Here is the gun, bought it on the highside but not terrible. Wanted the dual cylinder.





This may be my most accurate k-22 and that is with either the LR or Jet cylinder. What a great shooting gun. The .22 Jet is loud but accurate and flat shooting. Now I have to get 4" and 8 3/8" to go with it.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Looks like 1962.

Looks like early 1962.

BTT for new info

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Where have you been, say, for the last 40+ years?

You were absolutely right to get the gun with the separate .22LR cylinder. Having said that, I have never seen a Jet yet that would outshoot a good K22, but the spare cylinder is so much handier than fiddling with those fool inserts that it's worth the extra expense.

Great looking 53 you have there.

I don't know anything about the Jet guns but that is the finest looking example I have seen. Great pics...beautiful stocks...man that's a keeper! Thanks for sharing.

Very nice M-53. I have had mine since 1965, bought it for $126.50 on time because I was a senior in college with no money and a girl friend who liked to spend money (I still have the gun and not the girl). I don't have the extra cylinder and wish I did. Mine is a 6" that was refused by the guy who ordered it because he wanted a 4". Good luck on finding the other two barrel lengths. IMO it will be easier to find the 8 incher than the 4. I believe the four inchers are few and far between, I've never seen one in person and only saw one advertised for sale several years ago. Have fun with a great gun. Keep shootin'

Hey glenncal1
Be careful with your new Jet! Don't pay the price for factory ammo, if you can find any! It was too hot and you will flame cut the forcing cone with factory ammo! WHEN, you reload for this gun back down the charge a little and the gun will shoot just as wel and the barrel will last a lot longer!
jcelect SWCA#LM723

Very nice Model 53. Here is a 53-2 from 1967 with a 4-inch barrel.

Bill

Congratulations on that score. You have a first-rate revolver. A couple of years ago I bought the same package you have -- 6" barrel, inserts, LR cylinder. It letters to May 1963. I love it.

I also bought an 8-3/8" barrel as soon as I saw a loose one. I agree the 4" barrels are tough to find. I have not seen one.

Those LR cylinders can be costly in their own right. I almost never see them offered for sale, and when they do show up they are priced in the $400-500 range. You can't use a regular K-22 cylinder because they are not the same length.

I think I agree that accuracy with a 53 in rimfire mode is not as good as you get with a dedicated K-22 Masterpiece, but squirrels won't usually know whether they are the subject of a dead center hit or one that is a half-inch off. I wouldn't take a 53 to a match, but I'd carry one in the woods or on a tramp through the fields any day of the week (assuming I had any woods or fields around me that were open for tramping).

Early responders, why do you say 1962? Is this the four-screw/three-screw distinction? I can't see the fourth screw in the OP's photos and wonder if there is some other indicator that I don't know about.

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David Wilson

I don't know, this one drives tacks with .22lr. Shoots much better than I do. Not that is saying much.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

jcelect,
I have some of the old remington factory jet ammo but have never heard that it was too hot. Are you suggesting not shooting any of it or just not a lot of it? I bought the gun in 1979 and only shot very few jet cartridges.

glenncal1,
Did you shoot any 22 LR ammo with the cylinder inserts? I am curious if there is any difference in accuracy from the 22 LR cylinder.
Steve

I'm not jcelect, but...

I shot 5 or 6 boxes of factory Remington through my first one and then handloaded the cases a couple of times, but I don't think my loads were as hot as the factory stuff. I never noticed any erosion of the forcing cone end of the barrel before I sold it.


I've got a T/C Contender barrel in .22 Jet. I've shot a lot more through it and the throat of the barrel still looks great. I wonder if a barrel/cylinder gap contributes to the wear.

jcelect or someone has posted good photos of one of their Jets' barrels and it is indeed worn and eroded at the rear end. So, yes, the factory load does inflict wear on the gun.

I'd shoot some more. It's gotten so expensive most of us couldn't afford to wear one out!

si--------

Srs-I shot 6 rounds with the inserts, just for the heck of it. So not enough to do any accuracy testing. They are a pain to use.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Thanks glenncal1,
I never tried to use the inserts because I have had the 22LR cylinder installed for many years.
You have aquired a very nice looking Jet, congratulations.
It would be cool to have all 3 barrel lengths just to have them, good luck in your search.
I have only seen one 6" for sale at the shows I frequent, same guy, same gun for 2 yrs. now.
Steve

I LOVE that Model Magnum barrel profile on a .22 !

Saw an elusive 4" Model 53 yesterday in a local GS ...Too bad it looked like it had been on the ocean floor since 1964 and had an $800 price tag too....
made me sad to look at it.

Dave, I almost bid on that 53 barrel ...wanted to cut it down to 4" and mount it on a Model 17 but relaized the forcing cone might be too short.

The 4” Model 53 is the single “funnest” revolver ever produced ! Unbelievably LOUD and a giant fireball at dusk !

Jerry

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.38/44 Outdoorsman Accumulator

I have 2-53's, 8 3/8" with LR cylinders and 1-17 8 3/8" and I never noticed any accuracy difference. I am not the best shooter, but I believe the bores are the same, and the cylinder is only a fraction longer and I'm not sure how this would effect accuracy. I could also be wrong on all this.

just another note; I have a 17 from early '70's, bought it new. also have a 53, dad bought it new in ‘60’s, with inserts, no extra cylinder. the 17 does great with WW dynapoints from the '70's, still good with current dynapoints. the 53 does well with remington high speed HP's (the 500 count from box store, cheap!!!). the 17 hates the remington, the 53 does OK with the WW... I have a browning challenger III that loves the remigton's but the pre WW2 remington automatic rifle hates the remington ammo. Go Figure. anyway, the 53 outshoots the 17 with some ammo. the 17 outshoots the 53 with most ammo. me shooting, so remember there is an idiot in the mix???

Nice piece you did good !!! Besides you can't shoot money so the price was right if your happy. The good ones are getting harder to find and you only go around once !!!!!!!