I find these very interesting and a testament to some excellent gun smiths abilities.
Parker & Hale .22 Conversion - Never seen one before now!!!
- Thread starter THREEDFLYER
- Start date
Oh, the work that went into those conversions! Can you imagine what similar-quality work would cost today? Just splendid work.
As far as dry-firing a handgun, it does no harm to the cylinder if the firing pin does not contact metal. It does wear the action a minuscule amount which could wear the mechanism out quicker, but it is a non-issue. I read where S&W built a machine which would dry-fire a gun endlessly and the number of pulls it took to wear out a gun was astronomical.
As far as dry-firing a handgun, it does no harm to the cylinder if the firing pin does not contact metal. It does wear the action a minuscule amount which could wear the mechanism out quicker, but it is a non-issue. I read where S&W built a machine which would dry-fire a gun endlessly and the number of pulls it took to wear out a gun was astronomical.
Great stuff!
I like your "fiscal sense"!
Fisher made great stereo components, too. Very competitive with Marantz, and they were doing it well before the Japanese (who made nice audio electronics, for sure) really moved in.
But, yeah, these revolver conversions, when done right, can be excellent guns!
Green Frog
Member
Lee,
Is the adjustable sight on the one you showed missing one or more screws? I'm also wondering whether any or all of these adjustable sight units are "micrometer adjustable" like those on the Masterpiece Series made by S&W at that time, or were they more like the pre-War style with opposing screws?
Thanks to you (or whoever can answer) as I'm not able to get out and examine these esoteric topics in person like I once could.
Froggie
Is the adjustable sight on the one you showed missing one or more screws? I'm also wondering whether any or all of these adjustable sight units are "micrometer adjustable" like those on the Masterpiece Series made by S&W at that time, or were they more like the pre-War style with opposing screws?
Thanks to you (or whoever can answer) as I'm not able to get out and examine these esoteric topics in person like I once could.
Froggie
Green Frog
Member
PS to last: Does anyone know of any book(s) that cover this era in British Gunmaking? There was a lot of both innovation and repurposing that went on during this time and it would be fascinating to learn more about it.
Froggie
Froggie
Foreign Exchange controls in the Bretton Woods era, and the 'dollar gap', meant that even if you wanted a K-22, the Treasury wouldn't let you send the funds out of the country.
Converting these (and other) revolvers generated some useful dollar income.
Converting these (and other) revolvers generated some useful dollar income.
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Currency controls were still around in the middle 1960s. I ended up using almost the complete allowance of $300 that the ARC's Unit of Nitrogen Fixation (where I was a "lowly experimental officer!" en route to my doctorate), buying a 50 US gallon drum of lactic acid for use in growing some unusual microbes, as the UK equivalent lacked some "magical component that the bugs loved!!" Dave_n
Value
Found a 22 conversion locally, anyone give a ballpark price for a 90% gun?
Im interested.
Thank you
Found a 22 conversion locally, anyone give a ballpark price for a 90% gun?
Im interested.
Thank you
handejector
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It is not missing a screw. The elevation screw is screwed into the frame. Turning it left jacks up the sight leaf. The first S&W sights on HEs worked the same way.
Windage is opposing screws.
Back in the 50's and earlier, possibly into the 60's, remember that workmanship was often cheaper than parts/ machining. There were guns ( war souvenir rifles come to mind) that had very high quality and tastefully done sporterizing that cost a good bit less than buying a new model 70 for example.
I once owned a very nicely done 98 Mauser in 22-250 with unertl scope. Probably sporterized in the 60's, when it was still cheaper to gunsmith and rebarrel an old action, with a bunch of additional work, than to buy even a new Remington 700 in the caliber.
Sadly the days of affordable quality gunsmithing is gone.
Sadly my experience is no one wants to take minor repair jobs anymore, and if they do, want to charge you $65 / hour for shop labor. Today all they want is full custom 1911 builds at 4+ thousand bucks. And many of today's so called gunsmith's couldn't do the work the old masters did- welding up and re- profiling parts, building absent or hard to get parts from scratch
I once owned a very nicely done 98 Mauser in 22-250 with unertl scope. Probably sporterized in the 60's, when it was still cheaper to gunsmith and rebarrel an old action, with a bunch of additional work, than to buy even a new Remington 700 in the caliber.
Sadly the days of affordable quality gunsmithing is gone.
Sadly my experience is no one wants to take minor repair jobs anymore, and if they do, want to charge you $65 / hour for shop labor. Today all they want is full custom 1911 builds at 4+ thousand bucks. And many of today's so called gunsmith's couldn't do the work the old masters did- welding up and re- profiling parts, building absent or hard to get parts from scratch
Put another way, in the old days labor was cheap and parts were expensive, today parts are cheap and labor is expensive. Would any modern gunsmith waste time and money welding up and re- profiling an old part when they can order one from for example Wilson combat?
