Convert 6 shot 617 to 10 shooter?

[David Sinko]

I have 617-1 that is sadly underutilized. I was considering trading it for a 10 shooter that would be more viable for the various .22 events, but is it possible to fit a new 10 shot cylinder to this revolver? What kind of work would this entail?

And if it is possible, can the old six shot cylinder be rechambered to .22 Magnum?

Dave Sinko

[revoman]

I have 617-1 that is sadly underutilized. I was considering trading it for a 10 shooter that would be more viable for the various .22 events, but is it possible to fit a new 10 shot cylinder to this revolver? What kind of work would this entail?

And if it is possible, can the old six shot cylinder be rechambered to .22 Magnum?

Dave Sinko

Smith and Wesson can do this for you. If you send them an e-mail they will tell you where to send it and what the cost will be. I do not know if they can change it to 22 mag. If I remember right the cost is between $250 to $275 + shipping.

[Patrick Sweeney]

When all is said and done, you might be better off simply selling the 6-shot and buying a 10-shot. As for re-chambering, I'd be leery of such a project. Again, for the cost and hassle, if you want a mag, buy a mag.

[Carmoney]

Patrick may be right about the ultimate cost being cheaper to simply sell the 6-shot and buy a 10-shot. On the other hand, I have a friend who owns a 6-shot Model 17 he really likes, and in that case I view the conversion to be perfectly viable. The cylinder would need to be fit, a 10-shot hand would need to be installed, and the 10 ratchet lugs cut. Probably talking a couple hours of labor, plus the cost of the cylinder and hand.

As to converting the original cylinder to .22 Mag, the actual rechambering would not be a problem (Clymer and Manson both make piloted .22 Mag finish reamers), but the rechambered cylinder would not be a drop-in prospect because of the different hand.

[Carmoney]

I will add this, Dave:

Once you have experienced a 10-shot 617, you will never bother with a 6-shot rimfire revolver again. Whether you pay for the conversion, or simply trade into a different gun altogether, it will be well worth the money!

[michaels]

$155.00 (give or take a couple of bucks) for having the factory do the swap, I dropped mine off last Feb. during a visit at the factory and two weeks later it was shipped to me. Remember to ask for your old cylinder and parts back if you don't take them out before hand. Great service, good turn around time.

michaels

[Patrick Sweeney]

At $155, the calculation becomes a lot more difficult, and getting the old cylinder back tips it to converting for me. (But then, I already have a 10-shot.)

[michaels]

At $155, the calculation becomes a lot more difficult, and getting the old cylinder back tips it to converting for me. (But then, I already have a 10-shot.)

Pat, out here in California, the going price for a used M17/M18 is upwards of $700.00, new 617's are now showing up in some dealers cases in the $800.00 range. So if you've got an older gun, it's probably worth it. If you could get the aluminum cylinder, I'd probably go with that, but I'll bet Randy Lee/Apex Tacticle probably gobbled them all up a while ago.

michael sousa

[Bigmac]

David here is the actual cost of doing this conversion, if you do the work yourself. $103. for the cylinder, $12. for the hand, parts purchased at Brownells. Now that S&W is using CNC tech the parts come very close to fitting right out of the box. The only thing you will need to do is file each of the ten teeth on the ratchet to fit. This does not take a Gunsmith just a careful mechanic, who is able to hold all of the ratchet teeth to the same angle. If you don't feel capable of doing the job then it can become real expensive fast considering the going cost of labor.

[Toolguy]

An easier way if the hand is too wide is to file the one hand to fit the ratchets. A cheap diamond file from Harbor Freight works fine.

[David Sinko]

I am going to keep my old 617-1 and get the stainless steel 10 shot cylinder. Why would aluminum be more desireable? I like to keep as much steel as possible in my revolvers. I have never filed any part of a revolver that has anything to do with timing and function, though if I can get away with modifying just the hand and not the ratchets I might consider it to see what happens. My 627-5 is at the 'smith right now getting moonclipped and having the hand re-fit to the grooved trigger I furnished. I guess it would be nice if I could figure out how to do some of this fitting myself.

Dave Sinko

[mwx40x40]

I am going to keep my old 617-1 and get the stainless steel 10 shot cylinder. Why would aluminum be more desireable? I like to keep as much steel as possible in my revolvers. I have never filed any part of a revolver that has anything to do with timing and function, though if I can get away with modifying just the hand and not the ratchets I might consider it to see what happens. My 627-5 is at the 'smith right now getting moonclipped and having the hand re-fit to the grooved trigger I furnished. I guess it would be nice if I could figure out how to do some of this fitting myself.

Dave Sinko

Dave, have you made any progress with this conversion? If so, how did it go?