1917 WWI junk?

[willy]

I have a S&W 1917 made in 1917..I. Outdoor not get it to shoot any size group at 25 yards,,Most groups looked more like shotgun patterns,,
I had full keyhole strikes,,Even at 10 yards you could see the ballet starting to keyhole. Tried jacked bullets,,hard cast lead in weights from 185 grain to 255 grain,,Could not get anything to shoot even half way decent,,So I pulled it out the other day after over letting it sit in back of the safe for over 10 years,,I slugged the barrel ,,it was .450..Then I checked the cylinder mouths,,amd they measured .457 !!!!!! There is no erosion they still look as good as new,,Told a friend about it and he has a 1917 converted from .455 to 45 colt,,Amd his chamber mouths measured .457 .
So I was wondering if S&W produced ( good enough) guns during war time production,,,or if all 1917 guns have these over size chamber mouths,,Also was wondering if the 1937 Brazilian guns were any better.
I would appreciate any info others have on the 1917.

 

[steelslaver]

Oversized cylinder throats are pretty common in older 45s both acp and colt. Your barrel does seam overly tight. Is there a restriction right as it passes through the frame and the rest of it normal?

I don't think the military was to concerned about them shooting groups at 25 yards. But, the commercial and Brazilians I own shoot alright. Not great, but about 4" at 25 yards if I do my part.

 

[Greyman50]

My 1917 Smith shot just fine, never had any issues. Remember shooting it at 50-75 yards few times and was good at those ranges. Guess some were not to good. My Colt was ok too but preferred the Smith, just looked better.

 

[22hipower]

The 1917 is an effective weapon for the application for which it was designed; close combat. It wasn't intended to be a precision weapon at extended range. I'm a lot younger than those 1917s. . . .but probably not holding up nearly as well as most of them. Enjoy them for what they are; a piece of history you can hold in your hand and still have fun with at the range.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Hondo44]

Then I checked the cylinder mouths,,amd they measured .457 !!!!!! There is no erosion they still look as good as new,,Told a friend about it and he has a 1917 converted from .455 to 45 colt,,Amd his chamber mouths measured .457 .

Your friend doesn't have a 1917. He has a ".455 Hand Ejector - 2nd Model" British Service Revolver, not a 1917. I suspect you may have as well.

Is the caliber marked on the left side of your barrel?

If it is, does it read .45 Cal. or .455?

The if it's .455 it might be crossed out and read 45 AR or 45 ACP?

 

[Muley Gil]

willy, what does the rifling look like in your revolver? Even new, it was very shallow.

 

[gordonrick]

My beat up old Brazilian shoots fine, even with the corrosion in the barrel.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

I hope that you can sort your accuracy issue out. I've been shooting both the Colt and S&W 1917 revolvers for many years now. I've always enjoyed good accuracy with cast bullets sized to .452" and also .454."

Regarding your question on the Brazilian 1917s, I've had good success with them for accuracy. Here is my current Brazilian 1917 at 20 yards, DA from the Weaver stance using commercial cast bullets sized at .452."

 

[willy]

Your friend doesn't have a 1917. He has a ".455 Hand Ejector - 2nd Model" British Service Revolver, not a 1917. I suspect you may have as well.

Is the caliber marked on the left side of your barrel?

If it is, does it read .45 Cal. or .455?

The if it's .455 it might be crossed out and read 45 AR or 45 ACP?

You're right ,,my friend does have a second model hand ejector,,But my 1917 was original 45acp,,even had the government marking under the barrel that was what looks like was sanded down but still visible,,And a shabby rebuke.

 

[willy]

willy, what does the rifling look like in your revolver? Even new, it was very shallow.

Rifling looks good ,,pretty shallow compared to my other N frames but clean

 

[willy]

I hope that you can sort your accuracy issue out. I've been shooting both the Colt and S&W 1917 revolvers for many years now. I've always enjoyed good accuracy with cast bullets sized to .452" and also .454."

Regarding your question on the Brazilian 1917s, I've had good success with them for accuracy. Here is my current Brazilian 1917 at 20 yards, DA from the Weaver stance using commercial cast bullets sized at .452."

Very nice group,,and a (great group) being double action,,I have given up on the 1917 in 45 acp and have a 44 special barrel and cylinder from 1924 that is going to be installed on my 1917.

 

[MG34/bar]

When I first started shooting 1917 revolvers I was told that they shot better with lead bullets, and that they would "last forever" with the use of that bullet. I found personally that all of mine did better with original FMJ ball ammo. I will never shoot any of them enough to wear one out.

 

[Birdhunter6]

Mine likes my 180 grain plated flat point reloads. 6 rounds in 1 big ragged hole double action at 10 yards. Mid range charge of 231.

It has the nicest double action trigger I've ever encountered on an N frame.

 

[Green Frog]

Very nice group,,and a (great group) being double action,,I have given up on the 1917 in 45 acp and have a 44 special barrel and cylinder from 1924 that is going to be installed on my 1917.

That sounds like a great solution to your problem. Unless the 1917 were in excellent or better condition or had some significant historical provenance, I'd be doing the exact same thing. The hard part is done… you've found the barrel and cylinder and have what sounds like an appropriate donor. Can you do the work yourself or will you send it out?

Froggie

 

[DWalt]

When I first started shooting 1917 revolvers I was told that they shot better with lead bullets, and that they would "last forever" with the use of that bullet. I found personally that all of mine did better with original FMJ ball ammo. I will never shoot any of them enough to wear one out.

I have also found that GI hardball seems to group better than my lead bullet handloads. But I have not performed any thorough testing to confirm that.

 

[willy]

That sounds like a great solution to your problem. Unless the 1917 were in excellent or better condition or had some significant historical provenance, I'd be doing the exact same thing. The hard part is done… you've found the barrel and cylinder and have what sounds like an appropriate donor. Can you do the work yourself or will you send it out?

Froggie

Yes ,,I'll be doing the work,,I have converted 4 model 28 from 357 to 44 mag and One to 45 colt,, also rebarreled a bunch of Uberti revolvers with colt SAA barrels..I'm no gunsmith,,,more of a parts replacer,,only had to work on the timing on one conversion,and that wasn't hard,

 

[minconrevo]

Pistols with skinny rifling often do better with jacketed bullets. Ones with wide rifling are usually better with lead.

 

[wbraswell]

My experience with 1917s and a 25-2 was they all shot ball ammo better than my lead handloads

 

[pdcrig]

Yes ,,I'll be doing the work,,I have converted 4 model 28 from 357 to 44 mag and One to 45 colt,, also rebarreled a bunch of Uberti revolvers with colt SAA barrels..I'm no gunsmith,,,more of a parts replacer,,only had to work on the timing on one conversion,and that wasn't hard,

This sounds like a way cool project. I'd love to do this. Keep us posted on this endeavor. Make a new thread on it maybe?

 

[Pisgah]

My 1917s are not target guns, but they both show a clear preference for the ammo they were designed to use -- standard 230 gr. hardball .45 ACP. I've tried numerous lead bullet reloads -- some acceptable, some lousy, none beating the hardball.