Looking for information on the .22 model 617 10 round 6"

[.460V & XVR Magnum Man]

Looking for feedback on anyone who has shot or has a model 617, looking at possibly making it my next S&W purchase. I was leaning towards the 10 round cylinder. Looks like a nice clean little gun to use when I need to rest my hands from the big guns. Thanks

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

My next door neighbor has a 10 shot 6" 617. It is very accurate! It has the typical nice S&W trigger, and doesn't give him any problems, ever. I have shot it quite a bit, and while it isn't as accurate as my 17-3, it shoots darn well with almost anything we shoot in it.

 

[.460V & XVR Magnum Man]

Thanks I heard it was pretty accurate and the from what I read the weight helps. Someone told me it was built on the .357 frame so it would probably last forever.

 

[Acrobat]

The 617 10 shooter is a great little gun.

I even shot mine in a USPSA practice match this past Sunday thanks to a set of DS-10-Speed loaders -- DS-10-SPEED

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Thanks I heard it was pretty accurate and the from what I read the weight helps. Someone told me it was built on the .357 frame so it would probably last forever.

They are built on the K frame, and yes for a .22, they are built for stout.

 

[valkyriekl]

They're built on the K-frame for which .357 Magnum is about the upper-limit of what they can handle, so the little .22s are like nothing to them. My two 617s have 33,000+ rounds between them in the past three years of ownership (17K in the past year alone). They're good, solid guns, and very accurate--I use my 617-4 for Conventional Pistol/Bullseye.

 

[Dale53]

I have a Model 617 (ten shot) and have been happy with it.

All .22 rimfires are ammo sensitive. It pays to try a number of different brands to see which shoots best in YOUR revolver.

Dale53

 

[jkc]

More fun for the cost of ownership and operation than any gun you'll ever own, I'll bet. Without giving it much thought, I bought a 4", out of long habit, but, wish I'd bought a 6" for the longer sight radius, as I have yet to actually carry the .22 anywhere...

 

[Jazman]

I have a 4" 10 shot, love it. Great gun and great fun.

 

[4TenMan]

i have a 6'' 10 shot and i always loved the ruger mkII till i got my 617 2 weeks ago i shot 600 rounds through it the first day and had no problems at all its the best 22lr out there.

 

[Stainz]

My longtime .22 handgun was a MKII - sold to help defray my new 4" 10X 617's cost a year ago. It was current stock - resplendent with it's MIM parts and IL. I have a deep regret concerning it - why did I wait so long to get one? Seriously, what a fun revolver! I don't miss the MKII a bit - probably having shot more rounds through the 617 in the last year than I did in the MKII, a Govt Comp slab-sided model I had scoped, in it's ten years of ownership. The 617 was a great buy.

Stainz

 

[stevieboy]

I have a 617-1 4" made back in '93. No telling how many rounds went through that gun before I bought it but I've put about a million -- well, maybe 1/2 million -- through it since then. The gun functions as well as the day I bought it, which is to say, flawlessly. It's dead on accurate and the trigger is as smooth as on any gun I own. It's my "go to" gun for trips to the range and I'd guess I do about 50% of my shooting with it. It handles any and all .22 lr ammo. Performance is very good with the cheap Walmart Federal .22s and much better than that with some of the more expensive brands. I've never fired match grade ammo with it because, even with the cheap stuff, it's more accurate than I can ever be. Best firearms purchase I ever made, hands down.

 

[TSQUARED]

Looking for feedback on anyone who has shot or has a model 617, looking at possibly making it my next S&W purchase. I was leaning towards the 10 round cylinder. Looks like a nice clean little gun to use when I need to rest my hands from the big guns. Thanks

Craig,
I shoot an older 6 inch K-22 and finally decided to purchase one of the 10 shot Model 617's. I opted for the 4 inch barrel since the 6 in. barrel with the full underlug was a bit too muzzle heavy for my taste. I use the DS10SPEED spedloades with my 10 shot 617 and it is very enjoyable to shoot.
Tony

 

[.460V & XVR Magnum Man]

I guess I know what my next S&W purchase is going to be!!!!!

Thanks for all the great imput on the little 617. Now I have got to find one, they are not in stock at Bud's so I will look around and see who might have one. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[MTKTM]

I have a 617 10-shot 6" that I bought about a year ago. Love it. I did replace the ugly rubber grips, cannot understand why S&W is putting that ugly stuff on most of their guns these days. Hate 'em, I tell you!!! But the gun is great, very accurate and gets nicer and smoother the more I use it.

 

[S&W-Keeper]

I don't know about the 10 rounder, but I have a first model 4",and 6" in 6 shot. I like them a lot."

 

[stevieboy]

MTKTM, I'm with you on the ugly grips. Totally unnecessary, in my opinion, on a gun like the 617. Gotta admit, however, those ugly Hogues are a true hand-saver on a gun like the 629.

 

[gopher44]

I have the 6 inch 10 shot and I love it, very accurate and fun to shoot!!

 

[Wee Hooker]

I've got one in my stable. 6" 617, 10 shot. Mine has has significant work done to it ( porting, 2# Sa trigger, bead blast, etc) by it's former owner who wanted to shoot gallery pistol course with it.
What I like:
-Like all 17's/617's it's very accurate
- 10 shot capacity makes it easier to compete in games set up around 10 shot strings (a la semi auto)

What I'm not in love with:
- A little nose heavy due to the full 6" lug. Not unbearable but not as well balanced as my 4" 617 or 6" 17-2.
- "Feel of action". The 10 shot version has a short stroke vs the traditional 6 shot version. Six shot just seems smoother and "right" to this old revolver shooter.
- very limited availability/ functionality of speedloaders. speedloaders for .22 J/K frames are cheap and easy to find . ( Note; they don't work as well as a larger cal speed loader though. I find J frame .22 speed loaders actually seem to work better on my K framed 617.) 10 shot loaders exist but are expensive and exaggerate the problems of the 6 shot.

hth
-

 

[valkyriekl]

I think the 10-shot speedloader (the DS-10-SPEED) is about the best thing since sliced bread...though I think it's the $5 loading block that really shines: I can load 40 shots on that block, and since the speedloader is loaded just by pressing the body of the loader onto the rounds, reloading the speedloader is quick and easy, and faster than loading the HKS speedloaders. One DS-10-SPEED and a loading block is something like $35.

Of course, if the game you're interested in requires you to have the speedloaders on a belt, then the loading block won't work out so well...but I don't find that to be much different (or less expensive!) than having a couple magazines in your pockets, either.

You could do that, too--single load the .22 rounds from, say, a Ruger Mk. II/III magazine, and use the Ultimate Clip Loader to load the magazines really quickly. I've done it in Bullseye competition, and with practice it isn't too much slower than using the DS-10-SPEED loader.

Either way is much faster than single-loading by hand, though.