Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Finest 22 LR revolver ever????

Ah, for the good old days.

Nothing presented beats a K22 that has had it trigger / sear worked...

Mine is a family lineage made ~ 1962, accurate as anything

I was actually looking for a mid 50's K22 to match my K38 and ran across a '41 OMT on consignment. Needless to say I bought it. A bit different with the front and rear adjustable sights, but the fit and finish is way beyond what one can get nowadays. The hand tuned action is again unlike anything like one gets now. A bygone era.

IMO it's a tie between the K22 and a Single Six.

They're two different animals but both excel at their jobs.

I have a 1946 K22 and a 80's era fixed sight SS.....I'd never part with either.

The gentleman who dug my pond and built my dam years ago was a gun nut so of course we would talk guns when we'd meet. We were talking about favorite guns and went to his truck and returned with a K22 Masterpiece that had hardly any bluing left (and not a spot of rust). He'd owned it since he was a kid. He let me shoot it and I don't think I've felt another revolver that was as smooth....or really even close.

Dan Wesson 15V......

Cool story JCM, my dozer guy is a gun freak too, sucks when we start talking guns when he's on the clock at 80 bucks an hour.

The grips do not fit my hand as well. I am a Colt fan through and through, but that has always been a sticking point when shooting their double actions. I even shoot my S&W 686 more than the Python just for that reason. The Camp Perry, no problem.

What model precisely is this gun. Gorgeous!!!!

Later Model 17 that had the full underlug barrel....not many made compared to the non-lug version, more of the stainless version are out there...617s...

17-6 I believe is correct model.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/801689601

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/800565159

Bob

Naturally RJM is correct.

I actually had to go look, as I did not know what dash # it was myself and was curious. I had not doubt that Bob was right though, and as usual, he was spot on!

That particular Model 17 came to me through my friend who is the co-owner of a well known holster shop. I told him many years ago I was looking for a K Frame .22 and he came up with this one. It belonged to a Deputy Sheriff in rural Eastern Oregon and is truly a phenomenal tack driver. It will truly be one of the very last guns I ever get rid of.

While a bit heavy, it balances very nicely and is a true joy to shoot. In fact I made one of of my longest ever rimfire kills that I can ever recall with that gun on a jackrabbit. My memory is a bit hazy but somewhere in the 125 ish yard range (back when iron sights were not fuzzy). Jacks are notoriously hard to kill with .22LR unless you get a CNS hit and this one was a bang-flop. It was actually just a lucky shot, but memorable nonetheless.


This is NOT the same Jack, but another unfortunate one that crossed paths with the beautiful old full lugged M17:

Hanging here on the Fire, one could come to the conclusion that a .460 is THE jackwabbit round. Elk in NM has posted a bunch of dead wabbit pictures with that big gun. Guess them old wabbits pretty tough, especially in NM. Amazed that a mere rimfire would stop one...!

DF

HA!


I see NOTHING wrong with shooting them with a .460.

In fact years back I mentioned to my dad that we ought to take out some big guns and do a hunt with with them. However I was thinking somewhat reduced loads using cast bullets in 45-70 lever guns, 375 bolt actions, 338s, or whatever.

I have shot literally thousands with .44 mags, so I have zero probs with using a large bore rifle.


BTW, this is what happens when you hit one with a full power, 185 grain (if I recall right) JHP out of a 44 mag:






versus a cast bullet:







Back to Rimfires:

Yes sir, that's a costly conversation. I was fortunate in that he quoted me a set price on the pond!

Sadly that gentleman was killed in a tractor accident a few years ago. Didn't come home one evening and his wife found him. Looked like the tractor he was pulling a sprayer with hit a hole on a hillside and either the liquid sloshing in the sprayer or just the hole caused the tractor to turn over. He was a careful and knowledgeable man who'd operated heavy equipment all his life...thinking it happened to him makes me take extra care.

Yeah, equipment can be dangerous.

I'm always mindful of what can happen when I'm operating a dozer or tractor.

It's not too unlike gun handling. As long as you are very aware of what you're dealing with, the safer you'll be.

DF

I learned to shoot with a S&W K22 Masterpiece - fond memories. But some slime-rodent stole it.

My first hand gun was a 6" K-38. It was about the time I started reloading as a high school student, probably 15 or so. Picked up pecans, saved to buy that gun at a pawn shop, new for $83.00. I considered others, such as a Ruger .22, but went with the center fire to reload.

I used it a bunch until it was showing wear. Sent it back to Smith for refinish and refurb. Haven't used it that much since then.

I have a .357 Combat Masterpiece (K frame 4" with ramp front sight). I reshaped the grips, refinished and recheckered. I like a smaller sized grip, find the factory grip too large. I wish I could find after market grips with that same contour. The ones with smaller girp, tend to be too long, position the hand too low to suit me. The Hogue Miculek grips are made that way, although a lot better than S&W OEM. www.hogueinc.com/specialty/jerry-miculek

I slicked up that gun until it's pretty amazing to shoot. When I did my CCW shooting test, I used it with come cowboy action low powered loads. Piece of cake to shoot a one hole target. Wish I could still shoot that well with aging eyes. That was almost cheating...

I picked up a pair of 8 3/8" K frames at a gun show some years back, a K-22 and a K-38. Still have them. They both have the target hammer and trigger; I prefer a slicked up std width trigger like my original K-38 and the Combat Masterpiece, but these are nice guns. I slimmed the grips, painted both with Krinkle paint for a good grip.

My over achiever, tax lawyer son-in-law from New Orleans spotted a coon in my yard after dark; we were coming in after a wedding. I asked where it went and he pointed out the tree. I went in the house, got the 8 3/8" K-22 and a good flash light. Found the coon, shot him out of the tree. My SIL was standing 30 yds away on my front porch with my daughter, watching the whole thing. This boy has never shot a gun, doesn't have a gun, doesn't like guns. His comment, "Wow, this is my first hunting trip"...

Oh well...

DF

After hunting Jacks with Mackay, I don't plan on shooting them again with a .22 LR handgun. I had no problem hitting them but keeping them down was another thing. I think Mackay finished off half the rabbits I hit with his .22 rifle... Next time out the 6.5" FAs and/or the Model 53 both in .327 are going with me... All the Jacks I shot in Texas with a handgun were with the Model 53 when it was a .22 Jet....and it was a hammer.

As to the original question of what is the "Finest" .22 Revolver....that is a real hard question because everyone's definition of finest is going to be different. To me it is fit, finish, balance, accuracy and shootability.

..so I probably ruined the finest .22 revolver when I converted my 1961 vintage Model 53 .22 Jet that had the extra .22 LR cylinder to .327 Federal.

Fit and Finish...the mid-1950s to late 1960s Smiths had to be the finest they ever made. Lockup was tight, actions were smooth and finishing is unlike anything before or after.

Balance...unlike a 17 that is just a little muzzle light and the full underlug that is muzzle heavy, the full length Magnum cylinder and 1/2 underlug barrel gave the 53 that little extra magic.

Accuracy...hit a 4' cottonmouth sunning itself at 60 yards..in the head with the Jet. Killed a starling in a tree at 90 with the LR cylinder.

Shootability....The SA pull is better than the average Smith...of which most are excellent anyway. All the students that trained with the gun made little tiny groups even shooting DA....

So that would be my vote...a 60s vintage Model 53 with the extra fitted .22 LR cylinder...

S&W Performance Center’s Lew Horton Hertiage Edition Model 17-8



I keep watching out for the big bores to come on sale...

Have you ever examined a pre-war Smith? The one I posted above, made in 1926, is head and shoulders above any 50's - 60's Smith I have examined.