Re: Savage 93 vs Ruger 77/22
ultimately, i would have to also believe you have to consider what your intents of the rifle is. paper punching, hunting, competition, or a combo.
while the .17 .22 mag and 22lr all have their seperate advantages, they also have their seperate drawbacks depending on what you are ging to use them for.
without turning this into a ammo "one vs. another" thread, some of my generalizations (and i think we can all agree) are:
i prefer the .22 lr for target (paper punching / plinking), as it has the widest selection of ammos (the cheapest to the most expensive ammos) depending on what shoots the best out of the rifle and the application. there are many more competitions available to the .22lr. although it can bring down big game for culling and such, for hunting, it's mostly restricted to squirrels, rabbits, and smaller critters of this type. can be used on turkeys, but a better percentage / ethical choice would be a .22 mag. there are a few choices for sub sonic and other quieter ammo for pest control and "non attention getting" shooting.
when i'm hunting i prefer the .22 mag as it offers more distance and energy than the 22lr, and is good from squirrels to turkeys, to coyotes. ammo is relatively inexpensive compared to centerfire or the .17 hmr, but more expensive to comparable .22lr bullet types for "plinking". several ammos offer low expanding bullets like fmj and cci gamepoints that are nice for penetration on bigger game (turkeys / coyotes), and more "exposive" v-max and hollowpoint bullets on groundhogs, squirrels (head shots) and so on.
the .17 hmr is the flattest shooting and is phenomenal at longer distances, but gets tossed around in the wind, and with the type of "explosive" tipped ammos currently available, doesn't offer the type of penetration on edible game without excessive tissue damage as some .22 mag ammos offer. is generally more expensive to shoot than the .22lr and mag, but has hands down beats both in trajectory. if i had the $ to afford shooting a few hundred rounds every month with tight groups on paper, and don't plan on shooting any competitions, would probably go with the .17hmr.
there is the sako quad that allows you to use all of them with a barrel change, and the cz 455 that does the same.
as a traditional dedicated caliber / barrel rifle, i would suggest looking into what you actually are trying to accomplish, any future interests that may deviate from the immediate need, and how much your budget will allow you to shoot. and of course do the research that your doing to see which caliber best suits those and anticipated future needs.
hope this helps some.
i believe the savage to be more accurate, however i think the ruger is "prettier" and is better built.