Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires S&W .22 Kit gun.

The only thing I do not like about my older 63 is the orange insert on the stainless front blade, would much rather have a simple black front ramp. Mine is from about 1986 and the best trigger job on a factory smith without any work done.

JM, what is the source of those grips? I thought I might have asked you before and can not find it anywhere.

Elder is more esteemed and sight inserts readily swapped.

I never found a set of grips/stocks for a S&W J-frame that would fit my hand as well as the Eagle finger-grooves on my S&W K-frames do, so whenever I buy a J-frame, I end up selling it. I sold a 651 to a guy in WY awhile back and returned to my most often carried kit guns, the humble Rossi 515 and 720.

JEff

Of the 422/622/2206 series, I like the heavier stainless 2206 the best. 1 thing that I don't like about the whole series is the cocking indicator pin at the base of the grip frame. When I bought my 1st 422 in 1987/88, I put a couple of dents in the left side of the stock on a Ruger 77 RSI when I was carrying the 422 in a belt holster on my right side. Now, I usually carry my 422/622/2206s backward, butt-forward, on my left side if I'm planning to carry a long gun with a wood stock.

JEff

PS - If you have a 422/622/2206, I highly recommend the nylon/plastic target grips/stocks that GPC sells for about $12. GPC's part # 728720. These grips/stocks are thicker and have a more rounded contour than the factors wood or plastic grips/stocks, or at least it seems so to me.

The K frame 22's are too big for me:


I prefer the J frame ones:



Or an old model Woodsman:

You know what Safe Queens have in common? Nothing. Which is profound.

What I'm suggesting .... consider the Ruger MkII, but the polymer 22/45 version specifically - considerably lighter weight than the all-steel framed version.

Then google Tactical Solutions out of Boise. They make an aluminum replacement upper for the Ruger pistols as well as Browning Buckmark. Open the site and give 'em a careful look.

A smith '63 or other J-frame is okay for a revolver (kit size), or model 17 for full-size ..... Nice revolvers, certainly!

But decide for yourself whether to get a wheelgun or pistol (not some lame-brained newby doing a poor job of a hardsell). Tactical Solutions makes an excellent product and saves a lot of weight! Giving a Ruger or Browning at least a 4inch length barrel.

Give it a looksee.

Actually if I ever get to talk F-t-F with Tac-Sel (when visiting Boise) I'd like to ask them if they would build a 10inch (or 8in) upper for the Ruger! A 10inch .22RF barrel shooting 'long rifles' still gives 93-94 percent of the performance one would get from a 16in tube shooting the .22LR.

OTOH, if small size is the most important feature desired, North American Arms makes their Mini-Master wheelgun with a 4in tube.

A model 43 is better yet.

Another thought would be a Bearcat, been toting one a long time and it does a right fair job.

For a day of woods loafing, there isn't anything much sweeter than a S&W Kit Gun with a tuned trigger, unless it's a pre-war Colt Woodsman. I own both and it is an eternal struggle which one to grab for a day of strolling in the woods. My S&W 2206 is the most accurate of all my .22 handguns, but my least favorite for some reason. It'll out shoot the Colt OM Match and 5-screw K-22, and that's saying something. The latter 3 are just more heavier than what I like hanging on my belt when all that's required is a .22 for plinking. JMO, which is worth a bucket of spent primers.

Stainless on stainless,has no peer.

Here's my array of kit guns:



Not all .22's, but all j frames....Have some experience with Buckmarks and Ruger's of various persuasions. Had a bearcat but couldn't get it to fit my hand very well, no matter how hard I tried. Single six was accurate but heavy for the caliber. Like my 22/45 and my buckmarks, along with my j-frames. Had a scandium j frame with a 3" barrel that carried great but I couldn't seem to hit with it very well.

They all have their high points.

TominBoise ..... I appreciate your post, but shifting gears a little (and you) being from Idaho, how often do you have targets of opportunity (camp meat via grouse or bunnies or hares) to use those hiking companions?

It was after three different 'hikes' or scouting trips where I came within stick-throwing distance of ruff grouse that I started looking for smallish or pocket-size .22 HG's. Of course at 3-4 foot distances a good CF wheelgun with snake shot should be effective too!

Fair amount of grouse here in the areas I hunt or hang out in. Not so many bunnies or hares, unless you count jack rabbits in the sage desert areas. Most of the grouse end up pretty close, like you said, and you could use shot or some other means. I try to head shoot, when I shoot.

Mostly I end up shooting rocks and things that present themselves that need shooting....

Most people don't know how infested Idaho is with the dreaded Western Diamondback rock. Those things are everywhere - they scuff your shoes, stub your toes, bruise your hands, they're plumb dangerous.

I also try to shoot as many as I can find...

'Western Diamondback rock !! ??' Thats also good to know!

I grew up in N.W. Florida, and actually saw 'few' snakes of the dreaded-kind because I always tried looking where I stepped or 'reached' (still never have ever walked into a buzztail buzzing!). Despite seeing every weird snake in FL at least once or twice (coral snakes and the scarlet king snake often confused with them, and even copperheads that were at their extreme southern range where my famm lived. Cottonmouths OTOH were too common and indeed mean and agressive!)

I'm eyeballing Idaho for a future residence.....

A couple or more good sidearms sound more and more like necessary tools!! (.357 AND .44 or .45C )

I prefer the Ruger single six, have had the Ruger 22/45, great shooting, accurate but a chore to take down and clean, you need a brass punch and a rubber mallet.

i have an older model 34-1 with the 4" barrel. it is really nice to carry and accurate enough for mid range small game shooting.

Wow.

Laffin.....try a model 43.....thank me later.