S&W K frame 22's

[msp2640]

My favorite handgun, no questions asked, is my S&W M48 6 inch blued 22 mag. No matter what else is brought to the range, this handgun is always along for the ride. Luckily enough, it seems to like the Win Dynapoints that Walmart sells and I can still find them for around 8 bucks a box. My question does anyone have one of the Blued M17's that has the 10 rd cylinder? I think the 4 inch version would make a great addition to the M48, not that I really need it, but I'd like to hear some feedback if anyone out there owns one. Thanks for your time - Bill L

[MtGun44]

No 10 rd cyl but I have a 17-3. Unfortunately, it is only a medocre performer. A 2 "
group is a real good one, when on the next target I can get a .75" group or sometimes
better with a Ruger std auto. Great training tool, wonderful piece of equipment but it
doesn't seem to be as accurate as it's centerfire brothers.

Bill

[StarMetal]

I thought no revolver could stay up with, alone beat, my Ruger Mark I semi auto pistol. That was until I bought my S&W 617 with six inch barrel and target trigger/hammer. I was totally astonished at how well it shoots. I have a Smith Kit gun 22 LR and I'm not so enamored with it.

[3006guns]

My K22 is lethally accurate if I do my part. Remember those .22's that came in the long plastic box with the slide lid? A small target was printed on the back of the cardboard insert.....maybe the size of a 50 cent piece. I put 5 out of 6 in that thing at about 35 yards once. Impressed my buddy and amazed me (although I doubt if I could do it again).

One thing I discovered about the K22 is that the cartridge rim recess in the cylinder has to be kept scrupulously clean or it won't extract...and whacking on the rod with a chunk of wood is not in good taste.

[cuzinbruce]

I have a S&W Model 17, about a 1960's gun. I like it a lot. Seems accurate but then I mostly shoot it double action. Been looking for K-22 Outdoorsman. But they always seem to go for more than I want to spend. A Model 48 would be nice too.

[GSM]

No 10 rd cyl but I have a 17-3. Unfortunately, it is only a medocre performer. A 2 "
group is a real good one, when on the next target I can get a .75" group or sometimes
better with a Ruger std auto. Great training tool, wonderful piece of equipment but it
doesn't seem to be as accurate as it's centerfire brothers.

Bill

+1

The 617 I've been using is OK at 25 yards, but shotguns a bit when the target is at 50 yards. Does not appreciate std. velocity ammo on the long line (probably the cylinder gap).

[BBA]

I have a 10 shot mdl 17. It will knock a pop can around at 80yds pretty easily. They do like the better quality ammo. The aluminum cylinder gets alittle sticky to extract cases after a long range session. I have to scrub carbon buildup out of the cylinder when using cheap 22's. Mine is a 17-8 with the full underlug. I prefer the tapered lug like the 17-3. I also have an older Taurus 22cal that unbelievably has a better trigger than my Smith's. What ever you get, I don't think you'll regret it.

[smoked turkey]

The K22 is one of my first and favorite revolvers. Probably this is due to the fact that it is the first handgun I can remember as a young boy. My dad traded a 30-30 and $50 for it in the 1950s(give or take some). Dad passed it along to me lots of years ago. It is a "keeper" for sure. I enjoy shooting it and simply remembering being with afield with dad and that K22.

[uncleskippy]

I have my grandpaws old SW K frame 22/ 38 police trainer six shot. This is the wheelgun that I learned to shot with and it is also my son's favorite over my mark 2.

[AZ-Stew]

I have two M-48 6 inch. The first one I bought I had a .22 LR cylinder fitted at the S&W west coast service center when I lived near it 30 or so years ago. It shoots FAR more accurately with the LR cylinder than it does with the magnum cyl. The second one I bought second-hand about 10 years ago. The LR cylinder from the other gun won't fit it and I just haven't gotten around to having one fitted to it. I don't recall the second one being any more accurate with magnums than the first.

Great guns, though. I like to shoot the first one with LRs before I start shooting my centerfire revolvers. It relaxes me.

Regards,

Stew

[9.3X62AL]

I've always wondered how those 10-shot K-frame D/A S&Ws would get after sustained shooting, in terms of fired case extraction. EVERY swing-out 6-shot 22 LR revo I've owned got "sticky" after 6-8 cylinders-full, so I brush out the chambers every 30 rounds or so to keep them humming along.

My present example of this ilk is a 6-inch Model 617--six shot cylinder, L-frame-style underlug which is cool-looking but unnecessary, and with ammo it likes it shoots VERY well. It is dreadfully inaccurate with ammo it doesn't like, and it dotes on the better stuff--esp. CCI Mini-Mag.

The Ruger 22/45 spoils ya. It feeds and functions on just about anything, bulk-pack to Steak & Lobster. It shoots almost all kinds at least half-decently. Another revolver with similar habits is a little Colt New Frontier x 4", with swap 22 Mag cylinder. EVERYTHING in both calibers shoots pretty well. It goes along on a lot of varmint hunts.

FOR AZ STEW--or anyone else in the know--can a 22 LR variant like my M-617 be fitted with a 22 Magnum cylinder successfully?

[AZ-Stew]

Al,

To my knowledge, the S&W .22 rimfire barrels were of two different internal sizes, .001 apart, with the Magnum version being the larger. It's also my understanding that the Magnum bore/groove sizes were the same as those used for the M-53 .22 Jet revolvers. I've seen a number of Jets with accessory Magnum cylinders, but none with LR cylinders. I could be wrong on both of those, but the reason I bring it up is that, if memory serves me, S&W Service won't fit the Magnum cylinder to the LR guns due to their smaller bore/groove diameters.

Please contact S&W on this because, as previously noted, I could be way off base on the matter. Please post what you find out from them.

Regards,

Stew

[Hardcast416taylor]

I used to work part time for a local gunshop doing mostly sight-ins. A S&W Model 17 6" barrel came in used one day and I decided I needed it. The resident Smith uniformed all the chambers on the cylinder and uniformed the forcing cone before they would let me take it. This gun is by far the most accurate thing I have ever shot! Just about anyone that shoots it wants to buy it. Had one guy actually get mad at me for not wanting to sell it to him so his wife could have it. Claimed everybody has a price for everything, what`s mine? I still have the 17.Robert

[fecmech]

I have a Smith Kit gun 22 LR and I'm not so enamored with it.

I've owned a "Kit Gun" for a long time and found out when I sent it back to S&W for spitting that they don't think much of them for accuracy either. I asked if they could improve it's 1.5-2" 25 yd groups and the repairman told me that was about as good as they shoot. He did promise to see what he could do and he helped it some. It will now average about an inch, so it did improve a little.

[9.3X62AL]

AZ Stew--

Per S&W, they don't install 22 Win Mag cylinders onto existing 22 LR revolver, citing the exact reason you gave--dimensional differences in the barrels. I asked the rep "How many times have you answered this question?", and he chuckled and said "First time today, but it's early yet." Nice guy.

[Bret4207]

I have a Kit Gun a K-22 and an M-48. The only one I'm missing is the J frame magnum. I actually shoot the little Kit Gun better than the K22. I think it's familiarity and sight picture. I love them all!

[msp2640]

Since I started this thread - I looked into the prospects of acquiring one of the 4 inch 10 shot K frames, but apparently they're no longer made in blued versions. If my memory serves correctly, I swear I held a 4 inch blued 10 shot in a gunshop a few years back, but I'm not sure if it was a limited edition or now discontinued version or if it was one of the blackened stainless versions. I have a very nice 5 screw 4 inch kit gun, but I like the heft of the medium frame guns a bit more. I have in the safe an original unfied NIB model 35, which a 6 inch version of the kit-gun, I think it was made in 1957. I have always been on the fence as far as keeping it or selling it to fund a revolver more suited to being a shooter than collector piece. I really don't need another revovler, maybe if I just spent a few range sessions with a rented one it would satisfy my "need to have one" - Bill L

[AZ-Stew]

Al,

Thanks for the info on the barrel diameters. I thought that was correct, but couldn't remember where I got it, so after all these years I just couldn't be sure.

I called S&W this morning to ask if I could have a LR cylinder fitted to my 2nd M-48. Unfortunately, they no longer have any of the older cylinders. The new ones they're making are too short to work in my revolver. I guess I'm stuck with a one-way .22 Magnum that will never be a convertable.

Regards,

Stew

[C1PNR]

I bought a 17-3 from a member of this forum some years ago. We've been shooting it, among others, the last several weeks and it is just the smoothest shooting .22 I've had in my hands in a Long time. I especially like the double action pull - just SO smooth!

My Son shoots it at 100 yards, single and double action, like I shoot it at 50. I guess young eyes and a very steady hold help a lot.:roll:

[CALGOUGERS.NET]

I just recently picked up a 17-3 6" I have yet to shoot it but makes me wonder how accurate it will be. Im sure it will be better than my last 22 revolver.

[9.3X62AL]

If my experience is any indicator, try a number of different ammo types in your revolver. 22s are ammo-sensitive anyway, and there is a wide and obvious difference in the performance of ammo my 617 likes and dislikes.

[bchannell]

The first handgun I ever owned was an H&R 999, big mistake, and I still hold it against my brother for pushing me to buy it. He just did it to keep me from shooting his "73 vintage K22, which was the first revolver I ever shot and one of the most accurate handguns I've ever had my hands on. Fast forward more years than I care to admit, and I've had many, many K22's, and 617's. All were amazingly accurate and I learned to shoot them very well indeed. Suffice it to say, my second handgun was a Ruger Single Six and I routinely outshot my brother with his K22, but it wasn't the K22's fault, it was his. I can remember the day I could easily see .22 holes at 25 yards, ... alas days gone by.
If your K22 doesn't shoot well, then I would contact S&W and have them look at it. Not too long ago, I bought a 617, that had one chamber out of time, I called, sent it in, and even got a call from the service manager, who expedited the fix and sent the gun back in absolutely first class condition in just a few days turnaround. They really are back in the customer service business and making some darn nice handguns.

[home in oz]

I have my father's K-22.

Family members love to shoot it.

[405]

I bought a 6" S&W 17-2 new. It was one of the first good quality handguns I ever owned. I ended up putting a scope on it.... and did it without drilling any extra holes- something you can get away with considering the low recoil. It's accuracy deserved the scope! I still have it and have since taken the scope off. It likes Win T22s and regular Blazers. It was my trapline gun for years. I don't have a clue about the 22 mag (48) or other more recent K frame 22 lr cousins.

[bobthenailer]

in the 70s i sent my models 48/ 22 mag and 53 / 22 jet/S&W 22 cal revolvers back to S&W to fit 22 lr cylinders to them the cost was about $100.00 for each cylinder.
at todays prices? but i would ck on the cost it should be cheaper than buying another revolver