Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns opinion on S&W 63 (.22lr)?

vbshootingrange,

Stopped by Sportsman's Warehouse this afternoon after work. Those little 317 are $$$$$. Little taken back by sticker shock. Here I thought the price of gas was expensive..lol! (I filled up my car today, thus the reference to gas prices)

Leo

Hey, just think - for the price of about ten tanks of gas, you could have that revolver and a good holster (and maybe more)!

FreeMe,

Well the depends on the car and how big the gas tank is, eh?

For my Explorer, yes definitely ten tanks of gas will cover the cost of the gun, not sure about the holster.

For my little Chevy Prizm, I'll need a few more tanks of gas. Either that or the price of gas needs to go up......ssssh! Don't say that! lol!

leomart,
I'm thinking mine was $595. out the door. (no sales tax in Oregon) Mine came from Sportsmans Warehouse in Salem Or.
Have owned a 2" stainless kit gun in the past. It had to go for another "trade" I couldn't live without! Also owned a 2" 317. It wouldn't group, and got traded.
The 317-3" is still my all-time favorite, and I've owned a LOT of 22 LR handguns. Someday I'll get a 4" stainless to go with it!
Virgil B.

Actually,
The Kit gun I'd really like to own, would be a 4" stainless in 22 magnum. Dat's one for my "someday" list!
Anybody have one?
Virgil B.

How's the accuracy of the M63 in comparison to the M617?

I don't think the accuracy is a gun issue, I think it is more an issue of can you hold and squeeze the lightweight J-frame as well as the heavier and larger K-frame revolver? I think the accuracy is built in there like any S&W revolver. But I know I cannot shoot my M63 as well as my M18 4" K-frame at longer ranges. And not even in the same ball park as my M17 6" gun. The little lightweight is harder to hold steady IMHO than the heavier and larger guns. At closer ranges the difference isn't much. But the farther the target, the more you can feel and tell the difference as you shoot.

I owned a 4" round-butt for a number of years. It was a fine little revolver and accuracy was fine with the .22LR ammo it liked. I did trade mine due to its small size - I prefer the K frame size and I found a nice Model 18-4, which suited my needs better. Still for a trail gun the smaller M63 is a great lightweight package.

That sorta where I'm at. Looking at M63 as lighter smaller trail gun option in comparison to the M617. But I don't want to give up too much in the "accuracy" dept for taking squirrels, perhaps upto ~25yd or so (typical tree rat range). But if the M617 is going to give me the advantage then that's just the way it has to be and I'll have to learn to live with it.


As a sidenote, I notice that women seem to have a harder time shooting the 617 due to its weight. I know that it's a relatively heavy gun, ~45oz, but didn't realize it's impact of female shooters.


Leo

The J frame .22�s have suffered a reputation for inaccuracy mostly because they�ve been judged against the K frame .22�s; which isn�t a fair comparison. The K frame guns all have match chambers and the J frame guns don�t. A match chamber is one of the best things you can do for a .22�s accuracy. But the J frame .22�s weren�t intended to be target revolvers, that�s what the K frame guns were for. So the J frame guns were given standard chambers which was a good call. A field gun with match chambers can be a liability. Any accumulation of grime and my 617 gets persnickety about accepting fresh rounds into it�s tight chambers. You�ll never have that problem with the model 63.

Accuracy is good with the 63; certainly good enough for most anything you want to do. The longer barrel guns tend to shoot much better, because they balance better. Balance is really the only problem the J frame .22�s have; they�re just feather light and don�t steady well when you add in the very small grip.

As a learning handgun for kids, I can�t think of a more ideal handgun than the 34/63. I�d love to have one.

KevinGibson,

Thanks for the feedback. I think the current M63 only come with a 5" barrel so that should help with the balance problem???


Leo

If anyone is interested, I have a 63-3 with a 2" barrel, AS, and RB that I don't need. I don't have the box, but grades in the high 90% range. I have $450 into it and would have that, plus the actual shipping to your FFL. It comes with a new RH nylon belt holster.

Jeff

If it had a 4" barrel, I'd be really tempted to jump over it.

I know that it is heresy to say this, but I like the old Rossi 515 and 518 better than the "J" frame S&Ws, as they are just a little larger and fit my right hand better.

Jeff

That is heresy. I haven't seen any Rossi's I'd take over a smith.

In revolvers, the two I'd trust most would be S&W and Ruger.

My wife bought one when they were first reintroduced. The handling with the 5" barrel and round butt grips must be seen to be believed - S&W got this one right. The dealer liked it so much that he bought one for his personal collection

In single action, it is at least as accurate as my early 617. Because it's a J-Frame, you will quickly build up your forearm muscles if you choose to shoot it much double action.

MichiganScott,

Thanks for the feedback on the balance with 5"barrel. That answered my question.

RJM had 2 4" M63s a couple years ago. I think he got them from a gun shop that went out of business on the east coast. I want to say Connecticut, but don't hold me to it. In any case the gun smith had 2 .22WMR cylinders with ejector stars with the idea of fitting them to the M63s, but never got around to it. Bob sold one set to me and still has his. All I had to do is buy an ejector rod assembly and screw it together.

Well... not quite that easy. The new cylinder wouldn't lock up. So off it went to John Baker here in Salem. (I highly recommend him)

http://www.greatwestgunsmithing.com/

He worked on the ratchets and got it timed so now both cylinders function well.

I shoot more .22lr through it then .22WMR, but I've shot it enough to know it works well.

So it can be done, the trick is to come up with the cylinder and ejector star. Maybe you could call the Performance Center at S&W and see if they would add the cylinder for you. I don't think they will sell you one as a do it yourself project.

Yes, I have a 4 in 651 and except for the wide front sight I love it.