Marlin 917V Mini Match Rifles

[ROGER4314]

MARLIN 917V RIFLES IN .17 HMR ARE MINIATURE MATCH RIFLES!

Bonnie & I have been shooting the Marlins in competition at 200 yards for 6-7 years. Her best score at 200 yards is 499 out of 500. I forget the "X" count. I shot a 499-28X and the next month a 500/500 with 23X! For non match shooters, the "X" ring on a 200 yard "SR" target is the size of a tennis ball. I hit that tennis ball 28 out of 50 rounds! The perfect score means that not a single round ventured out of the "10" ring at 200 yards.

We have painted golf "T"s for the pit crew to use as spotters. We tend to follow the 3" spotters usually used to indicate hits and it drags us off target. The "T"s are less visible in the scopes. We have a whole collection of smashed golf "T"s we hit at 200 yards. Hitting the golf "T" markers means we put two rounds in the same hole at 200 yards.

For $227, it's the best bang for the buck in High Power Rifles. After a short break in, these rifles will shoot "High Master" scores at 200 yards right out of the box new.

These rifles are supremely accurate at 200 yards even with the little Tasco 3-9X- 40 mm scope we use.

Later, we got a bit creative and produced some custom rifles based on the Marlins. Here's one of the latest. This one uses a Marlin 917 VS stainless.

The little Tasco scopes did OK but the cross hairs were too thick and power too low to wring out the best scores in the rifles. The rifle could outshoot the scopes.

Have any of you guys had similar experiences with these mini match rifles?

Flash

 

[Texas1911]

No, but I was eyeing one today at work thinking it would make one hell of a match gun.

 

[ROGER4314]

Make sure you buy some quality .17 caliber cleaning gear. You need a good one piece rod and some high quality brushes, jags and patches as none of your current cleaning stuff will work.

The barrels copper foul at first but we used Butches Bore Shine or Hoppes #9 and let the chemicals do the work. We never swabbed the bore with elbow grease. Put in a wet patch, and go watch TV. Later, follow with another wet patch. Once or twice we used a single pass with a brush and let her sit again. Repeat until no green color comes out on the patch. Bonnies rifle took several days to complete cleaning but again, we never scrubbed the bores. We just let her sit with the chemicals in the bore.

I'd buy every one of the things from owners who say "It shoots flyers." All it takes is a PROPER cleaning and you can't SCRUB that stuff out! The NEW barrels copper foul. After a couple of hundred rounds, the barrels are broken in and require almost no cleaning.

Now you have the secret to success in making a .17HMR shoot!
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Some more info:
Don't let the cheap, crappy stocks Marlin puts on these rifles scare you off. Marlin sells a laminated gray/black stock for a higher priced rifle and it can be purchased from Marlin as a replacement part for $89. It's a great upgrade and really cheap!

We found the the Federal 17 grain with the ballistic tip "V-Shok" worked best. The hollow point ammo will NOT shoot as accurately as the plastic tip round. We have not tried the 20 grain bullets. We feel if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Flash