Savage B17

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The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes.

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage B17 Review

Disclaimer: Savage B17 usually comes with pre-attached Weaver bases. Some models, however, have a Picatinny rail pre-installed instead. If you are looking for Picatinny rail scope mounts, take a look at our offer of Picatinny Rings.

Savage B17 G in .17 HMR

Figure 1: Savage B17 G in .17 HMR (Source: Savage Arms)

In 2016 Savage introduced its new rimfire series, the B-Series. The latter entered the market at the height of Savage’s effort to revolutionize the rimfire field, and years later we can finally say that they managed to do so at least to some extent.

The B-Series is comprised of B17, B22, and B22 Magnum models which are chambered in .17 HMR, .22 LR, and .22 WMR respectively. The only difference between the models is in the chambering and sometimes in the overall weight of the model, with B17 being the lighter one of the three.

Savage B-series features a very well-balanced carbon steel barrel that is threaded into place with a barrel locknut. On a few selected variants, the barrel is made of stainless steel, which is usually indicated in the name of the variant, such as B22 Magnum FV Stainless, for instance.

The barrel is 533 mm (21”) long, except for the FV-SR and Compact variants, which have a 413 mm (16.25”) long barrel, and Precision variants, which come with a 457 mm (18”) long barrel.

Naturally, Savage B17 also features Savage’s patented trigger mechanism, called the AccuTrigger, that allows the shooters to easily adjust the pull weight without the extensive help of tools or a gunsmith. It was first introduced in 2002 and has since become a legacy feature for Savage rifles.

The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger

Figure 2: The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger (source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwSpbbhIIAE0hUO.jpg:large)

When B22 and B17 were first introduced in 2016, they both had a sort of futuristic look to them, which was soon expanded to most of the other rifles with the launch of AccuFit in 2018. B17 and B22, however, closely resemble the AccuFit with their modernly designed and ergonomic synthetic stock and target-style vertical pistol grip. Variants that come marked with “G” (Savage B22 G, for instance) have a hardwood stock.

The safety knob is found at the rear of the receiver on the tang. It is a 2-position manual safety, and when it is pushed forward (away from the shooter), the rifle is in firing mode. This is indicated by a red dot that otherwise disappears when the safety is in the rearwards position (towards the shooter), which is when the rifle is in safe mode.

The action hosts a textured bolt with a better grip than some of the older models, and it also operates considerably smoother. The receiver is made of carbon steel unless you opt for the stainless steel variant. It is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, but Weaver bases are usually already pre-installed when the rifle is purchased, except for FV-SR and Precision variants, which come with a Picatinny rail instead.

Last but not least is the round rotary magazine. It can be easily detached by pressing a lever in front of the magazine well, and it is an awesome feature on the Savage B17. It has a capacity for up to 10 rounds.

Savage B17 Calibers

Savage B17 can be chambered for:

.17 HMR

Savage B17 Variants

There are quite a few Savage B17 variants on the market right now. An attentive eye will soon notice that models in this series are still named in the “old” Savage way, meaning that different letters in the model’s name correspond to the rifle’s features. For instance, the letter “F” in Savage B22 F stands for synthetic stock, and “V” stands for “heavy barrel”. That would mean that the B22 FV, one of the many variants in this series, comes with a synthetic stock and a heavy barrel.

You can take a look at the chart below to better understand what some of the letters mean:

the old naming system of Savage rifles

These are the B17 variants:

Savage B17 F
Savage B17 FV
Savage B17 FV Stainless
Savage B17 FV-SR
Savage B17 G
Savage B17 Precision
Savage B17 BNS-SR
Savage B17 Left Hand
Savage B17 F Compact
Savage B17 Precision Lite

The receiver of Savage B22 F with a visible mounting surface

Figure 3: The receiver of Savage B22 F with a visible mounting surface. B22 and B17 have the same receiver (Source: Savage Arms)

Models from Savage B-Series are drilled and tapped, although they usually come with Weaver bases pre-installed. But in case you’re looking to mount a different scope mount, here are the dimensions:

dimensions of Savage receiver

A: 12.7 mm
B: 78.74 mm
C: 12.7 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Fi: #6-48
R1: 12.7
R2: 12.7

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage B17

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage B17

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Therefore, most rifles that come with Weaver bases will have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage B17 since B-Series models usually come with pre-installed Weaver bases.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage B17

There’s even less dilemma around the interchangeability of two-piece scope mounts since they don’t have to meet any of the length requirements.

Any rifle that has Weaver bases mounted on its mounting surface will have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage B17

Best Scope Mounts for Savage B17

This page is dedicated to B17 models that come with Weaver bases. If you are looking for Picatinny rail scope mounts, take a look at our offer of Picatinny Rings.

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage B17

We would recommend mm Rusan rings for your Savage B17 rifle if you’re looking for a quality fixed scope mounting solution. These rings ensure sturdiness and reliability, while they also come at a relatively affordable price. They are made of steel and come with a 10-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage B17

When it comes to flexibility, detachable repeatable scope mounts are the way to go. Being able to easily attach and detach an optic without any tools and retaining zero at the same time can be a great advantage. If this is what you’re looking for, you might want to consider this aluminum INNOMOUNT scope mounting solution of German quality for your Savage B17 rifle.

Picatinny Rails for Savage B17

One of the leading manufacturers of scope mounts for Savage is EGW. We can confidently recommend their Picatinny rail for Savage B17.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu

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Savage B17

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The History of Savage Arms