converting a single six to centerfire questions.

[Multigunner]

I have an old model single six in .22 Magnum that I picked up dirt cheap many years ago as a project gun.
It was in sad shape , covered with rust and minor pitting , firing pin shortened and blunted from fanning and hitting the cylinder ,frame bowed and grips missing among other problems.
Anyway I've put the old girl back into good shooting condition.

The recoil shield plug that holds the firing pin sits back into the frame by a hair, not enough to affect functioning but enough to increase headspace a bit. I'm considering either getting a replacement or making one, the latter probably being the only way to be sure it sits flush as it should, or perhaps a few thousandths proud to take up cylinder slack and reduce cylinder gap.

Thinking on it I remembered the various .22 centerfire cartridges that might work in a revolver.
If I make a recoil shield plug I think I can make one that will hold a firing pin in the centerfire position.

I've got nothing against the .22 Magnum, but I do hate to just throw away once fired brass, and with the present prices reloadable cartridges are more economical especially if home cast boolits were used.

Has anyone converted a single six to centerfire?
Any ideas on the best .22 cartridge and any other tips?

[wcp4570]

I'll be watching this as I have an early old model steel single six with both LR and Mag but wears a XR3-red grip frame that would be a good candidate for conversion. My problem is, which caliber and what would be the cost.

wcp

[MT Gianni]

I would locate a source of brass and let that determine chambering. The alternate would be a rebbl and rechamber to 32 H&R.

[GCBurner]

I remember seeing one in a gun magazine a long time ago that was converted to .38 Special, but a .32-20 or .32 Magnum would be nice, too. Expensive to make, but nice.

[Multigunner]

Probably best to just look for a late model in .32.
I already have an I frame S&W in .32 Long.
The Ruger is a revolver I wasn't really looking for, just lucked on it. Due to its condition I did a little horse trading and in all I have at most 20-26 bucks invested in it other than the time it took to make a firing pin and bend the frame back into shape by tapping it hard with a large chunk of walnut around fifty strokes.

I have a fair supply of .22 Mag ammunition, I've never really gotten around to shooting this piece enough to know just how well it can do.
The recoil shield bothers me more than the bent frame did. I'm pretty sure the metal is a bit softer than it should be.
It may have been fired a few times out of time, the cylinder showed signs of a previous owner fanning it and the pin impacting the cylinder. That could explain the bowed frame. Also the grip frame looked like it had been used to drive tacks or break walnuts, probably why it no longer had its grips.

Looking about I haven't found a .22 center fire cartridge in production thats short enough to fit the cylinder.

A wildcat on a necked down .32 Long case might work well, but I'm not sure I want to go that route.

[texassako]

I figured out last year how to swage down a .25 ACP case into a sort of .22 Mag Short. I did it because of a screwed up custom mold that cast a little .22 plain base bullet instead of .25 like it was supposed to. It would be like shooting a .38 Special in a .357 Mag, only smaller. I did not have anything to convert(or room for another project) so I sold the mold without following up on it. A pic of the odd little thing I made next to a .22 LR:

136763

[Mk42gunner]

I think the .22 CCM (aka the .22 Velo dog, IIRC) is awfully close to the .22WMR in dimensions. Finding cases on the other hand puts that in the almost impossible range.

.32 S&W Long or H&R Magnum would be possible; but the .32 mag has been a factory offering so that loses some of its appeal as a custom money pit.

Your idea of a .22 on the .32 Long case has possibilities. It has been done before, I remember seeing some on both the .32 S&W and the .32 S&W Long. Honey Bee and Bumble Bee run through my mind as the names of the wildcat cartridges, but they may have been intended more as rifle cartridges than revolvers due to possible setback from the bottle neck case.

Robert

[starmac]

I know of at least one single six converted to 22 ccm. Bullshop had it, and iirc it was a smith here in fairbanks that converted it to centerfire.

[leftiye]

Much easier with K frame S&W. Rechamber .22 rimfire mag. cylinder to .22 CCM (just about .004" bigger at head, some longer). Put in centerfire frame with .22 mag. barrel of desired length.

As for original thoughts on Ruger Single 6 - you could screw in a solid firing pin insert, and center pop it, and drill it in the frame using a drill guide screwed into the barrel threads in the frame. Then all you need is a centerfire hammer. The .32 H&R mag is still about the best ctg to have anyways though, so just get one in the first place. With a boolit that sets out long, you can get real close to .327 velocity. I used 10 grs of AA#9 in my 327 (I have seen data to 13 grs.), have seen as much as 10 grs. in .32 H&R data. I've put 8 grs AA#9 in an H&R 32 (seated out).

[texassako]

The issue with .22 CCM could be brass availability. It has been a while since I have seen any for sale.

[Multigunner]

I know of at least one single six converted to 22 ccm. Bullshop had it, and iirc it was a smith here in fairbanks that converted it to centerfire.
I believe I saw something about this years ago and had it in the back of my mind.

I've seen the old velo-dog pistols in various small bore center fire chamberings. I've heard they still make the cartridge in France in small runs like they sometimes make .32 rimfire.

There was a one off centerfire .22 conversion of a Colt Woodsman on an auction site years ago. Don't know what case was used.

There was a .25 magnum auto pistol cartridge marketed many years ago, a longer case version of the .25 ACP, and a few pocket pistols were chambered for it.
Such a cartridge would be okay in a small frame revolver of .22 mag level balistics.

On the up side I finally tried out my idea of cutting the rim off expended 22 mag cases and using them as chamber inserts in my .22 mag cylinder.
Unfortunately when a .22 LR is used in one of these it expands and grips the insert too hard to be extracted, so each insert is single use only.
Still that gives me something to do with those empty .22 mag cases.

The case wall thickens towards the base to much to allow inserting a .22 LR from the base end so the insert is put in backwards, the .22 LR inserted in what was the case mouth. It seems to work just fine.

These days supply and pricing of .22 rimfire cartridges has pretty much defeated the purpose in using small caliber handguns for plinking and target practice.

[MT Gianni]

It should not be hard to fit a 22 lr cylinder to the gun if you want to shoot lr.

[leftiye]

The issue with .22 CCM could be brass availability. It has been a while since I have seen any for sale.

Schroeder in San Diego makes them (out of .22 Hornet brass). Last I heard (bought some) they were $60/100.

[Multigunner]

It should not be hard to fit a 22 lr cylinder to the gun if you want to shoot lr.
Sure, but wheres the fun in that?
Figuring out how to make the inserts and recycle expended .22 mag cases at least exercised the brain cells a bit.

With no more than I have in this salvaged revolver, and the fact that its resale value is already compromised, I really don't care much about putting money into it if I can figure a low cost to no cost way of getting the result I want.
A centerfire conversion might be worth the expense, since the initial cost of the Ruger was so low.

The inserts just allow me to use the revolver if I run out of magnum rounds, I'm really not that keen on plinking these days.
I already have a nice Sentinel in .22LR.

In an emergency .22LR can be fired in a .22 mag chamber, though theres the possibility of a split case I haven't had this happen yet in three different revolvers. I doubt there'd be any high level of accuracy considering the jump to the throat and all that.
The inserts should be more efficient, though I need to do some more testing to be sure.