3:33 PM
savage damn well do left hookers, you may have to do pond jump west to see one but it was a recent subject on Canadiangunnutz. I have already decided on mine, email is on its way and yes even you plastic freaks will wet yourselves.
Posted by: TimC | January 4, 2008 6:39 PM
Right handed, but I have a heavy barrel Savage .17hmr with the plastic stock, and a 6x24 scope. Also, the .22 GLV wooden stocked version as above (it came as a package with a Simmons 3x9 that's still on the gun while I shop for a better scope). The combo of an Accu-Trigger, a heavy barrel and a good scope makes anybody look like they can shoot. Now, if we can get moderators/silencers over here on our side of the pond, we'll have it made.
Posted by: Carl H. | January 4, 2008 10:23 PM
I thought I would start 08 by being a controversial and asking if you need a heavy barrel in a .17. I thought ( and I will stand corrected) that they cut down vibration and didn't heat up. So with such a light small round wind will cause more problems than vibration. Will fouling cause more of a problem than heat if you want a tack driver? I don't see the 17 as a round shooting at the range where the heavy barrel matters.
The very small number of this calibre I have met seemed to need a lot of cleaning.
Bring on the CZ.
Have you fired that navy colt yet?
Posted by: Ghostrifle | January 5, 2008 12:09 AM
You know I own and love my CZ collection but I sad to say that the factory QC people are pishing me off. I have now had 1 rifle with 2 major defects and looked at another that I wouldnt have bought with someone elses money. Come on CZ you are letting the side down!
Posted by: Tim C | January 10, 2008 3:42 PM