“savage a17”

There's no denying that the Savage A17 has been popular since its release last year. So it's no surprise that we're starting to see after-market accessories for the little .17 HMR semi-auto. First among them is the new 25-round magazine from Butler Creek.

Meet our 2016 Rifle of the Year, the Savage Arms A17.

If you've been paying attention to AmericanHunter.org of late, you'll have heard that we announced the Savage Arms A17 would receive our Golden Bullseye Award for "Rifle of the Year" at the impending 2016 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Louisville. With all of that in mind, it should come as no surprise that, for 2016, Savage announced a line expansion. In this case, I'm talking about the new A17 Sporter and A17 Target models. Here are five things you need to know.

The new Savage A17 uses a delayed blowback action. A small bar in the top of the bolt slides up to fit into a slot in the receiver when the bolt is closed, locking the action. The bar cams back down upon firing to release the bolt and allow the action to cycle, but it delays the action from opening until pressure has dropped to a manageable level.

.17 HMR has never been a caliber that's taken well to semi-automatic rifles—until now.

NRA Publications engaged Mark DeYoung in a one-on-one conversation about what shooters and hunters can expect from the new Vista Outdoor Inc.