317 Kit Gun

Are you looking at the snubbie or the 3" barrel gun? That's pretty much the going rate for a new 3" 317.

I brought home a used, pre-lock snubbie a month or so ago. It is a really, really neat gun. It's so light people who handle it assume it's a toy at first. Double action was pretty heavy, but I swapped out the rebound spring for a Wolff 13-pounder. Made a world of difference.

317

Are the pre-lock models bringing a premium, if so how much?

I drooled over a 3" version the other day, they are some lightweight guns.

Make sure and check, it may be one that S&W is offering the $50 rebates on.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...catalogId=11101&content=57302&sectionId=10002

My wife and I each have a 317- hers is the pre-lock snub, mine the 3" adj sight model.

Both are fun to shoot, weigh next to nothing, great woods-roaming guns.

S&w #317

My wife and i also have a pair which i bought for woods roaming. I've now reached 63 and i've got some health issues so have quit hunting. These are both pre- lock models a 2" and a 3". I would sell either or both as i no longer have a need and I'm gun poor. PM me if interested, both have less than 100 rds. through them and are 100% with the original box and papers.

if its a pre lock its worth the price~

My recommendation would be to get the 317 with a Partridge or standard ramp front sight. The Hi-Viz sight is cool in concept, and really has a bright light-catching capability, but (for me, at least) it doesn't afford the kind of precision shooting that would be the intent of a gun like this (I'm not sure I could achieve minute-of-squirrel head at any appreciable distance).

My 317 came with the barrel slightly over-torqued to the left, so that the handgun shoots w-i-d-e left unless I move the rear sights nearly all the way over. I'm planning on sending it back to S&W to readjust the barrel, but am also going to have them put on a more target-oriented front sight.

FWIW...

My wife bought me mine as a Christmas gift.
She actually shoots it more than I do but I wouldn't sell it for the world, very nice handgun.
It came with a standard ramp front sight and I replaced this with a plain black partridge blade.
The grips are Kim Ahrends Ebony boot grips.

Some guys will tell you the trigger pull is very heavy.
I didn't consider it to be heavy, just stiff, when I got the gun new.
As you shoot these guns they smooth out appreciably and the double and single action felt pull gets better and better with use so don't let that discourage you.

I have a first year production 317.
The DA pull was so heavy I had to use two fingers to shoot it.

Wolff springs to the rescue!

I understand the newer ones use lighter springs, but I bet they would still benefit from a Wolff spring kit.

Mine wears a set of Crimson Trace laser grips, and it rides in an old S&W spring-clip belt holster. Or more often just in the hip pocket of my jeans.

I find most leather J-Frame holsters weigh more then the gun does!

rcmodel

snip<>get the 317 with a Partridge<>snip

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snip<>I replaced this with a plain black partridge blade.<>snip

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They are Patridge sights, not partridge, a partridge is a bird, a Patridge sight is for revolvers, named after the man who invented that style of sight.
Sorry, I just had to say something, this is just one of my many pet peeves.

Yeah. yeah I put an 'r' in there, whoopdeedoo.
The sight still works better for me than a ramp or one of those goofy hi-viz fiber optic whatchamacallums,,,,,,,,,