Welcome to GBO, RG!!
Thanks for the intro, Matt, I don't know if I can live up to that praise, but I'll give it a shot!! :wink:
To start out, I have a 917V and a 917VS, both have RB triggers and are great shooting hmrs.
One of the first issues you may deal with is either the base mounting holes in the receiver will be misaligned or the included bases will have misaligned holes in them. The bases can be replaced if they're bad with Weaver #16 or #45, the #45 being a little more common, but a pair of either will work. The mount holes are a bigger issue. To check em, run the included bases screws into the mounting holes without the bases, place a straight edge against the side of the heads, all should be lined up and the straight edge should be perfectly parallel to the bore. If there's any run out tween the straight edge and barrel, the mount holes are not drilled properly. This is common on late model 917s. One solution to this problem is to just use the rimfire dovetail and a good BKL ring mount from
www.bkltech.com The other solution is to use Burris Signature Zee rings with the optional offset inserts.
The next issue you'll need to deal with is the trigger which is generally real heavy. You have 2 choices, do a home trigger job or buy a Rifle Basix "drop in" trigger. The former is free, the latter will cost $65-$80. Midway has the trigger on sale until the end of the month for $60 if you can swing it, Midsouth has it at a regular price of $66.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=253264http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00213MAR917Here's the link to a home trigger job....
http://imageevent.com/richinva/marlin917vsYou'll probably find that working the bolt is rather rough, you can smooth it up considerably by smearing it with a fine metal polish like Flitz, simichrome or similar, work it in the action 50-100 times or until it feels smooth, then disasemble the bolt and clean it and the receiver, and reassemble. Here are instructions to R&R the bolt...
http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63345&highlight=Front+rotatesWhen you destock the action, you're going to find that the forward lug is loose in the dovetail, some drill and tap it and put a set screw in it, others epoxy it in place. I just put a little RTV silicone on mine so the lug can still float to it's happy position but still doesn't fall out when I remove the stock. Run a sheet of paper between the barrel and the stock in the channel and make sure the barrel is floated, some will have a spot or 2 touching and will require a little sanding of the barrel channel with some sandpaper wrapped around an appproapriate sized wood dowel(broom handle).
As Matt stated, it will take some break in before you get best accuracy. You can help that along with a good bore polishing with JB Bore compound or FLitz, I've used both, use what you have or can get. 50-100 passes thru the bore changing the patch frequently.
I use Patchworms for cleaning my 17hmrs exclusively, .17 cal cleaning rods just have too much flex for my taste, even good Dewey rods, I have one. I don't feel the need for a brush in a hmr bore. If you must use a rod, don't use a cheap multi-piece rod, get a good coated 1 pc rod
and a good bore guide.
www.patchworm.comHave fun and ask questions if you have em!!
Tim
