My dad passed his 17-3 down to me today he bought the gun new in the 70s still has the box it came in the cleaning rod and papers this one has a 6 inch barrel as a kid i was a great shot with this gun . I can think of several rabbits and and partridge I shot with this gun. Oh the bill of sale is in the box also 187.50

Welcome to the forum. A 17-3, especially one passed down by your Dad, is a special revolver. You should be able to pass it down one day in the hopefully distant future. Enjoy!

By the way, we need a picture.

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Georgia On My Mind

Glad he passed it to you and for you to pass on to yours. That is a special revolver!

Still have my Dads model 12 and way pre 64 94. One goes to each of my daughters. They ain't pretty but are my most prized long arms.

One if not the best .22's to ever leave the factory IMO. Have a primo and a shooter, both-3's and both extremely accurate. Have taken many rabbits, ground hogs, squirells, ptarmigans and two cotton mouths with the revolver. They will keep up or outshoot my model 41, which is a true target pistol.

Your Dad did you right and hope the 17 stays in the family as I'm sure your Dad's thinking the same.

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V/R
Roger / SG

That's a keeper and one you should enjoy and continue to pass down to the next generation.

Welcome from Jonesboro, GA. Nice bit of history on that 17. Glad to have you on board!

The S&W Model's 17 & 18 are just about the best .22's that the Company has EVER produced (IMHO). The fact that you got it from your Dad is a bonus, - ENJOY IT and keep it cleaned and oiled.

Chief38

A thoughtful father indeed. Keeping such cherished items in the family is a beoming a lost tradition unfortunately. You can't find a better .22lr revolver. If he paid a little under $200 over 30yrs ago for a 17-3 inflation only approximately doubles that amount in todays dollars so you can see how valuable they are today.

If I may add my congratulations here, I hope you treasure this heirloom. I do not, however, see an NRA Membership flag on your identification line. If you really want to insure that you will be able to keep it, and pass it on in the distant future, please consider membership

I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but IMO it's a keeper even without it being your dads.

If you want a lot of fun take it to the range with a brick (550 round bulk pack) of 22 LR ammo to the range and shoot it until you are either bored or run out of ammo. By the way the Federal ammo runs much cleaner then the Remington and has a lot less fail to fire rounds in the box.

You just can't usally have this much fun for less then $20 bucks anywhere especially if you have Kids or Grandkids to take with you and to teach them to shoot. You may just become addicted to S&W 22 LR revolvers.

I have the same experience with Federal 550rd bulk packs (Copper plated HP's) that are sold at Walmart. They seem to be the cleanest and most reliable 22's I can shoot and are reasonably accurate versus other brands. A great value in my book.....

IC