Lucky Gunner's S&W 617 Mountain Gun Review: Is This the Best .22 Revolver?

Is Smith & Wesson’s Lipsey’s-exclusive 617 Mountain Gun actually the best .22 revolver you can buy right now — or just a pretty K-frame with a premium price? Chris Baker at Lucky Gunner put one through Project Rimfire to find out, including real groups at 25 yards instead of a first-impression cylinder spin.

Smith & Wesson 617 Mountain Gun: Is This the Best .22 Revolver? Watch on YouTube — Lucky Gunner Ammo

The short version of what he covers: Baker walks the 4-inch half-lug tapered barrel (36 ounces, a few ounces lighter than the full-lug 617), the no-internal-lock K-frame, Tyler Gun Works walnut Bear Hug grips, brass bead front sight, and a double-action pull he measured around nine pounds and actually smooth. He likes how it balances, notes the Lipsey’s exclusive is what a lot of viewers asked for, and flags the honest catch — Smith QC has been a coin flip on revolvers, and this particular sample happened to be excellent. Groups clustered around an inch at 25 yards with the right .22, tighter with Eley Club.

Here’s our take. The Mountain Gun profile is the reason this video works, not the badge on the box. A 10-shot .22 K-frame you can actually shoot all afternoon is why people keep asking for these — the Lipsey’s run is a convenient way to get the tapered barrel and no lock without hunting a used ’90s gun. Baker’s QC warning is the honest part: a good Smith is a real feature, and a lemon from the same SKU is a real risk. Worth watching with your own .22 budget in mind before you pay Mountain Gun money for a full-lug 617.

We stock the S&W 617 Mountain Gun — same Lipsey’s exclusive Baker shot, Bear Hug grips and gold bead included. If you want the everyday full-lug 617 he compared it against, we have the 4-inch 617 in stock. And if the Mountain Gun profile is what you actually want in a bigger caliber, we stock the 629 Mountain Gun in .44 Mag.