Hey Scoot...the Ruger 77 uses the same one bolt concept as the 10-22. You can interchange the bbls and have the best of both worlds..you can shoot the 22 mag OR the 17HMR . Same case as the 22 mag...just a smaller bullet and more speed. If you want to change back to the 22 mag just swap the barrels and you are good to go. May have to resight the scope though...OH DARN...means you might have to shoot more...That sucks doesn't it??
Yes buy the used Ruger 22 mag.. and get the 17 HMR bbl for it. Put a GOOD scope on it though..something like a 4-12 or even stronger.. Them .17 holes are hard to see out there a ways