How to clean New S&W 617

[Djsamphard]

Hi guys, i wanted to know if you guys could point me in the right direction. I am looking for some videos on how to clean model 617 for the first time. I received my new toy 2 days ago and will be taking her for a spin on Saturday. I haven't had any luck finding videos on the 617 in the cleaning/disassembly department.

Thanks

Dj

 

[4n2t0]

Wouldn't any k-frame video be similar enough? I'm not a revolver guy, I'm just trying to help out.

 

[Brewster20]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLl2m75epRc

 

[ryan]

Your new revolver will not need to be disassembled for many years, most likely. Not necessary and you won't risk buggering screw heads, and dinging the side plate.

 

[Trinimon]

So sticking it in a dishwasher is out of the question?

 

[marshall]

Wipe it down with G96 or whatever you have, clean the bore, use a toothbrush on the end of chamber and inside for frame.
the front of the cylinder will stain, that is the good thing about blue guns, harder to see the crud.
clean under the star,

better not to use the wife's tooth brush for this.
Do not take the side plate off, at least for a couple years and only if you know what you are doing.
BTW, try out different ammo to see what shoots the best, and some is cleaner than others.
Have fun, these are great guns , almost as good as the old model 17's

 

[BCRider]

If you feel you really must clean the inside of the action then instead of a total strip down just remove the grips and flush the insides with some home brew Ed's Red. The solvent and oil mixture will flush away anything inside left over from production, if there is any, and after the stuff drains and dries it leaves a light coating of ATF which is a pretty good protectant and lubricant.

You will find that the chambers on the 617 are tight and close tolerance "match" chambers. So don't be surprised if you find that cheap bulk pack ammo needs to be driven in with a hammer A buddy just got his own 617 and found that some loose bulk pack ammo needs to be pushed into the gun rather forcefully. That same stuff was also hard to eject. But the more decently made ammo like CCI SV fits well. A good practice to use when buying ammo for your 617 is that if it does not come in the little packs with trays then it's likely not going to be well formed and will not fit the 617 well.

This also matches what I found with my own blued 17.

And plan on buying a .22 bore brush and fitting it to a short extension rod and keep it with the gun. You'll find that you need to brush the chambers out about every 50 to 70 rounds. You'll know it's time when the casings start to become sticky to eject. A pass or two of the brush down each chamber and you're back in business.

 

[TPK]

As with all revolvers, be careful that you are properly supporting the cylinder when it's swung out and you are cleaning it, you don't want unnecessary force on the crane. Too much force and the alignment will be off and so then will be the firearms accuracy.

 

[Master-G]

Your new revolver will not need to be disassembled for many years, most likely. Not necessary and you won't risk buggering screw heads, and dinging the side plate.

Agreed. All you'll need to do is clean with barrel and chambers with a cleaning rod and something like Hoppes #9 maybe once a season.

So sticking it in a dishwasher is out of the question?

LOL...although there'd be a lot of newer and not-so-newer members who'd not remember that classic thread

Do not take the side plate off

Agreed. Just don't. Your revolver will never need this to be done and the chances of messing it up makes it not worth it.

 

[gnmontey]

Agreed. All you'll need to do is clean with barrel and chambers with a cleaning rod and something like Hoppes #9 maybe once a season.

Cleaning rod and #9 after every session. Running a bore snake through 10 chambers is a PITA, use a rod and patch.

M

 

[AlexisCreek]

muzzle guard / 22 cleaning frequency

As with any firearm that you have to clean from the muzzle, it's a good idea to use a muzzle guard -- a cone shaped piece (usually brass) that fits loosely onto the crown, with a hole in it to admit the cleaning rod (from the big end). You just hold it in place by hand as you pass in the cleaning rod with the other hand. I always use these with my K 38 (.38 Spl revolver, same frame as your 617 (the modern S&W K22 aka model 17), and with anything else that can't be cleaned from the breech. On cleaning frequency -- I don't have a K22, but I have several 22LR pistols and rifles. With 22s only, I belong to the don't-clean-it-all that-often school, and so does almost everyone else I know who's in to 22s. Infrequent cleaning works fine for my 22 pistols, (S&W Model 41, Rhoner free pistol) and also my 22 target rifles (Anschutz, BSA) and sporting rifles (CZ & others). The 22 target shooting club where I shot for several years had safes full of Anschutz and other tight-chambered target rifles that were cleaned only at long intervals. They usually fired CCI SV or better, so clean ammo, all LRN of course. If I had a model 17, I would not clean it after every outing unless I ran into mechanical problems. (I do clean everything centre fire after every outing.) I almost never use a brass bore brush either -- it's unecessary. Just a nylon one, then patches. The experienced revolver guys at my club (PoCo near Vancouver) always say, more revolvers have been degraded by excessive cleaning, especially going at the barrel with a brass brush, than by too little cleaning.

 

[silverfoxdj]

If you feel you really must clean the inside of the action then instead of a total strip down just remove the grips and flush the insides with some home brew Ed's Red. The solvent and oil mixture will flush away anything inside left over from production, if there is any, and after the stuff drains and dries it leaves a light coating of ATF which is a pretty good protectant and lubricant.

You will find that the chambers on the 617 are tight and close tolerance "match" chambers. So don't be surprised if you find that cheap bulk pack ammo needs to be driven in with a hammer A buddy just got his own 617 and found that some loose bulk pack ammo needs to be pushed into the gun rather forcefully. That same stuff was also hard to eject. But the more decently made ammo like CCI SV fits well. A good practice to use when buying ammo for your 617 is that if it does not come in the little packs with trays then it's likely not going to be well formed and will not fit the 617 well.

This also matches what I found with my own blued 17.

And plan on buying a .22 bore brush and fitting it to a short extension rod and keep it with the gun. You'll find that you need to brush the chambers out about every 50 to 70 rounds. You'll know it's time when the casings start to become sticky to eject. A pass or two of the brush down each chamber and you're back in business.

You just nailed it.. great advice