I have a Savage 17HMR that is quite accurate once it got a trigger job. Sounds like Backstrap had to do one to his Marlin as well. I put an aftermarket (Riflebasix) trigger in mine, and once I got it adjusted right groups shrunk amazingly. I rarely use that gun anymore since getting a 17HMR barrel for my Contender that is just plain boring it shoots so well. I most likely will give the Savage to my son. I think both Savage and Marlin use the same basic gun for 22Mag and 17HMR.
In the old days the main limiter for 22Mag was the copper washed bullets. They were often carried loose in someone's pocket, bounced together a few times, and were often deformed when shot. Hard to get a good group then. Now you can get some real quality bullets on a mag, and the groups show it.