A question of K-22 ethics

[firebyprolong]

Gentlemen I have been a user of this site for some time but I believe this is my first post. hello to you all. I just happened on a 5 screw k-22 at a local pawn shop. Everything looked good under the layer of rust and grime, it locked up really tight and the timing is dead on. I thought at the time it had just been carried to death and never shot. When they shot me a very low number it came to live with me.After a total teardown and clean up I noticed that the shadow in the last 1/2 inch of the bore was a shallow bulge ring. The rest of the bore is great, bright and shiny.
My question is this, do I rebarrel it, clip it to 4 or 5, or leave it the hell alone? Being that close to the muzzle the best it will do from a rest is 4 inches at 25yd with match ammo. What kind of accuracy should I expect from a K-22? all of my 4 inch 38s and 357s can keep under 2. I really don't want to cut the barrel back and change nothing other than making a barrel shorter. I just wish the last owner would have checked the bore after that squib and not stacked the next one behind it. Im having a hard time with this one. I would love to have a 4 inch but then again by the time I pay a gunsmith I could just buy one and not cut up a 5 screw that some one else would be happy with.

Anybody have any input/advice?

 

[jimmyj]

IMHO:
1. search for a replacement barrel, or
2. Cut to five inches and used the same front sight, or
3. used it "as is" (4" at 25 yds is better than I can shoot), or
4. Use different brands of ammo-it might group better with a different brand ammo.
5. Send it to Jimmy as a "Friendship Gift".

(P.S. I like #5 opinion )

 

[DWalt]

Try leaving it alone first to see what happens after shooting it some. You might also try several different ammunition brands and types. 4" @ 25 yards is not terrible if you are not a competition shooter. My experience with several other guns (not K22s) is that a barrel bulge does not affect practical accuracy. I once had a .22 rifle that had a slight bulge due to my own negligence (mud in the barrel). It shot better with the bulge than before. Another much cheaper option than shortening the barrel or rebarreling it would be to overbore the damaged section. That's fairly simple for any halfway competent gunsmith to do. If you don't feel you can do it yourself. I have done that on a couple of centerfire rifles having damage near the muzzle, and they shot fine afterward.

 

[arjay]

If that's the best it will do after trying various ammo and its not a one line address,I would shorten it.

 

[firebyprolong]

4'' was the best group out of about 12 fired with the various ammo I had on hand from previous 22 accuracy quests. Federal gold metal was the 4 and I was out of green tag. Groups ranged from 4 to 8. But since 22 ammo is now nonexistent its sort of a mute point. The pistol is a six digit serial starting in 174***, which should put it at post war, in the 50's, I think.

 

[k22fan]

You got it inexpensively for good reasons. Regardless of any early K-22 features, forget collector value. To quote Hondo44 “That bullet’s gone down range and can’t be recovered.” Make the best shooter you can out of it and enjoy it at the range or in the field. K-22s ordinarily group at least as tight as S&W .38s and .357s so it needs to be repaired.

As much as I love 18s and pre-18s I wouldn’t cut it into yet another one. It would look wrong as 4” any way unless it’s an early thin barrel skinny rib K-22. I’d go with 5” IF you’re absolutely sure that will get rid of the bulge. Another member cut his K frame 22 LR to 3” which looks neat and short barrels are in vogue so you might consider 3”. I have no shortage of 6” K-22 shooters but if you don’t have other 6” K-22s rebarreling with a 17 barrel might be best for you. The basic 6” K-22 barrel didn’t change from the early 1950s until the late 1980s so they’re not too hard to find and would look correct. However, I believe the cost of a used barrel plus gunsmith installation would be higher than cutting and reinstalling the front sight.

 

[Jack Flash]

When they shot me a low number and it came home to live with me. ... I just wish the last owner would have checked the bore after that squib and not stacked the next one behind it.

If the last owner had not bulged the barrel, the price would have been higher.

It sounds like you are not happy with it. Have you gone back to the seller and discussed the problem? It probably couldn't hurt to ask if the deal could be undone. If he will not refund your money, maybe he will take it back and give you store credit towards another one.

Otherwise, you could just sell it. If it was cheap enough, you should be able to sell it without losing too much on the deal. Of course, you would want to be completely honest with any potential buyers about the gun's issues.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Any K22 should shoot twice as good as yours. If you can return it, do so. If not, repair or sell. If you sell, you have to disclose.

 

[RKmesa]

Sounds like a GREAT project gun!!! You will do nothing to "hurt" the value of the gun and it sounds like something to customize however you would like. When you are done with it, it will be a one-of-a-kind and at some point, after all the "love" you will give it, it may become one of your favorite guns. I think of Dave, known as "Keith44spl" - he would have a blast with this gun and would captivate the rest of us in and with the process of its conversion.

Search for his threads and you'll see what I'm talk'n about.

 

[Jebus35745]

I would cut it to 5" and would be happy with it. It would look great at 3" and make a handy field gun. Good luck, Larry

 

[Troystat]

You might consider re-lining the barrel, I have heard good results doing this with other .22's. If you did that you would not have to shorten the barrel.

 

[2152hq]

#1..If it will always bother you no matter what is done with it,,return it if you can or sell it to get out from underneath it.
Someone will 'need' it as a project.

#2..If you keep it, and want the original bbl length (and bbl) you might try counter boring the muzzle especially since it's only 1/2" down in where the problem is.
Counter boring usually brings thoughts of Military Surplus rifles with worn rifling at the muzzle being spiffed up with a quick plunge of a twist drill down the hole to any convenient depth to 'good' rifling.

In actuality with a proper piloted reamer, the bore can be opened just enough to remove the grooves of the rifling down past the damage and that's it. Hardly noticable unless pointed out and not nearly the job of relining or re-bbling.

If the thought of that bothers you even a little,,refer to #1

 

[glowe]

Why not re-line the bore? It is a simple and quite inexpensive alternative. You retain the barrel length and the barrel serial number, plus restore the accuracy.

 

[fyimo]

Without a lot of thought into this it's a low grade shooter now anyway and you got it for cheap so get the barrel cut to any length you like shorter than the bulge and have the front sight reinstalled and shoot the **** out of it.

 

[k22fan]

I hate to admit it but 2152hq and Dwalt wrote the most practical replies. Counter boring the muzzle would be the least expensive repair. Perhaps glowe’s and the previous poster’s suggestion to get the bore relined is runner up. The trouble is there zero chance I’d buy a K-22 with a counter bored muzzel or relined barrel unless I was going to cut off the counter bore or replace the relined barrel. Maybe less than a zero chance. I bet I’m not alone.

A 3” or 5” shooter on the other hand could be a lovable K-22.

 

[beagleye]

For me it would be a great excuse to get an unusual length k22. 5" would be really cool.

 

[firebyprolong]

All good points gentlemen thank you all for your input. It will not be going back for store credit as I have already sunk a lot of time into and don't want to dump it. I saw the ring when I bought it and knew that it might be an issue but wanted to shoot it to see. Some will shoot ok with a slight bulge a some don't. I have a real soft spot for beat up smiths and have resurrected more than a few. I don't have enough cash into it to have to get out from under it. I would rather have a project smith than some of the junk that is out on the market right now. At this point counter bore sounds like a winner. If that fails then I can always shorten it or reline it. I've needed a reason to buy the relining set up from brownell's for a while. I just though I'd air my idea out to clear up my self loathing for cutting on a pinned and recessed work of art.

 

[Oyeboteb]

If you shoot it enough as-is, eventually the 'bulge; will fill in with combustion by-products and Lead, and, attain the same impress of Rifeling it would have had, from the passing Bullet's bringing it to it...and, at that point, more or less, the accuracy should return to normal.

Lol...

Just kidding...

If it were mine, I'd shorten it very tastefully, and, relocate the front Sight.

 

[Green Frog]

Firebyprolong,

Since you titled this thread "A question of K-22 ethics," let me begin by stating my opinion that the only ethical issue in your dealing with an already-damaged gun is that it should not be passed as-is nor upgraded in some way without full disclosure... you have already reassured us of your agreement to that. As for altering a fine piece of shooting history, as it stands now, that gun isn't! It came to you as a damaged piece and improvement or alteration is certainly your call.

My 22 Heavy Frame Target came to me with a bulge that literally looked like a snake that had swallowed an egg, and it was right at the front lug of the barrel, so shortening was out of the question. I got a replacement barrel from Larry Poppert and had the rest of the gun cleaned up when it was installed, making a nice shooter... it's no longer "all original" but it is now useful and no one is being fooled.

As for your particular specimen, if it were mine I would decide what kind of neat project I wanted to do with it. If it is relined in current configuration, that would give you a great shooter... good liners can give as good or better accuracy than the original bore. Shortening the barrel to a desirable but non-original length is also a good possibility and would probably be less expensive than buying all the stuff needed for you to line it yourself. In either of those scenarios, however, you would be vastly improving the inherent value of the gun without need to worry about harming originality of a fine old piece... you would be making it better, IMHO. I'm not sure I would go to the effort and expense of buying a replacement barrel... the cost/benefit ratio would just not be there for me. On my HFT, the bulge was so noticeable from the outside (and in such an inconvenient place) that saving it was out of the question, otherwise I would have used one of the strategies to keep it that I have listed.

So to sum up a long post, you are, IMHO, in a position to take a damaged piece and do what you want with it without concern about originality of a historical piece. You have the opportunity to do a custom job in its purest form without disturbing the fabric of the collecting "Force." Decide for yourself and go for it. If you are not interested in having a custom gun because it is non-original, by all means it should be sold (with disclosure) to someone who has such an interest and will be glad for the opportunity. It's a win-win situation!

All of the above is JMHO and probably worth as much as you paid for it.

Froggie

PS Another possibility that just dawned on me would be to rebore it to 32 and make a K-32 out of it (with firing pin change, of course) and there are lots of folks interested in that kind of option. In fact, if you decide you want to replace your barrel, I'd be interested in buying the damaged original barrel from you for that purpose myself and help recoup some of your cost.

 

[Dosgatos]

[/QUOTE] PS Another possibility that just dawned on me would be to rebore it to 32 and make a K-32 out of it (with firing pin change, of course) and there are lots of folks interested in that kind of option. In fact, if you decide you want to replace your barrel, I'd be interested in buying the damaged original barrel from you for that purpose myself and help recoup some of your cost. [/QUOTE]

That does sound interesting, but is it possible? The hammer can easily be changed out, but the .22 has a frame-mounted firing pin, which would have to be removed and replaced with an insert centering the new hammer's firing pin. It also looks like some machining would have to be done in the frame as well for the new hammer to fit.