alukban
Member
I like it.
Hi guys,
I had posted this on another forum a couple of days ago (hoodswoods.net) but I thought you guys might like it here...
PS. The grips on it are banana grips that came with the 34-1 which I chopped.
>-----------------------------
I had been eyeballing the S&W Model 317 with 3" barrel for carry in the woods. I like having a lot of OOOMPH for general defense but I do prefer rimfires for plinking, pests and hunting small game. I usually end up carrying both and feel kinda silly. The bigger gun is usually easily accessible with my right hand and the fun gun has more time to be pulled out with my left.
I have a Model 34-1 already and it is a compact beaut. I actually held a 317 a couple of weekends ago and it felt like it weighed about as heavy as a fully loaded Glock magazine - even w/ the cylinders full of ammo. I could put it in a t-shirt chest pocket and it does not weigh down the t-shirt. I think I could wear this thing in a neck holster. It has 8 shots, weighs less than 13 oz and has very easily visible green Hiviz sights with a v-notch rear. My 34's sights were terrible. I had bottomed out the rear sight adjustment and had coerced it with a file to get POA=POI. Even with that work on the 34, the front sight ramp is very dificult to see against the dark forest floor - bunnies hiding in the shadows of thickets. The 317's sights make the 34's look invisible in comparison. I reasoned that the slightly longer barrel would probably help the .22 LR's retain a little bit more velocity for more effectiveness on target. I wished there was more written up about this gun bet there is not. The best write up I had read was on gunblast.com but I felt like it was not enough for me to unbolt my wallet and let the credit card see daylight. With this post, I plan on fixing that by filling in with what I thought is missing.
I took one home and shot the snot out of it.
It seems to shoot within over 85% of advertised ammo velocities, or about 100 fps more than the 34 can squeeze out. That's A LOT. The loads that were accurate in my sample were Aguila SSS (w/ NO TUMBLING!), CCI CB Shorts, Federal "550 Bulk Pack" and Remington Thunderbolt. It jammed with Wolf Match Targets because, I believe, the rims are too thick. I know it's the ammo and not the gun because I cleaned it, shot, and it jammed again. It runs all the other ammo fine even when extremely dirty. Looking at the gun more closely and contrasting it against the Model 34, I found many "custom" touches which just amazes me beacuse they are on this little, unassuming rimfire revolver. The cylinders have the "black powder chamfer" which helps the thing turn through rimfire crud built up on the top strap. The hammer is narrow and relieved for easy carrying and weight. It digs does not dig into my mid section's food blister when tucked in to the waist band in Mexican carry unlike the 34's target width hammer. The rear sight's adjustable blade is already rounded! I had to round my 34's blade with a file to stop it from eating the inside of a full coverage cow hide pancake holster. My own hide appreciates it too! The other neat thing with short barreled rimfires is that the bore and cylinder holes can be cleaned with a Q-tip: disposable, combustible, multi-use.
The bottom of the trigger guard and the grip's back strap is relieved with a clean groove for weight savings and, get this... it has a lanyard loop/pin built into the frame! From what I have read, the internal lockwork is also relieved all over the place for weight reduction. The ejector rod length is prefect and empties clear when you eject with gusto. Empties were getting stuck less than with the 34 (though I have indents on my cylinder face/cylinder hole from dry firing like an idiot). The trigger is smooth faced and much more comfortable than the 34.
Because it has 8 shots, the double action timing is slightly different. It is BETTER because the entire stroke is shorter. This thing can shoot FAST with the shorter stroke trigger (60 degrees for a sixshooter, 51 for a 7-shot and only 45 for an 8-shot). To me, it is very easy to shoot accurately in double action. I found the pull much lighter out of the box than the 34 and the single action pull is crisp. That's the thing with this revolver. It is sized perfectly for an 8 shot rimfire. K frames are silky smooth and light. You cannot make a centerfire J frame silky smooth and light because the frame is smaller and the entire mechanics of the levering in the lockwork is simply shorter and the timing for 5 shots still makes for a long stroke. The rimfire round allows the J frame to be an 8 shot and makes the lockwork more proportional to the size of the frame! It is still not as smooth and light as a K frame can be but it is much, much better.
With more practice and the correct ammo (Remington Thunderbolts would be my choice right now), I believe I can shoot this gun standing to within 1.5" per 10 yards for all cylinders out to 25 yards. The sight combination is not as precise as a Patridge and square notch but I think it is doable. (Besides, what good it precise if I can't see the front sight in actual game hunting conditions?) I bottomed out the vertical adjustment of the rear sight to get POA=POI at 12 yards using a sight picture where the top of the green Hiviz ball is flush with the top of the rear v-notch blade. For my eyes and length of arms with a standing two hand isoceles hold, this actually nestles the bottom of that green ball in the V-notch perfectly. This is how I test practical accuracy in my hands. I would be more than willing to body shot a rabbit at 20 yards with this revolver. The green Hiviz ball is like using an illuminated green dot optic in the woods - as simply as I can describe it. It is cheating and I plan to cheat all that I can. Even at that, it's still open sights and compact. That is positive upon positive to me. This weekend, while crawling on my hands and knees, barefoot, in a grassy field wearing just my cap and swim trucks with the 317 tucked into the drawstring waistband, musing in my head about the cool breeze on my back, a young Tom poked it's head above the grass not 15 feet in front me. THIS is the supreme advantage of this gun. It will be ON YOU no matter what.
Enjoy the pics
Hi guys,
I had posted this on another forum a couple of days ago (hoodswoods.net) but I thought you guys might like it here...
PS. The grips on it are banana grips that came with the 34-1 which I chopped.
>-----------------------------
I had been eyeballing the S&W Model 317 with 3" barrel for carry in the woods. I like having a lot of OOOMPH for general defense but I do prefer rimfires for plinking, pests and hunting small game. I usually end up carrying both and feel kinda silly. The bigger gun is usually easily accessible with my right hand and the fun gun has more time to be pulled out with my left.
I have a Model 34-1 already and it is a compact beaut. I actually held a 317 a couple of weekends ago and it felt like it weighed about as heavy as a fully loaded Glock magazine - even w/ the cylinders full of ammo. I could put it in a t-shirt chest pocket and it does not weigh down the t-shirt. I think I could wear this thing in a neck holster. It has 8 shots, weighs less than 13 oz and has very easily visible green Hiviz sights with a v-notch rear. My 34's sights were terrible. I had bottomed out the rear sight adjustment and had coerced it with a file to get POA=POI. Even with that work on the 34, the front sight ramp is very dificult to see against the dark forest floor - bunnies hiding in the shadows of thickets. The 317's sights make the 34's look invisible in comparison. I reasoned that the slightly longer barrel would probably help the .22 LR's retain a little bit more velocity for more effectiveness on target. I wished there was more written up about this gun bet there is not. The best write up I had read was on gunblast.com but I felt like it was not enough for me to unbolt my wallet and let the credit card see daylight. With this post, I plan on fixing that by filling in with what I thought is missing.
I took one home and shot the snot out of it.
It seems to shoot within over 85% of advertised ammo velocities, or about 100 fps more than the 34 can squeeze out. That's A LOT. The loads that were accurate in my sample were Aguila SSS (w/ NO TUMBLING!), CCI CB Shorts, Federal "550 Bulk Pack" and Remington Thunderbolt. It jammed with Wolf Match Targets because, I believe, the rims are too thick. I know it's the ammo and not the gun because I cleaned it, shot, and it jammed again. It runs all the other ammo fine even when extremely dirty. Looking at the gun more closely and contrasting it against the Model 34, I found many "custom" touches which just amazes me beacuse they are on this little, unassuming rimfire revolver. The cylinders have the "black powder chamfer" which helps the thing turn through rimfire crud built up on the top strap. The hammer is narrow and relieved for easy carrying and weight. It digs does not dig into my mid section's food blister when tucked in to the waist band in Mexican carry unlike the 34's target width hammer. The rear sight's adjustable blade is already rounded! I had to round my 34's blade with a file to stop it from eating the inside of a full coverage cow hide pancake holster. My own hide appreciates it too! The other neat thing with short barreled rimfires is that the bore and cylinder holes can be cleaned with a Q-tip: disposable, combustible, multi-use.
The bottom of the trigger guard and the grip's back strap is relieved with a clean groove for weight savings and, get this... it has a lanyard loop/pin built into the frame! From what I have read, the internal lockwork is also relieved all over the place for weight reduction. The ejector rod length is prefect and empties clear when you eject with gusto. Empties were getting stuck less than with the 34 (though I have indents on my cylinder face/cylinder hole from dry firing like an idiot). The trigger is smooth faced and much more comfortable than the 34.
Because it has 8 shots, the double action timing is slightly different. It is BETTER because the entire stroke is shorter. This thing can shoot FAST with the shorter stroke trigger (60 degrees for a sixshooter, 51 for a 7-shot and only 45 for an 8-shot). To me, it is very easy to shoot accurately in double action. I found the pull much lighter out of the box than the 34 and the single action pull is crisp. That's the thing with this revolver. It is sized perfectly for an 8 shot rimfire. K frames are silky smooth and light. You cannot make a centerfire J frame silky smooth and light because the frame is smaller and the entire mechanics of the levering in the lockwork is simply shorter and the timing for 5 shots still makes for a long stroke. The rimfire round allows the J frame to be an 8 shot and makes the lockwork more proportional to the size of the frame! It is still not as smooth and light as a K frame can be but it is much, much better.
With more practice and the correct ammo (Remington Thunderbolts would be my choice right now), I believe I can shoot this gun standing to within 1.5" per 10 yards for all cylinders out to 25 yards. The sight combination is not as precise as a Patridge and square notch but I think it is doable. (Besides, what good it precise if I can't see the front sight in actual game hunting conditions?) I bottomed out the vertical adjustment of the rear sight to get POA=POI at 12 yards using a sight picture where the top of the green Hiviz ball is flush with the top of the rear v-notch blade. For my eyes and length of arms with a standing two hand isoceles hold, this actually nestles the bottom of that green ball in the V-notch perfectly. This is how I test practical accuracy in my hands. I would be more than willing to body shot a rabbit at 20 yards with this revolver. The green Hiviz ball is like using an illuminated green dot optic in the woods - as simply as I can describe it. It is cheating and I plan to cheat all that I can. Even at that, it's still open sights and compact. That is positive upon positive to me. This weekend, while crawling on my hands and knees, barefoot, in a grassy field wearing just my cap and swim trucks with the 317 tucked into the drawstring waistband, musing in my head about the cool breeze on my back, a young Tom poked it's head above the grass not 15 feet in front me. THIS is the supreme advantage of this gun. It will be ON YOU no matter what.
Enjoy the pics
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