This afternoon, my 617-6 was returned to me. Some of you may recall reading my tale about a month ago, detailing my misadventures with a used 617-6 purchased from the local Cabela's retail store, and a S&W sales rep. Well, I can now share how the situation was resolved:

After spending some time on the phone with Smith and Wesson Customer Service on the Monday following my purchase, I was issued a shipping label, and a promise to look into the situation. Upon receipt of the gun later that week, the gun underwent inspection, where my initial diagnosis of a bulged barrel was confirmed. Further, when contacted back by CS the following week, they agreed to replace the barrel, on the grounds that their sales rep stepped way out of line when he decided to play gunsmith after he inserted himself into a situation that he had no business being involved in from the beginning.

So, after a particularly intriguing return journey with FedEx, where after pickup from S&W, began and ended its trip at my local distribution center (I live only about 30 mi from S&W ), with a side excursion to Memphis, TN to be "sorted", my 617 came back to me with a shiny new barrel. The repair work appears to be top notch, though the barrel's finish is a little more matte than the frame (Any thoughts on the best way to polish it up to match the rest of the frame is greatly appreciated, but I will probably leave it as is for now...), otherwise no complaints here, and I am very appreciative of the quick and professional service I received. Smith and Wesson earned my business for life, and now their products make up the majority of the handguns I own presently, with the recent trade of my Glock 17 for a 5" M&P 9 Pro.

Anyway, I will post a range report tomorrow...

Good to know. Get some Flitz polish and go over the gun lightly and a little heavier on the barrel to blend it in.

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Mike, AmVets Member, Navy Vet

It's good to know your problem has been resolved. Thanks for posting the update.

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

A happy ending with a 617. Who could ask for more.

ps. A little elbow grease with Mother Mag Polish will make both the frame and barrel equally shiny. Then if you want it dull again, dark grey ScotchBrite pads will get you a pretty uniform dulled finish. ( A search here will get you details on the process.)

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Dave

If it shoots as good as mine you will be pleased.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

The thing with FEDEX is not unusual. Memphis is their main US distribution hub. As long as your package arrives at the proscribed time, then no harm, no foul. The finish on your 617 can be evened out with scotchbrite pads.

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NRA Benefactor

Great update. Kudo's to S&W for stepping up and following through, as well as making the repair correct the first time. Hope you enjoy your 617 as much as my family and I do ours.

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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