617 experience and question

[95XL883]

I rented a 617 last night and fed it 100 rounds of 30 year old Winchester Wildcats. It seemed to like the ammo and I was a little more accurate with it than my old H&R 686. The sights were stock. I'm thinking a little white or gold paint on the flat of the front site would really help siting, at least the chalk I used sure brought it out. It was a good gun.

My question concerns how the filthy condition of the gun affected its operation. It was so filthy that the ejector rod was erratic to operate. Some times it was smooth and a couple of times it was so tight I thought I wasn't going to be able to eject the spent brass. The trigger, in DA, was sometimes smooth and sometimes very gritty. To me it felt like the cylinder was hanging up in rotation. When I tried to spin the cylinder, it was sluggish, a couple of rotations and it would stop. In comparison, the cylinder on my 60, just spins and spins and spins before it finally slows down and stops, but I'm pretty good about keeping the 60 very clean. The trigger, in SA, was very light and crisp. While I prefer to shoot DA, I really liked the lightness of it in SA mode. It really was a good gun but it was very dirty.

My guess is a good and thorough cleaning would result in a much easier, more enjoyable and more accurate gun. Anybody had an experience with this situation? Thanks in advance.

 

[scooter123]

I'm surprized that you managed to get 100 rounds of the Winchester Wildcat through it. Usually just 60 to 70 rounds of this ammo are enough that I have difficulty just loading the cylinder because of the fouling. It and the Xpert HV are the dirtiest shooting 22LR I've shot in my 617. It's also the most accurate ammo I've tried to date, so I'll tolerate the crud if I'm shooting for accuracy. However, I'll also take a brush to scrub the cylinder every 50 rounds. Getting the gun spotless usually runs about 2 hours but I'll admit to liking it looking brand new when clean.

Good news is that the Federal bulk is a lot cleaner shooting, after 100 rounds the fresh loads slide right into the cylinder. Downside is that it's not as accurate as the Winchester.

Basically, what you've seen is IMO totally normal.

 

[Chubbs103]

I have a 17-2 that shoots the Winchester Xperts very well. I second the statement that they are about the dirtiest things you can shoot through it. Federal bulk groups are about 3 times as large.

CCI Mini-mags solve all problems for me. Of course they are more expensive.

Chubbs

 

[TSQUARED]

In general 22 RF ammo is notoriously dirty and some specific loadsare extremely dirty. I use the SV Wolf or SKJagd ammo for accuarcy and the Federal coper plated HV HP bulk pack ammo for plinking.

 

[cptdco]

"I rented a 617 last night." The range where I shoot has a host of rental guns and maybe they get cleaned on some regular schedule but when they come back off the range they go on the rack until the next person rents them. So there is your 100 rounds and perhaps many others since a good cleaning. For what its worth, I know the folks at my range would be happy to address the issue if you pointed it out to them. Hopefully the staff where you shoot is the same. I recently bought a no-dash 617 4-inch and although I have a 17, an 18, and a Model 41, the 617 has quickly become a favorite shooter. The most I think I've done in one session is 200 rounds and I had no problems but as others have pointed out, .22 ammunition is dirty so having a piece of rag or a patch or two and a toothbrush to clean under the extractor star is a good plan.

 

[Wee Hooker]

all the more reason to buy your own. Then you can give that 617 the TLC it deserves!

 

[Snowwolfe]

Since you rented the revolver not sure why you would even be concerned.
Next time tell the range you want a clean revolver,

 

[95XL883]

Sorry that I didn't make clear that I'm looking to buy another 22 revolver and the 617 is high on my list so I rented one.

What I'm trying to figure out is if the gritty trigger and ejector rods problems are really a dirt problem. My old 22 never got as dirty as that rental 617 was before I even started. And even after many rounds my old 22 never exhibited the grittiness or ejector problems of the rental 617. My guess is they hadn't cleaned it for quite some time and the lack of cleaning was really hurting the operation of the gun, but I don't have enough experience to know.

I think that is what I'm hearing in the answers, that a dirty gun isn't going to shoot as smoothly or as well a clean one.

I should have said something to them about it or if I really want to test my guess, I should go and clean their gun for them and try it again.

I may be picking up a used 617 next week. I am just trying to thing ahead as to what I'm going to do if the for sale gun exhibits the same grittiness as the rental gun.