617 Hammer ?

[shoots100]

Finally got my new 617-6 out of NY state waiting period Prison.

Took it home, took it apart, Removed the rust(Not Joking) & cobb webs, added a Masters Ext firing Pin/ spring, Wilson spring kit(13# return), Hogue Ext Cyl Release, Polished the Hammer, trigger + anything else that needed it, and removed the freaking lock !

Added some Kroil, shook it all around and set the trigger pull at 7lbs, like my 929.

De-milled a couple of different brands of 22lr bullets and test fired it. All went bang, so I'm Happy.

The only thing I didn't do to it mechanically, that I did to my 929, is Bob the Hammer.

Will it help make it fire more reliably(like my 929), or are 22lr revolvers a different story ?

I can get a hammer to do it, but I would like to hear from more experienced 617 shooters before doing so.

Thanks,

SJC

 

[AzShooter]

Sounds like you did a great job on your own.  7 lbs and still works with all your different .22s is great.

 

Bobbing the hammer on the 22 revolver is a mistake.  It reduces the weight that is needed for inertia to fire the ammo you use.  A better choice is to get the .22 hammer from Apex Tactical.  It's heavier than stock and is more reliable in my 617 that the hammer I bobbed.

 

Some of the better gunsmith will probably follow this thread and I'd like their opinions.  I could be wrong but I'm just stating what happened to my 617.

[Toolguy]

The current thinking is to keep the spur on the factory hammer or get an Apex.

[MWP]

Agreed, keep the spur, or get an apex. I found a ridiculously heavy older hammer with a teardrop spur that wouldn't hit my hand, that works well too.

 

Not sure what the Masters firing pin is, but I think most leave the stock pin in. 

 

If your gun is an honest 100% at 7lbs, I wouldn't touch anything else.

[alecmc]

In all my testing on my 617, the factory pin that came with it worked best. 

 

Any aftermarket pin like the apex, or c&s, etc actually gave it worse results. 

[Toolguy]

BTW, what is a Master's firing pin? I haven't heard of that one.

[alecmc]

1 hour ago, Toolguy said:

BTW, what is a Master's firing pin? I haven't heard of that one.

 

Maybe he means Ron Power? Power Custom / Grand Masters LLC

[shoots100]

alecmc is correct, it's a Power customs Ext firing pin. It sticks out a little bit more than the factory pin.

It's funny seeing a round pin strike on a 22 shell, instead of the slash mark I'm used to.

I only tested it with de-milled rounds, Win M22, 4 different type of Feds, CCI Green tag & Mini mag. 10 of each type.

The M22 had the quietest primer of them all. I tried it out in a bolt rifle to see if the 617 wasn't setting them off fully, but it was almost dead silent in the rifle.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to the range tomorrow and see how it works with loaded rounds before messing with the hammer.

I'd like to spend the $150 on Ammo or speed loaders, instead of the Apex hammer, but if it's the shit and my gun doesn't function 100% at 7lbs, I'll need to get one.

A new 617 hammer is around $50 dollars, but I'd rather put that towards the proven Apex hammer if others have had issues with a bobbed hammer.

The DA pull is an honest 7lbs, just like my 929, and I'm making my 617 as close to the same specs as my 929 as I can.

 It came from the factory with a gravely 11lb pull. It's Night and day after I got done with it.

It's far from the smoothness of the 929, but after a couple thousand rounds fired, it'll get there.

As usual, thanks for the info and advice.

SJC

 

 

 

[shoots100]

Had some fun with the 617 today, despite the 5 degree temperature.

I kept the ammo in the van to keep it warm.

Had some issues with it not firing 100%, but I added a shim to the mainspring and it was 100% with some of the ammo after that.

I tested the pull weight when I got home and it's just a hair over 8lbs.

I'm gonna need to get a different set screw, or the Apex hammer, because the factory set screw was bottomed out at 7lbs.

In DAO, Federal Auto match & Champion ammo ran 100%.

Fed 550, CCI and Winchester M22 ammo ran about 95%.

Rem and PMC were terrible, even in single action. I had to give them a little nudge to seat them in the cyl too.

I cleaned the cylinder between each ammo test(in the heated van !!), so buildup wasn't the culprit with the Rem + PMC ammo.

I couldn't find my mini mags, so I'll be ordering some to test out next weekend before buying anything in bulk.

The Speed Beez speed loaders worked like a charm, and the 100rd loading block made loading the speed loaders a real pleasure in the cold temps.

SJC

 

[shoots100]

After thinking about it a couple of seconds, I said F#*k it and ended up ordering the Apex hammer.

The weather's supposed to be nice this weekend, so a couple of friends and I are going to set up a couple of steel plate stages and get some trigger time.

Hopefully the Hammer will arrive before that and I can give it a thorough workout.

SJC

[Toolguy]

Good on ya!

[shoots100]

On Friday, January 12, 2018 at 12:52 PM, alecmc said:

In all my testing on my 617, the factory pin that came with it worked best.

 

Any aftermarket pin like the apex, or c&s, etc actually gave it worse results.

Are you using the Apex Hammer with the stock firing pin ?

I had to up my pull weight to 8lbs with the Apex hammer and Ext firing pin last weekend for 100% reliability, same as when I was using the factory hammer and Ext firing pin.

I'm gonna install the factory pin, set it to 7lbs and see what happens.

SJC

[alecmc]

Yes, factory pin, apex hammer, and aluminum cylinder. 

 

Not 100% sure on my trigger weight, probably about 7 lbs. 

 

Pay attention to endshake, I noticed some light strikes when my end shake became a bit sloppy and required some shims. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by alecmc

[shoots100]

Thanks for the clarification.

I removed the Ext firing pin and installed the factory pin.

Set the pull @ 7lbs and I'll see what happens this weekend.

I have no end shake, as one would hope, with a brand spankin new revolver with less than a 400 rounds through it.

Thanks.

SJC

[alecmc]

Ammo is also important, not all 22 is created equal. I use federal white box, but I hear mini mags work well too for lightened actions in 617s

[shoots100]

I've had good reliability with fed auto match & champion rounds with this pistol set at 7# with the ext firing pin and stock hammer.

I was expecting the Apex hammer to make it better.

Maybe the Apex hammer and stock pin will be the ticket for me too.

I'd like to find a plated bullet that runs in this pistol, yet the three I tried didn't work good at all.

SJC

[AzShooter]

I've had good luck with CCI Mini Mags.  My trigger is just over 7 lbs with the Apex Hammer.

[eisenhow]

In my carmonized 617 CCI blazer is the most reliable. It's more certain  to light off than CCI mini-mags, CCI SV, Federal bulk (550 bulk packs), or Aguilla SV.  

[shoots100]

Went to the range today with some friends.

Shot almost 600 rounds with the Apex hammer,  stock and Ext firing pin combo.

Fed Auto Match and Champion ammo ruled the day.

Mini Mags were a bust, even with the trigger pull at 8#'s. They were also the hardest to extract from the cylinder too. Glad I only bought 100 rounds of them.

No matter what Fed ammo or firing pin I used with the Apex hammer, my 617 is only 100% reliable with an 8# trigger pull.

Once I found that the stock firing pin and 8# pull combo worked the best, we fired over 500 rounds without a hiccup.

Well, they fired a couple of rounds and I fired the rest. They were impressed and I was a happy camper.

After testing that the grips from my 500 S&W fit my 617 + 929,  I ordered two sets earlier in the week and installed them on the 617 and 929 yesterday.

Those grips fit my hand perfectly.

Now it's time to order some ammo, clean the pistolas and wait for the steel season to begin.

SJC

 

 

 

[Bosshoss]

Another 22 tip especially when the gun is dirty is run a finger over the back of a loaded cylinder and make sure all the cartridges are all the way in.  Sometimes the shell is not seated all the way and the hammer has to push it down and with the lighter trigger pulls it does not have the energy to push it down and set it off.