Just bought this beautiful nickle plated model 51 revolver, I was told I can shoot ANY .22 out of it... LR, short, magnum etc. After doing some dogging it seems i can only shoot .22 magnum which are also know as .22wmr IS THIS CORRECT? Also seen even though LR fits the cylinder I CANNOT shoot them out of the gun because they get stuck and something about the gases blow back out of the cylinder into your face?

Thanks in advance

22 wmr only from a model 51

The S&W 51 is a .22 magnum. Some of those guns were offered with a .22 Long Rifle cylinder. You should not shoot .22 LR out of a .22 magnum due to case rupture/blowback which may cause injury or permanent disfigurement. .22 WRF may be fired in a .22 magnum.

They look like these.
Notice they may say 22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum, WRM, or just WIN MAG.

Attached Images

IMG_3338.jpg (72.0 KB, 16 views)

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Yes, .22 WMR is longer and of larger diameter than the LR, so the latter is a no-no.

As mentioned above, you can probably find a .22 LR cylinder and have it fitted to your model 51. Accuracy with LR may be great to indifferent. Also shoot the .22 WMR outdoors or with double ear protection, they are loud.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Thank you all, this was the info I needed

For what its worth - there are atleast two offerings of the 22WMR that are specifically for short barreled guns. The normal 22WMR is meant for rifles with a longer burn time. They'll work in your 51 but you'll have a bit of unburned powder to eventually clean up.