Take pity on a no-nothing on M1917s

[Old Corp]

Some years back, got a near-pristine S&W M1917. Looks almost unissued.
Concave grips, but no grooved hammer. Came from a friend who had little interest in such hardware. A check with S&W Historian Roy Jinks showed a ship-date of February 1918.
It literally became my ONLY 'safe queen'.

I set about to locate a 'stand-in shooter' and found a Brazilian M1937 for about $200 from another friend. It had been Parkerized long before and has been a great shooter and woods gun.
I enjoy loading and shooting mostly .45 AR rounds in it with 250 gr LSWC's and LSWC-HP's.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I'll mention a couple of them: My good friend and former forum member Leland had one he inherited from his uncle. The uncle took it with him when he shipped over to Europe during WWII. His was a S&W 1917 and Leland's uncle was carrying it when he was killed in the Hurtgen (SP?) Forest during the battle of the bulge. Somehow the 1917 and other personal stuff made it back to his family near Poplarville, Ms. after his death. Leland had known about the 1917 since he was a kid and kept up with who had it. It was gifted to Leland by a family member when Leland was still in his 20's. Fast forward a few years and Leland passed away March 2020 at age 65. In his will he left my son Robert the 1917 and several hundred rounds of auto rim reloads. It's not going anywhere probably for a few more decades. One vote for the S&W.

Back in the early 70's (I started in 1969) when I was a rookie officer and knew little about handguns I became close friends with a Detective who was a gun guy, armorer, machinist, mechanic, and a lot of other handy stuff. 1917's were plentiful, Colt and S&W. Lots of folks tinkered with them, including my friend Det. George. He bought a S&W 1917 cheap at a local gun store who had a lot of them. They were ugly and nobody wanted them, kind of like the Victory models. Det. George took his and rounded the butt, shortened the barrel to 2", had it nickeled, did a smooth action job on it, and put some real pretty old stag grips on it. This was over 50 years ago. We don't butcher guns like that now...I hope. We had to furnish our own back then and that was Det. George's duty gun. He carried it with personally loaded hollow point auto rim backed up by several full moon clips. Another vote for S&W.

 

[Muley Gil]

I started LE career as a reserve deputy doing an internship with the local sheriff's office. My only po-leese type sidearm at the time was a 1911 .45 ACP. The chief deputy always gave me a dirty look every time he saw that pistol; it probably had something to do with the large hole in the top of his desk. BTW, the deputy who shot the chief's desk is now the high sheriff in that county.

Well, I went down to my gun pusher and bought a re-blued S&W 1917. The chief deputy was much happier to see me after that purchase.

I wound up selling that 1917 in order to buy a M27-2 3 1/s". Later that year, the .357 became a .44 Special conversion.

 

[71vette]

Another thing to mention re: Fury and Hollywood in general. Revolvers have long been a favorite of directors since they look better on film than matte black autos; they have more complex angles/reflections and simply stand out better. A 6" medium or large framed revolver is considerably larger than even a "duty" sized auto like a 1911 or Glock 17. The Desert Eagle had a nice run for many of the same reasons (big and not slab sided) but isn't nearly as iconic now as it was from the mid 1980s through the early 2000s.

Spoke to my local leather smith. I was able to find a pattern for the holster from Fury and am having one made.

 

[merl67]

As others have said if you can find a Brazilian one probably going to be cheaper. I lucked into a early 1917 with early features dished stocks, and grooved hammer many years ago my second big bore N frame Smith. but not my last good luck on your search.

 

[StrawHat]

…The 1917 stayed in S&W production until 1966 as the Model 22. It is also known as the Model 45 Army prior to the Model Numbers…

The Model 22 was a short action revolver. The Model 1917 had the old long action. There were also different hammer block safeties.

The Model 45 was a 22 caliber K frame.

…I had the Brazilian from1937. At one time it was a third to half the price of a 1917. Decent shooter and I preferred to reload 45 Auto Rim instead of messing with the moon clips…

I still enjoy my Brazilian Models. I have a couple from both contracts. My favorite is this modified one.

This was from the post war contract built on the found frames, barrels and small parts from WW I. I carried it before, when, and after I wore a badge. It has been replaced by a Model 22-4 but it is still doing duty in the house.

Kevin

 

[BC38]

The Model 22 was a short action revolver. The Model 1917 had the old long action. There were also different hammer block safeties.

The Model 45 was a 22 caliber K frame.



I still enjoy my Brazilian Models. I have a couple from both contracts. My favorite is this modified one.

This was from the post war contract built on the found frames, barrels and small parts from WW I. I carried it before, when, and after I wore a badge. It has been replaced by a Model 22-4 but it is still doing duty in the house.

Kevin

Well, since you posted a modified one I guess I'll post my modified and somewhat ratty old Brazilian...

 

[Model 15-4ever]

You can dispense with the awful moon clips if you load these:

After searching for a long time, and nothing met expectations or price, I purchased this S&W 22-4 Classic re-issue from a forum member:

If you find a load it likes, revolver shoots pretty well offhand: