1917 S&W questions

[MosinM38]

Been awhile on this but I fianlly wrung it out (A little bit).

Ran 18 rounds through the 1917. 12 rounds of 200 Grain Lead SWC and 6 rounds of 230 Grain FMJ.

I held a little low left to hit on-target but it averaged from 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" groups. Not bad. Haven't got my Moon-clips so I just punched out the empties with my pen.

That is a nice feeling little gun. Doesn't kick much worse than a .22 mag, isnt real loud and just feels good....

*Sigh* Ok.. I am addicted.... Keep me away from any Old Smiths... jsut too expensive to buy and I like em so much

 

[44and45]

Most of these guns are prewar, oldies but goodies.

Hope this gets your chops slobbering...Heh heh.

L - R top is .45 acp is 1937 Brazilian, top right is WW-1 era .455 converted to .45 Colt, bottom left is 3rd model .44 spl., middle is 2nd model .455 converted to .44 special, bottom right is WW-2 era .38 special Victory model.

Jim

 

[trent/OH]

I sold off about a hundred 45 auto-rims about a year ago for a reaaly good price. If I still had them I'd offer them to you as a young shooter at a great price just to help your addiction. I always liked the LOOK of the cartridge, short and squat and rimmed, sort of like a cartoon character's cartridges. If I happen to run across some more (somewhat unlikely) I'll try to remember you.

 

[MosinM38]

First. Thanks for the thought But I hear Black Hills is making .45 Rimmed shells. But thanks again
As for droling... Wow..Nice guns For some reason the Old Smiths really appeal to me. There was a rusted most-bluing-gone Triple Lock Target went on Gunbroker for $605..... I about took out a loan from my parents.... but when a gun looks like that it might take a major overhaul.

At the last gunshow I was at there seemed to be a few older Smiths for decent prices. I am sorta gonna keep a eye out for a .38 Victory model. With some wear they can be picked up for decent prices and still be a great shooter.
(That is one thing that is great about me. I don't care if the bluing is gone or if there is a little rust as long as the gun works. That really helps when it comes to old revolvers )

P.S. I am gonna look a little bit for one of the newly made 1917's or .44 Specials from S&W... I might be able to make a shooter out of one of them.(Thats when I get my money built up again )

 

[dogngun]

Mosin:
I recently bought a Brazilian contract 1917/1937 S&W. The trgirreg is very smooth, and I'm sure it was not "improved". It is very worn and has a few tiny spots of pitting, but it is mechanically very fine and is a great shooter.
I paid $450 for it, and would buy it again in a second.
I have carried it and will carry it a lot this winter under a long coat.
FWIW, I have seen 1817's online in similar condition to yours selling for $550-$800, so you did very well.

Try www.gunpartscorp.com for moon and half moon clips. I got moon clips for .75 each and they work just fine.

You might also want to look in on the S&W forum at
www.smith-wessonforum.com

There are quite a few 1917 shooters there and you might enjoy it.

Welcome!

Mark

 

[MosinM38]

Hmm. I might hafta check out that forum. Another spot mainly dedicated to S&W..
It is sortof funny. I am getting to like S&W revolvers (I do have a couple rugers and like them though). And Dad is a die-hard Ruger man

 

[BillCA]

Mosin,

Keep looking around for your old S&W's. Every once in a while you can find an old Victory model that someone reblued or re-parkerized for under $325. Also keep in mind that a fair number of Model 25-2's show up for sale and if you're not looking for a safe queen, these can be great shooters.

Model 25's. Top: 2 5/8" John Jovino custom; Bottom: Factory 6.5" Model 25

 

[Hammer It]

Hello MosinM38

Pre-War S&Ws are the Nicest actions of any S&W ever made. I have a few of them and Like all the Pre-War quality.Sometimes when you get a Pre-War revolver, you Luck out, and get some Important history of the revolver as well. I have a couple I was able to Track back to their original owners and it makes it very Interesting. You Can't beat a Pre-War S&W revolver. Hammer it.




A Mark II .455 British revolver during World War I. This revolver was Owned by a Canadian Pilot that flew Missions over Britian with it, and later had the Micro adjustable sights added. It was a factory converted one to .45 Colt Caliber.

Regulation Police revolver in .32 S&W Long Cartridge originally owned and Carried by Harry Anderson, Chief of Police in Evansville, Indiana

K-22 Outdoorsman revolver first edition. This One shipped in 1936 shown with it's original grips serail numbered to the revolver.

A Pre-War M&P. This one shipped in 1939 with a 5" Barrel and has it's original grips serial numbered to the revolver.

 

[Hammer It]

Hello
I Gave $385.00 for this Victory and it was a great conversation Piece. A buddy wanted it so we swapped and I ended up with his Lightly fired Model 25-5 in .45 Colt. As you can see it Looks as though it was never fired with the side plate removed it still Looked like it shipped in 1943. Someone put a lot of time and money into this Old victory and I bet a factory letter would Uncover an interesting past.Regards, Hammer It.

 

[MosinM38]

Yeah.. You can find a few good deals (Like mine). I am planning on trying to scrimp (Is that a word?? lol) away enough that if a really good deal came up on a S&W that I wouldn't be broke at that time.

Hey what can I say? I have someone elses roof over my head and no obligations at the moment.... Won't be long and Girlfriends, pickup fuel and other obligations will come up more.... so right now I am saving a fair bit of my paycheck and most of the rest is going into firearms take care of them they are decent savings bonds.

Anyway BTW: There is some really nice looking guns posted above this one. A fair couple of them looked like safe queens

I look ALL the time.... Funny thing is I sorta have a bad habit of skipping over nice-looking guns like mine because "They will be too much" I am glad I happened to glance at mine. Guess I better watch them all now.

I do have a question. Are the victory and M&P .38's okay for +P loads? I don't shoot those (I only shoot cheap 130 Roundnose FMJ's and 158 Roundnose) But I am curious.

 

[Hammer It]

Hello Mosin
The Plus-P loads will fire fine in a Victory model but you are defeating the Purpose and Poor accuracy will be the result. You have to remember these Pre-War revolver's were designed for Lead Bullets of slower velocity. Therfore I would reccomend shooting just semi wad cutters or Plain old wad Cutters in them. The Only gain from plus-P loads is a couple of hundred feet per second and it places more pressure on these Old Girls which is not needed. Think of them as an Older Car. Run it wide open all the time and it will Blow up in your face. get your self some plain old lead Bullets and enjoy the accuracy Potential these were designed to achieve. Regards, Hammer It

 

[Mike Irwin]

"You have to remember these Pre-War revolver's were designed for Lead Bullets of slower velocity."

Say what?

Smith & Wesson hasn't changed the rifling specs on its K-frame .38 Specials in 108 years.

The land & groove pattern, depth, and rifling twist is exactly the same as it was on the first Model of 1899 Military and Police chambered in .38 Special.

 

[Hammer It]

Hello Mike
Always good to see you are around to correct me. What I should have said is Pre-War revolver's mainly fired lead bullets and the Plus-P velocities are a Little more stought in pressure and speed, and I personally see no gain in shooting them in an Older Revolver. Hammer It

 

[Mike Irwin]

"the Plus-P velocities are a Little more stought in pressure and speed, and I personally see no gain in shooting them in an Older Revolver."

That is true. In my opinion it's not a good idea to fire +P through any of the K or J frame revolvers that were made prior to them going to model numbers in 1957.

S&W very specifically stated that .38-44 ammo, the equivalent of pre-+P +P ammo should not be used in the K frame guns.

Accuracy, however, won't be negatively affected. At least until the point where the higher pressure shakes the cylinder alignment out of whack.

"Always good to see you are around to correct me."

My pleasure.

 

[Hammer It]

Accuracy, however, won't be negatively affected. At least until the point where the higher pressure shakes the cylinder alignment out of whack.

Hello
I don't agree with that. It depends on the gun it is fired from. I have fired it from a Five screw Pre-Model number stamped S&W and the groups were Lousy and erratic. No Two handguns shoot the same, as I have several that show this to be true and I shoot more than I read when it comes to seeing the differences. I Then Returned to the semi wad cutter ammo in standard .38 Special Velocity using the same weight Lead bullet being 158 Grain and it grouped very tight with it. So, I found it not worth the bother and it did not group well for me when I used it. One thing that may have caused this is cylinder throat diameter. I have noticed that some of my Pre-War M&P's compared to later model 10's have slightly larger Cylinder throats. This could have been to allow for slightly larger Lead bullets back then, I really don't know the full reason, But many casted their own lead Bullets back then and Perhaps it was deemed safer to make them a Tad Larger in diameter, and Perhaps S&W did this to save problems. Another thing of concern to me is S&W did not Heat treat some of the very early hand ejects as well, speaking of many made before 1925 Era and Cylinder & Frame stretch may cause severe damage when using this Plus-P ammo. My Revolver's are all in Upper Grade condition and just not worth ruining them by Experimenting with ammo not designed for them. If S&W wanted the Upper Velocity .38 special ammo used in these Vintage hand Guns it would have been marked on the barrels like they do today. They sure had Plus-P style Hotter velocity ammo back then but it was used in the heavier frame 38-44 Outdoorsmans not the smaller K-Frames. Regards, Hammer It

 

[MosinM38]

Thanks for the tips

I doubt I will be putting +P ammo through it I was just curious... Although those ol' 38-44's always looked neat to me Ah what am I saying.. ANY gun looks neat to me