[The Wiry Irishman]

A week or two back, my girlfriend and I took one of her co-workers shooting for her first time. I figured I'd start her out on one of the Purdue Rifle/Pistol club's Mark IIIs. While I got the pistol out of the storage room on campus, my girlfriend took her friend to Wal-Mart to get some .22. My girlfriend walked away for five minutes to find someone to help them, and when she got back, the salesman had sold her friend a couple boxes of CCI CB short. We didn't realize til we got to the range.

Needless to say, we couldn't use the Mark III. Luckily a GP100 with .38s worked great as a starter gun, and her friend loved it and wants to come again.

She's still stuck with 200 rounds of .22 short, though, and it would be nice if she got to use it. The club also has a 617, and I was wondering if the CB shorts would work in that, in the same way you can fire 38s out of a .357, etc.

So I got the 617 out and cleaned it up real nice. In the process, I noticed two things:

1) The cylinder is way longer than a .22 LR. Can it chamber .22 mag?

2) The gun has some pretty serious flame cutting in the top strap. Is this unusual? I've only heard of this happening with hot .357 loads.

The flame cutting also got me wondering how many rounds the gun has had through it. I know about how many rounds it gets through it per year, but I don't know how old it is. The serial is BRR4***.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Kor]

1) .22 Shorts, yes. .22 Mags, no - the chambers are cut for .22LR, and the .22 Mag rounds are too long for the chambers(as in trying to load/fire .357 Mag in a .38 Spl revolver), and maybe .001-.002" too thick to fit. S&W makes/made K-frame .22 Mags, but the model # escapes me at the moment...

2) Flame cutting on a .22LR revolver surprises me, too - it may just be a bunch of accumulated lead/powder residue on the topstrap that has had a flame-cut put in the gunk-layer from shooting. Scrub that topstrap real well with a good carbon solvent and a bronze/brass-bristled cleaning brush, and see what's really happened to the steel underneath.

[The Wiry Irishman]

That was my first thought with the flame cutting, too. I went at it for god knows how long with a wire brush, but it didn't do much. Maybe I'll let it soak in CLP overnight and go at it again.

[gb6491]

- it may just be a bunch of accumulated lead/powder residue on the topstrap ...
+1 I bought my 617 used and it had so much lead and powder around the forcing cone that it looked like the barrel was welded on :(. I needed an Exacto knife to clean some of it off :eek:. Now with it clean, a trip to the range leaves a build up of powder and lead that looks exactly like flame cutting.
Regards,
Greg

[kle]

I usually put 250-300 rounds through my 617-6 every range session (which is about three times a week) and yeah, that lead really builds up (top strap and on the cylinder face). I was worried about scratching the steel with a screwdriver or a razor, so I use a brass/bronze brush, a paper clip (which is still softer than the steel but stiffer than the bristles of the brush for those really stubborn chunks), and tons of elbow-grease to break the stuff up.

There shouldn't be a problem with flame cutting in the 617, not with .22LR and stainless steel...

---

The 617 will be able to chamber and fire .22 Short. .22 Short is to .22LR as .38 Special is to .357 Magnum: .22LR is a lengthened version of .22 Short--the diameter of the cartridge is the same, just the length is different.

The 617 will NOT be able to chamber and fire .22 Mag., as .22 Mag is wider than .22LR (the cylinder of the 617 is certainly long enough for .22 Mag, but the charge holes aren't large enough for the .22 Mag).