I think the .17 will suit you well, but wind dows affect that tiny little bullet more that you think. Did some shooting in windy conditional and the bullet was pushed of it mark by several inches. The heavier .17 bullet faired a bit better that the lighter ones though.
As far as which rifle, I owned a Savage .17, great little rifle for the price, but make sure you buy it in person and have several to choose from as the trigger pull and smoothness varies drastically from on rifle to the next. All have a pretty hefty trigger pull. I picked the one with the least creep and brought it to the gunsmith to have it smoothed out and lightened a bit . There are some drop in triggers for the Savage line out there, but they can get a little spendy as well.
Read good things about the CZ Rifles as well, but I cannot find any locally, plus I am a lefty and like to have a lefty rifle for hunting.