Henry Rifle Forums

Yes, I am a die hard single action revolver shooter, but I am a serious double action revolver shooter, too.

When it comes to double action revolvers for both me and my husband, a S&W 617 in 22 LR has always been our mainstay DA target revolver. Unlike the lighter half lug blued Model 17, the 617 is a heavier stainless full lug, all target revolver. 617s have always dominated in rimfire revolvers used in current steel competition.

Bill bought his current production Smith 617-6 ten shot over a decade, ago, and it's been flawless, right out of the box, and it's still going strong after thousands of rounds.

My luck with current vintage 617-6 Smiths has not been so good. The two I've had in the last fifteen years both had to go back to S&W for defects. In fact, this last one went back twice. After two trips back, the DA pull was still rough and gritty. This is especially aggravating, since I use the 617 for DA shooting practice, so I traded it off. (Not crazy about the lock, but it never bothered me, either.)


In the meantime, I have been looking for an older 617, hoping it would be without any issues, given S&W QC was better in the old days. Be great if I could find an early 90s 617, just like my first 617 that I bought back in 1993. That one was a dream to shoot.

Last week I actually found this exact vintage. It's 617-1, actually made in 1993. How's that for luck? Even has the original Hogue rubber grips, first introduced that year, just like I remeber.


The dash 1 version of the 617 was made for three years, 93, 94 and 95. This is important, because the dash 1 vintage is pre-lock, pre-MIM, and pre-10 shot, but this vintage was also the first years for Smith drilling and tapping the 617 for a mount, so I can add a red dot at some point. It's the prefect vintage as far as the combination of features and construction and all 617 fans know it, so these can be very hard to find.

Yes, the early 617s were 6 shot. The current 10 shot version wasn't introduced until the late 90s.


And I do prefer a 6 shot. Why? I am so used to 6 shot revolvers that I subconsciously know when I've shot 6 and it's time to reload. Don't have to think about it. The current 10 shot version is fine, but I just prefer the 6 shot version and those aren't offered, anymore.

So, how does this early 617 shoot (and it is early, given 1989 was the first year for the 617)?


In a word, perfect. Most importantly, it is 100% reliable and both SA and DA pull are excellent. Accuracy? It's pure 617 in that respect, too, even with Colibri. Very easy to shoot revolver, both in SA and Da, the way a 617 should shoot.


Will add a red dot at some point and get it out to the range with some good ammo. Nothing beats an old friend of a 617.

I've owned a 617 for a long time........Many times been temped to take my portaban and saw the underlug off......I guess if I can locate a .22 mtn gun.........The surgery won't be needed.

Great 617 NCG. I have one also. Six shots and six inches. That just screams accurate.
Nice shooting with the Colibri's. I'll have to get some out and put some of my .22s to the test.

Love my 617 also especially since it was gone thru by my gunsmith and there is no lock left in mine. He removed it. Functions like a 617 should. Great shooting NCG.

Another outstanding find NCG. Wonderful combination of the 6 shot and 6” barrel.

One question, so far anyway how is the ejecting of the cylinder with the Colibri’s? I’m thinking if I ever get another 617 it will be s six shot like yours. The 10 shot 617’s I’ve owned in the past were a bear to empty the cylinder.

Thanks, folks.

No problem ejecting empties with the Colibri ammo in any revolvers, so far. The Colibri cases are a loose fit in most chambers. I do understand about the issues of ejecting empties in the 10 shot 617s, though. There were times in the 10 shot when some cases would get tangled up in the extractor when ejecting. Happens in Bill's 10 shot, too. Not every time, but now and then. This hasn't happened at all in the 6 shot.

Anyone thinking about using Colibri, just remember to keep the ranges short. 12 yards or less seems to be right with this ammo, which really is designed for use in revolvers, anyway, not rifles. I'd be very wary of squib loads with this ammo in rifles. I've had a couple. I doubt there's enough power with Colibri to damage a barrel if you follow up with another Colibri after getting a squib, but if you follow up with a standard 22 LR round, you have a problem.

I don't have a 617. I have its predecessor. A blued 17-6. It's a beautiful gun. I wasn't looking for another gun, but a good friend really wanted to sell it to me, and since he sold me a gun I really wanted at an obscenely low price, I kinda felt obligated. I'm not complaining mind you. It's a beautiful gun. I need to shoot it more and figure out what it really likes.

The picture is from the internet, but mine looks just like these three.

Any 17 is a great gun, but the 17-6 version with the full lug is hard to find, now, given it only had a short run, basically just in the 90s before being discontinued. It was the last version of the standard production Model 17, though Smith did bring back the 17 in the Classic series. If yours has that late 17 combat grips, those grips are worth big bucks, by the way.

I also have a 17, but mine is a much earlier 17-3, made in 1967. One of the reasons I wanted to get the 617 in this post was to avoid wear and tear on this very collectible 17.

NCG -
Yes, I have the orangish grips. Like I said - Mine looks just like these.

I also have a black Pachmayr monogrip that came with it, as well as a second Pachmayr grip that I had on my Model 66 for many years that may fit. I'd have to check on that. I had the black grip on it for a while, but I prefer the feel of the wood grips, so I put them back on recently. But yeah, I make take them off again and have a go at making a matching set out of oak. That's what I made the current grips for my 66 out of. The original Goncalo Alves grips were too big for my hands, so I made a set for the 66 as a proof of concept, to see if I could do it. See, I had been sitting on this piece of Birds-eye Maple for about 40 years. It was only so big, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I finally decided I wanted to make grips out of it for my Blackhawk, but it was only big enough for one try. No boo-boos allowed. So I decided to try to make a set for the 357 first, to see if I could. The first set turned out pretty good, so I went ahead and started cutting the maple. I think they came out pretty good.

Sorry for the thread drift.

Okay, that's weird. The pictures looked just fine when I previewed the post, but now they look scrunched.