Bob,

I have two 617s and both needed the chambers reamed. I shoot a lot of Steel Challenge matches and need to fire in excess of 40 reloads throughout the day. Before reaming I took a portable drill with me and cleaned the chambers after each stage.

Now, after reaming, I can go 500 rounds without cleaning and cases are easy to inject and extract. It's worth the money to buy your reamer.

It also helps when you want to clean the gun. Run the reamer through the cylinder to get rid of any fouling buildup.

Steven

 

AzShooter, did you notice any change in accuracy?

 

No, accuracy was good to begin with. Just changed the reliability of reloading and extraction.

 

Is there a reamer that will do the throats at the same time as the chambers or is that a given?

 

Given!

 

I've had "several" 617's and 17's in succession over the years.. a Couple had tight chambers that would effect ejection. ( One 617 was so bad that it would take a rap of the ejecting rod on the bench to move them. Not good!) I also didn't want to spend money on a reamer that I would use once . I ended up using Flitz metal polish spread on a patch on a snug fitting cleaning patch. I chucked the set-up in a drill and ran it at slow speed while moving the business end in and out of the cylinder. I'd do 30 seconds or so then move to the next chamber. Once they all had a pass, I would clean, test fit and repeat. It took a while but in the end, the chambers did polish out smooth (and likely lost a 1/2 thousandth or so.). It wasn't a cure but it was a BIG improvement on the couple of revolvers I tried it on. FWIW, If I were to do it again today, I'd likely use a patch wrapped on a 20 cal bronze brush with the same Flitz or maybe JB bore polish. I use that set-up on my 22 rifles with tight bores and the fit is near perfect. No slop but not to much pressure either.

 

I bought the Cliemer Reamer from Brownell's and have done 4 guns so for. It makes a vast difference. For Steel Challenge shooting it's important enough for me to not have to run back to the Safety Circle to clean my cylinder between stages. I've searched numerous selections of .22 ammo to find what will and will not need cleaning and settled on Remington Bucket Of Bullets. I can go at least 500 rounds before I need to scrub.

Having the cylinders all polished to the proper diameter really helps. Just use plenty of cutting oil and take your time.