Model 317

Man-o-man.....all this conversation got me so heated-up....I just went out and pumped 40-rounds through some Miller Lite (empty of course) beer cans with mine. If a Miller Lite attacks me.....it is going to be plum full of holes from 25-feet on in.

Hey....has anybody talked about how light it is?:D:D:D
 
Cyrano said:
My 317-2 arrived today. I picked it up at 1 PM and by 3 I was on the range, notwithstanding it was 95º out there. I put about 75 rounds through it and the little gun worked just fine.

The hammer spring evidentally came from the suspension of an M1 Abrams tank; I'm about to order a lighter spring from Woolf and a lighter rebound spring also. I saved my brass and am dry firing the little thing to smooth it out a little. I'm up to 300 cycles and will probably quit at about 500. By then, it should be as smooth as it's going to get. When my Woolf springs come in, I'll take her down, clean everything and lube lightly. That with the lighter springs should make it easier to shoot.

I had no trouble keeping my shots on a B 34 silhouette target at 25 yds single action. DA was something else. Bulk pack 22s shot just fine. I haven't patterned any shot shells yet.

Now if they just made it in the 638 configuration!!

I like the groove and pin lanyard attachment in the butt. I guess you can wear it around your neck. But what's the purpose of that long , deep, wide groove up the backstrap? I even went to the length of reading the instruction manual but there was no mention of it. It was wearing a hole in my hand when I put as tight a grip on it as I could for DA firing. I may just fill that in with something.

I cabn't tell if the barrel has a liner or if that's just the crowning. Anybody know?John: great pic. I like the grips, who made them? I may have to get an Ahrends for mine. Is that red paint or a red plastic sight insert on the front sight? I find that matte aluminum or stainless doesn't show up well against anything; I may try some red or white nail polish on mine.
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Weight reduction. Look under the trigger guard and you will also see a lightening grove as well. One of the problems with single action is the body guard trigger. Changing it out with a lady smith trigger would give better geometry for cocking. The barrel is the thin steel tube surrounded by an aluminum schroud-again for weight reduction. The thing weighs less than 10oz empty.
 
Is a Ladysmith trigger a drop-in operation? I still remember the problems I encountered trying to put a target trigger and target hammer in a Highway Patrolman; that's NOT a drop-in installation. I'm not eager to go through that again.
 
The Model 317 has even more lightening cuts than I realized. With the sideplate off, I see a lot of metal has been removed from the grip frame, compared to my Model 638. And there are two areas in the frame where metal has been removed from stress-free areas to lighten it. Also the sideplate has been almost skeletonzied on the inside. No wonder this thing is so light. 'Good on ya' S&W.
 
I plan to pick-up a model 63 cylinder just to have in case. The model 63 SS cylinder will more-or-less drop-in and remove any concerns about the aluminum cylinder for those that are bugged by that. S&W confirmed the fit and told me that I would have to send the gun home to have it fitted for proper end-shake, but I don't think so. The end-shake can be adjusted with shims made for that purpose.
 
I am just starting to coyotes around here. Once or twice a year in my city. I would be concerned about a .22lr a enough to stop one of them. But I don't know much about ballistics. Currently I wal my 90# American Bull Terrier and they go the other direction. But she is getting old and the coyotes are getting braver, and I don't always have her with me.

Is .22lr really adequate for the task?
 
opr1945 said:
I am just starting to coyotes around here. Once or twice a year in my city. I would be concerned about a .22lr a enough to stop one of them. But I don't know much about ballistics. Currently I wal my 90# American Bull Terrier and they go the other direction. But she is getting old and the coyotes are getting braver, and I don't always have her with me.

Is .22lr really adequate for the task?
Click to expand...

I guess you could always use it to shoot your pit bull if it attacks you.
 
Well, I don't know much about coyotes (but based upon their apparence compared to my dog) if it is not an effective round against the coyote I am going to guess it is going to be less effective against my dog.

At least with reference to my dog, I feel a lot less threatened by her than the coyotes who are gobbling up the occasional neighborhood pet.
 
More than likely, the coyote will run away if you start shooting at it anyway. If it's rabid or viscous, it will take more than a gut-shot to stop it.
 
I bought my M-317 in April, 1997, when they first hit town. My ex has earrings that weigh more than this gun does. It cost me $323.86 including Brady fee and about a 6.75% sales tax. I think one is safe in describing these guns as "Light."

I bought a M-317-1 with the 3 inch barrel and adjustable sights in August, 1998. I should have kept that one, although at 11.0 ounces it dragged my pants down more than the 9.9 ounces of the shorter, older gun.

In fact, the serial numbers of the early 317's have the letter prefix as LGT, to emphasize that these guns are light. Mine is LGT7963.

I think S&W wanted us to know that these guns are light.

People I show these to sometimes have a hard time believing that these are real guns, not plastic toys.
 
One of mine is around 2500 numbers ahead of yours....LGT5XXX. I have two of them in case I loose one. A group of local city LEO's meet-up at a convenience store not too far from where I live each morning. I go into town around 6:30 am to pick-up a paper and always chat a while with them. They all know that I carry and I just happened to have the 317 in my pocket the other morning and one of them asked me where my gun was because he could not see the grip sticking out of my back pocket. I reached in and pulled the 317 out, which turned into a 30-minute discussion and pass-around among all the LEO's to debate whether it was real or not. These little buggers have been on the market for years, but these guys had never seen or heard of one.
 
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does this gun come in 22 magnum? is there a different model that is 22 magnum?

Model 351PD!
 
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This discussion really makes me want one of these. But I just checked and it looks like they retail between $550 and $600. Yikes!

Rob
 
No 22 MAG in the 317. Yes...YIKES on the price. I am lucky enough to have a friend that gets my guns at wholesale for me and adds no transfer fee or shipping cost from his dealer. I get mine for around 65% list.
 
317target.jpg

I haven't posted this picture for a while but it does clarify what the 317 is capable of doing as far as accuracy goes. There are seven .22 rounds through the same hole in the one inch target dot. The gun was fired two hand unsupported at a distance of 45 feet.
This gun was originally owned by forum member Alan_Frame and he did some minor gunsmithing to it. He was also present when I shot this target.
My first 317 was a 2" no lock model. I didn't like the trigger or balance of the gun and I traded it after a few months.
Mark
 
Model 317 and CCI ammo

I picked up my 317 today and took it straight to the range. I'm happy with it. Seemed like there was some initial timing issues. Starting to smooth out after about 100 rounds.
CCI ammo locks up cylinder after two rounds fired. No problems with Winchester bulk .22 or old box of Expediter ammo. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
I have heard of one shooter that "ruffed-up" the extreme rear of the chambers with a brass-bristle brush. I suppose this would be done to make the brass grab the bore and stay-put.

I have two 317's and they have never failed to shoot anything I feed them. Maybe just put some shooting time on it and see how it goes. There are many other 317 shooters here on the forum that have reported no issues with CCI ammo.

If it were me...I would not do anything but contact Smith if the problem persist.
 
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