Rifle Shooter – July 2019

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Studs

for a bipod were

fitted – but didn’t

compromise the

sleek lines of

the rifle.

Once

run-in, the barrel

delivered admirable

accuracy – although

rimfire ammo can

always deliver the

odd flier.

position on the neatly machined inlet.
This is thoroughly finished with a
synthetic lacquer like the rest of the
stock, shrugging off any moisture
related anxieties. Bedding stress is
almost non-existent and, were the gun
mine, not that it needs help, I would
have it pillar-bedded as the rifle just
invites perfection, its components are
so refined. Bedding is not mandatory
and would cost a couple of hundred
pounds, but what a nice finishing touch
on a rifle that will last a lifetime!
The barrel is a parallel 19.2mm
profile with ½"x20 TPI thread for a
moderator; its crown is deeply

recessed, an Anschütz characteristic

that offers plentiful physical protection,

but I’d just keep an eye on it not

accumulating moisture or firing debris

from notoriously dirty rimfire

ammunition. The gun is available

chambered for .22 RF and WMR as

well as the .17 HMR seen here and the

barrel can be removed or replaced – I’d

recommend you get a gunsmith to do

this. Multi-barrel rimfires don’t seem to

have caught on anyway and I see no

reason to follow the herd heading

nowhere in this regard.

Fitted with Sportsmatch mounts, a

Hawke 3-15x50 optic and Harris bipod,

all that remained was a trusty SAK

moderator to keep the noise down.

Hornady ammunition was at hand

with both 17gr V-Max and 20gr XTP

bullets. Neither seemed to be shown

much preference by the barrel with

both feeding and shooting reliably. The

barrel needed a bit of time to wear in

though and after 300 rounds, I’m still

seeing improvements each time I test

it on targets. Velocities were higher

than average with 2,566 fps average

from the lighter round with 2,400 fps

enabled from the XTPs.

Given the fact I had a ballistic turret

fitted on the Hawke scope and was

likely to play at range, I decided to stick

with one type of ammo for the rest of

the test period with known velocities

so the 17gr V-Max won out. This was

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

ANSCHÜTZ 1761 D HB CLASSIC .17 HMR

CALIBRES: .17 HMR (.22 RF and WMR also available)

OVERALL LENGTH: 35.5" / 900mm

WEIGHT: 6.52lb / 2.96kg

MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 5+1

TRIGGER: Single stage, tested at 1,100gr (adjustable 800-1200gr)

BARREL LENGTH: 18" / 457mm (515mm also available and

replaceable in alternate calibres too)

MUZZLE THREAD: ½"x20 UNF

STOCK MATERIAL: Walnut with durable synthetic finish

LENGTH OF PULL: 14" / 355mm

The stiff fore-end

kept a 2mm free-

float in all shooting

positions.

ON TEST

ABOVE LEFT: The

well-sealed and

neatly machined inlet

ABOVE RIGHT: The

tiny bearing is hidden

here to lower effort

required when

cocking the action