Ive held both, and cant decide which I want. I love the full length lug of the 617, but I also like the Ruger being $100 less... Does the apex upgrade for the 617 make it even better?

Who has shot both?

Spend the extra 100 bucks. You won’t be sorry.

Bob

Find you an old blue steel Model 17.

No way. 10 shots with speed loaders is what it’s all about :-)

Bob

I’ve shot both. I just fired a Ruger the other day. It’s been a couple years since I shot a 617 but from my memory I liked the Ruger better. That is of course a sample of one each. I’ve owned a 617 and currently own a SP101 in .22lr.

My 617 trigger was heavy and gritty. I tried to change the springs to make it better but when I did it became extremely unreliable with any ammo. Also one chamber wasn’t cut right so the cartridge was pretty tight. Extraction was a real pain in the ass after shooting just a few cylinders. All that plus the Hillary hole made me get rid of it for the SP101.

Of course Ruger doesn’t have great triggers either and seem to have their own quality issues, especially with the first runs of any gun. Their customer service tends to be very good though (they have a lot of practice) and IMO from the limited sample of both companies products that I have owned I think Ruger is a much better value.

If I could get my hands on an older 617 I’d love to try it though. From what I understand the triggers were significantly better and I’d much rather have 6 reliable shots with an awesome trigger than 10 with a shitty trigger. Buying a new gun I’d get the Ruger.

Buy the GP100. Better made and better resale value.

Back in the day, S&W had better triggers than Ruger. That day has past. The current company posing as s&w forgot how to make a good trigger right around the time they decided to cheapen the manufacturing of their handgun line.

Is there a current production s&w handgun that Apex doesnt make replacement parts for? Sad. Regards 18DAI

Crowned barrel, modular construction, dry fire okay, value, CS. Never have touched a 617 but I believe Ruger has caught up to Smith. The underlug of the Ruger almost makes it look like a Smith anyway. I seriously doubt I could find a new 617 for what it paid.

I've got both, see my comments in a similar thread about 1-2 weeks ago here.

The 10-shot speed loaders available for either model is a definite step ahead in any kind of competition.

And I have the old 6 shot model 17 S&W 8 3/8" classic target model. You won't want that long for most uses IMHO.

Part of owning a S&W revolver is learning how to slick & smooth it up. If you don't enjoy that kind of project, the GP is simpler in a way as the trigger group springs are easier to install.

It's really a matter of tuning either one, they both have considerable rough edges in the out-of-box form. The joy comes with learning how to make them perform well.

I prefer the DA rapid fire I get from the GP in stock form vs the 617. Have a pro tune either of them up if you want fast accurate 22 range games.

I have a 617 10 shot 6" barrel,my friend has the 6 shot version, both have great triggers,probably due to the thousands of rounds put thru them,both are accurate enough for rabbit head shots and have been totally reliable. Looked at the Ruger and while it's a nice gun I see no reason to exchange it. Maybe if I was starting at square one.

Unless you are married to the 10 shot format of the 617 and GP100 I would suggest looking at the 8 shot versions. The SP101 and the 63. Both 8 shot, both have speed loaders available, and both are a more reasonable size for the caliber. I own the SP101 but prefer the 3 inch barreled 63 in many ways except for the internal lock. Without that I would own one.

I have a S&W 3" M63. Removed and plugged the lock. Nice gun, I enjoy it quite a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Unless you are married to the 10 shot format of the 617 and GP100 I would suggest looking at the 8 shot versions. The SP101 and the 63. Both 8 shot, both have speed loaders available, and both are a more reasonable size for the caliber. I own the SP101 but prefer the 3 inch barreled 63 in many ways except for the internal lock. Without that I would own one.

The bigger, the better for me. I want full sized, 5-6” barrel stainless goodness.

I just shot a GP-100 .22 at a Ruger demo event and was actually quite surprised by just how good it was. The double action trigger pull was a little heavy but quite manageable, and accuracy was very good for me.
I think it has the potential to give the S&W 617s a run for their money.
(But neither of them will ever match my Model 18!)
FWIW!

I bought a 617 for the full underlug. The Ruger just doesn't look right to me. So far no problems, except the factory grip I replaced with Altamonts.

17 owner,
17-6 IIRC,. 6" full lug
it has been tuned, not sure by who (picked it up years ago from an estate)

very nice Double Action,
even better single action
got a scope mount as well, may put a dot on it if I ever start shooting bullseye

it is way more accurate than I hope to be

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Find you an old blue steel Model 17.

THIS. I had both a 617 10 shot and a model 17 with a 6" barrel. The model 17 without the underlug was a great balancing and shooting pistol, the 617 was front heavy with the underlug. I just got bored with the 6 shot capacity of the model 17 and sold it to another forum member several years ago.

No offense but the Ruger doesn't hold a candle to the smoothness of the trigger and action of the Smith.