Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Smith and Wesson Model 317 Kit Gun

Been considering the purchase of the 317 w/ adjustable rear and hi viz front sight. Just looking for a light weight plinker and gun to carry along on hikes. Just wanted to get some opinions from the folks that own this piece, the good, bad, and ugly.

catsranger
I have the 317, about 3 - 4 years old. Has held up well to a few hundred rounds. Changed to hogue grips, the stock grips were to small and slippy. The trigger was heavy on double action, single action out of the box was decent, had the trigger worked by a gunsmith. The green high-viz sight is great, adjustable rear sight to get you dialed. The biggest plus I find is the light weight factor of the 317.

Accurate with Dynapoints or Remington yellow jackets, by no means is it target pistol accurate. Shooting cans at 30 yards, tough to do with the 317, compared to a 5.5" Ruger MKIII Hunter that you can hit on the second or third shot. But for can size targets at five paces you are fast on the target and can hit it every shot if you do your part. Very fun to shoot. Shot a few CCI shot shells for carpenter bee control the other day.

I've got the three inch with Hogue grips also. I've probably had it about ten years. I'm very happy with it.I've found accuracy to be better with light bullet/high speed stuff, like Velocitors. My theory is that the lighter bullet imparts less torque and the shorter barrel time less jump which would be big issues with such a light weight revolver. I'm not sure that's the case, but I've shot a lot of stuff through it and consistently get significantly better accuracy with that light/fast ammo.

I've got one that I do like, but it has a few problems. The main one is that there isn't enough adjustment in the sights to properly zero the gun at 15 yds. with my choice of ammo. Winchester Power Point shoot 3 inches up and CCI Velocitors shoot 1.5 inches high.
Acurracy is very good, say 1.5-2 inches at 15 yds. with almost anything decent. Haven't tried the Hyper velocity stuff as that never shoots as well for me.
The gun is very light. So light, I can forget I have it. But that also means I can't kill much with it beyond 10-15 yds. depending on the game. Still, for those long hunts into the high country where the really dumb Blue Grouse live, it works well. E

I had the same troubles as E. with mine shooting too high. It also spit lead badly, even after I returned it to S&W. I loooved how that gun toted and rode on my hip almost unnoticeably, but I couldn't deal with the other issues and sold mine for a loss.

Just for the record, I killed the world's unluckiest turkey with mine, at a distance that I will not even go on record as having claimed. Let me stress, I am not claiming it was anything but luck. Let me also say I've missed a lot of stuff with it, a lot closer than that turkey was, just for the record.

Thanks for all the input!!! Sounds like a great carry piece, but accuracy a little to be desired. I am still undecided, thinking I may be better off to look around for a M34 or M63. Anyway your comments and opinions are appreciated!!

I have a 3� 317. I worked it a little when I got it to lighten the trigger and replaced the sights with a black serrated ramp front, square notch rear. It shoots well enough, but it is light enough to make good shooting a little more difficult than a heavier gun would be. I see it as a �carry much, shoot little� gun due to the aluminum construction. I have ordered the stainless version, the new 3� 63, that is due out next month. It will be the short gun that I shoot all the time. My 317 with Pachmayr Gripper grips weighs 14 oz. I expect the 3� 63 to weigh in at about 28 oz. Still light enough to carry, but indestructible SS construction.

I've also got a 3" 317.

Mine likes Velociters and will put 8 just under an inch off hand at 7 yards to point of aim. Good enough for me.

I also changed out the rubber grips for a set of S&W factory wood grips. They just feel better to me.

This is the greatest "woods bumming" gun of all time.

Virgil B.

A three inch 63 in stainless ? Thanks for the heads up. would be nice to have a little more weight. E

For those that be interested, the 3" 63. I'm not a fan (so far) of those hi-viz sights, but a 26 ounce J-frame with a 3" barrel does have a certain usefulness about it.



FWIW, handgun prices have officially gotten More Than I Want To Pay.

Was watching a nice 4" square butt Model 34 on gunbroker that started very reasonably. No box, nothing but the gun, and it went for over $550. Just too rich for my blood for a used .22 revolver anymore.