New 617 (disappointing quality)

[Wee Hooker]

Now go shooting!

Dave,

What company's grips are on your 6" 617? They really look great. How well do they feel? Have you had them for some time?

Lon C.[/QUOTE]


Lon, those are grips of Thai manufacture purchased from thebay. Manufacturer was ReddKultt as I recall. I've got two identical sets . Both purchased in the last couple of years. ( They still sell them though.) One set is on a 6" 686 and another on this 6" 617. I find the larger square butt profile helps me to better control pointing of these muzzle heavy revolvers. Fit and finish on both sets were very good ( especially considering the sub $50 price tag.) The laser etched S&W logo is kind of cool too.
FWIW, I have a round butt set from the same maker. Nice grips but they don't give me the leverage of the larger SB grip.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

 

[prairieviper]

My 617-6, 6 inch, is my second favorite range gun (Victory is first). The only problem with my 617 occurred right out of the box with light hits causing failures to fire. I sent it to S&W and got in back in twelve days. S&W replaced the firing pin and strain screw.

 

[misswired]

After deburring the extractor, solving the self inflicted light strikes problem..... the new 617 came with the standard, no extra charge canted barrel with an exaggerated front sight blade cant. Probably needs the cylinder reamed as some ammo brands are very difficult to extract. Am I sending it back? No. Am I disappointed in quality? Yes. For now it's my favorite, at least until the new' wears off. Burning about a thousand rounds Sunday afternoon I did get a few satisfying tight groupings.
Just had to remember; if not seeing the front sight canted. I'm not seeing the front sight.

 

[ctxcummins]

After deburring the extractor, solving the self inflicted light strikes problem..... the new 617 came with the standard, no extra charge canted barrel with an exaggerated front sight blade cant. Probably needs the cylinder reamed as some ammo brands are very difficult to extract. Am I sending it back? No. Am I disappointed in quality? Yes. For now it's my favorite, at least until the new' wears off. Burning about a thousand rounds Sunday afternoon I did get a few satisfying tight groupings.
Just had to remember; if not seeing the front sight canted. I'm not seeing the front sight.

I'd sell the damn thing and buy a Ruger if it was mine.

You have far more patience than I do.

Are there any modern rimfire revolvers that don't have extraction issues from the factory?

 

[misswired]

I'd sell the damn thing and buy a Ruger if it was mine.

You have far more patience than I do.

Are there any modern rimfire revolvers that don't have extraction issues from the factory?

That LGS is having a heck of a Ruger sale.
With the only 617 in stock laying on the counter, I asked to see a GP100 22lr. He grabbed a SP101 22lr and placed it beside the 617 saying this is a great pistol; I have one. I didn't even pick it up, it looked like a toy beside the 617.

After the new wears off, I may send the 617 in for repairs.

 

[Wee Hooker]

That LGS is having a heck of a Ruger sale.
With the only 617 in stock laying on the counter, I asked to see a GP100 22lr. He grabbed a SP101 22lr and placed it beside the 617 saying this is a great pistol; I have one. I didn't even pick it up, it looked like a toy beside the 617.

After the new wears off, I may send the 617 in for repairs.

I have owned two, SP101's in .22 ( Mainly because I'm a slow learner.) The triggers on these were awful and took hours of work to get acceptable but still not as good as a factory 617.

Haven't bit on the GP100 yet but have handled them extensively. It seems to have potential ( and a slightly better trigger than the SP101) but I don't see anything (with maybe the exception of the FO front sight) that it brings over the 617.

 

[catadjuster]

Pretty good gun

As of today's range trip, my shooting log book shows 11,707 rounds through my 617-6. I sent it in to the mother ship at 1,700 rounds due to the short firing pin and the inability to adjust the rear sight down far enough for it to shoot where it was aimed.

I love this gun - I almost never shoot it single action, so I can't comment on that, but the double action has become excellent - and this is with factory springs to boot.

Keep shooting it - when it becomes frustrating because of the barrel cant and the difficult extraction - send it home and they will correct any problems.

 

[Ribwizzard]

I'll 2nd that. I only shoot mine double action. Sweet shooting guns.
But it did take a couple hundred rounds to get it running smooth. There is a lot of detail machine work on this revolver, and I think it's just about knocking off the little burrs at the sharp edges , once broke in its smooth as silk

 

[TAROMAN]

My 617 had the same issue.
Checking carefully, the problem was obviously a spot on the recoil shield.
I could have fixed it in minutes with some stoning.
But sent it in on warranty.
It was quickly returned repaired.
Note accompanying called the issue "cylinder cramping"
Now its a great shooter

 

[Taipan01]

Aguila .22LR has always used a waxy coating on their ammo. Most of it is good stuff but will gum up any .22 I've owned at twice the rate of others. We actually used to wipe each round down and then top our mags off with a drop of CLP back when my team and I shot Subsonic Aguila (Purple) in local leagues. ( We had ordered 40,000 rounds of it at $13/brick and had to "make do"
FWIW, I've used Mothers Mag polish on a patch to polish the chambers of my 617's just to help extraction along.

Not to deviate the thread:

1) I don't care for any of the coatings on .22's. I use .22's more then any other caliber and always take at least a couple to the range to do some plinking. Because I do, I keep about a brick in each case (10 or so). I also keep 4 or 5 bricks that I guess you could call "prepped" on my going to the range shelves to refill what I've used up.

The prepping is simply throwing a brick in my tumbler with some corn cob and let it run an hour or so. I then take a couple handfuls and put them on an old towel, bunch it up and roll it around a bit to remove any dust. After they are all wiped I'll shake out the towel, spread them out on it and give them a blast of Remi-dry lube. Roll them around again and back into the packaging.

It may seem like a pain but it really isn't. I may spend a total of 15 minutes or so, hands on, processing. Most of it is re-packaging if it isn't bulk or put in a coffee can. Then it's maybe 5 minutes. What I end up with are very slick rounds with minimal build up. Just powder which I wipe away quickly every couple hundred rounds, a blast of the Remi on/in the action and start firing again.

I do the same with my 380's. In either case, I've not had a single FTF or FTE since I started doing this unless it's some cheap stuff with a dead spot (no primer) in the rim.

2) As another poster stated. Yes, dry-wall # 4-8 are great to use as snap caps in .22's. They are only about $2.00 of so for 50. I've been using them for years. Much better than dummies or snaps for dry firing. I haven't used one up yet.

My 617 (4") is one of my always take to the range guns. It's a great warm up to my 686 and 629 and besides that, it's one of my favorite plinkers, even if the other two stay home.

 

[Wee Hooker]

My 617 had the same issue.
Checking carefully, the problem was obviously a spot on the recoil shield.
I could have fixed it in minutes with some stoning.
But sent it in on warranty.
It was quickly returned repaired.
Note accompanying called the issue "cylinder cramping"
Now its a great shooter

Taroman, who's mount is that on your 617? been thinking of adding an optic to one of mine. Tha one has clean lines.

 

[TAROMAN]

It's a Weigatinny mount from Weigand.

 

[500SNW]

I am by no means a gun guru, but I strongly suspect clerk abuse is a reality...( saw the clerk spin the cylinder on the 799$ used 617 while slamming it shut)
Being non- confrontational.... I don't speak to management or make complaints to anyone.

I would have given the clerk and/or manager a lecture...then I would have gone home and posted the story and the store's address on the internet. I feel an obligation to warn my fellow gunners about such idiots in the business. I absolutely hate people who spin and whip the cylinder shut

 

[misswired]

The new 617 is about 2000 rounds in.....it's smoothed up a lot.
The new to me Federal 36grain ammo ejects extremely smooth....

As for the barrel cant the rear sight is aligned close to center(acceptable to me).....
Being an old blacksmith machinist....i'm thinking about straightening that front sight cant with a file.

Giving it a thorough cleaning and another workout this week.
I REALLY like this pistol!

PS. the used 6" marked 799$ was sold for 600/tax.... to an employee.....if i'd of known????? It wouldn't have gotten away!

 

[misswired]

This Ammo is impressive.... 550 22lr at Walmart for 20$

Flawless thru several brands auto 22s.... and revolvers...

 

[RGVshooter]

The only ammo I've tried that I have problems with is Aguila standard velocity. The ammo itself is about 90% reliable but my issue is the empties are very hard to eject whereas other brands such as Federal, Remington and CCI, eject very easily. CCI, remington & federal HV loads are more reliable in my 617, say closer to 98%-99% of them go bang.