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Volquartsen 17 WSM discontinued

23K views 84 replies 20 participants last post by  comfisherman 
#1 · (Edited)
I just received an email from Volquartsen that they have dropped the development of the Summit in 17 WSM rifle and stopping production of the 17 WSM semi auto. In the email it explains the reason for this is the variances in rim dimensions. For more on this go to their web site.

Wonderdog1 :sad:
 
#41 ·
I picked up an IF-5 with a laminate stock for $1300 and change. Probably has the “moderate” wear they mention, but I care not. The perfect rimfire needle blower PD sniper rifle. Other than the Franklin, there is not another 250-yard, Hornet-class semiauto rifle I’m aware of. Not sure I understand the advantage of the forward blow compensator...maybe it’s quieter from the shooter’s position.

TBR
 
#42 ·
I picked up an IF-5 with a laminate stock for $1300 and change. Probably has the "moderate" wear they mention, but I care not. The perfect rimfire needle blower PD sniper rifle. Other than the Franklin, there is not another 250-yard, Hornet-class semiauto rifle I'm aware of. Not sure I understand the advantage of the forward blow compensator...maybe it's quieter from the shooter's position.

TBR
Compensator will come off immediately and be replaced with a thread protector on mine. Mine was 15 and change to Alaska with a McMillan, so I'm happy. Ruger 77s are going stupid high these days, and an autolader will rock for small predators.
 
#43 ·
Yes, not a big fan of compensators or fluting. I also doubt the claims of enhanced rigidity and cooling from the relatively shallow fluting. I think it mostly just looks cool. Now, much deeper flutes would be a different story on weight and cooling surface area, but removing material will always reduce rigidity. The rigidity enhancement would be for barrels of equal weight and length, so the rigidity of the larger diameter fluted barrel could be superior to a smaller diameter barrel with no fluting but with equal weight.

I guess the thought on the forward blow is it will be quieter to the shooter but still offer a bit of reduction in muzzle movement. My previous VQ .17 WSM with no fluting weighed 12 lbs+ with scope and rings, and I don't recall much movement at all...just pull trigger and see immediate impact...I was amazed at the velocity from this rimfire. I also remember the rather lethargic bolt movement. It seemed like I would feel and hear the bolt come back into battery way after I saw the bullet impact...almost eerie. Still, it always functioned perfectly for me with 20 or 25 grain ammunition.

I am convinced VQ chose to err on the safe side with a too heavy bolt to avoid KaBooms, even at the risk of some compromise of function....which was just fine with me, but I can just hear the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from someone here who paid nearly $2000 for a rifle and had a couple of functioning hic ups.

Anyway, hope to have the VQ IF-5 soon. I ended up raising a bit more money than I needed to fund my upgraded machine shop, so the timing on the clearance rifles was perfect. I still retained all my inventory of .17 WSM ammunition left over from previous .17 WSM rifle acquisitions, so I am good to go.

TBR
 
#45 ·
CONGRATS!
Sounds like you all did well with Volquartsen’s clearance of there WSMs. I wish Volquartsen hadn’t decided to stop production, but they know what is best for their bottom line and l just feel fortunate to have gotten mine when l had the chance.

Wonderdog1 :bthumb:
 
#52 ·
Yeah, I'm happy with it so far definitely was a lot heavier than expected. Whenever ruger does another run of 7219s I'll probably buy one of those to make a little more packable hiking platform. I'm assuming the McMillan is a heavy fill although the action and bolt are chunky. The mag has some mass to it as well. But for the price it will do its job, still surprises me that it can curb higher than estimated weight by a pound....but like I stated earlier that was more of an issue at 2400 its less under 1500.

The wife wanted something from the big box store and they had a thumb hole ultralight on the rack in 22lr for just shy of 1600....sitting right next to a TC clone for 500 that was identical in configuration. Pudgy little sales guy made the comment that he was trying to figure out the 1000$ difference between them.

I got home and looked at my safe and pulled out the vq parts and guns. It occurred to me that aside from the magazine release, almost 5k (non inflated value) worth of guns and parts. All of which they no longer make. Of my past vq guns the only they still make is the classic in wmr and the td barrel.

I'll probably end up with a 22wmr from them in the future, and a ways in the future a 22wmr pistol in the way forward machine. I hope volquartsen has a path they think will lead them forward, right now the catalog is a bit thin in interest to me, and that's coming from a guy who has bought vq parts since childhood.
 
#54 ·
Here's Mine!

A truly wicked, finely machined, solid stainless steel, semiautomatic, prairie-dog-slaying machine. Picked it up last night. It appears brand new and came with a pretty darned nice VQ case and some promotional badges with owner's manual. I was REALLY hoping it would have a spare magazine, as they originally came with two, but, alas, only one. There was one, almost microscopic dent on the stock, but otherwise totally pristine. I would have expected more scuffs if this had been a demo or display. No complaints here:

Cloud Hood Automotive design Vehicle Rim


Hood Grille Automotive design Automotive lighting Motor vehicle


Hood Sleeve Musical instrument Bumper Wood


Trunk Wood Gadget Bumper Vehicle door


Wood Publication Automotive exterior Bumper Audio equipment


TBR
 
#55 ·
Well Done! I believe when Volquartsen first introduced their WSMs they came with two mags. Later production only the one. Optics Planet ran a sale on them shortly after l got mine and was able to save a few bucks, but l see they are $84. now. With the deals you all got, you can afford a spare mag.;)

Wonderdog1 :bthumb:
 
#62 ·
Yeah... they probably doubled the amount of 17 wsm rifles in the wild in the last two weeks. The last few lasted about a week.

Mines going to sit and collect dust till January. Have to go out west and do a boat project and the wife slipped a few dollars in the gun slush fund and is now claiming the 17 is a christmas present...... tricky little woman. But at least the gun money isn't as barren as it was last week.

Hopefully the rings get in and they are the correct height.
 
#64 ·
Just a heads up. Optics Planet has the 8-round VQ magazines on sale for $69 with free shipping, so that's one more present under the tree for me. No more clearance rifles posted for the last 5 or 6 days.
TBR
LUCKY YOU !
If one was ever thinking about buying an extra mag or two, now would probably be the time. If Volquartsen is dropping the wsm, I'm sure the mags are going to get scares and expensive.

Wonderdog1
:bthumb:
 
#68 ·
Early review of the 17 wsm, guess its a moot point as they are discontinued. But for the guys on the used market.

Its big, compared to a 10-22 but not comically so.

Fit and finish are good, don't really care for the integral rail. It may be the market but its so large it actually interferes with the placement of some scopes. The vx-6 needed mediums to clear the occular and have decent eye relief.

The bolt is unreal sliding back and fourth nice and slowly. It really is the heavy part of the rifle.

Mags load a little different than a 10-22 but rounds go down nice and easy, and out faster than is healthy given the ammo shortage.

Trigger is pretty volquartsen average, not a bad trigger, but not a kidd or any of the custom 700 type triggers. Won't be tradingn the calvin elite, hueber, or bix n andy trigger for it anytime soon. For my intended purpose its perfect, would guess around or just under 3 lbds and just a smidge gritty. Probably loose the gritty after some use, as has most of the vq triggers I've used.

Stock is interesting, its big and stylized like all of vqs laminates from about 15 years ago until now. Seems like folks in the hunting sphere have begun to like svelte handles on hunting rifles, rockslide and 24hr campfire is full of folks grumbling about the size of the grips on a rifle. Being 6'4" and wearing xl gloves, I've just wrote it off that most of them are angry little hobbits, bitter they didn't grow to normal size. This stock fits me well, grip might even be on the big side. My shooting buddy said it felt like holding his dads rifle when he was a kid many years ago. If you have tiny hands, the McMillan stock might not be for you.

I like it, even if it is a heavier than I like. With the vx-6 it hit 9 lbds loaded with rings. Sure does beat running the b mag handle, will probably get a 77/17 when they do another run, just to contour the barrel and make one easier to pack for the trips that need a second gun.

Here is it and my 17hm2 that gets most of my hunting use.
 

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#69 ·
150 round update.

First outing did 10 groups at 5 shots each just getting zeroed and a bit of exposure to the new gun.

Second outing noticed it doesn't like a full mag, like won't cycle a full mag but will 100% of the time when loaded with 5 or 6. Odd as it looks like an out of battery detonation with some odd extractor marks. Doesn't do it with less in the mag. Going to give the chamber a little bit of a scrub as the first few in a full mag come out sooty. Hopefully my magazines show up this week, this single 5 mag shooting is for the birds.... Granted it helps curtail ammo consumption. It will definitely be a fun rifle for the ground squirrel shoots.

Small complaint, but the rail really does imped the use of modern wider occulars. it needs the cut like the magnum research removing the last two rail slots.

3 range sessions and 150 rounds so its still shiny new. Will be interesting to revisit after 1000, definitely going to get there rather quickly compared to the bmag.
 
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