Update 3:

Had an extensive range session this afternoon which included all 3 revolvers. The good news is that they all seem to work now.

610 - No light primer strikes, all rounds went boom. It does have a noticeably heavier double action pull than it originally did. Accuracy is absolutely scary. Shooting 6 round groups with all holes touching each other. Shot it much better than my Glock 20 today. Interesting it was about 35fps slower on the chronograph than the G20 with the same loads. My at home gunsmithing of sanding down the back strap on the Bear Hug grips and refinishing them with tongue oil worked, it no longer removes chunks of skin from the web of my hand.

686 - Much improved trigger. It may be the easiest to stage double action trigger pull of any Smith that I own. Recoil is a lot, “Spicier” than I was expecting, definitely more than my full lug 4” 686’s and an hell of a lot more than my 6”. Ammunition was factory Federal 125gr. .357 Magnum. Groups were a little low. I need to spend more time with this revolver with different types of ammo. Shot it towards the end of my range session and I was notably tired. The Bear Hug grips on this one may need to be changed out, just not pleasant under recoil.

617 - Oh my God, this may be my new favorite revolver! No misfires at all with a variety of cheap .22LR ammo. Accuracy was great, balance is really good and it is just so much fun to shoot. Only issue is just like my 617-4, when it gets hot after several cylinders, extraction gets a little sticky. But this is typical of all the 10 shot 617’s. It’s just a great gun to throw in the range bag to warm up with or end up with if having a shitty range session.

In a way it is kind of ironic. I’ve wanted a 686 Mountain Gun since the original run in the 90’s and never could find one. Even had the parts to make my own from an unfired 686+ -4 I had bought years ago. I’ve had a 629-5 Mountain Gun that’s been my woods carry gun for years that I truly love. Now that I have the 610 and 617 Mountain Guns, the 686 is just kind of a, “Meh”. I still like it, but it’s the Mountain Gun that I get the least excited about. The 610 is surprising. That I bought just because, it was a no lock Smith and it was 10mm. No practical need for it as I already have a Ruger GP100 3” which makes a better carry gun. But now that I have it I absolutely love it; big bore N Frame with a lot less recoil than a 629, dropping in and ejecting 6 rounds at a time with the moon clips is just plain fun and then there’s the accuracy. Already planning on getting the charge holes chamfered and having an action job done on it making a good revolver great and probably becoming one of my favorites.

Update 2:

The 610 came home today. My complaint was light primer strikes with some rounds requiring a second strike.

Performed service:

Evaluate/Repair
Replace Hammer Block
Repair Frame
Adjust Mainspring Weight

From the looks of it they did a lot of test firing with it; carbon deposits on the front of the cylinder and leading edges of the cylinder flutes. Trigger pull is a lot stiffer. I love how Smith & Wesson makes the comment without any further explanation, “Repair Frame”. Really? Like what was wrong with it? Looking forward to getting out to the range with all three.

Update 1:

Received two of the three revolvers back from Smith & Wesson today, the 617 and 686. Surprised that they only had them a week and also a little surprised at the amount of work performed.

The 617 I reported as having cylinder drag when snap caps were loaded, 2 of the chambers requiring significant effort to insert cartridges and having 9 misfires in 100 rounds. On the repair order completion it’s listed as, Comments:

Misfires light primer strikes 9 times out of 100 shots

Performed service:

Evaluate/Repair
Cut Forcing Cone
Repair Barrel
Replace Cylinder
Passed Range Testing

The 686 I reported as having a heavy double action trigger pull with drag marks on the side of the hammer from making contact with the frame. On the repair order completion, Comments:

Barrel to frame fit canted, hammer is not centered, frame finish-drag marks on left side of hammer, poor targeting - accuracy issues in DA only, trigger recovery - extremely heavy trigger pull.

Performed service:

Evaluate/Repair
Adjust Barrel Alignment
Repair Trigger
Repair Yoke
Adjust Mainspring Weight
Passed Range Testing

Hoping to get out to the range this weekend to see how they perform. On the 617, snap caps chamber with ease in all chambers and the revolver dry fires without cylinder drag. On the 686 the hammer is now centered in the frame. Trigger pull is one of the best on a stock Smith that I’ve owned. Staging the trigger dry firing in double action is extremely easy. Given the more pronounced drag line on the cylinder, I think they performed extensive test firing at the factory. I am surprised at the amount of work performed on it. One thing that applies to both guns is how much easier the cylinder release operates. Originally both guns we’re fairly stiff, I had attributed that to the newer ball detect on the yoke. I am happy with the quick return and the amount of work that seems to be done to correct them. It’s just concerning that their QA/QC processes are so poor that theses revolvers left the factory needing this much repair work.

Still waiting on the 610….

Original Post:

Video on my buddy’s channel Chuke’s Outdoor Adventures, a balmy 7 degree day in Alaska shooting revolvers. Not a fun day to be futzing with moonclips. All of the flaws of my new Smith Mountain Guns on display.

[url=https://youtu.be/L4IMbarAuDY?si=koWW_TyW-8XMWSfa]https://youtu.be/L4IMbarAuDY?si=koWW_TyW-8XMWSfa[/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 2000Z-71,

Nice, thanks for sharing. You weren't kidding about the light strikes. Have the problem guns gone back to Smith yet?

Yes, all 3 of my new manufactured Mountain Guns have gone back to Smith for warranty repair.

Hopefully they get them sorted out. They're beautiful guns. That .44 is still my favorite of the bunch, though, even if the others had been flawless. It's just so versatile.

I forget, was the strain screw loose? Did S&W even give you the option of them just sending out a new mainspring?

First time I took the 10mm out I started getting light primer strikes. Discovered the strain screw was way loose from the factory and tightened it down. That seemed to fix it during my second range session with it. Now it’s giving light primer strikes again all with the same ammo and moon clips. So it’s back at Smith now.

Did you loctite it?

I watched some of your video. Those moonclips are trash man. A moon clip should be perfectly flat. Maybe it was just the video but those moonclips seem pretty out of true. Don’t even try to fix moonclips. Once they bend they are trash, which is why I have no SD revolvers that rely on them. In your pocket they will get bent.

So light strikes on 10mm, what was wrong with the other 2. I missed that in video.

You gotta work on that flinch. Even the first tigger pull with your 617. The last pull though with your 617 was perfectly flinchless.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Did you loctite it?

I watched some of your video. Those moonclips are trash man. A moon clip should be perfectly flat. Maybe it was just the video but those moonclips seem pretty out of true. Don’t even try to fix moonclips. Once they bend they are trash, which is why I have no SD revolvers that rely on them. In your pocket they will get bent.

So light strikes on 10mm, what was wrong with the other 2. I missed that in video.

Yeah, those were from Chuke’s 686. He doesn’t have a mooning tool and just twists them in and out by hand. One of his I couldn’t force a case into with the mooning tool or by hand so they are bent up. Mine are all new from TK Custom and I only use a mooning tool for them. If I can get the problems worked out on my 610 I’ll be getting som EZ Moon Clips for them, they basically took over from Rimz and have a flexible polymer mooning clip that is easy to load with just fingers.

The 686 has a very heavy trigger pull. The hammer is not centered in the frame and there are drag marks on the side of the hammer from making contact with the frame. The 617 has two chambers that take a substantial amount of force to get a round to seat and had 8 lights strikes that required a second strike to fire in 100 rounds.

Update at top.

That's pretty awesome that they got them back so quick, and that they seem to have identified and corrected the problems. It sounds like they made some pretty significant adjustments, which IMO is better than getting it back and having them tell you nothing was wrong. Like you said, sad that they left the factory like that in the first place, but nice that they still seem to know how to do it right when they take the time to do it. Looking forward to the range report.

Update 2 at top.

Update 3 with range session at top.

Revolvers tend to be a little slower than a semi-auto due to pressure loss at the forcing cone gap. The chamber throats can have an impact as well. How much can vary significantly from gun to gun. 35fps would be within what I would expect, and I wouldn't be concerned about it.

Try some 158s or 180s in that 686. 125s tend to be pretty flashy, and I've always found the heavier bullets to be a bit more pleasant to shoot. You'll get better penetration with them, too.

Glad to hear they're all working now!

I did say, multiple times, the 617 Mountain Gun is the best 22 revolver I have ever owned. And yes that includes my beautiful blued Model 17 from the 80’s. This gun rocks.