model 17-3 accuracy

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mod15

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I got a model 17-3 .22 6" barrel. Single action pull is 3 lb. and very nice. Double action pull is 14 lb. and not that smooth. What would expect double action pull to be for this revover?
What group size would you expect at 15, 25 yards (off sandbag rest) single action?
I will be shooting it soon and hope to get good results.
I will probably work on double action pull to get it smoother, Maybe carefully hone the sear or sear ledge. Has anyone smoothed out their double action pull on a mod 17?

Thanks Much for any input.
 
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I don't know about home gunsmithing just yet, shoot it some more first.

I have best luck in that model with 40gr lead ammo. Eley brand (low end stuff) in my 17's shoot well. Believe it or not the old Winchester Wildcat is good in it too.

GF
 
Grouping should be good and tight shooting the way you describe. My 617 is the most accurate handgun I've ever shot.

-S
 
40 gr. Standard Velocity of a quality brand should work the best. I've been told CCI does well. I have good luck with Fiocchi 320 M or 320 SM. I would expect it to shoot under 2" at 25 yards off a sand bag rest.
 
22s all seem to be individuals. Its your job to figure out what brand/style of ammo shoots best in it. Just because something works fine in one gun is no guarantee it will work well in the next one. Try different brands until you find one that works in your gun. Ignore others recommendations until you prove the ammo in your very own gun.

Action smoothness can play a huge role in accuracy. You can do your test firing in single action mode. I'm not seeing any reason for accuracy to vary between single and double action based on ammo.

Some problems, and particularly with very heavy double action pulls is pretty common. With many K frame sized guns, a Wolf spring kit can make a world of difference. Just make sure your hammer fall is sufficient to ignite the cartridges every time. Federal ammo has a very good reputation for having sensitive priming compound. Other brands seem to require more hammer fall to get the reliable ignition.

The Wolf kit does require some skill to install. And you probably won't get it right the first try. The kit includes a mainspring and several rebound slide springs. Almost everyone tries the lightest spring for that purpose that is supplied. Then when the gun fails to cycle back, they step up to the next size.
 
Try many brands of ammo, I have lots of different brands that only get used to do one group with a 22. When I find one that works well I buy a brick for that gun. Both of my K-22's prefer Ely but both will get a brick of their 2nd best group. One shoots Federal target almost as well and the other shoots remington target almost as well. I also keep a 22 brush on a short rod to clean the chambers and bore while shooting or the chambers seem to tighten up when loading.
 
mod15 said:
I got a model 17-3 .22 6" barrel. Single action pull is 3 lb. and very nice. Double action pull is 14 lb. and not that smooth. What would expect double action pull to be for this revover?
What group size would you expect at 15, 25 yards (off sandbag rest) single action?
I will be shooting it soon and hope to get good results.
I will probably work on double action pull to get it smoother, Maybe carefully hone the sear or sear ledge. Has anyone smoothed out their double action pull on a mod 17?

Thanks Much for any input.
Click to expand...
I smoothed mine up. It didn't help that much. Just firing it DA a lot will probably do the same thing. You can back off the mainspring but then you might have ignition trouble. A lot of the DA pull weight comes from the rebound spring. Don't know why it is so strong.
 
Your reported disparity in trigger pulls would indicate to me that someone has fiddled with the SA sear. Normally, in a stock K frame the DA pull should be in the range of 10-12 lbs and the SA pull about 4 lbs. One big problem that your goind to face is that if you reduce the DA pull on your model 17, the SA pull may drop to below 1 lbs. I would suggest that you have a gunsmith who is very well versed with the S&W do the tuning on your gun. I suspect that the SA sear will have to be adjusted to increase the weight of pull so it's more in balance with the DA pull weight.

I put a 12 lbs. rebound spring in my 617 and it took the DA pull down to about 8.5 lbs and the SA pull to under 2 lbs., which is light enough that I've become very attentive to my trigger finger. Even so, I've had 2 flyers due to my bringing the finger to the trigger a bit too heavily. At some point I'll prabably put in a 13 lbs. rebound spring just to increase the SA pull to about 2.5 lbs., to be honest it's currently light enough that I'm just a bit uncomfortable with it even though it won't "push off".

As for groups, with my 617 I've managed to shoot 24 rounds into a 2 inch well centered group at 100 feet from a sandbag rest in single action. This was with Winchester Xpert HV from Walmart, about the cheapest 22LR you can find. I would expect that you could expect the same results or better if you take the time to find an ammunition that shoots well in your model 17. As for me, when I have the time, I plan on experimenting with different ammos but it's difficult to find target specific 22LR in my area.
 
Hi,

My 1958ish K-22 will group into 1 1/4 inches with Winchester standard .22 hollow points.

My 1983 M17-4 will group into 2 1/4 inches with CCI Minimags, either solid or hollow point.

My 1953ish K-22 Combat Masterpiece will group into 2 1/2 inches with Federal Lightning and Winchester standard copper-clad ammo.

My 1970-something M34-1 with 2 inch barrel will group into 3 1/4 with Federal Lightning.

My wife's M63 with a 4 inch barrel will group into 2 1/2 inches with Federal Auto Match.

All groups shot at 25 yards from a sandbag rest for five shots.

Good luck.
 
Thanks to youall for Great information! Any other input by others is also welcomed.
I think I'll try polishing the rebound slide and maybe the da sear (a little) per the Kunhausen shop manual. But as some of you pointed out I dont want to screw up the single action, as right now its about perfect. I probably wouldnt shoot it much in double action anyway but the 14 lbs. seemed awful heavy for the mod 17.If my polishing helps smooth it out some, I'll leave it alone. I cant wait to group it off sandbags and see just how tight a group I can get. I will compare it to youall's groups and see if its in the ballpark. I am going to try several types of 22 shells. Ill let you know how it turns out.
 
You don't want to stone the sear/trigger on the smith. Just smooth up the recoil slide and the area it bears against. Lighten the mainspring and recoil spring all you want, but don't mess with the sear.... or you might be buying a new hammer & trigger.


Charlie
 
I have a 4 screw Model 17.

From a Ransom rest at 50 yards, it gives about 3.5-4" groups at 50 yards with cheap Federal copper clad bulk pack .22 high velocity stuff.

Remington standard velocity was better.

Some of the other .22 standard velocity stuff was terrible at 50 yards.

I think you really have to experiment with .22s to see what they like. Don't assume the cheaper stuff if bad or the expensive stuff is good.
 
"I think you really have to experiment with .22s to see what they like. Don't assume the cheaper stuff if bad or the expensive stuff is good."

SmithSwede is dead on. I have never found the "target" ammo to be able to outshoot the standard and cheap stuff. I will admit to having never shot eley.

I think with the groups posted on my guns I do not have to worry.
 
There is a significant difference between a rimfire K-frame and a centerfire K-frame. While the centerfire will usually work positively with a lightened hammer spring, the rimfires get spotty.

I found that a wide, smooth trigger works wonders without influencing reliability.
 
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