I posted earlier about my 617 I purchased new on June 18 misfiring in DA mode. Got it back in 10 days! That's very good. The paperwork I got back with it stated: Replaced Mainspring and repaired yoke. How does a screwed up yoke leave the factory in the first place? Anyway, I shot 100 rounds of bulk Federal ammo through it today. Shot #62 was a misfire, but it was the only one. I'm going to shoot 100 rounds of Winchester ammo through it in the morning. Maybe it will be 100%. I guess a 1% failure rate (today) is better than about 8% failure rate. (before I sent it to S&W) I don't plan on using this revolver for self defense, and maybe I can find a load that's 100%. Maybe my expectations are too high for a 22 revolver. I'll post the Winchester results Saturday.

Good luck on that. On my wish list is an 8 3/8", 617. I'd like to think the 617 line is a great revolver.

Sometimes you just get a round that won't go off the 1st time. Thats just the nature of 22s.

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May God Bless The USA

I generally have at least a few misfires per box with the .22 bulk ammo, Federal, Winchester, Remington, take your pick. Many of those rounds don't fire a second time around either.

If you want something that is reliable you are better off buying a non bulk ammo like CCI Minimags. They cost more, $6-7 per $100 but tend to have less misfires.

I've noticed that the bulk packed ammo sold today is no where near as reliable as the same stuff sold 10-15 years ago.

+1`

I shoot a lot of the bulk ammo and it really is hit and miss these days. I try to keep a few boxes of good quality 22's around so if I think I am having problem I try it before assuming my gun is the problem. It is usually the ammo.

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SC Army National Guard

I've never used Federal bulk but have shot lots of the boxed American Eagle. My 617's do well with it and so far no misfires.

Thanks for the replies men. I guess nowadays a 1% misfire rate using bulk 22 ammo aint bad. I couldn't put up with that with a centerfire revolver. It's 5:00 a.m. and I'm getting the 617 ready to go try the Winchester bulk ammo. I'll post a range report later today.

Shooting Winchester Bulk 22 ammo, shot #14 misfired. I thought, here we go again! But, the remaining 86 went bang. I guess I can live with a 1% failure rate since I won't be using it for self defense. Of course, it could be that bulk ammo.

In addition to a light mainspring, you could have had a little excess headspace, which would exaserbate the problems with the light spring. The excess headspace could be cured by fixing the yoke.

I think the bulk stuff these days is junk. I expect a couple of misfires in any gun when using this stuff. I got a box of Federal bulk and had a bunch of squibs. Good thing I had a cleaning rod to pop the bullets out of the barrel. I finally gave up on that box and threw the rest away.

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Tom

Is your Federal the 40grain or 36?

I used the 36 grain Champion bulk pack.

I think you should really try a box or two of good quality ammo to make yourself feel better about your new revolver. I know I would

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SC Army National Guard

+100

I like Federal ammo, but the bulk packed stuff at Wally World is really poor for reliablity, and accuracy. I have one or two .22 rifles that will shoot it fairly well at 50 yards, but I get a lot of misfires with it compared to the Federal ammo I grew up on, especially in handguns.

I've never had a misfire in my 617. Must be all that clean living.

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Northwest Ohio

I've been using remington thunderbolt in my 617 and no misfires so far after about 700 rounds. not sure how remington compares to those mentioned, but you might try it if you can find it.

In recent testing in about 5 different .22's, both hangun and rifle, Remington Cyclones blew the doors off almost everything else except for match ammo. I was really suprised, and glad because I have a bunch of it. The shooting wa done at 50 yards with the rifles, and 50 ft. and 25 yards with the pistols.

I bought my 4" 617 new 9/08 and promptly replaced the OEM leaf with a Wolff full power - and had 3+% ftfs. Simply stated, the current strain screw intrudes into the Wolff's hollow rib, lessening the pre-load. A spent primer cup over the screw's end increased the pre-load a bit too much, but ) ftfs. I went with an allen headed .5" SS set screw - from Home Depot - $.56/2. I adjusted it to where the leaf was near it's proper setting - and test fired, then, if ftfs were detected, it was screwed in 1/4 turn and retried. When no more ftfs - it was turned in a last 1/4 turn, and a toothpick tip of blue Loctite secured it. I shoot both the el-cheapo bulk Feds (550 for $13.47) and the 'better' Fed bulk pack 'Auto Match' - 325/$14.47. No ftfs!! Great trigger, too (13# trigger return spring installed, too.). I got this from the RimfireCentral.com S&W sub-forum - great fix.

The 617 is fun - if it isn't, fix it/get it fixed - it should be fun, not aggravation. It should work with any .22 ammo - it's not a Ruger MKII where you have to find the 'right' ammo - it should love the cheap stuff!

Stainz

I've found that MOST failure to fire's comes from poor priming distribution. By turning the case in the cylinder, the bullet invariably fires. It is NOT the gun's fault.

Precisely why my 617 isn't my primary bear gun. When I pull the trigger, I want a bang!

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Forum consigliere

It seems to me, they are saying there was damage and they repaired it.
They never said it left the factory with problems.

This leaves the impression someone damaged the gun (you?).

Did someone flip the cylinder in, Hollywood style? Maybe at the gunshop before you bought it?


Acceptable ammo failure rate?

0%! If it has failures I won't buy anymore of that particular brand.

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A real sucker for the J-frames

O.K., I close all of my revolvers "Hollywood style", don't you? That's so cool! NO I don't. If it was done like that at the gunshop that I got it at, it was done in a 30 minute time frame. They called me as soon as it arrived, and I went to get it. As far as misfires, it seems, from information I have received and observed, that a 22 is more prone to a misfire than a centerfire. If one of my centerfire handguns were to misfire, if it couldn't be repaired, I would probably get rid of it. I did notice that when I rotated the rim of the misfired 22 rounds, and the round shot on the second strike, that the two indentions on the rim were basically the same. If the round was struck with the same amount of force the second time and it fired, how can that be a problem with the gun? What do you think Smith & Wesson is going to say if I want to return the 617 again since it has misfired 2 times in the last 200 rounds? They will probably tell me to try more brands of ammo, which I intend to do. Maybe the "Bulk ammo" is perfect and I got a *** revolver from S&W. It will eventually get worked out.

My fiance gave me a used 617-6 4" last Christmas.
Whomsoever had it before me knew what they were doing. POA @ 25 yds.

Anyway, after 3 bricks of Fed. Champions, not one FTF.
This after my having installed a Wolff 11lb. return spring which I do on all my "shootin' " Smiths.

If I could offer up: Is there a possibility of yours having a mis-shapen firing pin?

I've been following this thread and I keep scratching my albeit uneducated noggin.

Good luck . I'm sure Smith will make her to be as nature intended.

A couple of years ago I bought a 4" 617-1 at a show. It had a wonderful trigger, the best of any revolver I owned at the time. It also gave me approximately one FTF every 6th or 8th round. After living with that for a while I installed a mainspring that was just slightly heavier than the original. Problem solved. The gun still has a great trigger but the marginally extra energy (and slightly heavier trigger pull) was all it took to produce total reliability.

stevieboy, my FTF rate wasn't that high (every 6th or 8th) when I returned it to S&W. It's 1 out of 100 since I got it back. I would like for it to be 100% and I might find some ammo that is. I'm going to give it a little time with various brands of ammo. If the FTF's continue, I'll contact S&W again. If that doesn't work, I will probably try another mainspring.

I shot it double action today with Remington "Golden" bullets. 100 rounds..... 100%! Someone mentioned using Winchester Super-X. I've got 2-50 round boxes to try next time out.

Exactly. My experience too.

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David Wilson

I guess this case is closed. Took the 617 out this morning. I ran 100 rounds of Winchester Super-X through it Double Action only. NO MISFIRES! The Remington Golden Bullets were 100% yesterday and I shot more accurate with them. I guess I'll go to Wally world and stock up on the Rem's. I'm wondering if the 2 misfires I had when I got the 617 back from S&W happened because that new mainspring hadn't quite settled in yet? Who knows? All I know it's 100% now in DA mode. (It was 100% in SA mode before I sent it to S&W)