Model 617?

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I just picked up a nice used Model 617. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I'm sure I will like it. This is the newest S&W I have ever owned, most of my Smiths are much older, none have a lock.

Anyhoo, I was told the 617 is built on the L frame. Is this true? I grabbed an old M&P out of my cabinet to compare and the frames looked to me to be the same size. I have never owned an L frame, have bunches of Ks and Ns.

Anyway, is the 617 built on the L frame?

If so, how is it different than a K frame?

Thanks.

 

[Person]

The 617 is built on the K frame. The L frame is slightly larger than the K but not by much.

Later,

Person

 

[one eye joe]

The SAME grips fit K and/or L frames.

 

[ab4ka]

I love my 617. Accompanied by a Simply Rugged 120, two DS10 speedloaders and a couple of DS10 loading blocks it makes for lots of fun! Enjoy it

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Thanks. It was the dealer who said it was the L frame. I couldn't really see any difference between it and a K frame. I haven't compared it to my old Model 17 yet. Except that my 17 is blue and is a six shooter.

 

[ab4ka]

The cylinder on an L frame is a little fatter & the window in the frame for the cylinder is a little bigger (just enough so there's not a flat part on the forcing cone). I'd love to see an L frame 22...make it about a 12 shooter

 

[cowboy117]

I have a 617 4" 10 shooter with a lock and love it!I use only washed ammo[the cheap Federal bulk from Wally-World].I don't clean the barrel often[with Hoppes 9].I run a Boresnake thru it while still warm when i'm ready to leave the range.

 

[k22fan]

new K22

Hello Driftwood J.,

I prefer 6 shooter K22s because their DA feels more like centerfire S&Ws but that wouldn't matter at all to a SA man and you can never have too many varieties of K22s. Let us have a range report.

... I'd love to see an L frame 22...make it about a 12 shooter

Lets make that an N frame 15 shooter.

 

[stantheman86]

I have the latest version of the 617, the 617-7? IL, MIM and all, I love it to death! 6" 10 shot, I'm so glad Smith dropped the alloy cylinder on these.

I have a Leupold 2x M8 on it but plan to add a 1.5x-6x variable at some point, I just love shooting a .22 pistol with a higher powered optic at 15-20 yards, feels like I can place those rounds by hand I even had a 32x rifle scope on it for a time, a little awkward to shoot but man, was it precise

There is no end to the fun that can be had with a good .22 revolver.....I think I spent half my summer shooting my 617, only have had it for 4 months but I already have several thousand rounds through it.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

Thanks. I hope to try it out this week.

This one is a 617-6 SN CFZ40XX. Any ideas of when it was made?

 

[hsguy]

Driftwood, I think you will enjoy the 617. I too usually buy older Smiths and enjoyed shooting my my K22's but picked up a 4" 617 on a whim to limit the wear and tear on the older guns. I must admit I enjoy the 617 as much or more as the early guns, perhaps because I am not concerned with blue wear. I find it as accurate and smooth as the K22's. I would be interested in your impressions after you shoot it.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

Took the 617 to the range yesterday and took my Model 17 (1975 vintage) along for comparison. I did a little bit of sighting in work off of sandbags to start with. I was using cheap Federal bulk pack 22 Long Rifle hollow points. Brought along some CCI MiniMags but did not crack open the box. Wanted to see what I could do with cheap ammo.

I guess I'm prejudiced but I think the single action trigger of my old 17 is a teeny bit crisper. The double action of the 617 is way heavier than on the 17. But I haven't gone inside yet to do any smoothing or loosened the strain screw at all yet. I suspect it can set off rimfires with considerably less force than the main spring is set for.

As far as accuracy is concerned, I sure can't complain. I could not distinguish any real difference in accuracy between the two. Then I adjusted the elevation of the 617 for a six o'clock hold at 25 yards, the distance I need for our 22 plate shoots, and the reason I bought it in the first place. I need to get off 8 aimed shots in 15 seconds. Can't do that with a six shooter.

Again, as far as accuracy was concerned at 25 yards, the 617 did just as well as the 17. But I was able to score more offhand hits on a tiny swinging plate with the 17 than with the 617. I attribute this to the slightly smoother 17 action. And perhaps all that weight up forward with that crazy full lug barrel is making me wobble a bit with the 617.

Still like the 17 better, but can't get off 8 shots in 15 seconds with it. I'll see if I can smooth it out a little bit and maybe do a little bit better in the future.

Oh, one other thing. I guess I'm just a traditionalist, but I like the old fashioned cylinder release latch shape much better than the new streamlined shape. More to grab with the old shape.

 

[au2183]

Enjoy it! It's a very nice gun. I prefer the balance of my 17's with a 6" barrel so I sold my 617. I may go for a 4" at some point though, although I have a model 18 that I really like that shoots better than any of my 17's in my hands. YMMV

 

[hastings]

I picked up a new 617 10rnd 4", yesterday. I put about 150 rounds thru it this morning, and I felt like I was a kid again, shooting cans with my father. Even with Velocitor ammo the muzzle barely rises, and both the double and single action trigger pull feels superb. With 10 rounds of whatever 22 ammo I could find in it, It was impossible to miss the 8oz water bottles I was shooting at. With a 10rnd capacity, this thing makes the Ruger 22 semiauto seem like a total waste of time. I guess I feel that way since I'm not a semi-auto guy, but every Ruger Mk II or Mk III I've owned has jambed at least once every 15-20 shots, and all of them seemed finicky about what ammo I fed them. I tried subsonic, subsonic flat-point, shorts, winchester wildcats, CCI Velocitors, and some stingers, and they all shot great, grouped nicely, and were pretty close to the same poi with the same sight adjustment.

A farmer I know has a 800yard long by 275 yard wide field he lets us shoot in. It's just a half mile from where I work. With an hour lunch break available, I plan on shooting 100-200 rounds two or three days a week to tune up my double action shooting skills.

Some guns look great, some shoot great, and some are really practical. The 617 10rnd 4" seems to have all three bases covered. No wonder they are so difficult to find in stock anywhere. A 4" 686 is pretty close for sheer fun and accuracy, but even 38special is to pricey to shoot a several hundred rounds a week consistently (at least on my salary).

What type of scope or red-dot scope would anyone recommend with one of these? I like the iron sights, but with a optical sight and almost no recoil I could slay herds of squirrel as fast as I could pull the trigger. I'd love to see an N-frame 22magnum with a 13-15 rnd cylinder. The ratchet teeth might get to close together, but a high capacity 22mag revolver with a 4" full lug barrel would be a really fun gun.

Hastings

 

[Gerald D]

I've had a 6" 617 for a couple of years with no lock and the aluminum cylinder, shoots great and always has. Picked up a 4" with internal lock this week and expect it to be just as good.