My LGS has a 1990 617 SS 6" barrel 6 shot 22, really nice and clean, I've known the store owner for years, honest guy. Say's it came from a customer that shot Bulls Eye with it.
Asking $620, good -bad ?

That’s a good buy.

I have the ten shot version, 4”. Real nice handguns.
Condition is everything, but that sounds like a decent price.

I would be all over it, but be aware that some guys would ream these for better extraction and replace the hammer spring/strain screw.

I've got that revolver, nice gun, awesome trigger, super accurate.

Personally, I don't care for the full lug. But, to be fair, the 617's are quite popular, in relatively high demand, and retain their value well.

I think you're right. Too much of a good thing. I'd like to play with one, but they ARE kind of heavy. A standard K22 is my favorite.
Bob

They may be a little heavier than some like but they are incredibly easy to shoot well.

That is more than likely why the previous owner used it for the purpose he did.



While I have missed some shots due to my own poor marksmanship and nothing else, I have also pulled off some shots on Jacks at extended ranges that I did not think I would be able to, and connected. Truly awesome handguns.

I would not pass that up.

Me too, Bob.

I wish S&W had seen fit to make the 617 in its original configuration without the underlug.

I would love to have a K-22. Beautiful and accurate revolver. I do have a 617 6-shot 4" that is very accurate that I like. The OP can"t go wrong with one, from squirrels to bunnies to rimfire silhouette they get the job done.

Me three... I have a nice K22 that I'll never know the full accuracy potential of. It will outshoot me, no doubt. For me the underlug is too much.

They did...but not many. One of the rarest K22s. I've never seen one, except in pictures.
Bob

What year model is that? Can't say I've ever seen one without the barrel rib but I like it.

OK, this thread made me take mine out for some shooting today. Beats listening to the ball and chain.
Bob

That's a 17-8, Heritage series. Early 2000'S.
Bob

I had a 10 shot 617. In rapid DA mode, it skipped chambers and double struck others. The cylinder did not lock up properly. Its 6 shot stable mate works perfectly.

I've always liked a heavy gun, once you get used to it I think it's an advantage, some may disagree. Back before the ammo shortage a few years ago a lot of us used to travel down to Logan, Utah for an indoor rim fire match once a week in the winter. We always had a great turn out, sometimes as many as 50 shooters. We usually shot 5-6 stages of targets, some moving, some disappearing, some swinging, etc. It was both paper & steel & after about 3-4 years the course of fire was getting more & more difficult as shooters improved.

Almost always I was the only revolver shooter, once in a great while someone else would show up with a 617 but usually it was just me. The ammo that shot best for me, good old Federal bulk jacketed HP's & I tried about everything. You could shoot iron sights or optics, most shot optics with myself shooting a Leupold/Gilmore Red Dot.

One night I was winning the match & we came to the last stage, 3 targets turned on angles. They were the head portion of a USPSA target, just the head. Each was turned in a different direction & the very top was the "A" zone & he bottom was the "B". You had to do a "Mozambique" which is, 2 shots to the body, one to the head then advance to the next target, repeat & move to the third target. At the beginning you had to be aiming at a spot on the wall away from the 3 targets. You had to shoot the 3 angling targets in order, 2 to the body, one to the head, repeated on all 3 targets.

I won that stage in a record time, 9 shots, all alpha's in 2.97 seconds with that heavy, under lug 617. Count to 3.

Dick

Dick, you never cease to impress..

Good shootin.

I guess that heavy barrel just soaks up the recoil. If I found a nice early 6" 617, I'd buy it.
Bob

Idaho1945: I have shot a "LOT" of rounds through many many dozens of pistols over the last 55 years and I am in TOTAL agreement with you.
I know "I" shoot better with a heavier pistol and I am sure 99% of pistol shooters would as well!
Ditto's with longer barrels aiding my pistol accuracy.
"Full lugs" are fine (preferable!) with me.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Heavy yes, sold a 4" years back...$285...preferred the 17-5 Heavy barrel, no lug, target hammer, sights, trigger......and regret letting that one go. It was VERY effective in the field.....easier to shoot than a 34 that it replaced. Yes, sounds like a decent buy for today's valuation.

A heavy barrel can be a good thing, sometimes...

Nice old PPC revolver! Who's the gunsmith who made it? Bet it shoots great.

LAPD Armory put that together for John Hurst, probably the best pistol shot the LAPD ever had. It wears his grips.
Bob

A friend of mine has one. It's a 4" and there is no shroud around the ejector rod. I remember shooting it, but I don't remember if it was a 6 shot or a 10 shot. He had quite the collection of K-22's and we looked at pretty much all of them that day. He had one with an aluminum cylinder too.

Not a hard fix, send it back to S&W. I have well over 50K rounds through my 617 10 shot and it still thinks it's a Puppy!

I find the under lug barrels are very nice for shooting, and sucks for carry. I don't carry my 617 much, but it's just fine for carry when I'm out squirrel hunting. I like the balance during rapid DA fire, so it works for me. I would like a S&W M18 much better for my squirrel hunting, but the 10 shot 617 is just a whole lot of fun. No mine isn't nearly as accurate as the old school K-22's, but it's not like it's an inaccurate revolver at all. Mine does minute of a squirrel's head at any range that could be practical. Mine will shoot about 1.25" at 25 yards with good loads, and that's more than enough for what I want out of it. If I want to shoot serious bullseye, I have other guns for that.

All in all, I have to say my 617 is my favorite handgun to shoot. It ALWAYS goes to the range. Its the one gun I own that ALWAYS goes shooting with me.

While I'm a fan of the 4" and 6" 17, 18, and 48, I don't like the 6" 617 6-shot that I have at all. If given a choice of .22 LR handguns to carry afield, I'm much more likely to carry a 2206 than any make or model of revolver, as long as shooting CCI snake-shot loads isn't a consideration. I bought the 617 in 2001, shot it a little, decided that I didn't like it as much as the 1982 vintage 18 that I'd been regularly carrying, and put it away somewhere. The catch being the last time that I looked for it, I didn't find it. Oh well, maybe it'll show up in 2020.

Agreed. Like I said, I squirrel hunt with my 617 but it's not the most "carry friendly" .22 in the world. When I think of a light .22 for carry, the fist handgun I think of is the old Beretta Model 70 & 71. They're very accurate, reliable, small, very light, and just a joy to carry. One of these days I'm going to get one to go with my Model 76.

One of my favorites...17-3, purchased from a pawn shop outside Ft Bragg in 1978. It went back to S&W in the early 80's for a taller front sight and to correct endshake after thousands of rounds.
Bob

Very nice. We didn't build them that "pretty" at Davis, but ours were just as accurate and nice to shoot. I saw a few we did with slab cuts on the side of the barrel. We didn't do the added ejector rod shroud.

The alloy frame S&W 422/622 are lighter versions of the stainless 2206, so they are more "carry friendly", but I seem to be able to hold the 2206 steadier and shoot them more accurately than the comparable 422/622s. I think that I have tried all of the aftermarket grips for the 422/622/2206 and found that the least expensive nylon target style grips from GPC fit my hand better than any of the others. GPC part # 728720 for around $15.

The .22 MAG revolvers that I carry most of the time are Rossi 515s with larger Rossi target style grips.

I have a 6” 617 with a Leupold Delta Point on it and a 8 3/8” 617 with a 2x7 Weaver on it. Awesome guns.
Love the PPC gun, I still have mine from the early nineties.

If you posted pics of your guns, I sure wouldn't object!

8 3/8" Model 617 on the Silhouette range. Wonderfully accurate at 100 yards.

I have the same model as you....17-3. Traded into it several years ago. Had a Springfield "Fully Loaded" 1911 that he wanted, so we made the swap. He stated it had been his father's handgun, but he had no use for it. Couldn't help myself but think what a damn fool he was. He thought the same of me for getting rid of a 1911 for a .22.....

The other k-frame I have is a S&W model 48 "No Dash" that I won in an auction. It was an Estate clearance and some third party company was conducting the on-line auction. Got it for a decent price as well as I recall.....Both are very accurate revolvers!

I have owned 2 - 1) 6" & 1) 4". Very nice revolvers but in the end I ended up selling them both. They were just too big and heavy for a .22 for me.

I’ve got a 4” and 6” 617. Love both. The 6” never gets carried but is a pleasure to shoot. The 4” gets carried some while in the hills and is a ton of fun to shoot. I’d jump on that one if still available.