"The invisible hand was going to be replaced with a boxing glove" is my favorite summation of war production economics. Such a nicely turned phrase.

This is probably the fastest "war were declared " in the series

If I were a globe-trotting archaeologist on a top secret mission for the U.S. government, this would probably be my weapon of choice.

Did someone say... *BIG IRON*

TO THE FOREST OF BELLEAU WOOD RODE A STRANGER ONE FINE DAY

Sleep is for those who aren't addicted to old revolvers, keep up the great work guys.

You mean the Reichsrevolver wasn’t your favorite revolver

This 1911 pistol you keep mentioning. Whatever happened to it? Was it something used by any military or did it just become another Forgotten Weapon? 😉😉😉

I don’t know if this is a good idea but would it be cool if mark was to come on too and talk about the guns from an armourers perspective and what his thoughts are on how easy it would be to service and repair and keep running on the field

A few months ago it was my good fortune to run across an all-numbers-matching 1917 (1937 Brazilian) at a local auction and being able to buy it for an extremely reasonable price; likely due to the fact that it's been completely refinished. It really is a beautiful piece of history. No, the true collector's value for the purist is not there do to the re-bluing job, but it's amazing to take it out in my back yard, load it up and let off a few rounds while realizing there is a very real chance that this very gun was used in Italy by a WWII soldier in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. It's amazing to think that 80+ years ago some young guy also picked it up for the first time, hopefully appreciating its beauty and quality and then trusted his life to it. It's a sweet shooter--very mild on recoil--and by loading my own ammo using .45 Auto Rim brass there's no need to even mess with moon clips while still achieving full function of the ejector rod. Of course for nostalgic reasons I have some half-moon clips on hand--as well as some original WWII era ammo that won't be fired--to round out the effect. Mae, you're spot-on regarding the ergonomics of S&W's choice of the cylinder release design. Colt makes nice guns, but in IMO there's nothing instinctive or efficient in having to reach forward to pull the release compared to Smith's natural and fluid motion of sliding your thumb forward and using it--like you said--as a purchase to give your index finger leverage to pop the cylinder out. This gun is lovely and it was very satisfying to run across your video.

First we had the all .32 ACP channel. Next we had the all Mauser channel. Now we have the all wheel gun channel.

Ahhh, another quality Bedtime story from the Big-O.

My favorite format by far, informative, instructive and entertaining. Thanks to the whole crew for these great videos.

I liked the footage of the lady shooting. Her smile of satisfaction afterwards speaks volumes. I enjoyed the presentation. Thank you.

My father owned a 1917 S&W. It was a fantastic shooter; we'd pack it on nearly every range trip. If we were getting frustrated by another gun, a couple of cylinder loads through the S&W was a fine way to relax.

A college level class on firearms history, excellent! Thank you for your efforts!

I still predict the 1911 episode on November 5th 2019. 45th week of 2019. So 45 19 11

The only thing I can think of is "Yes." I've waited so long for this episode, Thanks guys, this makes me really happy.

Way to go! Another amazing, informative episode, thank you for all you do.

Searching for some history on my new old S&W 1917 from 1918 and hit the motherload. Glad to have found your channel and nicely done. Carry on!

Please stop teasing me with the 1897. I mean, it’s right there behind you and all I want to hear is that awesome racking sound. Why must you torture me, Othias? 😭😭😭😭😭 Jokes aside, another fantastic and very interesting episode. 👍🏻

These S&W 1917s like the Colt 1917s were also very popular with tankers in WW2 for the same reason: they could be fired from inside a tank without the problem of brass bouncing around the interior.

Glad I found this channel. Subscribed. Really enjoyed the history and detailed information. Thanks!

A great revolver is still an awesome choice for the public at large. And my first with moon clips is the just re-released S&W 610.. Might be my new favorite gun! Simply awesome!

An excellent video on an amazing S&W, thank you for sharing!

Great vid--- my LGS had one, brought it home yesterday--- serial puts it at 1918 made, bluing is still excellent, some barrel wear. But she is a beaut.

Congrats on the 200K guys! Very well deserved.

No work today again! I can watch the whole thing this morning!

I carried both while working for private security in Canada, neither of them snub nosed. I turned the Colt in for a S&W because the Colt hand grips felt wee, as in granny small. The Smith and Wesson filled my hand much better.

Crazy how much better this revolver is than many nations primary sidearm.

I have one that looks like it went through a time machine from 1918 - Nearly in brand new orig condition, and the action is simply unreal for any revolver, let alone a service arm. Lockup is truly 'bank vault' like, timing is perfect, smooth as silk, crisp and clicky. Amazing what true pride in workmanship can do 105 years ago.

Really good editing this episode.

Cool to hear Mayes perspective. I have always felt modern s&w had better ergonomics and just feels better in operation, interesting they did a better job at making it user friendly to end user even way back 100 + years ago

Oh heck yes i finally get to watch one of these on release!

Hello Dr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. Nice to meet you.

I remember a range trip in my youth. Someone had brought his brother's S&W M1917, but we had no half-moon clips and assumed we couldn't fire it. The stupidity of youth.

Awesome- been waiting for this one. The house I moved into had a Smith 1917 frame, and I've since built two from parts. Barrels aren't easy to find, but I found some after a few years of saved searches.

I found a Colt 1917 on the bottom shelf in a Lynchburg, VA pawnshop nearly 20 years ago. My quest for a S&W 1917 only succeeded last year. Honestly I was surprised by the differences. The S&W is better finished and looks more elegant. The thumb piece is much better. The Colt just looks brutish, and the double action trigger pull is mind bogglingly stiff.

My impression was that the early S&W M1917's the cylinder was simply just drilled right through, and a .45 ACP cartridge would slide completely through and out the other side. The one you have appears to have a ledge in it, it's just very low in the cylinder. The one I have has that same low ledge, (serial # under 10,000 though the cylinder seems to have a serial # in the 13,000's) From what I was under the impression of was that the low ledge like we have is at some point someone modified the cylinder so it could shoot .45 LC. Now that said my impressions are based off of something I read on the internet at one time (which I can't find any confirmation of now), which may simply be nothing more than 100 years of gun shop "experts" talking about something they have no clue about. It wouldn't be the first wrong thing I have read about them, considering from what I have read online, mine with a serial number under 10,000 puts it as being manufactured in January of 1918. If production started back in August of 1917 and they were only producing 2000 a month mine would still have been produced in 1917.

i have really looked forward to this one

It's a cooling looking gun. A long lost friend had one. It bites the web of your hand pretty hard with full loads. Had I ended up getting it from him, I would have spoiled it's looks by getting a padded grip.

The half/full moon clip has to be one of the most elegant (effective, simple, cheap) solutions to a problem in the history of firearms.

More classic six guns. Gotta love it.

Big fan of Mae !

Good episode, thank you.

C&rsenal after you make the episode on the m1911 could you follow it with the britsh martin Henry rifle. Also love the video keep up the good work.

Thanks for posting. I found the comparison of the Colt and Smith very interesting. I am surprised you didn't mention the weight difference.

YEAH, MOON CLIPS and a S&W 1917 with a reshaped front sight!!

Almost near 200,000 subscribers great job

One of these firing segments should definitely have “I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier” in them. It’s the antithesis of the song played in this segment. It’s also the most iconic WW1 song imo

I love my S&W 1917 so much fun to shoot. Mine was apparently made under the government control of the manufacturing.

I've always wondered if the ejector could have a cam track so the ejector rotates to grab the rim. My taurus 905, with brass cases, cam just slam the but into my palm and the empties fly out.

That branding was really well made and believable to me at least.

My grandfather brought home a 1917 from the great war and he had his bored through for 45 colt. Seeing he had a colt SAA already and ammo .

I hear you saying top breaks aren't as strong, which I can't argue with from a structural perspective, however what was the frequency of reported failures?

Is it gettig hard to find new music for the Shooting parts after 104 episodes?

I remember reading Skeeter Skelton (if I’m not mistaken) mentioning that many people would buy surplus 1917s and have the cylinders reamed to take .45 Colt. Could that be why your early example has that issue?

I'd love to see a channel of this ilk dedicated to artillery pieces

Love your videos. Are the Brazilian 1937 ones better in any way? Like stronger heat treat or deeper riflings? Ex. Thanks

That was beautiful letterhead! I’ve never felt so good while being trolled.

Thrifty with tax payers dollars, wouldn't know anything about that anymore indeed.

I recently purchased a Brazilian contract 1917, which would have been made about 1937 and it did not have a rebated chamber which I found very interesting. Someone suggested that it might have been fitted with an early cylinder during an armory refurbishment. I am adding an edit to ask a question about this. I have since traded off that 1917 for a different one with a chamber bored cylinder and a shortened barrel to 4 inches. But my question is about the early cylinder, I dropped in a .45 ACP round like you did and it drops in a considerable length. At the gun store when I got it, we dropped in a .45 Colt round and it chambers. Is the rim on the .45 Colt enough of a head space that it would safely fire the .45 Colt round? It would be handy having a revolver that would fire both and I know that Ruger is currently offering a Redawk that does this.

Hey, is that a Model 8 or Model 81 on the wall? It has the 81 style "pistol grip", but the foreguard looks like the thinner Model 8 style.

I have a 1917 but I have no idea when it was made. Is there a way to tell? Couldn't find a date stamped on it

Don't know how common they were in use, but the Prideaux speed loader for the Webley (positive ejection too!) would probably top any competition for speedy loading.

1) S&W 1917 2) Colt 1917 3) Webley mk VI 4) Type 26 5) All the other "New" style Colt & S&W DA/SA Revolvers Yes, I put the Japanese above the other Murica Wheel Guns, simply because of speed of load/reload. I feel it's actually an underrated, while still certainly imperfect, revolver. But the top 3 on this list I'd take over most of the Automatics issued in the great war, at least those not named Luger or Colt 1911. (possibly a few others, as pretty much anything in 32 ACP or similar loading is going to be below any of the top 3 revolvers)

Something I don't recall being mentioned is how the half-moons came packed. Were they pre-loaded, or did the soldier have to load them himself beforehand? (ie have to push 3 rounds into each clip) If you ran out in the middle of a battle, these would surely have been more difficult and slower to reload than the rimmed cartridge weapons

Hey Othais, I just picked up one of these guys today with a serial in the 5,000's range and it has the rebated cylinder. Maybe it was a fluke during manufacture on your example?

Interesting to see the difference in the cylinders of the two S&Ws you have, I have S&W #8961 and it has the shoulder to prevent the rounds from falling through.

My first center fire handgun. It is really painful with the original wood grips. Sadly it passed the fire test in 1995.

Hey Othais, where’s your “Armistice Were Declared” montage? (Only half joking)

I got to shoot one of these last year. The one big problem is .45 ACP and thin wood grips means recoil is a bit painful without gloves or replacement grips.

Glorious.

Can't wait for the Level 7 and Level 8 Thank!

I have a S&W 1917 and Mae is right about the palm swell fitting the hand.

hey. nice channel. subscribed.

I have one of the 20,000 sent to Britain during ww2. The US ARMY marking on the bottom of the grip has been shaved and rounded off and the grip modified to match, making it more of a British style grip ala the Webley rg green revolver. Has British proof marks and was shipped or carried back to the US.

This kind of reminds me of the the Renault Ft17 vs M1917 tank comparison. Lots of people think they are near carbon copies of each other. This is not the case. More so even than these revolvers. The m1917 tank wasn't a licensed copy, in a literal sense, it was more like a reverse engineered, Americanised, version. Its dementions are completely different. Not only because they expected US tankers to be taller ;) but they used the imperial system to construct them. Just take a photo of each one and compare side by side. The front geometry of the m1917 has more triangles ;), the exhaust pipes are on opposite sides, the running gear is altered etc. It's not as distinct from the Renault concept as the Italian Fiat but it's just about as different.

How is the recoil, compared to a standard 1911?

Aside from these and the Ruger Speed-six, what other revolvers use clips? I'm genuinely fascinated by why clip loading for revolvers didn't take off. Is it just that speed loading outpaced it or something? Just seems to me that it would make sense to ditch rimmed revolver cartridges where possible.

Thats Indiana Jones primary revolver in the movies however it would change in the Trilogy: Raiders of the Lost Ark: M1917 Smith & Wesson and Mark 2 Hand Ejector + Browning Hi-Power 1935/Canadian Model Temple of Doom: Colt Offcial Police Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Webley WG Army Model

I had one with postal markings

I first learned about this gun in Medal of Honor Pacific Assault.

In wartime government requests too S&W were requirements. i.e. the government ordered S&W to share patents and how many pistols they were expected to produce

Glad you kept the kerfuffle. Makes it more ‘human’

When do you think you will get to do an Episode of the Colt 1911?

Hey Othias, I have a sub-5000 aerial number M1917 and it does have a debated cylinder and I have shot it without clips. BTW, I've had it at Michael's place and he, Marty and Bob have all seen it although I don't remember if we fired it that day.

I have a civilian .45 ACP Hand Ejector and while it has a nice, light trigger, it is a knuckle-buster for my average-large hands. A filler, like a Tyler T-Grip, should help correct that.

Didn't the old number 3 have half moon clips?

Great to see, the 1917, it was my first gun, my DAD GAVE ME ONE FOR MY 11 th BIRTHDAY with 2 moon clips. Great video.

Charter Spectrum sucks; it's down right now. What ISP/Internet service do you recommend?

It's not said enough, the final clip of "war were declared" is early 20th century meme-ism at its best.

Very informativ.

Thinking about it they just about perfected the revolver in the 1910s and the Autoloader was already starting to take over with the 1911.

most excellent handgun < use full moon clips .. even better 😎

I wish I could find a S&W 1917 all the ones I’ve seen are colt

How nice is it to produce a show and be able to buy the ammo off the shelf at the local Walmart, instead of having to dig up unobtainium for a scant few shots?

Till I saw this, I didn't know the earliest Smith 1917s had bored-through chambers.

Please tell me you’ve got an episode covering the colt 1895 machine gun in the works. I needs me some potato digger!

A S&W 1917 in 30 Carbine would have been interesting.