S&W Model 617

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gerhard1

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Just got back yesterday from a week in Seattle, and I intend to go to my LGS and put my order in today. About the only real fly in the ointment is the rather odd shortage of 22 LR ammo. I just got back from a trip to Seattle for my niece's wedding, and there seems to be a shortage of it up there, as well.
 

ronny

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The shortage depends on where you are. I'm guessing Medford, or thereabouts, and that might be a problem. Plan a trip to somewhere that has an Academy and stock up.
 

druryj

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Exactly. I was at Academy just yesterday and they have shelves and shelves of the stuff. I bought a good supply of the 40 grain Mini Mags too.
 

gerhard1

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Thank you, gentlemen. I have enough to get me started, so I won't exactly be deprived, but with the Donald as POTUS, I was hoping the 22 famine would be over. A gun shop nearby usually has sub-sonic 22 LR in stock and that won't be a problem with a wheelgun.
 

gerhard1

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Picked it up this morning and my initial impression was mixed. It is a very sturdy-appearing gun, and it is amazingly heavy but on reflection, that should not have been surprising since it has a lot of metal in the barrel with the full under-lug and it being a 22, leaves a lot of material that would be taken out of a larger-caliber gun. The grips (the same ones as in the picture in the OP) were very comfortable and it seems to be well-made and exceedingly strong.

The thing that I am concerned with is the terrible trigger pull. I mean it is just plain terrible. It is rough, gritty and (in a major turnabout from S&W) quite stagy. Now, in all fairness, the gun is brand-new and this could be a major factor, and I expect that it will wear in as I shoot it.

So, with that, I'll do that in a few days and get back with you on how it shoots. In the meantime, I'll cycle the action a few times and see how that wears it in.

Once I get it broken in, I'm confident that I'll really like it.
 

coolhandluke

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Make sure that you use snap caps or drywall anchors if you are dry firing.

The trigger in mine was terrible as well. After installing a 13# Wolff rebound spring, a new strain screw, and stoning the internals, I'm running a very smooth 9# DA trigger and a SA trigger that's less than 3#. I haven't tried for anything lighter as I'm getting 100% ignition with all types of ammo.
 

Perplexed

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Make sure that you use snap caps or drywall anchors if you are dry firing.

The trigger in mine was terrible as well. After installing a 13# Wolff rebound spring, a new strain screw, and stoning the internals, I'm running a very smooth 9# DA trigger and a SA trigger that's less than 3#. I haven't tried for anything lighter as I'm getting 100% ignition with all types of ammo.

One has to do all this with a brand new Smith revolver? Seems like they ought to know...
 

coolhandluke

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One has to do all this with a brand new Smith revolver? Seems like they ought to know...

Today's Smith is a far cry from your father's and grandfather's Smith.

If I remember correctly, I actually had to swap the hammer out with the one from a 686 as there was such extreme binding during handoff that it was maxing out my brother's Lyman trigger pull gauge. My 686 had some tooling damage that probably warranted it being returned. After seeing several other examples with the same damage, I decided against it. The gun shoots well and that was the main priority. My brother's 627 has been sent back to S&W three times and basically only the frame is left from the original / new gun that was purchased. Quality control is honestly pretty poor these days.
 
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