K22 question on a closed auction.

[Retired W4]

Diamond grips? I see this a lot on ebay. Some people think that because the checkering is done in a diamond pattern they are diamond grips. At least that is my take on it. This seller, it seems should have known better. The sloppy description would have kept me away.

 

[Engine49guy]

I picked up a finish challenged post war 3 digit K22 a while back with the idea of one day using it to make a custom piece,
Several ideas have come to mind with the front runner of swapping a 4" Model 53 Jet barrel making a K22 Reg Mag lookalike,
The budget is $1000 and Im already $500 into it with 53 barrel and donor frame so perhaps this piece is not really that far out there price wise ?

While early LERK K-22's did have a Patridge ramp set back from the muzzle and pinned over the barrel rib grooves what nags at my OCD
are the rollstamps being off center,
Has me wondering if the OEM barrel was bulged at the end or if the owner just asked for it to be cut as short as possible without interfering with the rollstamps as S&W could have easily fit a stock 4" CM barrel and ejector rod being that the K22 CM was a regular cataloged item at that point ...

My guess is shortening the original barrel was cheaper than replacing the barrel and rod back then ?

 

[RKmesa]

I'm all for original, unaltered, factory correct guns...But - I really like this one, and if I looked through my woodpile, I'm sure I could find some period correct grips to slap on that gun. Not sure that I'd have gone $950 on it, but I do like the well-executed modification to one of my favorite models.

 

[Tom K]

I picked up a finish challenged post war 3 digit K22 a while back with the idea of one day using it to make a custom piece,
Several ideas have come to mind with the front runner of swapping a 4" Model 53 Jet barrel making a K22 Reg Mag lookalike,
The budget is $1000 and Im already $500 into it with 53 barrel and donor frame so perhaps this piece is not really that far out there price wise ?
....

I don't want to threadjack, but....

You may want to look more closely at what you've got before you try swapping barrels. I don't have an old K-22 like yours but I do have a few Model 17s of various dash number.

Below are the Model 53, Model 17 and Model 19. Observe that the flat at the front of the frame on the 53 (and 19) extends lower than on the 17. There is more material machined away from the frame on the 17 than on the 19/53. The front of the frame and crane are different between the 17 and the 19/53 because of the ejector rod housing on the 19/53. If you try to screw a Model 53 barrel on a K-22 frame there will be an unsightly gap/mismatch at the bottom. (I've seen the opposite done - an 8-3/8" Model 14 barrel screwed into a Model 19 frame. Didn't look good either.)

You may also have a rib/frame mismatch at the top. It's my understanding that the early K-22s had a narrow rib, which was later widened. The wide rib on a Model 53 barrel may not match up with a K-22 frame.

Observe the differences in the frames below. The one on the left is a Model 15 with a narrow rib and scallops in the frame to more closely match the rib. The one on the right is a Model 14 with a heavy rib and full-width frame. I know that these are .38s and you are looking at .22s but the situation may be similar. Just be sure of what you've got before you start. Good luck!

Oh also, with the click-adjustable postwar sight your K-22 is not going to look like a Registered Magnum. You'd need to use a prewar K-22 Outdoorsman with the opposing windage screws to approach that look.