Smith and Wesson 617 first range trip report

[Driftwood Johnson]

My feelings exactly, unless your time isn't worth anything how is it better to spend untold hours visiting gun and pawn stores and estate sales than buying online? When buying online just be sure there is a return policy.

We used to have a LGS with a great selection of older guns, they recently closed the retail store and only sell online. That seems to be a trend.

Part of the fun is the hunt. Plus I never spent 'untold hours visiting gun and pawn stores and estate sales'. There were three or four shops within an hour's drive or so that I visited regularly, maybe once a month. I have found some pretty good deals at some of them, and being able to handle the guns in person I was able to inspect them and not worry about whether or not a website had a return policy. Plus, I was able to bargain in person over the price. If the gun did not pass my inspection, and I did not get the price I wanted, the gun went back into the display case, end of story. In addition, there was one auction that I attended regularly. Not an online auction, a brick and mortar live gun auction. This auction happened about four times a year. Again, I was able to inspect everything in person, and I did not bid any higher than I wanted to. Bought quite a few terrific old guns at that auction, both relatively modern and antique.

As I said, part of the fun is in the hunt.

 

[Paul7]

Part of the fun is the hunt. Plus I never spent 'untold hours visiting gun and pawn stores and estate sales'. There were three or four shops within an hour's drive or so that I visited regularly, maybe once a month. I have found some pretty good deals at some of them, and being able to handle the guns in person I was able to inspect them and not worry about whether or not a website had a return policy. Plus, I was able to bargain in person over the price. If the gun did not pass my inspection, and I did not get the price I wanted, the gun went back into the display case, end of story. In addition, there was one auction that I attended regularly. Not an online auction, a brick and mortar live gun auction. This auction happened about four times a year. Again, I was able to inspect everything in person, and I did not bid any higher than I wanted to. Bought quite a few terrific old guns at that auction, both relatively modern and antique.

As I said, part of the fun is in the hunt.

Well, we all have different ideas of fun, and amounts of time on our hands. If I put that money in my business I'd make way more than hoping to find a bargain at a LGS.

I've bought guns from a LGS I've handed in person that turned out to have problems, sometimes you don't know there's an issue until you shoot it.

 

[sparkyv]

5 lanes away??? I guess that is a serious fault. Let us know what the Mothership says and does, roval.

a fellow shooter asked me to put up a screen. I told her I was shooting a revolver and didn't have any brass ejecting. She was 5 lanes away to my left but she said she felt stuff hitting her hair everytime I shot the revolver.

 

[roval]

5 lanes away??? I guess that is a serious fault. Let us know what the Mothership says and does, roval.

will do. that is what she says. she wanted me to put up a screen which normally mounts on the right side of the table but i guess i could have mounted one on the table next to me. i stopped instead. the thing is nobody complained the first time i took the gun out last Sunday and i do think it was the same 60ish y/o couple. they were in the left lane next to me then and the other couple that was shooting 2 left lanes away from me that i was having a cz conversation with never brought up anything in spite of me having shot more rounds then.

 

[roval]

here's a video on the problematic 617-6. the shooting is at 9:15 thereabouts . i forgot to mention , the barrel is also slightly canted.

 

[crestoncowboy]

As I said, part of the fun is in the hunt.

I miss the almost hopeless searching for a rare gun. My first delta elite and my bren 10 were both elusive. Pure luck to find something like that pre 2000 ish before internet shopping was of any use. Before blackberry made the internet halfway usable on your phone via a tiny ball .. There were several guns that I said I'd buy if I ever saw. A savage 24 in 223/12 guage was one. I have the 22/410 and 222/20 (iirc). Hell even finding the gun stores was a task. Carrying a yellow pages and using a tom tom/ Garmin (which were also in their infancy and sucked at times). Oddly a 6 inch stainless tracker in 17 hmr was another.

Now I could just order either via gunbroker or several stores online..... but don't care about it anymore. My gun hunting buddies are long gone. And without the hunt its just no fun. People calling you up saying "I saw something like that gun you wanted" 200 miles away. Lol.