Savage B.Mag 17 Winchester Super Mag Teardown

I am tagging along, sorry for freeloading. I think the cartridge is very interesting but I'm a touch nervous about the rifle.
 
I plan to shoot the replacement Savage sent me within the next couple of days. My FFL talked to the Savage folk and they confirmed that the B.MAG should have a floating barrel and, according to my FFL, sounded incredulous that the forend should have a banana shape and contact the barrel. I will report my findings here after I shoot it.

I started to fix the (two) points of contact with the barrel by grinding away on the webbing in the forend, but before "fixing" the problem I realized that I had accomplished two things: First, I had voided the warranty and 2) I had weakened an already flimsy forend.

To "lift" the barrel off the forend, I inserted a washer in the forward counterbore of the forend attach point. But then I could not get the trigger guard to latch into place. So I removed an "E"-clip at the forward end and stick it underneath the attachment point on the barrel to raise the attachment bracket. It is now free-floating. How it shoots will be determined in a few days.
 
I'm assuming greed got the better of the Savage management team... I just bought a Savage 93 BTVS in 22WMR and I got it because the 17WSM just looks like a piece of plastic sh1t.

This
10880-DEFAULT-l.jpg


vs this
Savage-BMAG-rifle.jpg


I think I will wait with the 17 until someone builds a decent gun... The stainless actioned/barreled BTVS in 22WMR with laminate stock was also only $80 more expensive than the plastic, CM and pot-metal Bmag. Unless consumers vote with their wallets, the feedback loop on quality is going to stay open circuit and company executives will keep making these kinds of stupid decisions.
 
I have an ATN 6x Gen 3 scope on it. I would love to use my 223 or 243, but centerfire is banned at night across the state, even in the UP where the population density is close to Alaska.
 
I like the round, but the rifle sucks. Interested to see if someone would build a custom rifle off the action. I know parts are non existent but after some the work I have seen by forum members anything is possible. Also, +1 on the 93 series. My 17 HMR 93GV is an amazing rifle and it only cost me 250!
 
Tried to shoot today but: First, the trigger jammed and would not budge. Second, after fiddling I got it to move and tried again to shoot. This time, the trigger moved but no click-bang happened. I discovered that the "cock-on-close" bolt wasn't cocking. The saga continues. Sigh....
 
OK...my bad. I've got to retract my statements above. The problem was one of my creation. I had used the Accu-Trigger pressure adjustment and tuned it down to a low pressure...about 2#. As it turns out, when the trigger pressure is dialed down that low, the sear fails to engage when closing the bolt. Once I increased the required pressure a bit (set to 3 ¼ pounds now), the firing pin releases when the trigger is pulled.

I wasted all of yesterday because of an error I made. Next Saturday is a possible day---cold but maybe no rain. I'll try again.
 
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