Finish reaming K22s, or, How To Solve Difficult Extraction In .22lr S&Ws

[Bullet Bob]

"The chrome didn't damage his reamer one bit (har har)."

I don't know about other companies that did hard chrome, but Armoloy, the original, would not plate inside cylinders or bores smaller than .38 caliber. So maybe yours weren't plated. Har har?

 

[tlawler]

Is anyone interested in swapping reamers temporarily? I have a 10mm Auto finish reamer and go/no go gauges for converting .40 S&W to 10mm that I could swap. I have projects that I need .22LR, .32 H&R Mag, and .357 Mag cylinder reamers for, but hate to buy 3 different reamers to do one gun each with.

 

[Maxw]

Used my reamer on my and a number of 617s with excellent results, good work and excellent comments on proper use of chamber readers. It took unpleasant revolvers to fun to shoot especially when you have speed loaders and loading blocks.

 

[GaryS]

This is an interesting thread, although I haven't read all of the posts.

I have a 351C in .22WMR that has started binding on ejection lately. It's only two cylinders and it got a little bit better when I did a good cleaning. I'm out of 22 patches and will do a better job when they come in next week.

Has anyone sent a revolver with this problem back to the factory for repair? I could probably get a reamer and do it myself, but I'm kind of a coward when it comes to removing metal from a gun.

 

[BC38]

This is an interesting thread, although I haven't read all of the posts.

I have a 351C in .22WMR that has started binding on ejection lately. It's only two cylinders and it got a little bit better when I did a good cleaning. I'm out of 22 patches and will do a better job when they come in next week.

Has anyone sent a revolver with this problem back to the factory for repair? I could probably get a reamer and do it myself, but I'm kind of a coward when it comes to removing metal from a gun.

No reason to be afraid of doing this. It is truly a no-brainer type of job. If you can turn a screwdriver and squirt a few drops of oil on something you can do this one. It really couldn't be much easier. The hardest part is removing the cylinder from the gun and that is as simple as removing the yoke retention screw.

Literally all you need is the right reamer, a can of cutting oil, and a good screwdriver to remove/reinstall the yoke retention screw. Maybe a rag and some carb or brake cleaner to clean up the cylinder after you're done.

The reaming only removes tiny little shavings of metal from inside the chambers. I did all 9 chambers on a High Standard W101 and the shavings from all 9 chambers combined wouldn't have been enough metal to make a small paper clip. Literally just a few grains worth of metal.

 

[GaryS]

Thanks! I might work up the courage to order a reamer and try. Since they shell casings are the same size, I assume that I can order a .22LR reamer?

No reason to be afraid of doing this. It is truly a no-brainer type of job. If you can turn a screwdriver and squirt a few drops of oil on something you can do this one. It really couldn't be much easier. The hardest part is removing the cylinder from the gun and that is as simple as removing the yoke retention screw.

Literally all you need is the right reamer, a can of cutting oil, and a good screwdriver to remove/reinstall the yoke retention screw. Maybe a rag and some carb or brake cleaner to clean up the cylinder after you're done.

The reaming only removes tiny little shavings of metal from inside the chambers. I did all 9 chambers on a High Standard W101 and the shavings from all 9 chambers combined wouldn't have been enough metal to make a small paper clip. Literally just a few grains worth of metal.

 

[BC38]

Thanks! I might work up the courage to order a reamer and try. Since they shell casings are the same size, I assume that I can order a .22LR reamer?

I don't know, but it seems to me that the 22LR wouldn't work because the 22 WRF/mag has a longer case, so the reamer for the 22LR might not be long enough.

Seems to me that If you get a 22 mag reamer you could probably use it to ream 22LR, 22WRF, & 22mag since the 22LR has a heeled bullet and chambers that are reamed straight through anyway.

I'm sure someone will chime in with better info if I am wrong.

 

[Buick]

It would be cool to gauge some of these chambers before and after and to know the specs of the reamer used. Wondering how close to minimum the factory chambers are and how close to max the finish reamer is. Are these tight chambers typically difficult to load?

 

[Injunbro]

Thanks! I might work up the courage to order a reamer and try. Since they shell casings are the same size, I assume that I can order a .22LR reamer?

A .22 lr. reamer will not work in a .22 mag. chamber. The bullets are close to the same size (mag. .001 bigger) but the mag. cases are larger, not just longer.

 

[Injunbro]

I don't know, but it seems to me that the 22LR wouldn't work because the 22 WRF/mag has a longer case, so the reamer for the 22LR might not be long enough.

Seems to me that If you get a 22 mag reamer you could probably use it to ream 22LR, 22WRF, & 22mag since the 22LR has a heeled bullet and chambers that are reamed straight through anyway.

I'm sure someone will chime in with better info if I am wrong.

Sorry, incorrect. .22 WRF can be fired in a .22 mag. (MRF) chamber but .22 lr. has a smaller case. A lr. might go bang in a mag. chamber but it has considerably different dimensions although bullet size is close.

 

[Buick]

Sorry, incorrect. .22 WRF can be fired in a .22 mag. (MRF) chamber but .22 lr. has a smaller case. A lr. might go bang in a mag. chamber but it has considerably different dimensions although bullet size is close.

A .22 lr will fire in a .22 mag chamber but will typically split the case.

 

[Notch8]

Mixed results

I received my Manson reamer Saturday and yesterday I reamed the cylinders on my stainless 617-1. Very easy job as indicated by several here. So, today I took it out to see the results using CCI Standard Velocity, Wolf Match Target, and Norma Tac-22. The very first cylinder was with the Wolf and when I went to eject the empty cases they were still quite sticky. Second cylinder the same. Next up I tried the CCI and what a difference that was. Very easy to extract! But when I tried the Tac-22 they were also difficult. I did this all morning alternating between the three brands and the CCI was perfect each time but the other two were harder to extract every time. When I got home I measured all three and not really any appreciable difference, but what is different is the amount of lube on each, with the CCI having the least while the others are quite greasy. I know lubrication can make a difference but would it be that much? Good thing I mainly use CCI in my handguns and the others mostly in my rifles! Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm not sure I will do my other guns until I do some more testing or figure out what is going on here. I really am thinking it must be the lube. What do you all think? Thanks, John.

 

[Drm50]

I’ve had k22 since 60s. I put up with hard extraction because I figured it was tight to target specs. On first shooting session I would guess at least 150 shots not only tight extraction but cylinder was binding on residue. I didn’t realize it at time and was embarrassed that I didn’t figure that out for myself, I was a kid at the time. Still have that k22, still tight after 55+ years. They

 

[Protocall_Design]

For Notch8, it probably has more to do with the temper of the brass. Too soft and it will just stay expanded against the chamber walls. Tempered, and it will shrink back just a little bit (elastic), allowing easy extraction.

 

[Notch8]

That is an interesting idea about the temper of the brass but if that were the case why is everyone in this thread saying that it helped so much after they reamed the chamber? Surely everyone isn't using only ammo that is tempered just so. I do admit though that even the CCI was a little difficult before I worked on the cylinder so obviously it did help somewhat that is why I said I had mixed results. Is everyone seeing these same results, success with some brands of ammo but failure with others?

 

[cfplinker]

Notch8 - Before your next range session clean a couple of cylinders full of the Norma and Wolf with solvent and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Notch8]

Yeah I thought about doing that. That will at least tell me if the lube has any bearing on extraction. I'll let everyone know how that goes.

 

[Injunbro]

If any of you are in SE AZ, I have both .22 LR & .22 magnum reamers I kept when I retired & closed my shop. I now only work on my own or a few close friends guns but would be happy to let you use my tools & shop.

 

[SweetMK]

I received my Manson reamer Saturday and yesterday I reamed the cylinders on my stainless 617-1.

What do you all think? Thanks, John.

There could be as many as ten variables controlling the ease of spent shell removal,
so,,
it is difficult to determine which variable is causing YOUR sticking,,

One variable is the machinability of stainless steel, especially as compared to the specific cutting oil that you used.

Because of that, I would review this thread, and find a procedure on polishing the chambers,,
possibly a little roughness is now causing the sticking,,
a little polishing may ease the shell removal just enough to fix the 617,,


and,, possibly, the cause is one of the five or more other variables.

 

[tominboise]

I got my reamer from Brownells earlier this week. I have two "shooter" grade 22 revolvers. One model 18 and the other an old outdoorsman. The 18 had been reamed sometime prior in it's life. The outdoorsman had not and cases would begin to stick after a cylinder or two. I reamed the cylinder on it. Was not hard to do and I will shoot it next week to see how it handles now.