New 617-6 problems?

[Wholey45colt]

Just purchased the new 10 shot 22.. first range trip i was shooting thunderbolt and cci stingers After first 100- 150 shots i cleaned her... had multiple lead slivers come out and i mean large.... gun shot horrible 15 and 25yards.. couldnt put 2 rounds together and i was braced for my shots... but at 50 yards shooting4 or5" steel i was hitting..so do I worry about this slivering of lead and yes i did shoot this about 800 rounds that day... cleaned ok.. but accuracy was bad would be scared to hunt with this gun.
Cylinder has a slight rotation in full lock up.. some shells i have to push into cylinder because they wont seat completly... also had a few miss fires. And 2 or3 times cylinder locked up completely... is this normal or warent a return trip to smith and wesson.
Thanks for any replies and i tried finding reports but most seemed to have been on used guns.

 

[MajorD]

Tight chambers ( rounds needing a push to go into cylinder) typical for a S&W.
Excess leading with thunderbolt ( some of the lowest quality .22 ammo ever made) not a surprise.
Use a quality standard velocity ammo like cci standard or European ammo like sk eley or lapua or even cci mini mags and see what happens. Stingers are also well known for marginal at best accuracy

 

[MajorD]

If rounds are not fully seated in chambers can cause misfires as well.

 

[joe44va]

Mine got substantially better, both from an accuracy standpoint and leading, after a brick or two. Try Federal standard velocity stuff.

 

[brucev]

Just a suggestion. Try CCI Mini-Mags. This ammo has consistently given me excellent results in a variety of .22 LR handguns. In my S&W M-18 it has been particularly good. Also carry a cleaning rod with a .22 LR phosphor bronze cleaning brush. Between 50 or 100 rd. boxes, brush out the chambers and bore. HTH. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[The Norseman]

Copper not just for pipes anymore.

Congratulations on your new S&W Model 617 22lr Revolver.

I suggest you use only a Copper Wash 22lr; CCI, Federal, or
even Winchester.

Federal Bulk Box 22lr works the best for me. My 617 will take
several Cylinders full before they become sticky on extraction.

I always carry several Q-tips. Just quick swab out the Charge
Holes residue when necessary. I also keep the Charge Holes
as dry as possible; no oil in them.

I have two 6-shots; 4" and 6" barrels.

Thanks for Sharing and the Best to you.

 

[MWC2068]

One other thing I have found with mine is that with a lot of rapid fire, 50 to 100 rounds the gun will heat up and the gap between the cylinder and forcing cone was quite tight and would want to bind up. That only happened a few times but after polishing the cylinder chambers and the face of the cylinder I haven't had that happen since. This heat up may have been the reason that your cylinder locked up a few times. Just saying that is what I experienced.

 

[The Norseman]

617s Forever

Welcome to the Forum too.

Hope all is helpful to you.

 

[.38SuperMan]

I have several Smith 22's including a 4" 617. I've had the same issue with Thunderbolts. It startled me when I cleaned it after shooting Thunderbolts when slivers of lead dropped out the front of the barrel. This is the nastiest ammunition I've ever shot. I tried it in my model 34-1 and it fouled so badly the cylinder locked up. The same happened with my wife's 317. Also it leaves deposits in the chambers and will make it difficult to seat a cartridge just like you've experienced. I found it's ok in my Henry carbine so I'll finish the last two cartons in it.

I've since been using Federal bulk from Walmart and had no problems at all. Matter of fact I've not had any issues with any copper plated rounds.