Steyr RFR in 17 HMR

[dh1633pm]

On a whim I purchased a Steyr RFR in 17 HMR. Always wanted a Steyr and I had a need for a 17. What other reason is there in that I just wanted one.

Picked it up and I immediately liked it. I didn't see much written about it ahead of time. It comes in a nice plastic Steyr gun case. It is jut a hair better than the cheap ones you buy at the stores. Upon opening I saw that it has a full length rail on top of the barrel that is attached to the stock. There is also a dove tail on top of the receiver for a rear mounted scope. Took advantage and put and old scope that I had on it using the included weaver mounts. There were five allen wrenches in the box to ensure that if you loss some, you weren't out of business.

Action is toggle and it opens with a spring like move and closes with a good push on the oversized lever. Safety is in the front of the trigger guard and movement to engage is short. Trigger pull was excellent, I don't have a way to measure. Didn't have time to really sight it in, just shot about 20 rounds for function testing. One round wouldn't extract. It was a split case Remington. It was easily pushed out with a cleaning rod.

The magazine holds ten. It has a ridge in the front and goes in easy. There is no toggle hold open after the last round.

I found the stock comfortable and overall fit and finish to be nice. Barrel is blued and threaded. The receiver has a black finish. I will take it out when I can for some accuracy testing. I grabbed a 1K box of Hornady ammo as well when my money was burning a hole in my pocket.

 

[dh1633pm]

I posed this a while back and I guess there is about zero interest. Put some more time on the rifle after a return from a 3 week overseas trip to down under.

Added a simple Bushnell 3x9 scope and a sling. Put about 100 rounds of 17 through the rifle.

Action is not as smooth as a bolt action. Required effort to pull and then push the next round. If you don't push forward with a firm and steady push, you won't feed. Please excuse the description, but without forward pressure the next round wheelies or points upward and catches the point of the bullet on the tip of the receiver causing a jam that is easily cleared by holding the rifle sideways and letting gravity do the work. So don't hesitate mid stroke. I hope it will be easier as the rifle becomes more broken in.

Accuracy is excellent. Won't go into detail. But I had it sighted in, in no time at all. It is as expected.

To take down the rifle you need tools. Trox, Allen, and Phillips. Seems no two are the same. Example front takedown screw is Allen, back screw is Phillips. Front screws to take off rail are trox and so is the safety lever which needs to be removed before it can be taken out of the stock. Glad that I have a tool box with one of everything.

Action is a big ol block of steel. Solid as the day is long.

There was another post about this rifle on the site that was debating the "scout" nature of the rifle. I am not much for forward mounted scopes. To each their own. My has a over the receiver scope mounted and as such works well.

 

[CraigC]

It's a neat rifle with some interesting features. Affordable for a Steyr, too. I think it might should be about a pound lighter and it's a bummer that the .22Mag version is not threaded.

 

[chicharrones]

I posed this a while back and I guess there is about zero interest.

Not true! I never saw this post until now. I really like the idea of that rifle with the toggle bolt.

The forward rail is a bit weird, but I guess Steyr was going for the Scout style stock and went with that rail. It would have been really nice if Steyr made spare magazine storage in the stock like the Big Scout, too.

Anyway, congrats on the Steyr. I like it.

 

[chicharrones]

It's a neat rifle with some interesting features. Affordable for a Steyr, too. I think it might should be about a pound lighter and it's a bummer that the .22Mag version is not threaded.

Yep! Why have the .17 HMR threaded but not the .22 WMR? Especially since there is talk of the Aussie manufactured subsonic .22 WMR ammo possibly becoming available over here. https://www.winchesteraustralia.com.au/products/22MSUB45

 

[chicharrones]

On a whim I purchased a Steyr RFR in 17 HMR.

By the way, did your rifle come with the knife in the buttstock like shown on the Steyr website?

 

[dh1633pm]

Thanks for the responses. The rifle is very interesting and fills my need to have a Steyr rifle in the stable. The idea was to have one of all the rim fires. So I have a .22 (three of those), a .17 (two of those now) and a 22 Magnum (only 1). It does not have a knife in the buttstock. I think that is an extra option. I also thought it would be nice to have an extra mag slot in the stock somewhere. I thought it funny that the owners manual did not give any indication on how to remove the bolt. I haven't tried yet, but I think I know how based on the parts list. Was thinking about polishing all the parts where they interact and left the bolt alone. Instead I lubed them well. Its much smoother now.

It does handle well for its weight. The receiver is the heavy part. It is very stout.

Off subject a bit. I had to do a three week business trip to Hawaii, then New Zealand, and finally Australia. I can tell you they think (New Zealand and Australia) that we have daily shootings in the streets. But I found them to be as gun loving as we are. They just can't have them. One shared a picture of his .338 lapua. Another showed me his brother's Remington 700 with Can that he uses to shoot Kangaroos. Which he does for a living.

 

[Skylerbone]

My first sighting of your post as well and for the life of me I cannot fathom how such an ugly rifle can simultaneously be so attractive; I love it! Hope you'll elaborate more on accuracy soon but for now it's a great review. Congratulations.

 

[Girodin]

That’s a neat rifle! I wouldn’t mind getting one at the right price. Thanks for the review.