.22lr Revolvers

Bill B.

Bill B.

New member
O.K. everyone, I'll be turning the big 4-0 this Sunday. My wife asked me if there were any guns (within reason) that I wanted. That is a rather rhetorical question, but I told her I have always wanted a .22lr revolver.

I've been shopping around but have not made up my mind. Ruger Single Six and Bearcat as well as Taurus Tracker and 94 models have been the ones that interest me the most. I looked at a Heritage pistol and didn't care for it too much.

Also, I have heard that a pistol with the interchangeable .22lr and .22 winmag cylinders has a larger bore and might not shoot the long rifle that well. Any truth to this? What guns do you have, or have had that you would recommend? I'll be using it for fun shooting only.
 
The interchangeable cylinder models have a .224 barrel, and a 22 LR is .222. The magnum ammo will shoot more accurately, as a rule, in these pistols.
(see G&A's Complete book of Rimfires, 2009 - pg 76 article by Dick Metcalf)
Mark
 
I doubt you'll see too much loss of accuracy with the LR cylinder... First off, if you measure different 22 LR rounds and 22 Mag rounds, you're likely to see 0.002" difference in bullet diameter out of the same box of ammo.

Contrary to "gun scribe" myth, the bullets are pretty much the same in diameter between the two cartridges (within manufacturer specs). It's the cartridge cases themselves that have different diameters.

22 LR bullets are "heeled" in design - the bullet base is smaller than the bore diameter to allow it to fit down into the 22 LR case whose outside diameter is ~ the same as the 22 LR bore diameter, within manufacturing tolerances.

In contrast, the 22 Mag utilizes a normal straight sided bullet and slightly larger diameter case with normal bullet seating like in a CF round.

Quality revolvers with different cylinders have been bored to the proper cartridge case dimension.

-BCB
 
I own two(2) .22 revolvers..a S&W 617 4" and a Ruger Single Six .22/.22 mag. Both are fine for me, a passable pistol shot.

Consider whatever you buy a heirloom purchase....22's are just fun to shoot and will last beyond most lifetimes.

While I've never owned one most S&W kitgun owners love them..probably pretty dear on the used market but worth a close look if you come across one, IMHO.

Classy lady you've got there who knows how to treat a soon to be "old man" right...71, 40 seems like yesterday,LOL.
 
Great info on the convertibles.

I have had Bearcats, SingleSixes, Colts, Charters, etc. I liked them all.

However, I always come back to the Smith M34. IMO, awesome like no other.

M34.jpg
 
GC,
Ohhhh, awww! That's a sweet pair right there! Thanks for the input guys. My wife tends to feed my addiction from time to time so as to keep it under control.

There is a gun show this weekend so I might go cruise around to see what I can find. However, after reading some of the guns you wish you never bought thread I don't know about the gun show option.
 
Bill B,,, Just take a long a bore light and a magnifying glass....

Look closely at any of the "take down' points, ejection rod, and the locking lug for the cylinder...also a powder ring in the chambers and a lead ring in forcing cone area

If you start seeing bare or scratched metal, move on to a better one..usually a sign of sloppy maintenance or worse, abuse..

Some people have a bad habit of 'flipping' the cylinder closed with a wrist movement,,,this has the potential of springing the cylinder crane out of alignment...you almost need to check the clearance of the cylinder on each side of the barrel with a feeler gauge to detect it, if it is..that will cause it to 'shave lead', just like an out of time cylinder..
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Bill !....how bout a single action?...USFA (United States Fire Arms Mfg Co.)is producing a model 12/22...april '09 issue of Handloader ...i play with a S&W 35 and a K-22 occassionally...not a handgun guy.
 
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Good advice guys. I've got one gunshop I'm going to call just for kicks. Still trying to decide if I want to haul it down to the gun show or not. Gun shows really aren't my cup of tea. Don't like crowds.

I'm not opposed to a single action at all. I currently own a single action .44 mag and a double action .357. I don't really shoot either very much, but I still like both of them. I know I'd shoot a .22 revolver much more because I usually carry my .22/45 when I'm at the farm either riding, mowing, or hunting. Armadillos are the main target.
 
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DoubleCK, I have the twin to your model 34 and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I always used to turn my nose up to snubbies until I got that model 34. I can't believe the distances I can hit with that little gun. Anytime I go hiking that gun goes with me because I can't even feel it on my hip. Did I mention I love my S&W model 34.

I also just found a 5" J frame model 60 that I'm starting to love just as much. What was I always thinking packing around these 3 pound handguns?
 
Ten Roger filmit!

Like you I am also amazed at the effective range of this little gun.

The companion to my "Little Smith" is a J Frame .357. It was my Dad's and at one point was stolen from his Jeep. A couple of years later the AZ Law returned it to him as they had taken in off a drunk shooting up a small AZ town.
 
If you want to get a classy gun, get a Colt peacemaker .22 with interchangeable cylinders. I just so happen to have one that I never shoot, but it sure is nice to look at.....
 
I have a Ruger Single Six 22/22mag (5 1/2" , 6 shot), Tarus 941 22mag(4", 8 shot) , and a Charter Arms Pathfinder 22 lr (4",6 shot) .They are all good designs and good shooters .For woods work all carry about the same but the Charter is very lite.The Ruger has a very slight edge in accuracy and I believe this is because of the more robust sight .The Taurus has 8 shots (9 in 22 lr) and I think this is a big feature for plinking and if you get into a running gun battle with a rabbit .The Carter locks up tighter than any revolver I have ever had .

The workmanship is good on all three with Ruger being an top and the Charter on the bottom .The only quality problem I have had is with the Taurus and what happens is the set screws used to move the rear sight back and forth sometimes get loose after a few hundred rounds.A little thread locker solved this problem.I have had the Taurus the longest and it is my go to gun. The Charter is Stainless and I use it a lot when I am on the ATV going in and out of swamps .The Ruger gets of use on the range .

If I could only have one it would probably be the Ruger.
 
There are basically two different grades of 22LR revolvers. You have S&W's, and then you have all the rest.

Ruger may rate at the upper end of the lower grade, but the Ruger's will not shoot with the S&W's. I have owned and shot way too many of them. I like the single six for a cheap carry gun, and funshooter. But when I take a 22LR revolver to the woods for squirrels I take the S&W. Tom.
 
Hogghead called it pretty straight in my book.

Whether for carry or hunting, I'd recommend a stainless S&W 617 with a 10-shot cylinder and either the 4" (balance is better) or 6" barrels (probably better for hunting).

Throw on a Red Dot and maybe get a couple speed loaders and you can keep up with anyone with a semi-auto

But I sure love to look at some of the older revolvers like the ones in the pretty pictures above.

Problem with Colts is finding one.
 
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Originally Posted By: 2muchgunSo Colt falls into the "all the rest category". Whatever you say.......
crazy.gif



Yes. And let me point out the error in your ways. First of all the 22LR in the Colt Single Action Revolver was not called, nor nick named the Peace Maker. It was called the new Frontier. I own and have owned several, and yes they are a good looking revolver, and they handle very well. However they were never known for their accuracy.

Now if you would have made a more realistic argument about the Colt DiamondBack in 22 LR then you would have been more correct. The Colt DiamondBack in 22LR was a very accurate 22LR revolver. However there were not a lot of them made, and they bring pretty big bucks on the market.

So I guess that does make you wrong-again. Tom.
 
My son will get my S&W 63(Stainless, 4in, .22) after I die.
I had one other, a S&W Model 17 that I still regret letting go. If he really want's it he can have the Ruger 22/45 tommorow. When it comes to accuracy nothing (in a .22lr pistol) has ever held a candle to my S&W's.
 


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