Very nice, great that you and your brother have them. No, I'm quite sure the factory never offered a scoped option, at least not in 1961. That looks like a Bushnell Phantom or perhaps another Bushnell model perhaps from the 1960s; someone here may know for sure.

If you use the research option at the top of the page you can find quite a bit of information on the Model 53 and some recent posts about the barrel erosion that is likely if many rounds of the original factory 22 Jet ammo are used. I load mine down a few hundred fps less than the originals which seems to work well. Enjoy.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Here is my Jet. 4 screw shipped May 1961, smooth rosewood, SN K441135. See some numbers on the toe, do y'all think my gun went back to the factory in 8/74?
Got it from my dad. He has been gone 30 years now. My guess is he got it in the 70's or 80's.
Box has the cut out for the .22 LR cylinder, so probably not the original box.
Have several boxes of the Remington factory ammo.
Excellent article, PALADIN85020.

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David Reynolds

Great article!

I’m old enough to remember the introduction of the M53 and its iterations.

They never interested me enough to invest in one (I couldn’t imagine what they were for), but they were fascinating.

Winchester, not to be out done by Remington, brought out the .256 Win Mag about the same time as the Jet. This cartridge was also a necked down, to 25 cal, 357 Mag case. The cartridge was chambered in the Ruger Hawkeye single shot, the Marlin 62 Levermatic, and TC barrels! Also, there was ONE mod 53 chambered in the .256 Win Mag! What's the value of that mod 53?
jcelect

The 22 Magnum chambered in .256 Winchester Magnum is part of the S&W Collection at the museum in Springfield.

Bill

The scope appears to be an early Bushnell Phantom and Bushnell No. 912 mount. The scopes were offered in 1.3X and 2.6X magnification. The later Bushnell Magnum Phantoms are identified by a slotted rail that is formed to the underside of the scope tube and I assume some type of mounts were available to mate up with a Weaver type scope rail on whatever firearm you wanted to mount it on.

I believe the No. 912 mount didn't require drilling and tapping the top strap should you ever want to remove it and restore the gun to the original configuration.

Great article!
I've only seen one M53, in my life. Here it is. SN 447409, probably 1961. No box, dox, or extra cylinder. Mine came with 6 inserts, for .22LR, but I never use them. I've got a few boxes of PPU, bought locally, along with the gun, a couple of years ago. Love the flash and bang. I always double-up on the ear protection, with this one.

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George

I have sn#4754xx 1962 4 screw 83/8 in my possession. FYI thanks

The only S&W I own. Pete in CA

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NRA LIFE 1974