steveyacht Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I am pretty sure I am going to sell my Ruger MKII Comp, replacing it with an S&W 617. I feel that combined with my 625 it could (possibly) help me be more consistant if I have them tuned as close as possible. Considering that this gun will be used for steel events, certain USPSA events. and general plinking, what barrel length would you recommend? Any particular ammo better suited for this gun over another? Thanks in advance, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaystryin Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 My preference is for the 4 inch. I have no vision problems and can see the front sight on the 4 inch as well as I see the 6 inch. I also have a 4 and 5 inch 625 as well as a 6.5 25 and still prefer the 4 inch for its transition speed. With a .22 muzzle flip wont be an issue so the extra weight of the 6 inch may be overkill. I use mini mags in my 4 inch Mdl 18 and have no problems. Some of the cheaper 22 ammo doesnt always go bang the first time around. I am pretty sure I am going to sell my Ruger MKII Comp, replacing it with an S&W 617. I feel that combined with my 625 it could (possibly) help me be more consistant if I have them tuned as close as possible. Considering that this gun will be used for steel events, certain USPSA events. and general plinking, what barrel length would you recommend? Any particular ammo better suited for this gun over another?Thanks in advance, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBorland Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Steve - I have a 4" 617. I've tried the 6" variant and felt it was a bit muzzle heavy for my tastes, but YMMV. Besides, I wanted an understudy for my 4" 686, and it's worked well for me. Though I can't comment on your specific barrel length needs, I can at least give a thumbs up to the 617 in general. As far as ammo, they'll, of course, shoot most anything. Mine has shot anything I've tried at least good enough for up close work. For this, I settled on Federal 510 from WalMart, though their Federal bulk 550 box works, too, and is very economical. As far as it's preferred ammo, though, each rimfire gun seems to have it's own preference, so one typically experiments to find the best ammo. I found my 617 really likes Federal 714. Little else, including a lot of match ammo does as well. Trouble is, I understood that it's only sold by Dick's, and they apparently stopped selling it recently. Maybe it's available online somewhere. I've been evaluating other .22 ammo, then, and the other winners are CCI Pistol King and Federal Match. Again, though, to find it's preferred ammo, you'll have to experiment, then decide which gives the best accuracy/cost balance for you. Others with much more experience than me should offer their thoughts, but I've found that each of my .22s likes generally likes a particular brand better than others. In other words, if I find that my gun hates Eley Target Pistol, it's likely it won't like Eley in general. My strategy, then, was to go somewhere like 22ammo.com, and buy several representative brands. I then weeded out the brands it didn't like, compared the 2 it liked best, then fine-tuned by buying different variants of those 2 brands. I haven't tried Remington yet, but from the many rimfire users who have, I don't think I'll bother, as it seems to have a poor reputation for reliability. Good luck - Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 In my opinion the 6 inch S&W 617 is much too muzzle heavy. I enjoy using my 10 shot 4 inch Model 617. One worrd of caution you cannot lighten the trigger pull very much without incurring ignition problems with 22lR ammo. In spite of that, I do get a lot of trigger time with the 22 revolver which has helped me improve my performance with the S&W 625 and 627. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I have 2 617's. A 6" -1 and an 8 3/8" -6. I like the heavy barrels. A C-More lives on the 6" and the 8 3/8" has iron sights. CCI Blazer shoots good but isn't match reliable. Mini-Mags are accurate and reliable, used them for silhouettes. Federal 711B's are best and will put 6 rds in a 3/4" group at 50 meters from the 6" with C-More. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&WIowegan Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 (edited) I have a 617-4 with a 4" bbl. that I use for pin-shooting and steel challenge. I have found that during a pin match, the wax-like substance on CCI MiniMags seems to build up in the chambers. After about six runs, the rounds and brass become extremely difficult to insert or extract. If I clean the chambers they're good for a few more runs. I switched to a Federal promotional pack called Load No. 745 which is a copper-plated 36 gr. HP. The problem is minimal with this ammo and goes bang reliably. +1 on not lightening the trigger pull much. The internals can be polished and slicked but .22s won't go bang if you lighten more than a little. Bob A16841 Edited December 14, 2008 by S&WIowegan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 If you are going to shoot the 617 with iron sights definitely the 6" is the way to go. If you are going to use a dot sight go with the 4". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveyacht Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 If you are going to shoot the 617 with iron sights definitely the 6" is the way to go. If you are going to use a dot sight go with the 4". That is a great question..... In order to keep things equal between my 625 and a 617, I would most likely keep the iron sights. That way they will be about the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20nickels Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 My 617 is my most used firearm is a fine one. That being said, I do not shoot K frames as well as the larger frames and would prefer the 8 3/8 sight radius of an old M-17. The .22 only serves as an understudy to my centerfires so the ability to mount dot sights is meaningless to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cylindrically challenged Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I'm with 20 nickels, I too prefer the 8 3/8" bbl. But I did have most of the weight machined off. The stock barrel was cut flat on the sides, the under lug was machined off back to the ejector housing and I had a quarter round cut down both sides along the sight rib. The net result is that my 8 3/8" 617 weighs less than my son's 6" 617. I get the advantage of the sight radius without the weight penalty. I'm also having an 8 shot 627 being built right now. I'm putting an 8 3/8" Model 27 barrel on it with a Ti cylinder from a 327. These two revos should compliment each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20nickels Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 C.C., May I ask where you are getting the 327 Ti cyl from? Are they available from S&W as a direct replacement part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Steve, If you get a 617 then buy a bunch of DS-10 speed loaders to keep it fed. I have 5 different 22's and they all like one brand better than another, some brands have more misfrires than others. Some brands were more accurate in one gun than another so is the cost worth it, personally bulk pack Federal is accurate enough to put 95% of my shots in the A zone at 25 yards when group shooting. I can miss at speed just as often with $6.00 a 100 ammo as I can with bulk pack and it doesn't matter whether it is iron sights, red dot or the scope. Don't expect to lighten the trigger on the 617 nearly as light as a 625. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cylindrically challenged Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 20 nickels, Smith & Wesson had the 327 Ti cylinders in stock. It cost $168.00 (that included shipping) and came with the ejector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbert0005 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I find the 6" to be muzzle heavy. I do like the feel of the 4", so that's what I have. And yes there are speedloaders available for it. Bob Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I also like the 4" barrel on a 617. Someday if I see a good deal on a 6" version I might try cutting off the underlug, I think that would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I also like the 4" barrel on a 617. Someday if I see a good deal on a 6" version I might try cutting off the underlug, I think that would be cool. I'm partial to SS, but there were plenty of 6" (and 8 3/8") 17's made with non underlugged barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revopop Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 (edited) I also like the 4" barrel on a 617. Someday if I see a good deal on a 6" version I might try cutting off the underlug, I think that would be cool. I'm partial to SS, but there were plenty of 6" (and 8 3/8") 17's made with non underlugged barrels. No 10 shots, though. When the Model 14 I eventually bought first came in to the shop where I bought it, there was a matching Model 17 with the same grips and sights. I kick myself daily for not buying it, too. Edited December 21, 2008 by Glockopop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 (edited) Have you considered the fact that a K-frame 617 has very few physical dimensions in common with your 625? Dry fire and reload practice with the 625 would have more training value at a significantly lower cost and no aggravation. That said, my favorite 617 is the 4" 10 shot. Edited December 22, 2008 by Bones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooddog Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I like my 4" 10 shot. Nice balance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I also like the 4" barrel on a 617. Someday if I see a good deal on a 6" version I might try cutting off the underlug, I think that would be cool. I'm partial to SS, but there were plenty of 6" (and 8 3/8") 17's made with non underlugged barrels. Yeah, but I have no interest in a 6-shot K-frame .22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Yeah, but I have no interest in a 6-shot K-frame .22. Thought there were blue 10 shots without (pre) underlugs. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I love my 617 with the 6 inch barrel. Yeah, polish everything up but don't mess with the springs or you will have ignition problems. The best accessory is: http://www.msnusers.com/Speedloader/ds10speed.msnw The DS 10 speed loader. Great product. Fun to use and really helps when practicing speed reloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrmn1 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I love my 4" k22. I like the light barrel. I like the size of k frame guns. I would love to have a 10 shot gun but I like the light weight of my k22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrmn1 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Not to drift this thread anymore but here we go anyway.? Did can a 10 shot cylinder be put into a 6 shot gun? WITHOUT any other work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Whenever changing from a 6 shot anything, you have to also have or create a different hand to go with the different number of ratchets. In general, the more ratchets, the thinner the top of the hand has to be. Once you have the right hand for a given cylinder, you can change out a hand and cyl. set in a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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