New to me...

Very nice S&W postwar K22. Serial number K285631. Great bore, action is clean and smooth. Old school bluing intact with just a few marks. Came with target grips (no serial number).

Picked up a Western Images Leatherworks Sportsman chest rig for the woods.

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Nice gun. Everyone should have one of those in their hands at some point in their lives. Well, maybe not everyone. Great guns. Thanks for sharing.

Nice revolver!
I've had mine since 1980ish. I bought it new from Broadway Hardware in McAllen, Tx. "Collected" a bunch of cottontails & jackrabbits with that revolver! She has some honest wear, but still shines with her favorite ammo if I do my part!

WYT-P
Skyhunter

An important memo.

Over the years, I have owned quite a few K-22 Masterpiece revolvers, with dates ranging from 1947 to 1976 (a 17-3). Several still live with me. One of those came from my late brother, may God rest his soul.

With it, in the box, I found a note in my brother's handwriting. It reads, "It will shoot any .22 LR but prefers Remingtons for some reason!"

This reflects a fact that many of us have discovered over the years. K-22 revolvers seem to have brand preferences. And you can't guess what it will be; you have to try different brands to see which one a particular gun "likes." I have, for example, one Model 17 that shoots WW Super X brand ammo the best. Who knows why!

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Going to see if she likes CCI...

I have an absolute pristine Model 17-3 from 1969 coming in this week. I’ll post pics in another thread when I get it. This is a great time for C&R holders. Lots of classic firearms are coming eligible. Jump on it when you can.

I have a pair of K-22s from the early '50s that prefer Remingtons over all other bulk ammo and some target loads.

My 17-2 prefers the Winchester Super X too, but I seldom shoot what little of it I have. It does okay on CCI, and a little better with Aguila (sp?). Just finished reaming the sticky cylinders (thanks to Joe K and Jebus627!).

Mine has freckles and had a hard, rough life before I got it. Hope to find a nicer one some day (from the 50's as well). Shoot it and love it, just don't store it in the holster. It'll look and shoot just as good when your grandchildren and theirs shoot it.

So I removed the hammer block and it still hung up, so that isn’t it. I checked the strain screw and it looks ok, but it could be modified. Took it to the range and had a couple FTF on double action. It could be the strain screw or the possibly the mainspring was replaced with a lighter version. Action is lighter than on my 17-3. I’ll try swapping the screw and mainspring with my 17-3 and see if that cures it.

Thanks everyone.

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I had my 586 start hanging up halfway through the double action stroke some time back. It finally went away, and I never could find the reason. I have a 627 PC, pre lock, 8 shot that will hang up halfway through the DA cycle also, have not found the reason yet either, although I suspect a close barrel/cylinder gap. The funny thing is that when it locks up, I just rotate it back to the original cylinder notch, and repeat the trigger stroke and it will work fine!
Your main spring strain screw looks a little mushroomed, and that could be enough to cause failures to fire, maybe. Also, .22 ammo is sometimes failure prone on its own, and I shoot a lot of ammo of different kinds before I blame the gun. On a failure to fire, I rotate the cartridge about 180 degrees from the firing pin indent and see it that will fire. Most times it will.
Is your gun a 4 screw or 5 screw? Does it have the wide rib? I have a K2543xx which is a 5 screw wide rib and it is my understanding it is just before the 4 screws began.
Good shooting!!

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Nice K-22 Masterpiece.

Its strain screw definitely was shortened. When new its tip was rounded and blued. For reliable double action with various lots of cartridges in rimfire K frames I want a full length strain screw and full strength mainspring. Its trigger is no older than the early 1990s when metal injection molded (MIM) parts were introduced. I would install a forged trigger and new strain screw before I did anything else to correct the binding in DA.

If it is convenient to add a new mainspring to the parts order I'd throw it in as well. To get a light SA pull some gunsmiths use a jig to bend the mainspring. I'd have to compare it to a new mainspring to tell if it still has its original curve. I think mainsprings are still under $10.

I like the walnut Targets. They are better looking than goncola alves AND are what S&W would have put on when it was made.

The OP's revolver is from 1956. I could be mistaken, but I don't believe S&W was putting GA target stocks on the K-22 at that time. I certainly have never seen any. Most K-22s from that time shipped with Magna stocks anyway, although targets were available.

BTW I like walnut also.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I think you are right but lots of folks swapped to the targets out of preference. My 1956 K22 and K38 both came with Magnas but both usually wear targets. I still have the original grips for both though. Mm mmm

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I invest in Lead and Copper!

Replaced the strain screw and the mainspring. Seems to be working alright now. I’ll see how things go at the range later this week on double action, but the hang up has gone away (knock on wood). Thanks again.

Very cool- finest 22 handguns ever mfg’d IMO- esp examples of that vintage.

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Some Might Say.

Agreed. I like it so much I bought two more (17-3 and a 22 Combat Masterpiece)

I corrected my typo above. I just did not proof read well enough.

My recollection of the relatively early revolvers that I've observed with Target Stocks is that the less expensive ones, 14s, 15s, 17s 18s and 28s got walnut Targets while the more expensive 19s, 27s, and 29s got goncola alves. At some point walnut Targets disappear altogether.

Of course those less expensive 14s, 15s, 17s 18s and 28s more often got walnut Magnas but that's another matter.

Well... that didn’t work. Action is flawless, no hang ups, but pretty much 100% FTF with light primer strikes. I think the original strain screw and the replacement screw were for a round frame. They only measured .570” overall. I ordered a new square frame screw that measures .605” OAL. Hopefully that does the trick. I really want to straighten out this revolver because it shoots so accurately and looks good with a deep blue finish.

Not giving up until she is 100% squared away. It’s a duty to these fine revolvers.

If you want to verify the shortened screw is the issue (while waiting for the new one to arrive), put a FIRED pistol primer over the end of the screw. That extra “length” seems to have made my 1953 K22 reliable.

Thanks good idea. I’ll try it. I can also try to swap out the screw from my 17-3 and look at the impression on a fired case.

Nothing has been written about whether the cylinder is being held back against the recoil shield. Normal wear very gradually shortens the yoke barrel creating end shake. Too often rather than correct the end shake owners file the rear end of the forcing cone to stop the cylinder rubbing on it. Also, wear on the front side plate screw threads can allow the crane to move forward. I have no idea if your gun has that much wear. I'm just throwing out things to check.