Ruger 77/17 Winchester Super Mag at the Bench
We were able to shoot the new Ruger 17WSM rifle at the 2015 SHOT Show, Media Range Day this past week. Many people were hoping that Ruger would step-in and offer one of their 77/17 rifles in the popular .17 Winchester Super Magnum cartridge. This rifle is definitely brings Ruger to the table with a quality rifle that will satisfy most people who chose not to buy any of the currently available bolt-action rifles. I am glad they also chose to go with their 77/17 rifle, as opposed to a modified Ruger American rifle, as I feel the 17WSM deserves to be in a rifle that is a step above the American (I like the American, so there is no diss there).
As stated above, we were able to shoot this new rifle at the Media Range Day last week while at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. The range where Ruger was set-up had various targets set-up downrange, so it was a matter of picking one and taking your shots. I picked one of the metal plates at approximately 100 yards and picked a spot where someone had shot one of the larger calibers, giving me about a 1″ target spot. Shot after shot, I hit the spot with no issues. In fact, at the end of the video, you can hear one of the Ruger reps say, “It looks like you’re right on, Eric”.
Everything about this rifle reminded me of the many Rugers I own. It has the three position safety, as well as a 6-round rotary magazine. It is in a beautiful, green, laminate stock that matches well with the powdered stainless barreled action. The balance was good as well. All of this does not surprise me, as this rifle is already very popular with shooters, including the latest rendition in the .17 Hornet, released in 2013.
Range Video:
Here is the video from the range, including many of the pictures I am including below in our full gallery of Ruger 77/17 – 17WSM pictures:
Ruger 77/17 – 17WSM Gallery:
We will have more information coming as it is released by Ruger.
Update 06/02/2015 – Our Ruger 17WSM Review has been published: Ruger 77/17 – 17WSM Review and Range Report
— Eric A. Mayer
