I have had a 617 for about 2 years. I bought it new. I have fired it 4 times and have the exact round counts recorded.

In the last two sessions, it has become problematic. Somewhere over 50 rounds, it starts to bind and becomes almost impossible to fire double action (requires too much effort) on a few of the chambers. You can thumb back the hammer and fire it single action (same resistance, just more strength in thumb).

I am thinking the tolerance is too tight somewhere on the forcing cone or cylinder face. Once I completely clean the gun again, it seems to be OK until I fire another 50 or so rounds. When looking at the gap at the forcing cone, I cannot see any light. On my other revolvers, I can see light in the gap.

It has had this issue shooting Federal bulk match and Winchester AR.

I do not recall if it had this problem in the first two shooting sessions.

Anyone else hear of an issue like this with the 617? I imagine it will have to go back to S&W.

You're probably getting crud built up under the extractor star.  22 ammo tends to be fairly dirty, and in a tight gun like the Smith revovlers this isn't unheard of.  Also check that the extractor rod isn't coming loose.  

I doubt there is anything wrong with the pistol.  Our club has two, plus an SP 101, and this issue crops up from time to time.  More so with the Ruger, but the Smiths will do it as well.  The fact that the problem goes away after you clean it is your clue.

What can happen with revolvers is that grit and burned powder particles get caught under the ejector.
This tightens the fit in the frame to the point where the cylinder binds.

Use a brass toothbrush to liberally scrub the underside or the ejector and it's seat in the cylinder.
These particles can be so tiny they can be almost impossible to see.

To help prevent it from happening, when ejecting cases hold the gun muzzle up so the cases and any debris will fall clear instead of getting trapped.

Also, as above, make sure the ejector rod is tight.  If it's loose put three EMPTY cases in the chambers to support the ejector and use padded pliers to tighten the rod.

OK, I hear what you are saying but why is this not a problem shooting lead reloads in my 625 or 686?
Why is this not a problem shooting hundreds of rounds in my Single Six between cleanings?
Why is this not an issue shooting well over 150 rounds in my Diamondback between cleanings?

Is a 617 that much tighter? I have never had a S&W .22 revolver other than this one but I would expect I could shoot at least a few hundred before it had to be cleaned. I want to shoot Steel Challenge with it but I would have to clean it two or three times just to shoot an entire match.

22 ammo is dirtier and there are smaller spaces to gum up in the 22 pistols.  It's really just the nature of the beast.  These guns need to be kept very clean.  Tolerances may be on the tight side with your gun but it's not something I would be concerned about.  It may need some breaking in as well.  

Tolerances in the Single Six are going to be looser.  That's not a slam on Rugers, I own several.  And I'm guessing the Diamondback has a lot more rounds thru it.  

Not to pick on you but I'm guessing you're not getting the gun as clean as you think you are.  

We've run thousands of rounds our club guns.  And they can still get tight.  It takes a few hundred rounds to do it, but it still happens.

Ye, I agree with "Ameshawki." 22LR ammo is really dirty and huge burned powder granules. I have a Colt Diamondback 22LR, and I take a brass and nylon brush with me on my range sessions, because of the dirty ammo. When the cylinder starts to bind, I do a quick brush underneath the ejector start, and quick wipe with a clothe or paper towel.

OK, guess I am going to have to accept it is what it is. I am somewhat bummed that it likely could not get through a single steel match without a cleaning. None of my semi-autos (rifle or pistol) have an issue with getting through hundreds of rounds before a cleaning is required.

I will also attack all the nooks and crannies harder when I clean it this time and see if it makes any difference. I use a bronze bore brush on each chamber and the barrel as well as working on the forcing cone area and crane each time so I am surprised it is not clean enough. I will pay special attention to cleaning the star area of the ejector as well.

Could be leading & grit around the forcing cone as well. If the cylinder & forcing cone isn't lined up perfectly, there could be some lead build-up that perhaps is not getting cleaned or builds up too quickly?

Could be a combo of things, IMO.

And yes, 617's are indeed seemingly a bit tighter than other models, IMO.

I'm a bit worried about you keeping up with your rd count.....................      

Not much to add beyond whats been mentioned previously but to the above, I have a round count on all of mine. It's part of my records keeping but I've been doing it on a computer for decades now. I record the ammunition maker (if not my own), specs and performance. The round count is a by product of everything else. I also run and store a hard copy that has everything about any one of them and the page headers have the serial number, date and place of purchase, photo esp if I've modded it and so on in case I lose the drive. Every now and then I'll burn a back-up cd to keep with them. That way if I do lose the drive, I won't have to reconstruct my document, just update it from the hard copies.

Not trying to swipe the thread any further but as a side note, I've duped the file, made a couple alterations and I use it as my reloading records with powder, charge, bullet, primers, performance, groupings and so on. I can update everything from a range day with hard copies in about 5 minutes. Add another minute for a back-up cd. I think it's pretty slick.

I think you're both poster children for OCD.........................  

They're GUNS. Take them out, shoot them, clean them & put 'em back in the safe.

Sorry OP, I know this isn't GD and not about your topic and if required to delete either postings to prevent a lock or requested to do so, I will.

Not really. As I stated, it's a by-product of a file I built. I was at one time a fairly competent shooter until the eyes started going south and a bit of arthritis settled in. I like to think that I can still hold my own but not as well as I used to. With that said, I do take my guns out to shoot or more so today, to teach others to shoot well. I use my records to use ammunition or to build ammunition designed to get the most out of a specific firearm. I'm more satisfied getting a clover leaf then a shotgun pattern and the records help me do that. Also knowing that everything is in tune helps me help others in corrections. Though your correct in assuming that I do like things nice and tidy.

LOL! You make Felix Unger look like Oscar Madison, IMO. To each his own & all that, but as a lifelong shooter, I fail to see how maintaining a rd count helps one in troubleshooting an issue. Perhaps on a semi with a recoil spring replacement, or perhaps if a bbl is close to being shot out (which an amateur shooter will most likely never get close to).

Again, to each his own. All I can say is *I* have a lot better/more important things to do than to log each & every single rd fired. Clearly, YMMV.

Enjoy your record keeping, sir.  

Oh my
If S&W found that, they will probably void your lifetime warranty.

First off, as others have mentioned, a Smith 617 is manufactured to a much tighter tolerance than your Colt Diamondback or Ruger SSS.

Also, the problem is most likely fouling under the extractor on your 617. Your Ruger is a single action, so it doesn't have an extractor star to collect fouling. I find that I can shoot either of my 617s around 200-250 rounds before having to clean and lube.

Not on topic but I did have two other issues with my 617's, both older, pre-lock models. First was with my 6-shot 6" 617. I was shooting Remington .22lr with a plain lead bullet. It took only about 20 rounds before the bullets were keyholing and impact was almost a FOOT off as close as SEVEN YARDS! I cleaned the barrel well and a piece of lead about 1/8" long came out of the forcing cone. I have gone well over 500 rounds of Federal 550-round bulk pack with the copper coated bullet without cleaning with no issues. It just doesn't like plain lead bullets.

Next was with my 10-shot 4". I bought it used but the original owner wasn't much of a shooter. He would go for YEARS between range sessions, so round count before I owned it wasn't that high. I was playing around shooting steel and was maybe 10,000 rounds into the gun over about four years (I really miss cheap and available .22lr!). Anyway, I was getting a lot of lead shaving coming out of the barrel/cylinder gap. Then complete misfires began a few rounds later. The timing was so far off that the firing pin was hitting the cylinder between the chambers.

I dropped it off at the S&W guard shack and filled out the warranty paperwork. I received a call about a week later saying I could come back and pick up my 617. It was fitted with all new internals and a new cylinder,since the old one had the firing pin marks between the chambers and there were huge burrs on the cylinder bolt notches.

The 617 requires more care than other looser tolerances rimfire revolvers but it's well worth it. And if you are worried about having to clean between the stages of a Steel Challenge match, try shooting higher quality, cleaner burning ammo. But honestly, when I'm shooting a competition, I always brush out underneath the extractor star after every stage anyway.

While I do not disagree that dirt under the extractor could be a factor having shot tens of thousands of rounds in my model 17 and never had such an issue. And it should not go from squeaky clean to tied up in such a small number of rounds.
I would also make sure the ejector rod is tight ( it is reverse threaded) but I would not rule out a gun problem requiring smiths attention either

OK, I have accepted it is just tighter than my others. I have spent a good deal of time cleaning the chambers, extractor, and forcing cone and have them as clean as I think I can get them. I will give it another go and see if it helps to wipe the extractor area and forcing cone every 50 rounds or so. I admit I am surprised how much effort it has taken to get the chambers thoroughly clean.

Keeping records - It takes 10 seconds to put the round count for a session in my tiny notebook. It helps troubleshooting revolvers and pistols immensely. It also is nice to know how many rounds have gone down the pipe on each firearm I own. If you don't see the value, don't do it.

With the amount I shoot it would take way too much effort to try to keep track of the ammo in a range session. I'm usually loading out of a .50 ammo can full of loose ammo.

I've been shooting at least weekly and for years, daily, for 25+ years. Long enough to completely wear out two Dillon SDB presses that were replaced under their outstanding warranty. The only time a gunsmith ever asked me how many rounds I had through a gun is when I brought my custom 3" 65 to him that had extensive flame cutting and was shot very loose, to the point of it spitting a lot of lead out at the barrel/cylinder gap. It was more of a case of curiousity that being used to diagnose a problem.

Quite honestly, being that concerned about counting every round I put through a particular gun would take a lot of fun out of shooting. I could tell approximately how many center fire rounds I fire in a year by seeing how many primers I have on hand in December. I order primers every January and one year I had less than 20,000 on hand. I started in January with 40,000, so it was easy to tell, but keeping track of how many went through a particular gun? No thanks. The benefit just isn't there. If a mag spring is weak, I replace it. If a recoil spring is weak, same thing. I don't replace it just because it hit a particular number of rounds through it.

I have a 617 4" 10 shot when I shoot a steel match I take a tooth brush and clean under the ejector about half way through the match.
I always eject with the muzzle up.

S&W will have a hard time finding what they should have done in the first place.

IKOR is correct. S&W .22 revolvers can have excessively tight chambers. Others, though,
are fine. Why? The factory chamber reamers wear during their useful lives resulting in
smaller (thus tighter) chambers being produced at the end of their production life.

Get a .22 LR finish reamer, a tap wrench and some cutting oil. Recut the chamber taking
your time. Or, send the cylinder to a gunsmith you trust.

I went through this with a 4" 617 a few years ago. It can now be shot all day without
tying up. Don't accept this problem -- fix it and enjoy your 617.

BTW, I don't give a hoot if you count your rounds.