Short answer, No. I bought my 617-6 with a 4" barrel five years ago. No problems with it at all. About a year or two later, I found out, on this site, that some of the barrels left the factory canted. I'd been shooting mine and never noticed it, but once I took a closer look, by Jove, mine was canted. About 1 or 2 degrees. Had no impact whatsoever on how it shot at the distances I shoot it. A non-issue for me. Ditto for the whole beat-to-death lock issue.

It is my favorite 22LR revolver, and the prime reason I sold my Ruger Single Ten.

My only tip is to put a piece of painter's tape on the cylinder when you're cleaning the chambers so you don't lose track of which have already been cleaned. Sounds silly, but when you put 10 holes in the cylinder, it is possible to forget where you started.

Other than that, buy it and have fun shooting it. I'm not very good with handguns, but the 617 makes me seem like I'm more accurate than I really am. The 617 is a great gun.