Wheelgun Wednesday: Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle Review

It’s Wednesday so TFB is back again checking out another wheelgun for all of our revolver aficionados and fans. This week we are taking a look at the Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle which comes from Smith & Wesson’s “Classic” series of reproduction revolvers of old. The way in which technology continually advances for not only the betterment of society, but firearms as well, I believe we can all agree is fantastic. On the flip side though, I am of the old school train-of-thought where I love nostalgic looking, blued wheelguns. I have been collecting double-action Smith & Wessons my entire short life so although this revolver we are about to look at is brand new, I have a certain fondness for it before I ever opened the box. Let’s dive in and take a look at the Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle, and see if it is everything my mind has dreamed it up to be!

The Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle has a current MSRP of $997 while haling from the “Classic” line of Smith & Wesson revolvers. It is also backed by the Smith & Wesson Lifetime Service Policy in the rare event that you should ever need service done to your firearm. Some other words shared by Smith & Wesson regarding the Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle can be read below:

Now you can own a piece of history in the making with the Smith & Wesson Classic revolver line. The Classics bring coveted models, with their designs harkening back to the most famous collectibles ever constructed, back in production. Each model, known for its legendary performance, has been enhanced with modern advantages. They are the timeless best of both worlds – Smith & Wesson Classics.

One of the first impressions you get from the Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle is you see that gosh, goll, dang, what the heck internal lock and key set. I understand that sort of thing is required in some states to be legal and compliant. Smith & Wesson is merely trying to make their revolvers be accepting to the widest audience possible, but honestly, that is an eye-sore.

The next most noticeable element emanating from this revolver is the finish. The deep illustrious bluing found on all of the Classic revolvers from Smith & Wesson is simply one-of-a-kind. The bluing is just not a baked-on X, Y, Z color. It looks like deep, dark pools of bluing that you simply do not see on modern day revolvers anymore unless they are a throwback like the Model 17 Masterpiece.

Another trait would be the wood grips. Whether it is cut-checkering that is accomplished by hand or it is skillfully done through the means of a CNC machine, I am not sure, but its appearance is much more attractive than common press checkering. Also, the wood grips (likely Walnut) is a very dark, select grade of wood. Once again, this is a reoccurring theme within the Classic line of revolvers being put out by Smith & Wesson in recent years. In my personal opinion, I love it! Some of my older, original double-action Smith & Wesson had a lighter color to the wood grips and these darker ones Smith & Wesson is producing now makes for a great counterpart of new versus old.

One of the main reasons someone might buy the Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle other than the classic look is for the affordability of the ammunition. Being that this is chambered in .22 Long Rifle, you could shoot literally a 500-round brick and still pay less than some other centerfire cartridges for a 50-round box. So, that is exactly what I did!

Find .22 LR Ammunition

While shooting you will notice that this has a fairly slender grip to it. I did not mind this because it still fit my hand well for manipulating the revolver’s functions (for comparison, I have what I would deem average or moderate sized hands). Some of the other revolvers Smith & Wesson produces have much larger or robust wood grips which can be a bit much to control depending on your hand size. This is almost too small in my book, but not bad sizing at all. The grip matches the slender lines of the barrel and the overall revolver itself. Also, Smith & Wesson was likely thinking of their end consumer potentially being someone younger enjoying this .22 cal revolver so a grip that is smaller in circumference makes sense.

Before letting lead fly downrange, you will also notice that this revolver has a good balance to it. With the cylinder loaded or not (6 rounds of .22 Long Rifle will not make much of a difference), the balancing point tends to lean slightly towards the end of the barrel which I would not describe as a bad thing. It acts like a light stabilizing effect, and when you shoot it only helps mitigate and tame recoil (not that .22 Long Rifle has a lot, but less recoil is always better).

When it came down to shooting the revolver, I had mixed feelings about the sights. I understand what a classic Smith & Wesson revolver should appear like, and this Model 17 Masterpiece is true-to-form. With that being said, I almost wished they would have deviated from tradition and changed the sight picture. With a perfect vision as a young 32-year old wheelgun nut, even I have a hard time seeing black-on-black iron sights when shooting outdoors. I was primarily trying to make 2″ – 3″ black steel plates ring from around 15 – 20 yards, and that was a really difficult task because of the sights. The front blade is pinned in so it could be punched out, but I am not aware if Smith & Wesson or any aftermarket companies would have a colored or fiber optic replacement front sight for the Model 17 Masterpiece being as niche as it is.

Speaking of shooting and accuracy, this revolver shoots like a laser pointer whenever I had good daylight on my sight picture and steel gongs. I am not bragging about my shooting prowess, but the wheelgun simply drives tacks. If the sun ever hid behind some clouds and I had the bad formula of black rear sight plus black front sight plus black steel gong… my hit percentage was barely 50% of my shots fired. So, something to bear in mind when shooting this. The revolver is legitimately more accurate than me when good lighting is available. In poor lighting, you may really appreciate a fiber optic front sight at a minimal.

In regards to functioning, the cylinder timing was crisp even after chewing through a blistering 500 rounds. I had zero light primer strikes or failures of rounds to go off. So, that is a testament to not only the revolver, but also the Federal Premium Champion (blue brick) ammunition I was shooting which was a 40 grain Lead Round Nose. Another reason why I love blued revolvers is because after I shot 500 rounds in one afternoon the gun did not even look dirty. Trust me, it was, but deep illustrious bluing like this simply does not show it hardly at all.

So, what are some of my final thoughts after chugging through a brick of .22 long rifle? Well, this revolver functions as advertised. It had zero reliability problems, remained sound and tight, and was a great shooter (when good light on your sight picture was present). The people who are going to buy this revolver are similar to me. Individuals who love the classic appearance of nostalgic wheelguns like this, and who also may want to relive that magic with a cheap cartridge like .22 Long Rifle.

Some negatives… I would really like to see Smith & Wesson remove that eye-sore of an internal lock in the frame, or at least offer two models: one for the folks in less fortunate states with an internal lock, and one without. The only other suggestion I could simply make is potentially to add in a fiber optic or red ramped front sight. Conversely, that would kill the revolver’s original design so I completely understand where Smith & Wesson is coming from for not having a big fiber optic front sight on this revolver.

At a price-point of $997, do I think this revolver is worth the asking price? Yes, I do because this revolver is for someone who is romanticized with wheelguns and this thing is gorgeous, functions great, and is incredibly accurate in good lighting. It does everything it should. The people who may turn their nose in the air at this gun or its price are not the target customers. If you do not like this gun or believe it is too expensive, that is totally cool with me… Different strokes for different folks. Smith & Wesson did a great job on the Model 17 Masterpiece. It is not perfect (no firearm is), but this is a dang nice wheelgun.

Check Prices on S&W Model 17 Masterpiece .22LR Revolver

In closing, I want to say thank you to Smith & Wesson for allowing TFB and myself the opportunity to try out their Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle! That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece .22 Long Rifle is something worth spending your money on? Would you carry it? Shoot a league with it? Let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.