I was just curious, I have a 617-1 and would like to get a 6 shot .22 mag cylinder and drop it in, is this possible?

I think the cylinder could easily handle the increased pressure resulting from firing a 22 Magnum through a 22LR barrel. On look at those tiny little chambers in a cylinder sized for the 38 caliber reveals that there is a LOT of steel surrounding the chambers.

However, I do NOT know if the 22 Magnum case could withstand the increase in pressure and since the 22 Magnum is a rimfire a burst casing at the rim will be spitting hot gases in an area that our hands are exposed to. Best case would be you were wearing good leather gloves when the rim blew out and didn't get hurt. Worst case is that you weren't wearing gloves and you were exposed to a hot jet of gas moving at near supersonic velocity. In other words the worst case is a 4th degree burn that will leave a scar and take a long time to heal.

Bottomline, I don't think you would harm the 617 at all with this conversion. However, I also don't think that it's safe. Kind of wish I had a time machine so I could go back to when the 22 Magnum was developed and convince the designers that the bore for the new caliber should be an exact match to the 22LR. BTW, I'd also like to use that Time Machine to go back to the early days of the 20th Century and convince Mr. Luger that his new 9mm should use a bore diameter of 0.357 inch.

I have a SW 617 4 inch and a few years back bought from Smith and Wesson a 22 mag cylinder . A Smith center gunsmith fitted it to my 617 . I haven't shot it extensively but I have experienced no problems . Accurate shooter with both 22 cylinder and 22mag cylinder . Both have their own cranes so easy conversion . The 22mag cylinder requires quality ammo .

I have a model 48 that was factory fitted w/a 22lr cylinder it shoots just about the same as my 17-3 and my 617, it was my only 22 revolver for a long time so it has seen a lot more long rifle than magnum rounds.

I would go with conventional wisdom get a 48 or 648 and have a long rifle cylinder fitted if you want a convertible. Also you see 48's with both cylinders for sale now and then(not cheap).

I've done it, I fitted a new magnum cylinder to my 17-5. I have not encountered any problems or signs of excessive pressure. This revolver is extremely accurate with the magnum cylinder. I have also recovered the magnum bullets after they were fired into water and they show no signs of being too large for the bore.

Mike

This conversation amazes me in that I often see people advising those with model 25s and oversized cylinder throats to fire larger slugs. Yet the barrels are .452. I was reading about an arsenal experiment (I believe by Kieth) where they opened up the throat of a rifle and fired a larger bullet (by several calipers) through the bore. Although they did record a initially higher pressure spike the rifle worked fine. I hardly think that .002 of soft lead with a thin jacket will be oversized once it passes the forcing cone and that the pressure from a 22mag doing so will be anything to write home about. Plus you have the vent of the cylinder barrel gap bleeding it off.

A far bigger firearm danger is poor headspacing or poor fitting cases.

I personally wouldn't worry about it with a correctly fitted 22 mag cylinder. But, then I personally think a 22mag is a whole lot of nothing. If I can't shoot it with a 22, why would I think I should shoot it with a 22mag. The increase is not worth anything. Its like the 17 rimfires. Answer to a need that doesn't exist. Not saying they are not fine guns just that they don't have any kind of nitch in my arsenal. So speaks someone with a Contender in 222 Remington, 30 and 357 Herret. LOL. If I wanted more than a 22 and less than a 38 I would get a hotrod 32, before I would by a new 22WMR. I can reload that.

Regarding oversize bullets in 25-2s and 25-5s... these oversized bullets are cast bullets, not jacketed. It hurts nothing and isn't dangerous as long as the diameter is within reason. A .454" or even .456" cast bullet fired in a .452" bore is fine if necessary and accuracy is much improved.

Ideally, about .002" over groove diameter with cast bullets is ideal if the bullets aren't undersized for the cylinder throats. However, sometimes out of necessity larger diameter bullets are required.

The only way I can see one getting into potentially dangerous territory with oversized bullets would be if the alloy was very hard, say 25-30 BHN or thereabouts, but such hard alloys are seldom if ever needed for handgun cartridges.

The magnum cylinder allows you to achieve rifle velocities from a handgun. Don't expect too much bullet upset from the magnum when firing it from a 4" handgun. All of the bullets I have recovered show little expansion but they don't fly apart like some soft lead long rifle bullets. Like I said my revolver is very accurate with the magnum cylinder and it does not drop like the lr at 100', you can easily hit soda cans with out any holdover.

I believe that in the early days Ruger (and likely others) flip-flopped on what barrel-bore to use on the convertibles and eventually settled on the 22-Mag. Some "economical" revolvers did the same thing. Had a 22LR barrel with an interchangeable 22-Mag cylinder. I just sold one about a month ago that clearly was stamped 22LR on the barrel and had a 22-Mag cylinder that came with it. I don't think it will be any problem at all for the 617 bore to handle if some of these pot-metal guns survived it.

Ballistically speaking it's really a waste of money converting a 22lR to a 22mag as in a 4inch barrel you are only going to gain around 100 to 150fps over a 22lr HV ammo. Is the target or small game going to notice any difference?

It's quite a bit more than 150 fps.... My 18-2 4" has a 48 cylinder fitted and most .22 LR ammo is under 1000 fps....the Magnums are up in the 1400 range depending on the load. I get 1200+ from a High Standard Derringer.

Have had a bunch .22 LR revolvers fitted with .22 Magnum cylinders. A 1954 Colt Trooper .22 is at my smiths right now with an extra cylinder/crane assembly. The extra is being punched out to .22 Magnum after fitting. A friend did the same with a 4" Diamondback.

Have also done:
Model 63 with a Model 651 cylinder (x2)
Model 35 with a Model 51 cylinder
Model 17 with a Model 48 cylinder
Model 18 with a Model 48 cylinder

The bore from a .22 LR is .2225 and the .22 Magnum .224...with the pressure generated from a .22 Magnum does anyone really believe that this is going to be a pressure problem... Take a look at how much metal is in the cylinder wall of a NAA Mini-Revolver...

Freedom Arms, USFA and several others (not Ruger which is why their convertible Single-Sixs have lackluster accuracy with LRs) all use the .2225 bore size...they don't seem to have any problems...

Bob

...one of my all time favorite Smith .22ss,,,

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I've been wanting to get a 48 or 648 (new versions) and I a smith fit long rifle cylinders to them. Numrich has the cylinders.

Regardless of whether or not you can shoot both from the same gun, they are different calibers and one or the other will not be as accurate in a dedicated caliber revolver.

I would not want to shave lead in the barrel also. I wanted to do this with my .22 Jet and ended up just getting a 48.

Bob

__________________
Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

You made a good point, maybe not
What you thought though.
Model 53 was made to shoot bullets
Of .222 diameter but sold auxiliary
.22 LR cylinder . .22 LR measures .223
It causes no leading issues.
It is .001 over size for barrel just
like .22 magnum is .001 over size
In a .22 LR barrel

...Bob...it doesn't happen...it's kinda hard to "lead" a barrel with a jacketed or plated bullet like are used on .22 Magnum ammo.

At one time I wanted to add a .22 Magnum cylinder to my 53 also...but when one was found they ran between $600-800...just was not worth it to me...

As to .22 Magnum not being "accurate"...would have to disagree... One just has to find the ammo one's gun likes. I have a 60s vintage Savage 24J-DL..it will clover leaf Winchester 40 grain JHP ammo at 50 yards...with the new 30-33 JHPs...2-3"... I thought I was messing something up but when I ran the Winchester again right after the CCI it put three rounds in a thumbnail again..

Below targets were shot with a Ruger 77/.22 Magnum stainless with the Zetel boatpaddle stock... The other is a 10" TC Contender...also a shooter.. All you got do is find the right load.

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