I have a 617 no dash, six shot, full underlug, Patridge sight, with Goncalo Alves targets. Looks and feels identical to my 686 but shoots a lot softer. Amazing gun, I am indebted to the man who begrudgingly sold it to me and it will never leave my collection!
And yes, it definitely gets the most range time simply because of how inexpensive it is to shoot. I do submit though that with a gun this accurate it eventually gets boring putting bullets through the same holes!