OK - I am a bit embarrassed to ask this question. I bought a pretty decent Model 17-3 - that somebody had converted to shoot .22 magnum. It appears they bored out the cylinder, or countersunk it - I'm probably not using the correct terms. They then put a big honkin' stamp on the barrel that says "/ AND 22 MAG" just to the right of the normal .22 LONG RIFLE CTG

I have successfully (and accurately) shot 22 magnum out of it. Is it SAFE to shoot 22 LR out of it now? Or just inaccurate? I have a pre-model 17 already that I shoot, but I'm really just curious.

Why someone to do this to a nice gun, I don't know.

Thanks

I think the brass will split.

I agree. The magnum case has a larger diameter than the LR case, so the LR will most likely split or swell excessively. However, I don't think that actually poses a real problem safety wise for you or the gun. It probably won't be very accurate, though.

My biggest area of concern is not with the conversion but with that travesty of a relabeling. What was done to that barrel is atrocious!

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low speed, high drag

I don't know what to say.

The original .22LR bore/groove is undersize (spec) for what is used in the .22RF Magnum.
So shooting the RF Magnums in the revolver makes the jacketed Magnum bullets squeeze down just a bit to fit the bore.
Not a real big deal to many, it bothers the hell out of some. You may see some jacket fouling piling up rather quickly in the forcing cone and the throat of the bbl,,and then again maybe not. Each bbl is a mystery in itself.

Factory 22LR/22Mag conversion revolvers like the Ruger Single Six and others generally use a 22Mag bbl to sidestep the problem. Most don't notice any accuracy problems with the slightly larger mag bbl shooting the 22LR ammo as they aren't Match guns anyway.

As far as the markings,,it looks like they wanted to cover everything and then decided it was a 22Mag only,,,or something like that.
I'd take a file to that.
Shooting 22LR ammo in it is taboo,,some will split the cases, but some ammo will just swell up and you can get away with it so to speak. Hard to tell which will do what till you pull the trigger.
In an extreme emergency I'd use it, but not otherwise.
I like lookin' around too much.

Since it is stamped as a dual caliber, it probably had a second cylinder at one point.

As already stated 22LR in a 22 Mag chamber is a NO-NO.

It was not uncommon to create convertibles in the olden days.

Whoever defaced that beautiful revolver deserves a swift kick to the coin purse.

THIS IS DISGRACEFUL ! ! ! BUBBA HAS COMPROMISED THIS ONCE FINE REVOLVER, FOR SHOOTING EITHER .22LR OR .22 MAG. THE ICING ON THE CAKE IS THE DISFIGURING OF THE BARREL WITH THAT AWFUL STAMP. SADLY, Jmace57, YOU DID NOT PURCHASE A "PRETTY DECENT MODEL 17-3". THE EASIEST FIX IS TO REPLACE THE BORED OUT CYLINDER WITH A STANDARD .22LR CYLINDER. THEN THE REVOLVER WILL BE MECHANICALLY CORRECT, AND YOU CAN ENJOY SHOOTING IT. THE 17-3 IS A VERY NICE GUN, AND ONCE CORRECTED, THIS ONE WILL PROBABLY BE A GOOD SHOOTER…….
IF THE SCRIPT ON THE BARREL BOTHERS YOU, YOU COULD REPLACE THAT ALSO. THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE THAN HAVING THE SCRIPT REMOVED AND THE BARREL, OR WHOLE GUN REFINISHED. AS IS, IT WOULD BE A PERFECT WOODS GUN, TACKLE BOX GUN, TRUCK GUN OR RANGE GUN, THAT YOU WOULD NOT CRY ABOUT, IF IT GOT BANGED UP A BIT. HOPEFULLY, YOU DID NOT PAY BIG MONEY FOR THIS REVOLVER……….

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

You can take spent casings from 22 WMR ammo, grind off the case heads, and slip 22 Long Rifle rounds inside the "tubes" and fire them, IN AN EMERGENCY. There are also commercial adaptors available to do this.

I have never done this, but have been told by IOWEGAN, a very reputable Gunsmith, that it can be done safely.

I think if it were mine, I would contact S&W and send it in for replacement of the cylinder. That way you have a properly functioning revolver. I also would ask if they would remove the barrel designation and re-blue the revolver.

CHAMBER ADAPTERS

Yeah, but....one-eye Joe.....how do you really feel?!

I didn't pay a lot for it. I thought about doing what you suggest, one-eye. But, are replacement cylinders available? If so, do they require a lot of fitting? Would it be worth doing? I have less than $200 int it figuring the salvageable parts would be worth something. Recommendations? Or I can just shoot 22 magnums out of it. Thanks.

Wow. Someone actually thought they had a good idea. Sad.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

If the mags shoot good shoot it & don't put another nickel in it. U have a cheap gun which is a good truck gun. U cant buy anything for $200.

I'm not a gunsmith but I don't understand the purpose of the countersinking. It doesn't matter I guess, I'm with 4barrel on this one. If it shoots ok with the mag ammo then it's all good at the range.

Plus you could always re-stamp it to Mod 48. I'm kidding on this last part.

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Birds like shiny new toys too.

I am thinking someone counter bored it deeper into the cylinder to the length of the mag case. The counter bore on the front of the cylinder will matter some as the mag rim is thicker. Folks have been making 22 magnum rifles out of 22 long rifle forever. You can buy the tools online to do this. Old Remington single shot rifles are a good candidate with hand tools.

Why not shoot both magnum and lr ammo through it and if you have split lr cases, then only shoot magnum.
A split lr case isn't pretty, but it isn't dangerous.

With all the handguns being de-milled and then the remaining parts being sold on various internet sites, a replacement .22 LR cylinder and .22 LR barrel are readily available. Any competent pistolsmith can make the swap for you. Keep the 22 Mag cylinder and have a two caliber handgun. It is perfectly safe and probably very accurate to shoot 22 Mag out of a 22 LR barrel. Put that scarred up original barrel up for sale and someone that wants to make a short barrel for a 'shooter' will buy it at the right price. ........... Big Cholla

Thanks Big Cholla (and all). If I should head down the path of looking for a replacement cylinder, do I need to look for a 17-3 cylinder? Or will a model 17-anything cylinder work? Will a model 48 22 LR cylinder work?

EDIT: Not that it matters, but this is a 17-2 circa 1966, rather than a 17-3

Model 48 cylinder is .22 mag, you already have that as it's converted.
A model 17 anything cylinder (long rifle) should work for what you want.

Ralph, I had heard that some model 48s came with a 22 LR cylinder as well as the 22 magnum.

I don't think it's a travesty to alter the Model 17. The 17 is a lot more common than the 48 and usually a lot cheaper. If somebody wanted a .22 Magnum K-frame and had a hard time finding one, this is one solution. If it shoots accurately, it was probably done competently. I would shoot and enjoy it, with .22 magnum only.

Aha, I see where you are coming from, then.

Dont shoot 22lr in in except in an emergency. I would get a 22lr cylinder fitted and would be happy I had it for a shooter. If the 22Mag is inaccurate, then you should be able to sell it and not lose money.

I heard the countersinking of the rims was because the early rimfire rounds would sometimes split and send pieces out the back. I doubt that would happen with todays ammo.

Exactly what I was going to say...

Have a 17, 18 and 63 that have all had .22 Magnum cylinders fitted to them and they all shoot great with both cylinders. Have never had an issue with excess jacket material in the bores. The bore diameter of the .22 LR is .2225, and the .22 Magnum .224..which makes no difference.

I have bought cylinders off several of the auction sites. They will be anywhere from $90-200.00 depending on condition and if it just the cylinder w/star or the complete assembly with ejector rod and all the internal springs.

As to fitting, I have had some drop right in and others that needed to go to a Smith smith for fitting or timing.

You will probably find that your 17 is more accurate with Long Rifles and Magnums than a 48 twin cylinder gun because of the tighter bore. There is no reason that that Smith and Ruger had to run a bigger bore out of some type of safety concern. Freedom Arms and USFA only use the Long Rifle Bore size and their twin cylinder guns are MUCH more accurate with LRs than a 48 or a Single-Six.

For $200 you have a bargain even if you don't bother with the second cylinder.

Bob

Doubtful that the OPs gun had a second cylinder.It's just a poor conversion job of a .22lr,done in the cheapest way..A five year old could do a better job of adding the magnum stamping,though,at least,they did the right thing in putting it on.Some guys get real surprises with altered calibers.

Now you have a 22 barrel and a 22 mag cylinder (of sorts) - another Buba job that has ruined a gun. You would need a new barrel and cylinder before I would shoot it - costly based on value of gun.

Ken speaks the truth.

WaMike, I TELL IT LIKE IT IS, OR I DON'T TELL IT AT ALL. IT'S A SHAME THAT THIS GUN WAS HACKED UP. HE ONLY HAS $200. INTO IT, SO IT CAN BE MADE INTO A VERY NICE GUN WITH A LITTLE INTERNET SHOPPING, AND THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT GUNSMITH. HE COULD EVEN SEND IT BACK TO S&W, AS WAS SUGGESTED ABOVE. HE'S GONNA BE OK---AND THAT'S HOW I REALLY FEEL………….

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

With all due respect: IMHO, with lots of practical experience behind my opinion............This handgun is NOT ruined. It is a little ugly because of that horribly done over stamp on the barrel. 22 LR barrels have a long time well earned reputation for accurately shooting 22 Mags. The OP can add a 22 LR cylinder at minimal cost and nothing else to result in owning a very versatile handgun. My thought on swapping out the ugly barrel for a nice pretty barrel was for exactly that.....appearance sake.......not anything else.

I have put a 22 LR cylinder into a M 48 with less than satisfactory results. The accuracy is just not there. I have put several 22 Mag cylinders into M 17s and M 617s. The resulting accuracy with the Mag ammo is startling to me because it is so good. I really like the 22 Mag cartridge. While on paper it doesn't seem to be that all fired better than the hotter 22 LR ammo, IMHO, the practical results are about twice as good.

As far as availability of parts goes; I have in my parts horde two sets of 22 mag cylinder/yokes awaiting my next acquisition of the right 22 LR S&W handgun.

And, I have shot many 22 LRs thru 22 Mag cylinders as an experiment to educate myself. It works best with the 'hotter' 22 LR ammo as it tends to obdurate and seal best. I never had a split case. Accuracy was terrible at best. YMMV................ Big Cholla

to put this gun back into proper shape (plus what you paid for it)
will be more expensive than you could buy a good condition 17. 22LR and 22WMR are different diameter bullets and you'll be lucky to find any gun that shoots well with both.

As I keep saying; My M 617s are very accurate with both 22 LR and 22 Mag. The proof is in the pudding. It is not luck. The 22 LR barrel is bored at 0.2225" and the 22 Mag barrel is 0.224". To put those measurements in perspective; that is only 0.0015" difference in diameter and therefore 0.00075" in radius. The tighter barrel seems to help not hurt the accuracy obtainable from 22 Mag ammo. Then there is the tolerance factor and with that the wear on tooling factor. Probably most 22 LR production barrels run about 0.223" bore.

A couple of years ago, I built up a couple of single shot 22 Mags from Remington bolt action 22 LR rifle starts. Their 22 LR accuracy was so-so, but after conversion to 22 Mag the accuracy was dramatically better.

If I had the OP's M 17 on my workbench, I would have a 4" lugged barrel in it in about 20 minutes. Merely because I have one in stock. Then I would install a 22 LR cylinder. I would keep the headspacing for the existing now 22 Mag cylinder so everything works while switching cylinders back and forth. This isn't rocket science and this sort of conversion has been done ever since the 22 Mag ammo was first produced. ................ Big Cholla

Big Cholla - wish you lived down the street from me!

Since the gun in question is a 17-3 would the location of the gas ring be different than the other dash models.
I think the ring is located on the cylinder in all but the -3.
Is it as simple as knocking the gas ring out of say a -4 cylinder in order to install it on a -3?

There are people who should NEVER be allowed grinders, electric pencil type engravers, Dremel tools, files, hack saws and now....letter and number stamps.

How could ANYONE have thought THAT was a good idea?

On first looking at the OP's picture I didn't notice that the maker of this conversion lined out 'Long Rifle' and stamped magnum above that in addition to adding / .22 mag. So he actually didn't intend for .22 long rifle ammo to be used in it. Thus the safety issue of shooting .22 LR in this specimen is less relevant.

Follow-up - As I had never followed up. I found a beautiful .22 LR cylinder and crane assembly and it works great. I also acquired a replacement barrel from a forum member here, but have not replaced the barrel yet. With the replacement cylinder/crane and the new barrel, I'm probably $425 into it, which I can live with.

Just as a point of information, at one time, S&W offered the Model 48 (.22 WMR) with two cylinders - the other for .22 LR.

John

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Did you ever shoot it with 22 magnums , just wondering if you have. A 22 magnum revolver wouldn't be a bad thing as long as it was accurate enough .
Gary

The only real sin I see is the dim bulb stamping all over the barrel. Shooting the slightly over sized 22 mag bullets down a 222 lr barrel is a total nothing in something like a K22. Cylinder, frame or heavy forcing cone don't even notice the burb. I would just find a k22 cylinder and have a dual caliber gun.

Once you replace thee ugly but functional barrel you have a great gun at a very decent price.