S&W Model 17 no dash, 8 3/8" barrel

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kidneyboy

kidneyboy

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This was for sale at my LGS for months. It had a B Square scope mount with a Swift 2x20 scope on it. I finally made them an offer I couldn't refuse and bought it home. Took the scope off and put the original rear sight back on. Cosmetically it is very good to excellent. Shiny, clean bore. Unlike the last S&W I bought this one is very well oiled. Before I took the scope off I shot it at 25yds with CCI SV and it held the 9 ring on a B-8 target, so it has potential to be a good shooter. Smooth, but not to light DA trigger pull and an excellent, crisp SA pull. Reasonably sure those are the 3 T's too (someone correct me if that isn't so).
IMG_4721.jpg IMG_4722.jpg IMG_4723.JPG IMG_4724.JPG
 
Sweet pick up! :thumbup:

I’ve never owned an 8 3/8” Smith & Wesson, the largest one I own (629) maxes out at 6.5”.. and the Model 17 at 6”. How does the longer, thin barrel balance?

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Sweet pick up! :thumbup:

I’ve never owned an 8 3/8” Smith & Wesson, the largest one I own (629) maxes out at 6.5”.. and the Model 17 at 6”. How does the longer, thin barrel balance?

Stay safe.
Click to expand...

The 8-3/8" barrels are a bit nose heavy but not excessively so.

For decades, I saw no use for the long barrel S&W revolvers and then I got my first one. I now have 8 (45 Colt, 44 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 357 Magnum N frame, 357 Magnum L frame, 38 Special, 22 RF and 460 S&W Magnum).

They are fun to shoot and cool to own but a pain to carry.:)

The OP has found a nice Model 17.

My 8-3/8" Model 25-5 45 Colt is on top. The other two are Model 25-5 as well.

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Riomouse911 said:
Sweet pick up! :thumbup:

I’ve never owned an 8 3/8” Smith & Wesson, the largest one I own (629) maxes out at 6.5”.. and the Model 17 at 6”. How does the longer, thin barrel balance?

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
It balances better than a full lug 6" barrel 686 or 617. Will be shooting it sans scope this morning but dry fire practice tells me it is pretty well balanced.
 
It feels similar to an 1851 or 1860 Colt percussion revolver. And many black powder shooters think those guns have exceptionally good “feel”.
 
The trigger and hammer don't look like the .500" width full target to me. There's another width in between the service-width and the full-target. I think they call it a semi-target and it's maybe .375" wide? Working off a suspect memory.

I used to have a pair of 8 3/8" k-frames. I liked them but gave up on them for the 6" versions. I didn't shoot them any better than the 6" and they are hard to fit in your range bag. Kind of unwieldy. But for a range gun they are great and will attract attention.
 
walnut1704 said:
The trigger and hammer don't look like the .500" width full target to me. There's another width in between the service-width and the full-target. I think they call it a semi-target and it's maybe .375" wide? Working off a suspect memory.

I used to have a pair of 8 3/8" k-frames. I liked them but gave up on them for the 6" versions. I didn't shoot them any better than the 6" and they are hard to fit in your range bag. Kind of unwieldy. But for a range gun they are great and will attract attention.
Click to expand...

I have a 6” Model 66 that has the .500 hammer and wide trigger. At first I didn’t like it, but now after a bit of shooting that setup is ok.

The hammer took no time at all to get used to compared to the .375” version, its grippier on the thumb for sure. However, shooting the wide trigger makes it feel like it’s had a shoe attached to the standard one. That wider surface did take a bit of shooting to get used to. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
I have a K-22 with that barrel length and love it. I'm the third owner and heaven only knows how many rounds went through it. Smooth trigger and balances perfectly for me. It is strictly a range toy so I don't have to contend with barrel length for carry.

And yes, it does get noticed at the range.

Jeff
 
I have a 17-3 with a 6.5” barrel. My favorite revolver of all was my Dad’s K-22 with an 8 3/8” barrel. I dearly wanted that gun. A couple of years after he passed away my Mom, not realizing how much I desired that revolver, gave it to a friend of my Dad’s who would not give it to me at any price.
Anyway, someday I will have one of my own.

Nice find Kidneyboy. :thumbup:
 
Thanksgiving 2019, my #2 daughter and her Brit husband were home. He's retired UK military and enjoys doing a little shooting stateside of things he does not have access to in the UK. He shot my 8-3/8" Model 17 and enjoyed it thoroughly.

kidneyboy said:
Ok, shot it today with the iron sights. Decent results. 25yds is a long hard look for me with iron sights. ]
Click to expand...

Nice group!
 
walnut1704 said:
The trigger and hammer don't look like the .500" width full target to me. There's another width in between the service-width and the full-target. I think they call it a semi-target and it's maybe .375" wide? Working off a suspect memory.

I used to have a pair of 8 3/8" k-frames. I liked them but gave up on them for the 6" versions. I didn't shoot them any better than the 6" and they are hard to fit in your range bag. Kind of unwieldy. But for a range gun they are great and will attract attention.
Click to expand...
You are correct sir. .375" wide.
 
I have one as well. Aesthetically it is not as appealing as the shorter barreled versions but there is no denying the superior accuracy at least in my hands. Congratulations on owning a beautiful piece sir
 
As far as carry is concerned I have found this holster, a Ringler 109 from Wyoming Holster to be very comfortable and quite handy. I just noticed I hadn’t fully holstered the revolver.It does cover the trigger better. A0287579-AA5A-452E-B8E8-57D669478DCC.jpeg
 
Last edited:
607AF4D4-F560-4DC8-ADEA-6ACBA74EB2EF.jpeg Inspired by this thread, I gave mine some range exercise this afternoon. At 17 yards my groups were not as tight as Kidneyboy’s so no photo of paper. But my groups were smaller than the guys on either side of me who were spraying and praying with their .308 scoped black rifles at 10 yards, so there was some satisfaction for enduring the concussion from their muzzle blasts!

I put an old set of Fitz grips on it to accommodate the middle finger on my right hand, which locks up if flexed too much. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday to correct it.
 
I have a S&W revolver that is somewhat similar...

It's in good shape. Whoever owned it before me barely fired it. The trigger isn't even broken in yet. My problem is that I have so many revolvers in 38/357 that the Model 14 doesn't make it to the range very often. I'll try to take it with me next time.

Smith And Wesson Model 14-4

Smith And Wesson Model 14-4

 
I’m just hoping to stop burning money and eventually buy an 8-3/8 revolver. Preferably a K frame and I don’t particularly care what caliber because I like them all. If I could pick I would go 22lr or 38spl because I know I would shoot a .357 loose and a .32swl is WAY too expensive
 
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