The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Handguns => Topic started by: steel4u on August 07, 2009, 04:37:56 PM
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Like many of you I've been buying ammo whenever I can find it, especially .22. As a result I've picked up cases of various 22LR ammo that was untested in my guns only to find that it just plain won't run in several of my semis. So one day at the range after several malfunctions in a row with the first 50 rounds of a 5000 round case I decided I needed a quality .22LR revolver to help gobble it up. Well after a lot of research it seemed the S&W 617 met all of my needs and was the gun for me.
So after tracking it down online, I finally got to take my new 4in 617 to the range last weekend and had an absolute blast.
I haven't done any trigger work yet but I can see that with a little smoothing and lightening this thing is going to be ridiculous. Even with the factory trigger decent groups were possible in double action at 25 yards.
The DS-10 speed loaders are a must have for this gun and almost make it too easy to burn through ammo while speed shooting on steel.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5131.jpg)
I did some informal ammo testing to get a baseline for what the gun was capable of and which ammo it preferred. I used an old technique I used to get rid of flinch from a .44 mag and loaded five random snap caps in the cylinder. I've found when shooting groups this helps detect any deficiencies in technique with the intermittent dry fire and is a great way to get to know the trigger of a new gun.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5157.jpg)
I fired one group with each ammo type at 25 yards from a seated rest with my hands resting on a rolled up towel. Down the road I'll do a more thorough test with a scope mounted and a better rest.
The results were interesting, the gun certainly has some great accuracy potential(better than I can hold) and it seems you get what you pay for when it comes to premium ammo. I follow the philosophy that if you look at the best three shots out of a five shot group you have a fairly good representation of the mechanical accuracy of a handgun...
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5159.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5161.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5166.jpg)
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5163.jpg)
I was pleasantly surprised to find the short sight radius really wasn't a disadvantage as I could hit soda can size targets at 50 yards with ease. The one thing I would change is that it seems there isn't enough daylight visible (to my liking) when lining up the front and rear sights so I'm having a Weigand Rear sight installed which will match the Bomar sight picture on the rest of my competition guns: http://www.jackweigand.com/smith_wesson_rear_blade.html
Other than that, I'm having some trigger work done by AT Custom and will start the hunt for for a wonderful leather holster to round out all of my kydex.
This is one great revolver. Its solid, well balanced, accurate, beautiful, and reliable with all ammo. I'll use it for steel matches, bullseye, and for a whole bunch of plinking. I may even throw a red dot on and have it replace my buckmark for Ruger Rimfire matches. Now if only Tactical Solutions would make a barrel for it....
Its a wonderful addition to the collection and can gobble any ammo I can find. I highly recomend it;)
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Great gun and range report.
Thanks for the Pics.
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Sweet piece!
Wheel gunz iz real gunz! ;D
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Yup.... what Haz said 8)
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Nice 617. I'm pretty impressed with the plain ole American eagle ammo.
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Forgot to ask, did it come with those grips, or are they aftermarket? If aftermarket, what are they and where do you get them?
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Great info and range report with photos. Good stuff and thanks for sharing.
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Like everyone else has said ... Great Gun ... Great Targets ... Great Report !!!
Where did you get the speed loaders? I've made loading blocks, but the speed loaders look like a must have.
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Great range report, for a great revolver.
Ready for those damn squirrel's for sure...
Thank you.
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Nice 617. I'm pretty impressed with the plain ole American eagle ammo.
Yea that American Eagle won't run worth a crap in most of my semis, and I bought a case of it, so I was pleasantly surprised with the group.
The grips are Ahrends Retro combat cocobolo:
http://ahrendsgripsusa.com/retro.htm
Speed loaders are from DS-10 Contact Dave Skrzela at: ds-10-speed@hotmail.comDS-10 he's a a great guy!
http://ds10speed.spaces.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=163729214
Here are some other groups with assorted ammo:
I won't be wasting the CCI in the 617 since it runs in all of my semis like butter but I'm sure it can shoot tighter than this:
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5162.jpg)
The Aguilla Super Exrta is a great round. I suspect the horizontal stringing was all me. I'm going to try a few more groups with it next time I'm at the range. I've got a ton on backorder from Midway for my conversions. Its the best all purpose round I have found for all my .22LRs
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5160.jpg)
The value pack wasn't spectacular, but it was a blast running speed drills on steel with the cheap stuff:
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5164.jpg)
With 10 in the gun, this is my "150 Rounds Of Fun" range setup. The perfect way to blow through those Federal 550 packs:
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5168.jpg)
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Thanks for all the info Steel. Those grips sure look great.
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They fit my hand like they were custom made. Fantastic Grips.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5119.jpg)
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VERY nice shooter! Just about every shot I see represents a dead squirrel. ;D May mean food on the table one day!
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Thats a nice wheel gun, as for those speed loaders very nice.
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Excellent Choice! I have a 6 shot/6inch barreled one that I bought in the early 90's brand new for $360. Those prices have climbed haven't they?
After about 1k rounds, I sent it off to Smith&Wesson to have the trigger worked on so now the trigger is smooth as glass in double action and nice, clean and crisp in single action.
Surprisingly, mine shoots better dirty. After about 50 rounds, the groups tighten up drastically.
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Thats a beauty! I've wanted one myself for a long time.
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Had a trigger Job done and ordered a Weigand scope mount:
http://www.jackweigand.com/swhpmnt.html
Very well made and installed in about 45 seconds so its easy to switch back to irons. I mounted a Holo sight I had available but will probably track down a Cmore or Doctor sight for steel matches.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5737.jpg)
I'm still not as fast with the 617 as I am my buckmark but I'm hoping a couple thousand rounds will change that
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/IMG_5746.jpg)
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Very cool, I must say.....very cool guns.
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Where did you get those speed loaders? I need a few or 10 of those ;D
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Where did you get those speed loaders? I need a few or 10 of those ;D
Speed loaders are from DS-10 Contact Dave Skrzela at: ds-10-speed@hotmail.comDS-10 he's a a great guy!
http://ds10speed.spaces.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=163729214
;)
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I never felt I needed a Buckmark so badly! :o Is that barrel easy to install, or does it need gunsmithing? Where do you get those? Is that trigger original? It doesn't look like the gold ones that are usually seen, which I never really cared for.
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Fuzzdaddy, I think that is a Trai lite barrel from Tactical Solutions. I think the grips are too.
http://www.tacticalsol.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=37
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I never felt I needed a Buckmark so badly! :o Is that barrel easy to install, or does it need gunsmithing? Where do you get those? Is that trigger original? It doesn't look like the gold ones that are usually seen, which I never really cared for.
Like Blackwolfe said, the Buckmark barrel is more than likely from Tactical Solutions.
They are really easy to change. If you take the gun down to the normal cleaning groups, there is only one screw to back out and the barrel will tip off. I take my barrel off every time because it makes it easier to clean.
Peg
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Yep that's a Tactical Solutions barrel. Installed in moments and is incredibly accurate. I'm thinking about getting a threaded barrel version so I can use their screw on compensator.
Here is the latest accessory for the 617...the 180 round loading block:
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/ruger4u/100_5113.jpg)
With my other loading blocks, 4 loaded speed loaders and 10 in the gun that put 330 rounds at the ready for pure plinking or competition fun.
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All I can say to that is WOW.
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nice 617 i like shooting the 617 they are very fun and cheap to shoot