Hey Guys. I am newly registered to LRH. I have been reading here for a while and registered to respond to this post.
I bought the Savage .17WSM in early September. The gun does seem and look cheap, but it is a shooter. My Savage was at my gunsmith for the last 2 months for work that I wanted done (he is slow,but good). I did not like the fact that there was movement in the cheap stock around the barrel. I had the stock bedded to stop the movement. It also makes the gun just feel more solid and not so cheap. I did not like the butt ugly black stock, so I had him bead blast the entire stock. It is now a grayish color and, to me, looks much better than the factory black. I also had him replace the 4-12x 40 scope with a 6-18x50. I had $200 worth of work done, not including the optics. I now have more in the gun than it's valued at, but I am happy with the fit, feel, and looks of the gun. I do not intend to sell it, so I am ok with spending the extra money to satisfy me. I have not had a chance to go to the range since I just picked it up today, but the gunsmith shot several rounds through it and guarantees me that I will be satisfied. I also own the .17 HMR in CZ, Savage, Marlin and Taurus. Had the .17WSM been available from CZ, I would not have spent the extra money on the B Mag. I would have just bought the CZ. If CZ does make the WSM, I will still buy it. I could have bought the CZ for what I have in the B Mag, but I have made it into a solid rifle.
As for ammunition, I have an ample supply of both 20gr and 25 gr (12 boxes of each). It is carried at my local Walmart and is $14.77 a box plus tax. They also sell the B Mag for $299 plus tax.
I fired 100 rounds through this rifle before having the work done to it. If I had not already been pleased with the performance of this rifle, I would not have spent the extra money on it to make it better. It was still a lot cheaper than spending $1400 for the other manufacturer. I am anxious to get to the range so I can test it and zero it for 200 yards. For what it is worth, I do recommend this rifle. As much as I love my .17HMR's, there is little comparison in performance with the WSM. In my opinion, it is like comparing a .22LR to a .22 magnum.