Rifle Shooter – July 2019

64 http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.uk

only for the reason that the slightly

weak magazine follower spring only

prone to sticking with the squarer

Meplats on the 20s on a few occasion

yet never with the V-Max 17s. Neither

suffered feed problems if they were

presented at the feed lips and I might

have a look back when I’m next using

the 20s at the range to see if more use

has smoothed the mag’s polymer

follower within its steel frame, a factor

that is not unusual in fairness.

Straight from the box, 41 and 43mm

groups were noted from the 17gr and

20gr ammo repectively. The first

cleaning dropped this figure in half with

a lot of copper jacket fragments

displayed on the cleaning patches. Its

funny, all the rifles Anschütz sent to

me recently have arrived spotlessly

clean whereas most rifles arrive with

filthy bores. The flip side is both Annies

have displayed significant running-in

signature, but in the longer term, have

made superb guns.

Rimfire ammunition is never going to

be my favourite, having lived for years

with precision rifles fed on handloads,

but this and the other Anschütz were

distinctly higher echelon. You always

get odd flyers with .17 HMR and I have

experienced this over 10 years with

more than 20 .17’s reviewed – they all

have ammunition preferences but

Hornady has been the benchmark for

consistency to me and this 1761

appreciated it.

After a concentrated 200-round

lifetime, the gun is shooting sub-10mm

four-round strings at 100m in (very

rare) zero wind conditions with a flyer

perhaps every 20-25 rounds, opening

this out to 35/40mm. It nearly always

cloverleafs three of any five shots and

was a joy to use. I’m terribly harsh on

.17 HMRs in fairness so forgive my

enthusiasm when they please me. The

18" barrel length provides a good

compromise between overall length

and ballistic performance so seems

perfect for the power in the cartridge.

16s are a delight to carry, handle and

shoot, but they do seem to follow the

overall trend that longer barrels, within

reason, get the best from factory

ammunition in all calibres – not just

speed but also in terms of ironing out

any inconsistency.

Shooting from the driver’s seat in

any vehicle makes an ambidextrous

gun a pleasure and swapping sides is

easier with shorter guns, but the 1761

was within limits for ease of use.

Left-handed shots from the neutral

stock shape and excellent trigger were

of equal performance and other than

its more delicate walnut material, this

is the stock geometry of choice for me

on any rimfire with all subtleties

accounted for.

It is of note that the 14" length of

pull, with 12.5mm firm but grippy recoil

pad, shows no amount of sponginess

in the shoulder and all contact is gentle

but definite, the lower cheek not as

hard in the face so never pushing the

gun out of your shoulder.

Operation of the bolt was no stretch

at all and its fingertip weighting was a

breed apart for a rimfire, showing little

disruption to the sight picture when

reloading quickly in the shoulder.

The detail of the tiny bearing on

the firing pin where it bears against

the angled steel of the bolt-handle

that cocks it is genuinely masterful

micro-engineering with attention to

detail that I have only seen on

centrefires before.

»

No left-handed

option

Why have an

extra-long

magazine

without filling

the space with

ammo?

Slightly stiffer

spring in the

magazine

follower

would be my

preference

Although

expensive,

the 1761 is

everything

Anschütz’s

competition

guns should be

when the latest

design action

innovations

are applied

to hunting

rimfires. Worth

every penny if

you appreciate

the best.

VERDICT

Wonderful

performance

details in the

action package

Anschütz

trigger

Stock geometry

with decent

length of pull

Spacious scope

mounting

locations

Intuitive

ambidextrous

performance

PROS

CONS

ON TEST  Anschütz 1761 D HB Walnut Classic Stock in .17 HMR

\ TRIGGERS ON ANSCHÜTZ

RIFLES ARE CRISP, OFTEN WITH

ADJUSTABLE PULLS //

The textured pad sits

in your shoulder

without excessive

bulk and is certainly

not spongey

Rigidity, size and

weight is perfectly

balanced in this

fore-end with a clean

2mm free-float in all

circumstances