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08-06-2012, 09:50 PM
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617 for the Ladies Out There- Help
My wife wants a new .22LR Revolver but hates what she calls the small/short grips on the R*ger LCR. She was all set to go on the SP101 in .22 but I felt one today and the grips seem small. I held the 617 and it was a magical experience. I know the rule of thumb is to always let the woman hold the gun before you buy it, but I am getting a really good deal on one and am away from home at the moment so its almost a gotta buy it or not tomorrow situation. She's about 5'6" smaller framed woman but love the feel of a large grip on a gun (no jokes please!). Any ladies out there or any of you with wives/girlfriends that shoot the 617? How's the grip for them? Are they able to manipulate the hammer without completely removing their hands from the gun?
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08-06-2012, 10:10 PM
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My daughter-in-law, who incidentally has fairly small hands, has a 617 with the factory rubber hogue grips and she does quite well with it. She has never complained about the grips.
If you are getting a good deal on the 617, and it has a 4" barrel, I would just buy it. You can probably turn around and sell it for the same money if the wife doesn't like it, or better yet you can keep it for yourself. The reason I mention the 4" barrel is the muzzle heavy feel of the 6" version. I'm a fairly big guy, and I sold off my 6" 617 because I didn't like the muzzle heavy feel.
One nice thing about S&W revolvers is the huge selection of aftermarket grips out there. So if the wife doesn't like the factory grips you can always try something else. You can buy some here on the forum and resell if they don't meet the wife's approval. Keep trying different grips until you find something she likes.
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08-06-2012, 10:28 PM
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Correction, wife called me with the wrong model number. She is looking at the Model 63.
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08-07-2012, 12:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wantmoresmiths
My daughter-in-law, who incidentally has fairly small hands, has a 617 with the factory rubber hogue grips and she does quite well with it. She has never complained about the grips.
If you are getting a good deal on the 617, and it has a 4" barrel, I would just buy it. You can probably turn around and sell it for the same money if the wife doesn't like it, or better yet you can keep it for yourself. The reason I mention the 4" barrel is the muzzle heavy feel of the 6" version. I'm a fairly big guy, and I sold off my 6" 617 because I didn't like the muzzle heavy feel.
One nice thing about S&W revolvers is the huge selection of aftermarket grips out there. So if the wife doesn't like the factory grips you can always try something else. You can buy some here on the forum and resell if they don't meet the wife's approval. Keep trying different grips until you find something she likes.
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THIS IS EXCELLENT ADVICE. I CONCUR.....
__________________
'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.
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08-07-2012, 07:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoghunter
Correction, wife called me with the wrong model number. She is looking at the Model 63.
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My wife (5-0) and youngest daughter (5-4) both have separately bought 5" Model 63's with no input from me or each other. They do not like my 617.
I believe that the ladies prefer the Model 63 over the 617 because of the lighter weight and the fact that the balance point is more to the rear because of the non-lugged barrel. The wife owns both a Model 28 with Magna grips and a M&P9C, so there has to be more to it than just the grip size. The daughter also owns a M&P9C.
Buy the 617 for yourself and the 63 for your wife. You simply will not win if your wife prefers the 63 and you buy her a 617.
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08-07-2012, 07:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoghunter
Correction, wife called me with the wrong model number. She is looking at the Model 63.
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If she is looking at the Model 63 and it fits her hand, you have no problem at all! By all means, buy it. My niece is learning to shoot under my tutelage, and she is only about 5 foot nothing. She likes the J-frame guns and handles her Model 30-1 with aplomb. Your wife might even want some of the larger grips that are available for it like the smooth, finger groove combats or even the target style grips, or as others have said, there are many, many aftermarket grips available (for the J-frame as well.) And if she doesn't like it, you can always sell it to me for my niece to shoot!
Froggie
PS That Model 617 is basically a stainless steel Model 17 and should handle well for her with Magna type grips, but most of them have a full underlug 6" barrel which, as has been mentioned, feels nose heavy to many folks.
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08-07-2012, 08:16 AM
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Here are my 3" & 5" 63s and my 4" 617. My wife, 5'10", likes the smooth grips, Ahrends oil-finished cocobolo non-fg retro targets, of the 617, but the size of the 3" 63. She has a Walther/S&W 22 bottom feeder a late friend gave her that she prefers over the revolver (She has the only bottom feeders in the house - also has a Seecamp .32 & LE PPK/s.). Her 'house gun' is a 2" 10-11 I fitted to her hand Hogue rounded fg goncalo alves monogrips to, loaded with +P 158gr LHPSWCs. She loves shooting it - it's the grips!
The 63s above sport the '60 Pro' grips, which I like. Find a dealer with a 3" 60 Pro in stock and test the feel - a current 3" 63 sporting them will feel the same - the 5", discontinued now for several years, will feel a tad nose heavy. The 3" 63 came with the HiViz front sight - the 5" 63 (and 617) did not. The 3" 63 is a nicely balanced package - even with rubber grips. Both 63s are 8-shooters. Here is that 2" 10 with her grip, as well as my bedside protector, a PC627 UDR, which she hates due to the grip!
Yeah, they have to like the firearm to want to use it. They also have to feel 'right' in their hands - women just aren't as adaptable here as men. You'll enjoy that 3" 63!
Stainz
Last edited by Stainz; 08-07-2012 at 08:19 AM.
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08-07-2012, 05:48 PM
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TP will be a bit different in the 22 J-Frame, but it sounds like she is a "shooter" and it likely won't matter. My wife loves to shoot the 617, but the smaller frame 22's give her some TP issues. I have had to tame the TP on the small frame 22's for her benefit.
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08-08-2012, 04:58 PM
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My wife will shoot my 617 but it is heavy and she won't shoot it for very long. She will shoot the 63 that I got and she claimed, until the ammo runs out. Ammo gets expensive. .....use your better judgement....
I have Ahrend retro combats on my 617 and some pink Hogues on the 63. She has no trouble with the 617 and my wife has small hands. The only thing that bothers her is the weight.
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