The cartridge was a collaboration between Remington and Smith & Wesson. S&W went to Remington and ask for a cartridge that would fire a 40gr bullet at 2460fps from an 8 3/8" barrel. They used the K frame guns as the mod 19 was already chambered for the .357 Rem Mag. On 30 Mar 1961 the Mod 53 K-22 Center Fire Magnum was introduced. At first the interest in the mod 53 was high but soon fell off because the Remington factory ammo was too hot ! In the late 60s to early 70s the gun became known as a "barrel burner". Noted by the photo of the barrel breech posted earlier in this thread. Also on factory ammo the chamber pressure caused the brass to back out of the chamber against the recoil shield which would lock up the cylinder. The chambers and rounds needed to be kept clean and free of any foreign material, the tapered swab was introduced. Many guns were sent back to the factory for a new barrel. Today there are no new barrels so we find these guns in the hands of an avid reloader making reduced pressure ammo and WE have fun doing it!
