So I took it to the range this morning, and I will rate its accuracy as decent considering the bulge. Below are two targets: the first was shot single action at 50 feet, from a standing position, no rest. The second was double action at 50 feet, again free standing, no rest. The single action break is nice and smooth in this gun, as I would expect from any of my S&Ws, the double action is good, but is a bit heavier than my 17-9. Someone had loosened the strain screw to try to lighten it at some point, however the gun was light striking set up that loose. The DA pull is just something I will need to adjust to, and practice with...
Some of you have pointed out that many stores sell guns as is and all sales final, and that I should have been more careful in my prepurchase inspection. I did thoroughly inspect the gun, the bore's fouling hid the bulge when I looked it over, and again, I have never seen a 22LR revolver with a bulged barrel before, so I wasn't particularly looking hard for one anyway. This dealer in particular offers a safety and function garentee for 10 days, during which they will fix or take the gun back. Most of the local dealers do this as well, and none have ever contested a return like this before, in the very few instances that I have asked to do so. I am very accustomed to buying used guns, I'd say 95% if the firearms I own were bought used, the only brand new gun that comes to mind that I have purchased recently was an M&P 15-22, and only because used examples are not available in my area. Nearly every rimfire gun I have bought came thoroughly filthy, but I usually find a decent gun underneath, the 17-9 I mentioned above, for example, came to me caked with so much lead that the forcing come appeared to have grown in diameter. The previous owner tried to hide the fouling by coloring it over with a Sharpie or bluing pen, and after about 2 hours of careful cleaning, the gun looked practically brand new. I am leary of certain brands, Taurus for example, that are popular with new and inexperinced shooters, as I have had other problem guns, one 22 revolver appearing to have had its chambers reamed with a drill bit, and again hidden beneath fouling, however at least in my area, the 617 is not considered an entry-level gun, and finds most of its following amongst competition shooters or at the very least, shooters of a higher experience level, rather than first time buyers.
That said, I counter the argument that a previous owner may not have known the barrel was bulged: If you have ever experienced this condition occurring, you'd know it right away. Even if you did not notice right away, you would certainly notice when your cleaning rod doesn't fit all the way through the barrel due to an obstruction. The gun was dirty when I bought it, but not to the point where I would suspect that the previous owner didn't bother to ever clean it. It had maybe 1000 rounds worth of fouling on it, and, as there were no bullets stuck in the barrel, somebody also had to go through the process of removing them. I would not expect to find a bulge like this if the pressure from the second round had pushed both bullets out of the gun, so the likelyhood of the barrel being obstructed is pretty good. Also, knowing the retailer, they are at least smart enough to check every incoming firearm for barrel or chamber obstructions, so I suspect that it was clear when they took it in, else they wouldn't have taken it.
Feel however you want about my situation, at this point, I probably will work with S&W on barrel replacement and just keep the gun. From now on I will insist on pushing a patch through the barrel of every gun, so I can feel for any problems not easily visible.
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