I picked up a 617-6 a couple of years ago and started using it in my club's monthly rimfire steel matches. The action has been lightly worked over and it's a great shooter, but the factory finger-groove grips are just too short (front-to-back) for me. If I get the web of my hand high on the...
Mine's a 6-inch 17-3 dating from 1972. This was a "trust me" GunBroker find for which I have no regrets! I used this for a monthly rimfire steel match until the minimum round count was increased to more than 5 for most stages. A real shooter's delight.