Earlier this year, we attended Range Ready’s “Plinkapalooza,” a celebration of all things rimfire. There were head-to-head shoot offs, challenges and incredible feats of marksmanship on display, with most firearms chambered in .22 LR, but also some .17 HMR and .22 Mag. represented. Firearms, in semi-automatic pistol, revolver and rifle, were plentiful, as well as various ammunition offerings, sound suppressors. We even saw a few brand-new products unveiled.
One of the more intriguing firearms present was the new .22 LR Mountain Gun, a Smith & Wesson Model 617 presented through Lipseys with some special touches. Several of the notable changes include the semi- rather than full-underlug, the Tyler Gun Works high-grade walnut Bear Hug grips and the gold bead patridge-style front sight. With a 10-round cylinder and all stainless steel construction, the Model 617 Mountain Gun is ready for the long haul.
Dave O’Connor of Smith & Wesson joins us in the studio to chat about this unique revolver as well as what goes into some of the distributor specials. Built on a K-frame, this medium-frame rimfire revolver is designed to be both a fully functional .22 LR handgun, as well as an aesthetically pleasing addition to any armory. The double-action/single-action mechanism means the revolver can be fired rapidly in double-action, or can be manually cocked for a more precise single-action shot.
One of the advantages of the revolver’s manual operation, of course, is that it is less susceptible to velocity deviations than semi-automatics. This also means that lower-power rounds that might not be of sufficient power to cycle the slide on a semi-auto are perfectly fine in a revolver—the 850 fps Quiet-22 rounds that need to be hand-cycled in a semi-auto will work just fine in the Model 617. Even the CCI Snakeshot loads don’t give the wheelgun any problems.
