I was curious as to what you .17 guys were using them for.
It sounds like light varmint/pest/target gun.
I got a 17 Remington bolt rifle in part as a curiosity but I had planned to take it for prairie dogs. When I finally organized a trip to South Dakota, I felt the 17 Remington was too limited for the ranges we might shoot so I took a 204 Ruger and 223 Remington. The AR-15 is part of a pair of identical AR-15's with sequential serial numbers. The other is a 204 Ruger.
The AR-15 has a 24" heavy barrel and is close to 12 pounds empty. It is best for fixed position shooting.
The bolt rifle has a 22" slender barrel and would be good for walk-about varminter. It is accurate but with the slender barrel, the point of aim drifts after a few shots as the barrel heats up. The rifle does better after I free floated the barrel but 3 to 4 shots are about it before the barrel must be allowed to cool.