I’ve decided I need a 22mag double action Smith I’ve never run across a used model. I have a Ruger single six with 22mag cylinder and a Savage model 93 so I need a double action version. Not a fan of the lock my only lock version is my 617 so what’s the thought on the 351,48,648 thanks. It would be plinking woods walking defensive a 48 4” would be great but the 351c looks pretty sweet too. A mate to my 642 thanks!

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Take it easy. Chris

I think the 651 4" is probably your best bet. I have a 351c and while it is a joy to carry, it is no target gun. It has the big dot front sight and the trigger pull is not what you want on a target gun.

Be prepared to drop 800-1000 for a nice 651. If you want the 2" version, hold on to your wallet, they are bringing $1500 or better.





Even during the ammo shortages (2008 and now), I can still find plenty of 22 Mag. There are some really neat Speer Gold Dot short barrel self defense loads that look pretty good on paper.

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On the Oak Savannah

Yes I’ve been able to find 22mag around here when all else is wiped out. Called local shop no used or jframes just a nib 48 6” for $860 and he usually has a bit of everything hiding in his shop. I’d have to think about that since my single six is a 5 1/2” id really prefer a 4” if I went that route.

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Take it easy. Chris

Take a look at the model 51. I have one and love it

The price on 651 ouch!

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Take it easy. Chris

Probably can't go wrong with any of those you're considering. I had a 351C but got rid of it after one trip to the range. Terrible trigger and I couldn't hit much of anything with it at any distance. The 651 is good but I think your initial leaning towards a 48 4 inch is where I would go. A little bigger, a little heavier, but for me anyway, much more accurate at longer range than the 351C or 651 and easy to carry. The IL wouldn't bother me a bit either for a range and woods gun and one of the 648s or a Classic would be fine. A 4 inch 8 shot 648 would be great if you could find one; 648s seem to be obvious by there absence on the S&W website. Frankly I'd buy whichever of the 48/648 versions I found for the best price. Here are two of my favorites. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

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I bought a new 48 6" and it is beautiful despite the lock. The lock is not as noticeable to me with blued guns. It is very accurate and the trigger is really good. Double action shooting is smooth. I would not call it a woods gun, if I brought in the woods I would have it in a case. A 351 seems to be a better choice.

The price is right on the 48 6” classic as opposed to any others I’ve seen or looked at on web and it’s available just it’s 6” that’s what’s holding me up.

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Take it easy. Chris

Not Smith, but great shooter. I picked up a Ruger LCRX 3in 22 mag. Sat.
$500.00

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UCK!!!!!!!

FWIW; IMHO the .22mag is a varmint hunting round best out of a 16-20" rifle.....you can pick up 800 to 1100 fps....... over a 4" revolver

My general call on rimfire revolvers is, avoid DAO (like the 351C).

Rimfire revolvers generally have such tough triggers that SA is a worthwhile option.

My feelings are that if you have a K frame 22 mag the single six would not get shot much. So.........sell it after you get the 6" 48.

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Front sight and squeeze

If truly destined to be less a range gun and more of a walk-about plinker
I would search for a "experienced" model 51.
Often under the common radar a finish challenged one can be found quite affordably.
This one has worn out a few holsters but is a remarkable shooter for a J frame. For me a 3 1/2 inch barrel is about the minimum I want for 22 mag.
Couple of grip options ,minimal to man-sized make it versatile and the finish wear will disappear in a Simply Rugged pancake .

A 3" Model 317 gets my vote

I have a new 48 6 inch that I got in trade. Trigger was horrible until I installed a lock delete from the gentleman who posts here. Precision I think. Installed the lock delete and the trigger changed dramatically. Almost as good as My 53 vintage K22. 22 mag is hard to find here and if I could find a 351 I would not hesitate to carry it.

While I love my 48-4 long tube for targets, ground hogs, etc, I want to add a 4” as it’d be a great companion in the woods (and a lot easier to carry!).

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Pass it on.
Mark

If you want to shoot an accurate 22 mag then get a K frame. If you want to make lots of noise with so-so accuracy the J frame will work.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

I have a marlin 780 in 22 wmr. Scoped my misses put ten rounds in the x ring at 100 yds.

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Plant garlic in the fall

The 317 is long rifle, my bad. For woods plinking I'd go with the 351. In my opinion a 4" 48 would be too much gun to take traipsing around in the woods all day

A 22 mag out of a revolver is not that much better then some hipper velocity 22 long rifle like CCI stingers, to much is lost between the cylinder and barrel. as stated above best used in a rifle, I have 2 revolvers that will shoot both and other then the wow factor with the mags I very rarely shoot them, but they turn into a 150yd. rimfire in a rifle.

I’d like to get a revolver in 22 mag but another $800/$900?

Can a 22 lr cylinder be chamber reamed to 22 mag? If I had a beater.

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Plant garlic in the fall

Sounds like he's after a walk-around plinker not a target gun. Also sounds like he wants a .22 mag revolver not for the power but because the ammo is readily available.

Chris,
I'd strongly consider a 3" Taurus 941. I have their Model 94 in .22lr and it's a great shooter.

I bought a Taurus m94/22lr for the misses great gun.

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Plant garlic in the fall

Bought one last year myself. Love it.

941 is an older model. I just looked online and the new ones are 942s. My two Smith 22s, a Model 18 and a 43, are just too nice to shoot. Hmm, now I'm tempted. Like I need another shooter.

I have a really nice 48-2, six inch. Bought it on a whim a few years ago with 500 rounds of ammo. I've never put a round through it. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have several 22lr revolvers (17-2, pre-18, Colt OM), and they’re really more in my wheelhouse since I limited my collection to only four calibers. The 48 is the queen of the safe.

I erred in my previous post. My new Taurus is indeed a 942, not a 94. It's an excellent gun. Be advised the stainless version like I bought is a heavy little chunk. I found out after I bought it they make the same gun with a lighter aluminum frame. No big deal since I don't carry mine. I bought it for cheap practice because I EDC J frames.

What, no love for the M63? Mine has been very accurate and rides along with me during bird season.

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I shoot them both. You can see the size difference. I think if I was looking today I would go for the M- 63

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Or you can build one if you happen to have a Model 17 or 18 handy. See the thread on the gunsmithing forum Cylinder Fitment The cylinder is available from the 648 stainless .22Mag from Numrich for about $75 and it seems to fit the yoke without much work on the 17/18's. Fitting the extractor is the hard part but most gunsmiths do this easily. Here's mine on a pre-18 chassis.

Stu

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Well I grabbed the “classic” 48 4” should be coming my way next week. I’d have liked a non lock but times are tough and I’m impatient so the hunt is always on for more. The 63 is definitely something I’d be all over in the future. Sweet revolver pics everyone and I appreciate all the feedback.

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Take it easy. Chris

In addition to my M63, I've had a M48 6-inch for decades. Did the reverse of what Stu1ritter did above and had a .22LR cylinder fitted to mine. Love it.

Yes, by all means buy a 63 to go with your 48.

Here's mine with my convertible M25-2 (ACP and LC).

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Are the 17 and 48 bore diameters different? My understanding with ruger the single six bore diameter is actually for the .22mag

What do you mean No Love? I absolutely love mine!



My 22 Mag choice is it's cousin, the M651...



OP - enjoy the M48 - it should be a fun one!

Bob S.

My Model 48 has a 6" barrel and it's perfect for my purposes. Bought it new last year and it's a beauty. That 6" barrel helps to take advantage of the WMR's extra powder charge.

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With S&W, you're holding history in your hand

I am the happy, proud owner of a 648, but can’t imagine one with a barrel shorter than 6” - but that’s just me. I’ve been pretty lucky finding 22 mag ammo around here and for $12.99, $5 less than Sportsman’s Warehouse.

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213th FBINA

I have a 1974 model 48 with 8-3/8" barrel, target trigger, target hammer, target grips, and its a great woodchuck revolver.

Back in early March 1993, I bought a brand new model 651 for carrying during trout fishing season.
Started seeing coyotes and black bears, when walking the trout streams, though never attacked, I got the message.

Also have a Colt NF twin cylinder 22/22 wmrf, and a few WMRF rifles.
22WMRF is My favorite rimfire cartridge.

btw: Just found an image of My 651, along with my 63 and the Mrs 63.

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It is....what it is!

I've really come to like the .22mag for a Penn's Woods varmint round...... not to big not too heavy but enough gun for large varmints aka coyote's out to 100 yards which fits shooting in the woods or small fields of the Pa. Laurel Highlands. As I said in an earlier post I think the round reaches its full potential in a rifle. I can highly recommend CZs; mine are 452s FS/mannlichers, and Ruger's American Compact.



If I need a backup handgun it's usually a 3" Model 60-10 micro 686... thou my 4"63 with CCI Velocitors would also be a good option.

Picked up the 48 really smooth transfer. Blueing is nice trigger seems decent definitely a turn line this is a nib revolver I gotta say cylinder seems a bit sticky at times and definitely seeing a wobble on extraction rod not pleased with that so otherwise looks good anxious to get out and shoot it the cylinder gap seems consistent on all chambers and cylinder doesn’t wobble when spun just the rod so hopefully not gonna be an issue I’m not really comfortable working on it so chime in on thoughts. Thanks again.

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Take it easy. Chris

There must be something in the air; I was in my LGS today, looking to see if there was anything worth leaving with. Found this beautiful M48-4. SN places it around 1981, which makes it the youngest S&W I own. The gun is extremely clean, makes a good companion to my other S&W magnums but by far the smallest caliber. it just occurred to me that it is half the diameter of my .44.

I had no thoughts of buying a .22 Magnum when I saw this one, but it was too nice to pass up. I didn't buy it immediately, but took the SN and went home, looked it up in the Catalog. When I saw the value for "excellent" condition, I went straight back to the LGS and bought it; got it for $200 under the 2016 price for "excellent". There were a set of faux ivory Altamont magnas on it, but it had the original magnas with it as part of the deal. No box or tools, though.

I do have a question about mine. Is the gizmo sticking out next to the trigger a trigger stop? I have never seen one, although my other guns have the slot for one. I'm looking forward to shooting this one a lot, my LGS didn't have any .22 MRF ammo, though, so I'll have to wait a bit.

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Why do some revolvers have a trigger stop...

Thanks for that. I figured it was a trigger stop, seeing how it was sticking out of the trigger stop notch. I've heard they can lock up the action sometimes, and i don't particularly want the stop anyway. Are they hard to remove after taking the side plate off?

When I shot PPC ages ago, we made our own stops out of a pencil eraser glued to the back of the trigger. You used sandpaper to trim it 'til it was just right to stop the trigger just before it broke in DA

I also produce lock plugs. The first time I changed out a lock on one of my guns, a 686, I noted a significant reduction in single action trigger pull. Also a reduction in double action, though not as much. I have a trigger pull gauge and tested what I was feeling to be the difference. The gauge agreed with my instinct. It was several years ago and I don’t remember the numbers exactly, but the difference was noticeable. I noted drag marks on the side of the hammer from the lock flag.

I'm pretty fond of my 351PD, it's very accurate, been carried a lot & in my hunting pack. Removing the infernal lock reduced the trigger pull on every new S&W I've done action jobs on. Scandium frames are the hardest to get a good action on but I have my 351PD down to 1 3/4lbs. SA. Some .22LR revolvers can be rechambered to magnum if the barrel is .224 (most newer ones are) & if the chambers aren't too close together (I've done few Bearcats). Hope this helps.

I really like my 648. Shooting steel targets with it always makes me smile.

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I have a 4-screw 6" 48 and a 3-screw Ruger Super Single Six 4 5/8" that wears it's .22 mag cylinder 98% of the time. The Ruger is a favorite utility sixgun, the 48 mostly sees action at the range. Contrary to what many here are reporting, I can't find any ammo, locally or online. It's the one cartridge I'm not pretty well stocked up on (or able to reload). Think I may have 200-300 rounds at most.

I'm looking at the 3.5" J frame 51s and read this from an old post:
Back in the day, S&W would fit a second .22LR cylinder to any of their .22WMR revolvers. You could order the gun with the second cylinder or return yours to the factory for the work.

Is this still the case?

Wanted to stop putting mileage on my 6" blue Colt Diamondback .22lr. So looking for something I'd be happy with in a .22 DA revolver, I stumbled onto this nickel 4" 34-1 at a local gun show. S/N puts it in '69 production. The gentleman selling it told me it had been returned to S&W some time in the '70s for "soup to nuts" upgrading.
The gun truly has it all. Target hammer, target trigger (never had seen one on a j-frame before), target stocks, RR/WO sights, incredible action work and the bonus fitted .22WMR cylinder!
Paid $675 for the gun. Not disappointed. I keep saying I'm going to get it lettered. I will someday when I have some found money.

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DNJ6... Serial number any info would be great thanks. I'm seriously considering calling Smith and sending back the sticky release is not sitting well for a brand new gun hate to have it gone for months but way it goes. I'd definitely say its run out rod doesn't always return when pushed to extract and rod visibly wobbles,when cylinder is closed gap seems consistent and doesn't seem to bind when rotated with hammer slightly pulled back.

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Take it easy. Chris

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Take it easy. Chris