You were complaining that the 17 is not as good.
Let us compare.
17pdr = better penetration and range with APDS, t1 unlock includes other options
PaK40 = better damage, worse pen, worse range compared to APDS, T3 unlock with LeIG which kinda sucks.
17pdr is also in an EPIC doctrine, that allows you to spam tough armor and flame thrower Sappers all day + the best ATG currently in the game (pak 40 does less DPS than a PaK 38 for better pen, 17pdr counters the one thing axis tanks have going for them, tough armor).
17pdr also has units that allow you to disable tanks (Bren button infantry/carrier) meaning that the enemy cannot rush or flank you without threat, unlike the PaK (lol schreks vs Churchills).
The fact is, the 17pdr is better at it's job, while tying into the doctrine at a much stronger level than the PaK 40 which doesn't do any better than a PaK 38 vs most targets and is significantly worse vs Light Vehicles.
better penetration? they penetrate everything but heavy vehicles in one hit. I"ve never seen a 40 bounce dude, i've seen 'em miss plenty times but bounce lol who cares about penetration and the +5 rage on apds means nothing, it's a click ability if u actually get the chance to use the +5 range when u click it. It's use is not in kiting but when a tank is going away. and the leig is awesome at least to me, maybe u just need to l2pleig.
and i never said teh 17 is completely useles or i've never used it or at all, i just dont like it, and when i've played against it i never had an issue with it, even with my blitz. It fires, i back off and mortar/arty it or rush infantry, or flank ti as it has really slow turn. The vulnerabilities for me outweigh the benefits. Now, i'll keep one or two in my engineer coy just in case a heavy tank shows up and theres not much to kill it on the field, otherwise forget it.