personally I probably would go with the ruger 77-17 because at present I have the 77-22 and 77-22mag and have had great luck with both of them. Its still a little early for me to decide on what I would use it for. For the cost of the ammo to shoot it could get expensive to just plink with, and the other 2 rimfires in the 77 line-up cover the ranges of the 17 pretty close if I need anymore I will just go to a 223 or 22-250.
JIM