S&W 17-4....lifetime favorite?

I'm kinda fickle, always wondered if I would have a solid favorite out of the pistol collection. I got the 17 from a friend a few years ago, and it was rusty, but an OK shooter. Left it with my gunsmith about a month ago and he ran it through the ultrasonic cleaner and polished up the trigger group. Shot it with the friend I bought it from and he requested a chance to buy it back. I thanked him for selling me my favorite pistol. Its a great shooter, with enough wear to have character, but not enough to look distressed.Attachment 18165

May have to reevaluate if I ever get a K-38, however.

Pointed out a nice one to my son-in-law but he wanted a pistol that looked like a
Glock. Went back a week later to buy the M17 myself but it had been snapped up in
the meantime. One of my gun buying regrets.

Have also looked at several K-38s on line. One of these days...

I have a 17-2 that is a favorite, but I don't take it out as much as I'd like. Partially because the value has skyrocketed (outdoors was my favorite play area with this gun) and because the chambers are so damn tight, it becomes a PITA after about 50rnds. For just plain plinking, I prefer my Ruger MKIII.

Oh, and I have a 50s era K-38 and a 60s era K-32. :)

Chris

The chambers on mine are super tight as well. Helped me realize why my new Ruger mags had the top round blocking the slide-- the Winchester 550 bulk pack wouldn't even chamber in the 17! Great shooter, and it doubles as out-of-spec ammo dectector. I only have $450 in it so far, including cleaning and action job.

Glad to from others who appreciate the best lines on a hangun ever.

As I cannot edit my crimes against the English language above, let me restate that last sentence....I am glad to hear from others who appreciate the best lines ever placed on a handgun.

Keeping the range (AKA my backyard) maintained on a 107 degree heat index day can leave me woozy.

I have a 4" 17-5. It would be on my short list, if I had to name favorites. I have long forgotten exactly when I bought it, or how much I paid; probably early Nineties. It served especially well as a training sixgun in the mid-Nineties, when I carried K-Frame .357 revolvers while on police patrol and during personal time. A .22 dimensional twin, with identical grip panels in place, is a good thing to have. This 17-5 remained a valued training weapon when most of my DA weapon carry shifted to Ruger SP101 revolvers and DAK SIGs. In the future, after I retire from LEO-ing, I predict that medium-frame revolvers may well return to being my default carry guns.