Put money down on a S&W 617

B

bbqbob51

New member
I was in my local gun shop and inquired about my chances on getting my paws on a 6" bbl Smith and Wesson 617. They called their distributor and they had over 400 on order and were informed they expected some from S&W in April. They had gotten some in February which sold out pretty quickly. I decided to take a chance and placed $200 down and they ordered one for me.
I'm not really getting a great deal by paying full MSRP but I've been wanting one for awhile so I went for it. I've got my fingers crossed they will come through on time!
 
I just picked one up at a Turner's Outdoorsman in California last Friday. I never ordered it. There was another one on the shelf at a different Turner's. So, you probably won't have to wait too long to get your hands on one.
 
Don't worry about the price. Once you've put a few hundred rounds through the gun you'll wonder how you were able to live without one.
 
Colt, That's good to hear! Did you get it for a good price? It seems like when it comes to Smith revolvers they are hard to get a decent discount, at least around here and in these times.
 
Buzzcook said:"Don't worry about the price. Once you've put a few hundred rounds through the gun you'll wonder how you were able to live without one."

Yeah, that's really my thinking. The one firearm I don't have is a 22LR double action revolver (I have a Ruger Single Six and a S&W 22A) so it fills a need. I looked at the Taurus 992 convertible and other lesser guns but really didn't want to settle. I got my income tax refund so I can pay cash for is so why not? My buddy has an older 22lr S&W revolver with the full lug 8-3/8 barrel and it is a great shooter. This gun will also be a nice companion in my gun safe to my S&W 686+!:D
Insofar as price goes even last year when I priced them they were only about $30 less than I'm paying now.
 
Always check out the M63.

I like mine better than my old K-22.

DSC01782.jpg
 
I'm not Lavan, but I do have both a 617 and a 63 (and two 17s and an 18). The 63 is a fun gun, easy to carry or pack. My gripe about it is that the trigger is . . . a j-frame trigger, except worse since it's a rimfire.

A buddy of mine has one too, and he enjoys it more than the medium frames. But my feeling is that the k-frames are more fun to shoot, if less to carry.
 
Bob,
Good choice! I have one I bought used a year or two back. It's a keeper for sure. I never warmed to M-18s or M-17s like I have to this revolver....such nice balance!

Congrats and wishing you a speedy delivery.

Bob

standard.jpg
 
Besides being an excellent gun you can look at it this way too - you'll shoot it for a long, long time, your kids will shoot it even longer and you might get to see the grand kids enjoying it.

It's a mind game I know but if you consider spreading the cost over three or four generations it's down right cheap! If you think you could have waited for a 'deal' think of all the time you'll be enjoying it instead of searching for one. And the price might even continue to go up - so this might actually be a 'good' deal.
 
DaleA said: "It's a mind game I know but if you consider spreading the cost over three or four generations it's down right cheap! If you think you could have waited for a 'deal' think of all the time you'll be enjoying it instead of searching for one. And the price might even continue to go up - so this might actually be a 'good' deal."
DaleA,
That's kind of my thinking also. In the case of the 617 it is not exactly plentiful, at least in the shops with 100 miles of me. I usually see all kinds of Single Six and Taurus 22LR revolvers and not many with a barrel over 4" and by far the most 22 handguns I see are semi-autos. I only recall seeing a few 6" models in shops in the past 2 or 3 years. None were exactly value priced so it makes it hard to compare shop and go with the best deal.
I finally decided to stop the running around and haunting Gunbroker.com and GunsAmerica.com. The one time I got to bid on a NIB 617 on Gunbroker it shot through the roof to nearly $1000! This was disheartening so I chose not to bid on the next one I saw and that one went for less than $800.:confused: The few I saw on Gunsamerica I chose to buy were already spoken for by the time I tried to purchase. Even though they were priced right by the time I paid for shipping and handling and transfer fees the price was right up there anyway.
 
My 4" 617 search experience is similar. I did stumble on a decent used 6" 617 a few years ago, but I turned around and sold it as I did not like the balance of the 6" full lug. On the search for a 4" 617 I finally bit the bullet and bought new at a gun show a couple of months ago.

617_2_zpsd9418475.jpg
 
Last edited:
Got a suggestion for a accessory that you will like with that 617. Look up speedbeez speed loaders. They carry ammo blocks that you can prestage before you go shooting. And you will shoot it a lot!!!
 
Mxsailor803 said: "Got a suggestion for a accessory that you will like with that 617. Look up speedbeez speed loaders. They carry ammo blocks that you can prestage before you go shooting. And you will shoot it a lot!!!"
Mxsailor,
Oh yes, I have already got them in my Amazon.com cart and will get them once I have my 617 in my sweaty hands. The beauty of any firearm, not just the AR15 platform, is the accessories you can get to enhance your enjoyment. Good thing I have several bricks of 22LR on hand as I will be needing them!:D
 
The trigger on my M63 is what sold me on it. Imperceptible overtravel and easily as smooth as my old mid 60s K-22.

Add the weight (or lack of) and it pleases me FAR more than the K did.

Plus women love to shoot it. (with all the attendant advantages of that ;))

Easily as accurate as the old blue K-22 also.

:)
 
It's been my experience that, although the trigger pulls in the single-action mode is similar on both frame sizes, the double-action pull on most K-frames is markedly superior to those found on most J-frames. In terms of accuracy, though the intrinsic accuracy of both frame sizes may well be equivalent, the larger K-frame is easier to shoot accurately for most shooters. In Bullseye matches through the years, you would have to look long and hard to have found a shooter competing with a J-frame revolver, whereas K-frames were common-place.
 
9mm said: "Over the summer I got mine for $678+Tax/ship/trans = $735otd"
9mm,
Yeah, I kept hearing about people picking up a new 617 for less than $700 but have not seen any here, even before the current madness. I have spent the past 6 weeks or so also looking online but that kind of deal is scarcer than hen's teeth! I kept poking around shops looking for a good used one but saw none. I'll buy new online but won't buy used unless I can handle the gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top