You guys are truly the best! Mountains of information in concise formats--love this forum. So some pivot points I took away: They are very different beasts and actually the model 1950 .45 cal target might be a closer "match" to the 1917---correct me here is I'm wrong did that 1950 morph into the Model 22 in 45 ACP. I keep asking about the 45 ACP because at least they would share the same cartridge used in the venerable WW 1917s---I'm actually also chasing an actual 1917 but fear that budget constraints will net me just a "marginal" quality example that I'd likely be unconfident in shooting. Hence, my interest in a "modern" version that was as close a cousin to the 1917. Again, it sounds like the model 1950 might be far closer with the Model 22 even farther away and the 25-2 as truly far away from the "original".
This all was triggered by watching the movie FURY and me thinking: "I've got a pile of K frames, and even a 27 and an L but that revolver on the screen looks very interesting (turns out it was a 1917)---This truly is an addiction, but a great one.