Smith and Wesson 617 first range trip report

[roval]

if you look at mine at the top it looks the same. I almost think the strike is too far to the outside. The little round firing pin doesn't work like the typical square firing pin and has to hit farther down on the round. All 5 rounds in my picture are still live. Mine was plenty deep too. But it never made a cylinder when it was new and after they changed the yolk and cylinder is been flawless

The cylinder gap was super tight before and after the repair. Trigger didn't change any either. Pretty heavy da. But not crazy either. I knew they changed the cylinder even though they didn't mention it because mine had an ugly manufacturing defect before I sent it. Was gone when it came back

if they change the yoke hopefully it will have a better fit than what was pictured.

 

[roval]

That's all I could think of. May be wrong though. But my strikes are actually pretty deep. And they would happen in SA. So I know the cylinder was latched in place. I was checking each time. I even numbered my chambers to see if it was the same ones. Lol

To the op, yours could be letting the hammer go before the cylinder is stopped. Especially with the obvious out of time issue. The strikes don't really look like the firing pin is hitting a moving round though.

View attachment 1043308

My cylinder looked far worse than yours. Clearly nobody even glanced at it before it left the factory. That defect is deep. And it's how I know they changed the cylinder even though they didn't say so.

There was no communicating with Smith either. No "we received your gun" no "we shipped your gun back". I simply got a tracking number from fed ex

But turnaround was quick and most importantly the gun is right now. Several thousand rounds and no issues

was that ding on the cylinder from dry firing or was it like that new? i kept inspecting the back of the cylinders for dings prior to buying it. i told the sales guy "don't worry i will not dry fire it" and he just said don't worry go ahead and dry fire it. i wonder how many he ok'd to dry fire it but it was only there for a couple of weeks before i bought it and i didn't see any dings.

 

[Zendude]

I was curious about the gouge in the cylinder too.

 

[crestoncowboy]

So, the yoke adjustment would slightly reposition the cylinder to line up the firing pin further inward from the rim? (I never had a rimfire revolver)

No clue really. The note was typed on a Smith and Wesson letterhead paper and literally said "replaced yolk" lol. The lack of communication was pretty off putting. But it worked out.

i was so excited for the gun "the cadillac of 22lr revolvers, the best 22 lr revolver etc, etc.."

I felt the same way. I thought "I could have done better than this with a Jennings or Taurus. Lol

was that ding on the cylinder from dry firing or was it like that new?

Dry firing some rim fire will damage the firing pin. You could dry fire any rim fire a billion times and never do that to a cylinder. Even the pot metal chambers on the worst guns like a sig Mosquito wouldn't deform like that. That is far deeper than the firing pin would even reach. And only on one chamber. That's most likely been a broken cutting tool, reamer or something id guess. And rather than look at the gun they fixed the cutting machine and went back to break, with the qc guy who should have glanced at it before putting it in the box. Lol

 

[roval]

sent off an email to smith and wesson customer service with the above pics and will call tomorrow.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

You will eventually be very happy with the 617.
They are exceptional Revolvers. New and old ones

 

[crestoncowboy]

sent off an email to smith and wesson customer service with the above pics and will call tomorrow.

Well I went digging for my thread on my Smith 617 and I guess I lied....I didn't make one. Lol. Going through my emails though I got my rma and shipping label on 4-28-20. It was delivered at my house fixed on 5-26-20.

I just knew that as bad as my feelings got hurt by the 617 that id made a thread to cry about it. Lol. Guess not.

I did do a thread on my 44 mag that was broke after less than a box of rounds from Smith. Lol. But that was 2018. It too was fixed.

 

[InTheField]

I sent mine back due to excessive leading at the forcing cone and in the first couple inches of the bore. They recut the forcing cone and all has been great since.

 

[roval]

i wish i saw this video before i purchased the gun. the gentleman's gun was doing what my gun was doing with up to 4 misfires per cylinder but even with SA. Looking through the comments he asked S&W for a new mainspring and firing pin which they sent for free but it didn't fix the issue so he eventually sent it in and was good afterwards. his gun had no mention of lead build up though.

 

[crestoncowboy]

i wish i saw this video before i purchased the gun. the gentleman's gun was doing what my gun was doing with up to 4 misfires per cylinder but even with SA. Looking through the comments he asked S&W for a new mainspring and firing pin which they sent for free but it didn't fix the issue so he eventually sent it in and was good afterwards. his gun had no mention of lead build up though.

Wonder if he got the same "replaced yolk" paper i got. Lol

Funny thing is that I had a 44 mag that the cylinder latch broke way before I bought my 617. I sent it with the latch in the box. I got it back, new latch installed and the old latch in the box and a hand written note that simply said "reinstalled latch, replaced yolk" and some initials. They replaced the latch not reinstalled and would have had no reason to mess with the yolk. Maybe that's their standard response. Fix whatever it was and write "replaced yolk" as a generic thing.

Either way if you notice, every story above has the Common theme of "Smith has zero quality control" and Smith generally does a very good job of rectifying the gun. Lol. Maybe that's some consolation

 

[Lnf Crzr]

S&W 617 No Dash.

Never a problem- Shoots very accurate off bench at 14 yards with Standard Velocity CCI … Not far off from what my Model 41 Target 22lr 7” with green tag CCI standard shot.

 

[Master Blaster]

Looks like the timing is off on three chambers, that is why you see lead on the forcing cone and the front of the cylinder on three chambers. They are not perfectly lined up with the Barrel forcing cone when the gun is firing.
The gun may be carrying up and locking fine, but its shaving lead on three chambers so they are not timed correctly in alignment.

 

[roval]

i am still waiting on a reply to my email. i called and they said to await a reply to the email. i cleaned the gun and picked off the lead buildup. i may shoot it again and the not clean it so they can see where the lead builds up for when i eventually send the gun back. what do you guys think?

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Seems sensible to me. Before you know it- you’ll have it back and in working order. Over paying for 22lr

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Ps -what barrel length is it?

 

[GooseGestapo]

Remember! The first few 617 10shots had Aluminum cylinders, as yours appears to have.

My 617 has a 6-shot stainless cylinder.

Be sure to clean UNDER the extractor! That’s where the fouling accumulates and causes hard cylinder closing and light hammer strikes. As a PPC shooter, I keep a tooth brush with shortened handle on a key chain on a belt-keeper, just for brushing before loading for a string of fire.

I replaced both front and rear sight blades on mine so I can lower rear sight for a 50yd “neck hold” on a 50yd B-27 silhouette target. I use it for off season, pre season practice!

BTW; it’s a YOKE!

Eggs have yolks......

 

[roval]

Ps -what barrel length is it?

6 inches

 

[roval]

Remember! The first few 617 10shots had Aluminum cylinders, as yours appears to have.

My 617 has a 6-shot stainless cylinder.

Be sure to clean UNDER the extractor! That’s where the fouling accumulates and causes hard cylinder closing and light hammer strikes. As a PPC shooter, I keep a tooth brush with shortened handle on a key chain on a belt-keeper, just for brushing before loading for a string of fire.

I replaced both front and rear sight blades on mine so I can lower rear sight for a 50yd “neck hold” on a 50yd B-27 silhouette target. I use it for off season, pre season practice!

BTW; it’s a YOKE!

Eggs have yolks......

it is current manufacture and has a stainless steel cylinder. there was no crud underneath the extractor. i do know the crane is a yoke.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Colts have cranes....
cos they’re still under construction....

 

[roval]

Wonder if he got the same "replaced yolk" paper i got. Lol

Funny thing is that I had a 44 mag that the cylinder latch broke way before I bought my 617. I sent it with the latch in the box. I got it back, new latch installed and the old latch in the box and a hand written note that simply said "reinstalled latch, replaced yolk" and some initials. They replaced the latch not reinstalled and would have had no reason to mess with the yolk. Maybe that's their standard response. Fix whatever it was and write "replaced yolk" as a generic thing.

Either way if you notice, every story above has the Common theme of "Smith has zero quality control" and Smith generally does a very good job of rectifying the gun. Lol. Maybe that's some consolation

i found the ffup video of that guy and took a screen shot of the repair paper.i am sure he wouldn't mind.

 

[PapaG]

Stupidest sale ever was getting rid of my 617. Period.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

A good 22lr revolver like the 617 or 317 is great to have now…. Becouse you can still find 22 short and long ammo!

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Chiming in a little bit late, but here are a few comments.

First off, ANY double action revolver will ALWAYS have a lighter hammer fall when fired double action than when fired single action. That is the nature of the beast. When pulling the trigger double action, the mechanism releases the hammer slightly earlier, with the hammer spring compressed slightly less, than when firing single action. That is the way ALL double action revolvers work, at least all I have ever handled. In the old days, when cocked single action, Smith and Wesson hammers went back a lot further than they do today. The Short Throw hammers were developed because the engineers realized that when properly assembled and tuned, the amount the spring was compressed when fired double action should be enough to fire a primer. So there was no need for the hammer to go back a whole lot further for single action shooting. I don't recall exactly when the change was made to the Short Throw hammers, probably sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Anyway, even though the hammer force is slightly less when fired double action, the revolver should still fire reliably in double action mode. Your hammer seems to be right at hairy edge of what is acceptable.

"the cadillac of 22lr revolvers, the best 22 lr revolver etc, etc.."

With all due respect, NOTHING S&W is making today is worthy of the term 'Cadillac'. Many years ago there were inspections after each machining and assembly step. S&W seems to have largely done away with most inspections today, in an effort to keep manufacturing costs down. Today, the customer is the final inspector, and as you have probably discovered it is less costly for S&W to repair bad guns that slipped out the door than to employ an army of inspectors.


Some photos:

I bought this Model 617-6 slightly used a few years ago. It shipped in 2003. I don't really care for this revolver, hate the heavy full length underlug. The only reason I bought it was I was shooting a steel match and had to get eight aimed shots onto a target in 15 seconds. Could not do that with a six shooter. I changed out the ugly rubber grips for some nice wooden ones a while ago, but I don't seem to have a photo of it with the new grips.






Correction: Here it is with the wood grips. Walnut I believe.






Study this photo. Notice where the firing pin has indented the rim. This revolver never misfires. That is where the firing pin should strike the rime.

ALSO, notice how much space the counterbore leaves around the rim. Contrary to what some think, this revolver can be dry fired until the cows come home and the firing pin is not going to strike any part of the cylinder. Dry fire it all you want, however stop using spent 22 rimfire cases. After a couple of strikes, the brass gets dented enough that it no longer cushions the firing pin. Rotating spent brass to expose a new portion of the rim to the firing pin is OK though.






Here is the front of the yoke on your 617.

Here is the business end of the yoke of my 617-6. Notice how much less slop there is around the hinge with mine.






This 32-20 Hand Ejector left the factory in 1916. The gap around the yoke is almost invisible. That is the way it should be, but S&W will never produce a revolver this fine again.






Anyway, I hope S&W can fix the problem with your 617. You should not be getting all those misfires in double action.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Cough Cough pre cough lock cough.

Sorry fellas, Darn Covid or something

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

It has nothing to do with the lock. Mine has the lock and does not misfire.

It is the lack of quality leaving S&W these days.