The Accuracy of a K 22

[Fackler Rebel]

I came on to my K22 late in life,the first one I had ever ran across. I get a kick out of sitting on the deck out back and wearing out coke cans sitting at the back of my property line, about 55-65 yards distance. I am amazed that I can do that with my nearly 63 year old eyes with a pistol that was made when I was in the second grade, 1957.

Reb

 

[Jebus35745]

My 1 liner is one of my most accurate guns, makes me look like I know what I'm doin. Not too fussy abt what it eats either. Larry

 

[22shtur]

I bought a factory new model 63 upon my ETS. I hit the turkey silhouetts with each pull of the trigger. During college I ate rabbits, not Top Ramen like the non hunting students. My 63 must be that 1 in 1,000. It's very accurate. I didn't know about throats, cylinder alingment, etc., as I do now, or I may have passed on the model 63 then.

 

[jspick]

I have had several model 63's, (5 or 6), and only one was what I would consider accurate. The others would shoot OK but I couldn't hit very well with them.

On the other hand I have had 5 model 17's or K22's. Only one shot OK, the rest shot great.

I had a model 18 that was a great looking gun but it shot terrible. I have had 4 617's, one a 4", and they all shot great. One was a 10 shot IL gun and it shot real well, but not as good as my 4" & 6" 617 no dashes.

My 4" & 6 " 617's I have now I can hit the 22 size swingers with at 40 yards! The guns must have internal lazer guiding because I know I can't shoot that well anymore!

John

 

[jaymoore]

An interesting test would be shooting a half dozen prewar and a few early postwar and then later, maybe even the evil "model number guns". I have no idea if the old fashioned craftsmanship would compare favorably with more modern methods.

I've never owned a machine rest, with Ransom the best known but several other makes should perform similarly. Might be a fun project.

I'm afraid my pre-war .22 would skew the average toward the "wretched" side as far as accuracy goes. Have yet to find an ammo it likes. Bore and chambers look good, timing's OK, but it's the least accurate .22 revolver I own, ever since the RG went away...

 

[alwslate]

At 67 I don't yet consider myself an old fart but most days my body
reminds me i'm no longer a young fart. I'm on my third K-22, this one
a pre 17 from around 1953. I plan to keep this one just because. The
first two were passed on to new owners because neither were any more
accurate than other 22s I owned, particularly a bull barrel High Standard. My pre 17 isn't either but it's gonna stay. The 1981 edition
of Gun Digest contains an article by Kenneth L. Walters on 22 target
handgun accuracy. Groups were fired using a Ransom rest " using
nearly 50 handguns and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition ".
A variety of semi automatic handguns were used as well as S&W
revolvers with 4", 6" and 8 3/8" barrels. Very interesting information
and conclusions offered by the author. On result however for us S&W
revolver fans is that the 22 revolvers, accurate as they may be, can
not equal the accuracy of good 22 auto loaders.

 

[mag318]

There's just something about the older revolvers and this I think is very true when it comes to the K22. These things were made differently from todays modern machinery, made with the touch of true craftsman. I'm 66 but still shoot better with revolvers than semi autos. This K22 was made in 1953 and given to me by a close friend recently. I just love a relaxing afternoon at the range with this revolver.

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

Any time I go to the range, I ALWAYS warm up with a 1952 K-22. I find that I shoot more with it than any other Smith I have. It seems to digest anything and everything and still punches holes in the paper. I like it a lot!

Blessings,
Hog

 

[jaymoore]

... The 1981 edition
of Gun Digest contains an article by Kenneth L. Walters on 22 target
handgun accuracy. Groups were fired using a Ransom rest " using
nearly 50 handguns and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition ".
A variety of semi automatic handguns were used as well as S&W
revolvers with 4", 6" and 8 3/8" barrels. Very interesting information
and conclusions offered by the author. On result however for us S&W
revolver fans is that the 22 revolvers, accurate as they may be, can
not equal the accuracy of good 22 auto loaders.

That may well be the best article ever written in the firearms performance genre. Fortunately for "dreamers", each barrel length showed some variation within each category. So the dream is to find the best shooting individual firearm for it's class.

 

[doc540]

Both are more accurate than me, but this OF has gotta say he shoots his M41 more accurately than he can shoot his K22.

The M41 trigger is a woonnnderful.

 

[M29since14]

...Very interesting information and conclusions offered by the author. One result however for us S&W revolver fans is that the 22 revolvers, accurate as they may be, cannot equal the accuracy of good 22 auto loaders.

I'll have to look for that article. Sounds interesting.

I think that conclusion is indisputable, but it does not account for the fact that some of us find it possible to shoot our K22s just as well as we shoot a good semi-auto. That is likely an indication that the shooter is just an "average" marksman rolleyes but it is usually the case for me. I attribute that to the K22's trigger, which is about as close to "perfection" as anything I know that has to do with firearms. (Fans of the plastic-fantastic will have to forgive my impertinence. )

Like MajorD, I never let my ability to hit with the J-frame keep me from admiring the little gun. It is just about perfect for the woods loafer or river runner. I rarely took a K22 afield unless I planned to do a lot of shooting. The Model 34 always got the honor of "just tagging along."

 

[alwslate]

I have owned several 22 target auto loaders in the past including a S&W 41 with 5 1/2" barrel but the best groups I have ever fired with
any handgun were with one of the High Standards I have owned. A
5 1/2" Supermatic Trophy with the bridge rear sight. I was a lot younger
then which helped i'm sure, but I shot groups of around 1" at 50yds
from sandbag rest. I wanted to squirrel hunt with it but the weight
and bulk with thumb rest grips discouraged that idea. All of the target
weight autos I have owned have been sent on down the road and I
have several lighter ones just for plinking. I have two 2" J frames, a
34-1 and a pre 34 and I also live in Indiana but if i'm out in the woods
with only a hand gun I prefer something with a little more horsepower
like a 9mm, 357 or at least a 4" 38 even here in tame old Indiana.

 

[keithherrington]

Here are the results from testing my Model 17-6

I use my Model 17-6 a lot in bullseye so I had my gunsmith test a variety of 22 ammo from a Ransom Rest at 50 yards to see what it likes. I use CCI Standard (#0032) in my autos (Marvel Precision) and get accuracy on par with Eley TenX. But you'll see from the photos below that while the Model 17 really likes Eley TenX, it shoots Federal Gold Medal Match (#711B) almost as well. However, since I don't have a lot of the Federal, I keep that for matches and shoot the CCI for practice. My scores with CCI are on par with the Federal; however, I do see more variance in the CCI ammo. Sometimes I'll get a shot that is definitely less powerful than the others and invariably it will be out of group, which is what I think happened in the CCI group shown in the first photo. You'll also notice that except for the Federal groups there is always one slightly out of group, down and to the left at 7:00. I might have one chamber out of synch with the other 5 but frankly not enough to make me go to the trouble of finding which one it is. My scores are in the high 840s, low 850s and steadily going up so until I start shooting like Zins, I'll keep it the way it is. By the way, I shoot double action is sustained fire. I was never able to teach myself how to thumb the hammer in Timed and Rapid.

Keith

 

[gmiller0737]

I have both a 6" K22 (Model 17-4) & a Colt 6" .22 Diamondback & while I do like the Looks of the Colt when it comes to accuracy the S&W will outshoot the Colt anyday,I also have a S&W 41 of the 3 it's the most accurate.