.22lr vs .38 special

[Ipd811]

New to site and I hope this is in the right forum....
I have a few Smith and Wesson revolvers and am a huge fan, I was just wondering as far as longevity goes which would last the longest shot for shot? .22lr or .38? Like a 686 (shooting only .38) or like a 617? Which round would be more damaging to say the frame after thousands of rounds? And I know there is no way in my lifetime or my children's thAt either would wear out, just a scientific question I guess. I know the chamber pressure is much higher in the .22lr than the .38. And what is the highest round count anyone has heard of from a revolver? Just a topic of discussion..... Thoughts.....and again I apologize if I am posting a bad issue or in the wrong board.

 

[rog8732]

Welcome to the forum. I never though about the aspects of your particular query, so no help there; but I will say, you seldom have to "apologize" for a question here.

The longevity for a .22 rifle is well documented of course, but I never heard of a manufacturer trying to set a record for number of trouble free rounds in a revolver.

 

[dingomann]

Howdy! How long a revolver lasts is dependent on several things, such as maintenance, ammo type, etc. I have a Model 63 with over 50000 rds. through it as well as a Model 28 with 35000 rounds of full-power .357s down the tube. I think I have heard of revolvers with over 300,000 rds. Suffice it to say a properly maintained gun will last a long time.

 

[Grayfox]

Howdy and welcome.
This is really a question for your Grandchildren. Because with decent care, you ain't gonna wear 'em out in your lifetime.

 

[629shooter]

Welcome to the Forum!

Like the others have already said, you're gonna have to shoot a lot to actually wear either of those two revolvers out.

 

[HarrishMasher]

Doubt you will ever be able to have the time or money to shoot either enough to wear them out. That said, 22lr is a more mild round and is much easier on barrel. However, 22lr ammo tends to be extremely dirty. If you clean and maintain the 22lr properly, technically it should last longer. But I don't think it matters (see first sentence).

And welcome to the forum!

 

[Green Frog]

In thinking about your question, I think you will actually find that the significant wear will be in bearing surfaces and lock up long before any barrel or chamber wear becomes an issue. The bearing surfaces in the hammer/sear/trigger group and the hand and locking bolt movements will all exhibit accelerated wear in these stainless guns if they are shot dry or dirty with any kind of abrasive contaminants... I believe stainless tends to be a little less wear resistant than carbon steel in this regard. Properly cleaned and lubed, either of these revolvers will probably wear you and your grandchildren out instead of the other way around.

Froggie

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The real Non- repairable long term damage that I have observed on revolvers is flame cut on the top strap.
The result of a lot of shooting with too large cylinder gap.

 

[LDThornton]

There lies the rub....the flame cut! It can't be stopped but with a bit of effort we can all do maintenance to ensure better longevity.

 

[Ipd811]

Hey thanks guys, I know neither gun would wear out in my lifetime, just thought it would be a neat "scientific" type discussion! Thanks again!!!!

 

[Irn-Bru]

Good luck finding enough 22 LR to find out

 

[rwsmith]

A....

A Hound Dawg Howdy from SC.

I suppose a general answer would be that the hotter ammo you shoot, the more wear you get. However, most S&W revolvers are built for the service they are asked to do. An exception is the Model 19, a K frame .357 magnum that is similar to the model 10 .38 special +P. You ain't gonna wear out a mod 10 with normal ammo and if you shoot soft lead target loads it will last nigh forever BUT The model 19 has some weaknesses that don't stand up very well to full house .357 magnum loads. It will either shake loose after a diet of hot rounds or the forcing cone would crack due to a thin section at the bottom. It was recommended that .38 +P ammo or light .357 loads be used for practice and .357 hot loads used only for duty, SD, hunting, etc. With a few exceptions S&Ws are built to take it, for a long, long time. I traded in my model 10 for a 686 (sad day except I really wanted the 686) that was about 25 years old and had several thousand rounds (mostly lead but a lot of jacketed) through it and the LGS owner thought the bore looked like it had been shot only a little. Any noticeable 'wear' was on the bluing in the areas it normally wears.

 

[Biggfoot44]

I don't think flame cutting will be much of an issue with either of the guns listed by the OP.

The other part of the question is how do you define *wear out* ? Neither is likely to have pressure related issues. Timing and lockup would be more dependent on cylnder rotational inertia. Aka rapid DA acceleration , followed by slaming to a stop on the bolt is harder on the effected parts than slow DA or slowly cocking SA .

 

[usm1rifle]

I believe Ed McGivern had a 22 Combat Masterpiece used for PD training with a documented 200,000 rounds through it, sent to S&W for service and with minor tweaking it shot just about as good as when it was new.

I don't know if a 38 would last as long but it would probably last longer than you need.

 

[TenTea]

In economics, S&W's (among others) are known as *Durable Goods*... ie; made to last!

 

[CajunBass]

I doubt one has ever really been "worn out." A few might have been fired enough to need some maintenance, but not worn out to the point they couldn't be repaired.

I once was given a "worn out" Stevens 22 rifle. No idea how old it was, but it didn't have a S/N so it was pre-1968. I was told the barrel had been shot out. Took it home, ran a couple of patches down the barrel, followed by a bore brush. I got enough lead out to melt down for a couple of 22 slugs. After than the rifling looked sharp and the gun shot like new.

 

[Cpo1944]

I wonder if one was to do enough dry firing could he wear out the trigger or hammer pivot pins???Just a thought I don`t do dry firing mearly wondering.