I got to the range this morning, and put about 250 rounds through my newly re-barreled 617. The first group, pictured below, was shot at around 30 feet and was hitting a bit to the right. A quick adjustment, and she was good to go. For reference, the grey target area shown is about 4" across, and 6" high, I was shooting from a standing position, DA only. The second target is two groups at a distance of 50 feet, and as can be seen, the grouping opens up a little, but is still pretty good. The stray hole to the right was a result of not being totally ready when the hammer dropped, a result of my aiming technique, which is to aim, pull the trigger about half way back, and then check aim again before finishing the pull. This was the only round to unintentionally hit off target, every other shot stayed within a 3" grouping. As I have stated in other threads, I am no marksman by any stretch, and know some of you may be able to produce similar grouping out at 50 yards, however for me, with a gun that I have essentially never fired before, I consider it fantastic. I will submit that it is definitely not as smooth or quite as accurate in my hands as the model 17-9 it replaced, however after some more practice with it, she will be just fine. I am very happy with this 617.

As far as any other noticed attributes: I had a couple instances of cylinder binding that ended up being the result of crud under the extractor star, and once cleared, she was fine once again. Another thing worth mentioning, while awaiting the return of my 617 from service, I ordered a Speed Beez speed loader and loading block. With my model 17, and the older Dan Wesson model 22 I had previously, I used HKS speed loaders, and I have to say, the Speed Beez design really rocks compared to the HKS design. I really wish that they would make a loader like this for the six shot K frame 22s, I would definitely buy one once I get another 17 or 18 for my collection (if I do, it will be an older one, maybe even a K22 Outdoorsman). The only thing I noticed with the Speed loader though was that after inserting the rounds, I would have to run my thumb around and finish seating some of the rounds. This was after running around 100 rounds or so through the gun, and building up some fouling in the chambers however, something I have experienced with other guns. Out of the two brands of ammo I brought with me, it seemed the Winchester Super X had the most trouble seating in this condition. The CCI AR Tactical and Mini-Mags seemed to slide in easier. I was told by another shooter a few months ago that the Super X rounds were too tight of a fit into his 617's cylinder, now I wonder if anyone else has the same issue? I know that the fouling build-up is partially my fault, as I keep the chambers and barrel on all of my guns coated lightly with oil for storage, and this collects the fouling faster. As this gun is stainless, rather than blued steel, I am going to forgo the oil in the chambers from now on, hoping to reduce the amount of fouling building up.


Also on this trip, I brought along another new addition to my 22 family, a 1988 vintage, 4" tapered barrel Ruger MK II. I picked up this gun on the cheap last week, a surprise considering the usual pricing for any 22 pistol or rifle that is "Pre-Ban" (made before 1994, and can have a threaded barrel or be internally surpressed under state laws) here in CT. The bulk of the wear on this gun told me that it must be a great shooter, as the finish was nearly gone on the grip backstrap, and my intuition was correct. While producing slightly larger groups than the 617, she is still a great shooter with a very smooth action and an amazing trigger, dare I say maybe even better than my S&W Victory, but I digress...

All in all, it was a great morning at the range, and I very very happy with my new 617-6.

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