Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Range Day with a long-barreled S&W M617

Recently acquired this S&W M617-1 with the somewhat scarce 8 3/8" barrel. The 617-1 has all of the features I wanted in a 617 and none of the annoying features--forged hammer and trigger, factory drilled and tapped--and no lock or MIM parts. It's also a bit smoother than the 617 no-dash I used to have that had the trigger and hammer flash-chromed.

I've got an IHMSA match this weekend so I headed to the range today to get some sight settings. The long sight radius and typically S&W-light single-action trigger made getting the sights dialed in easy. Didn't shoot any groups but am planning on doing so after the match this Sunday.

Anybody else liking the long-barreled .22 revolvers?

Interesting....that’s a whole lotta gun for a .22.

That thing is big. I have a SW41 that will split playing cards on edge at 7 yards. My 4" 617 will keep 10 shots in a quarter at the same distance. There is no comparison in terms of precision between my two. I wonder how the long barrel with group. CCI groups best of me btw.

Nice. It's more gun than I want for that caliber, but it is sure a nice pistol.

That's a beauty! I like big .22's!

I think it will group well, though what I may try is numbering the cylinders to find out which are the most accurate. That is where autoloaders always will have an advantage over revolvers--they have only one chamber so that major variable in accuracy stays constant.

It's more than I would want for anything but my intended purpose: IHMSA shooting. Out of the Creedmoor position the long barrel clears my leg easily, and the weight keeps it steady along the side of my calf. For any other purpose, a 6" M617 would be the way to go.

Do you have a favorite one? There's something very relaxing about a big .22 handgun--the lack of recoil, and generally very good triggers and sights--make them great learning tools. If you miss, it's likely your fault.

Cool! I've had a lot of fun with the kids on the short silhouette range. Too bad our range closed down some time ago. Need to make our own, I guess.

No doubt the 41's are a good deal more accurate than the K-22's. A friend had an old S&W M46 (41 with cheap plastic grips, and sights that weren't quite as nice), and one day the two of us were shooting our .22's. Now the 10 shot K-22's just aren't as accurate as the older 6 shot K-22's; but my 617 will still shoot damn well. But when I picked up his 46 I proceeded to cut my K-22's groups in half! That's a big difference.

That's just really cool!!!

Mine is a 4", and mine is a POS with MIM internals. But I have over 50k rounds through mine, and easily 3x that with dry snaps; never had the first hint of a problem with that revolver. So clearly they managed to make at least one MIM internal S&W revolver correctly.

Okay, in all seriousness...Yours with forget and real case hardened hammer/trigger looks really great. I would love to shoot it.

What ammo does it like? Mine likes RWS R-50, Winchester T-22, and CCI Stingers...in that order. Mine shoot well with pretty much everything, but it shoots VERY well with those 3 loads. T-22 is my preferred target load, as it's about 90% as accurate as the RWS and cost MUCH less. Stingers are my go-to for squirrel or bunny hunting. Very good accuracy, hollow point, and hit's hard (as hard as a .22 hits from a 4" barrel).

Pretty easy to fall in love with a K-22. You have an especially cool one...perfect for IHMSA.

Nice. I recently bought the other extreme with a very lean 1929 vintage Smith and it is crazy accurate.

Oregon45: Oh wow!
What a cool pistol!
I have been after a six shot Model 617 for a long time now - with no luck.
I would love to have one just like yours with the 8 3/8" barrel to Hunt Ground Squirrels with!
That heavy lugged, long barrel should really be a dream to shoot afield.
Enjoy and please let us know how it "groups" for you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Had the 617 out at a silhouette match Sunday, shot 11/40, standing with open sights. Plenty of room for improvement but I think the gun is up to the task.

I really like my 6.5" single six, but I wouldn't put it in the same league as your 617. It's a great shooter though, more accurate than I am, and I ca hold most of them in 2" at 25 yards standing mod-weaver.

Very nice.

Been trying to buy a 617 for years.

I may be in the minority here but the 617 I have was equal accuracy wise to the 41 that I had.....the 617 has a red dot sight however and the 41 had open sights but with SK standard and a rest I was getting 1/2” groups or less at 25 yards the 41 was 3/4-1”. Obviously if I put optics on the 41 it would have done better however a High Standard Citation that I have with open sights was also in the 1/2” range?! The 617 is the last pistol that I would ever let go it’s my go to squirrel revolver......always wanted to see what an 8 3/8” bbl would do especially in IMHSA games!

Nice revolver and let us know haw it shoots!
PennDog

Had a 6-shot 4", when they first came out, sold it. It was heavy. Had a 34 and 17, the latter made in the mid 80s, TT/TH, etc. 4" on those two as well. Made some great shots in the field, lots of game, and such fell.....

That said, had a 41, sold it. My MKII shot about as well, much easier racking the slide every reload.

GG - guy back in college had a 46, slide had cracked, never heard of that before or since.

Speaking of accuracy, the MKII Slabside Government also shoots TIGHT.....

What’s not to like about a long barrel Rimfire. My 48 has rode many miles in my Jeep. Coyotes and rattle snakes didn’t stand a chance.

my 4” MIM 617 outshoots my 50s vintage 6” model 17. theyre both good shooters, and the 17 is much prettier. but the 617 typically edges it in group size.