I am installing a .22 mag cylinder in a model 17. When closing the cylinder, the gas ring rubs the bottom of the barrel . How do you remove the gas ring from the cylinder in order to turn the end of the ring down slightly?

You could leave it on the cylinder to turn it.

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Carefully file or stone trial amounts from the flat on the bottom of the barrel extension until the cylinder closes without the gas ring touching. Plenty of metal on a K22 barrel extension. It's not like an older model 19.

I filed the barrel flat when I installed this 648 cylinder in my pre-18 to get the gas ring clearance. Made more sense. The gas ring would get "mighty" thin.

Stu

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Mag cylinder:ejector rod fitted.jpg (96.6 KB, 143 views)

I agree, cut the bottom of the forcing cone (stone or file) to place a "flat" to allow the gas ring to clear. It doesn't have to be much, but that's how S&W does it. Test fit every few strokes with the cutting instrument, take only enough to permit the cylinder to close fully and rotate without drag.

If you shorten the gas ring, you defeat its purpose entirely. It has to extend beyond the rear edge of the forcing cone (fits under it when the cylinder is closed) in order to block deposition of carbon and fouling on the cylinder axle (extractor rod), which will impede rotation of the cylinder, make extraction difficult and require disassembly every time the gun is used in order to clean it.

I'm sort of curious as to why the replacement cylinder's gas ring doesn't clear, while the original apparently does. What dash number is your M17, what gun does the cylinder come from? The .22LR cylinder is the same length as the .22MRF cylinder, the only difference should be that one might have a cylinder-mounted gas ring, the other might have a yoke-mounted gas ring, depending on when each gun was manufactured.