S&W Model 617

[tom2beagles]

Purchased a new 10 shot model 617, (22 cal.)The gun shoots 5inches high at 25 yards from sandbags. I contacted S&W who told me to take it to a gunsmith for an aftermarket front sight. I know it needs a higher front sight. My friend was shooting a new Kimber (45 cal.) and his was shooting 8 inches low. He contacted Kimber who told him they would mail him a mailing label to return the pistol for repair. I screwed the rear sight all the way down, it can't go any further. This is shooting a six o'clock hold at 25 yds., slow fire targets. I have been shooting handguns since 1971. Does S&W do any quality control to address this? I used both CCI 1070 fps and 1260 fps ammo. I own several Smith's. 2 mod 17, 2 mod 41, 1 mod 19, 1 mod 66, 1 mod 629DX. Thanks

 

[andyo5]

Hard to say whether your front sight is too low, or your rear blade is too high. Find out from S&W what the sight heights should be. You can measure yours.

 

[murphydog]

I think you covered all the bases - different ammo, sandbag rest and 44 years' shooting experience, plus you mentioned the magic words "new gun". I would contact factory customer service again and escalate as necessary up their chain until you get the same response your friend got from Kimber. Please let us know what happens.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

Call S&W again and ask for warranty service. While you have them on the phone see if they'll tell ya what brand and type of ammo they use to test .22's. You might want to try a box of THEIR preferred ammo, before you send it back.

 

[Paul105]

I have the same problem on my 4" 617. Same problem with two M69s and one of the new M66s. Put a Bowen rear on one M69 that's dedicated to magnum ammo. Left the factory rear as is on the 2nd M69 and mostly shoot .44 special equivalent loads in that gun. Replaced the rear blade with a shorter one on the M66.

Too bad S&W doesn't put the DX interchangeable front sight base on all of their revolvers.

Paul

 

[TazTJ]

4" 617's were shipping with a short .110" rear blade and a .165 or .170" tall front partridge sight when I got mine over the winter. Mine is also high. A .190 may be better? I have a HiViz front sight on my gun currently and I put a taller rear blade on so I can get the bigger HiViz dot into the sight notch and I made the notch lower. Rear sight is bottomed out and I am a bit high at 10-15 yds still. I ordered a Dawson Precision F/O in .170 that has a smaller dot; going to try to see if that works better for me and if not, order a taller Dawson FS. S&W seems to be shipping guns quickly and not checking them to make sure they have the correct sight heights on them or other things!

 

[g8rb8]

Call S&W again and ask for warranty service. While you have them on the phone see if they'll tell ya what brand and type of ammo they use to test .22's. You might want to try a box of THEIR preferred ammo, before you send it back.

I think that's a good idea. I have no experience with a a Model 617 but 4 different shooters experiences with two different model 17's (dash 2 and dash 3) suggest to me it doesn't much matter the shooter or the ammo for keeping shots in the bullseye so I think the problem here is more likely the sights.

 

[AveragEd]

I have 4" and 6" no-dash 617s and both shoot CCI MiniMags and Federal GameShok copper-plated ammo to the point of aim but perhaps the sights on the newer ones are different.

About 40 years ago, I bought an 8-3/8" Model 14 that shot target loads to the point of aim but could not be adjusted to shoot 110-grain JHP ammo to anywhere near that point. S&W had me send it back and they changed the rear sight blade to one that would work for both loads.

Ed

 

[rbert0005]

Rear sight blade kits are available for cheap money.
Get them all and keep the ones you don't need for your next revolver.

Bob

 

[tom2beagles]

Thanks, but the rear sight is ok, it is the front sight that is not high enough. The rear sight is as low as it will go. the front sight needs to be higher.

 

[rbert0005]

Lower rear or taller front = the same result.

Bob

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

Thanks, but the rear sight is ok,....

What rbert was telling you is S&W makes lower "rear blades". It doesn't replace the entire sight assembly. Just the rear blade itself. They likely have one that's lower than what was standard on you M617.

A shorter rear, or a taller front, it's all the same thing. But a lower rear blade may be more practical than an Eiffel Tower like front.

 

[H Richard]

Blade heights should be available from .086" to .160". You will need the blade and windage screw which are available in a kit from S&W. They should be able to assist you to which blade you need.

 

[tom2beagles]

Thank you again, I will pursue buying a new rear blade.

 

[Paul105]

Here's a Youtube video on replacing the rear sight blade. You might want to review it a couple of times before you make the attempt.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6au83u4A78[/ame]

If you are at all like me, you might want to have extra parts on hand for the attempt. I find little things like the plunger and spring tend to disappear. Also, some of the small parts have backlogged in the recent past.

Plastic zip lock bags help with keeping those spring loaded small parts corralled.

Paul

 

[eyegots2no]

I may be wrong but -gun should not leave factory like that.

Sound like poor workmanship to me.

I think it may be how they center the barrel when cutting the shank and threads.