617 Trigger Pull Weight

Hello,

I purchased a new model 617 about a month ago. Having only owned/shot Smith CF revolvers, I was very disappointed with the trigger pull weights, both SA & DA, as it came from the factory. The DA pull was off the scale on my spring gauge, but estimated to be about 9 1/2#. The SA pull was 4 1/2#.

My CF Smith revolvers have DA pulls at 6.5# and SA at 2#, which I achieved thru polishing and reduced power MS and RS. Of course, at these weights, Federal primers are required.

When I tried a reduced power MS & RS on the 617, the trigger pull was sweet (DA about 7#), but ignition was only about 50%.

My question to you experienced gentlemen is: how light a DA trigger pull can be achieved on a 617 and still have "normal" reliability with most .22 RF ammo?

I have a Colt rimfire with a 2.25#SA and 7.5#DA pull that
fires reliably 5 different types of 22 all the time.The Colt
is the same action as a Python.Remington GB,Vipers,Winchester bulk,Federal bulk,and CCI Stingers Pete

All I could tell you is my range gunsmith recommended not touching the trigger pull on my 617. He said it's a touchy process with rimfire revolvers and the chance of light strikes was a high possibility. Mine is not that bad, and currently it fires each trigger pull; so I took his advice.

Rimfire cartridges require a heavier hit than do center firs cartridges and therefore you can't reliably "tune-up" a rimfire to the same extent as a CF revolver. You should however be able to reduce the single action pull by about a pound ( and DA pull as well ) and still have reliable ignition. To accomplish this I disassemble the revolver, clean and de-burr it, give it a VERY LIGHT smoothing with a very fine Arkansas stone IF and ONLY IF there are rough spots, LIGHTLY lube it and install a lighter rebound spring. You can slightly shorten the main spring strain screw but NOT to the same extent that you can on a CF revolver. By doing these simple things you will reduce your trigger pull and smooth out the gun. I would however suggest that before doing so you purchase a few new strain screws and reshape those and not your original should you ever want to restore it to spec.

Chief38

With the factory springs my 617 had a SA of 5.25 lbs. and a DA of 10.75 lbs.
I changed to a 13 lb. rebound spring and left the main spring alone and this is what I ended up with:
SA: 3.5 lbs/DA: 10.5 lbs.

Thank you, gentlemen for your information and help. Yesterday, I "polished" the rebound slide and frame contact area and installed a 13# rebound spring. Like snuf's, my SA went to 3.5#. DA is still heavy, estimated to be 9.5-10#.

Is dry firing harmful to this revolver? If not, should empties be placed in the cylinder when doing so?

Thanks again.

I use a Lyman Digital trigger gage because I never did figure out how to get a good consistent reading with a cheap spring gage.

Currently the DA pull on my 617 no dash is set to 9 lbs. 0 ounces and the SA bull is 2 lbs. 4 ounces. Reliability is 100% with Winchester Wildcat and Federal bulk so I've called it good. However, the SA trigger is lighter than what I like so at some point I'll sharpen the sear on the trigger. BTW, the rebound sping is a 14 lbs. spring and I've tuned the DA wieght by installing shims under the head of the strain screw.

As for the dry firing question, I always keep my fired casings specifically to use for dry fire testing. It's nearly univeral with rimfires that they not be dry fired without some method to protect the chamber(s) and not advised for any of S&W's rimfires.

scooter123 said:

Currently the DA pull on my 617 no dash is set to 9 lbs. 0 ounces and the SA bull is 2 lbs. 4 ounces. Reliability is 100% with Winchester Wildcat and Federal bulk so I've called it good.

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I want to know where to buy some of that 100% reliable rimfire ammo. Suspect quite a few others would too.

I'm cheap, so the ammo I use is either the Federal Bulk or Winchester Xpert HV. So far this summer I've shot 2 boxes of the Federal without one single misfire.

I started out with the 617 shooting the Winchester and still prefer it for precision shooting in my 617. However, early on and before tuning the trigger I found out that misfires with the 617 were caused by fouled chambers and the Winchester is a VERY foul shooting ammo. After about 50 rounds it would get difficult to insert fresh rounds, which then caused some rounds to stand slightly proud of fully seated. When that happened every single one would misfire on the first strike but fired every time the second time around.

Now when I shoot the Winchester I take a brush to the range to give the chambers a dry scrubbing at intervals. Fortunately, the Federal while not as accurate is a lot cleaner shooting, which has allowed me to hoard my remaining stock of the Winchester and shoot at least 150 rounds without any need to clean the chamber.

While I can't really prove it scientifically I believe that misfire issues with rimfire ammunition may be largely caused by fouling in the chamber. As for why, I've not ever had one single misfire with my 617 fresh from a cleaning. Also never had misfire issues with my Winchester 190 freshly cleaned but haven't shot the 190 in more than 30 years. However having read all the poor reports concerning Remington ammo I've never used it. Also haven't shot any CCI in many years because it's not sold in bulk and more expensive. Like many others I used to have problems with misfires back when I shot that 190 a lot. However, with the 617 it became pretty obvious that the chambers were getting fouled. Personally, I would suggest those having problems with misfires start paying attention to when it happens in regards to cleaning. Because we may be blaming the ammo for a problem that is actually due to fouling but it'll take a lot larger sampling size than I capable of shooting.

PS; I've actually been a bit surprized at how relieable that Federal Bulk has proven to be. Tip of a hat to Federal for making an excellent ammo at a real budget price, just wish my 617 was a bit more accurate shooting it.

<PS; I've actually been a bit surprized at how relieable that Federal Bulk has proven to be. Tip of a hat to Federal for making an excellent ammo at a real budget price, just wish my 617 was a bit more accurate shooting it.>

You might wish to spend a bit more and pick up a 325 bulk pack of Federal Auto Match. I have a K-22 that shoots this ammo very accurately. Plus, I very rarely get a bad primer with this ammo. That Federal 36gr. bulk pack ammo is notorious for bad primers. I use it for plinking outings with the youngsters. It provides them with cheap practice along with how to clear the weapon in the event of a misfire. As a general piece of advice, I recommend that shooters try various types of 40gr. lead cartridges, if they are looking for maximum accuracy in a 22LR handgun.

As to tuning 22 revolvers: You will be best served with a DA pull in the 8.5-9lb. range. This is heavier than what you can get get in a centerfire gun, but it has been clearly documented that you will get inconsistent ignition with rimfire ammo with too light a primer strike. This usually results in an opening up of groups on the target and vertical stringing is often a symptom. Bottom line: Go for a smoooooth DA pull on your 617 that is heavier than what you may be used to on a centerfire revolver. You will probably be rewarded with satisfying results on your target.

RetiredRod said:

Thank you, gentlemen for your information and help. Yesterday, I "polished" the rebound slide and frame contact area and installed a 13# rebound spring. Like snuf's, my SA went to 3.5#. DA is still heavy, estimated to be 9.5-10#.

Is dry firing harmful to this revolver? If not, should empties be placed in the cylinder when doing so?

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Do not dry fire.Empties or wall anchors-frequently turned.
Trigger pull seems to vary quite a bit from gun to gun.My 617 four inch is fairly heavy.A new version Model 18 is very nice.An older 617 six inch that went back for another issue, and I asked them to work on the action at the same time,is amazingly smooth.