Best way to HONE a K-22 cylinder?

[Topgun]

When I got this gun 40 years ago, it had a tight chamber then. The only ammo it would GLADLY accept was Winchester brand. All others were tight. Too tight for convenient field use.
It shoots top groups. Semi-auto in size. A tossup between my HS Trophy and this M17.

But NOW, there is not one brand of ammo that is not too large for it. Even CCI Green Label is tight in a couple chambers.

But the tightness has kept me from using this gun as much as I would like to as I took it out last weekend with some Remington ammo which occasionally needed one whack to seat and the next to fire. If I was careful to really POOOOOOSSSHHHH them shells in, everything was ok.

I would like to judiciously ......hone...... the cylinder holes. Don't want to use a reamer as such a small amt needs to go.

What's best to use? Valve grinding compound? I don't see a .22 hone listed in Brownell's. I want to start by not resizing the whole length of the chamber as it is such a grouper. Just the back end and only as far as the case length.

And what do I use for a tool? Just a rag-wrapped brush?

Any info appreciated.

Thx


Edited to add: It is CLEAN! No ring, no lead, no fouling. Has been tight since new in 1963.

 

[Dave Sample]

Here's the way I would do it, but I tend to be cheap about stuff like this. I would take a .22 chamber brush in stainless steel, wrap a small amount of brass Choregirl around it, smear it with JB bore compund, chuck it up in an electric drill, and spin it in the chambers a little at a time until you get the desired result.

 

[capbuster]

Topgun,thankyou for asking the question about the K-22s. I have had the same problem with one that I bought a few years ago.Except for this one problem, its a great gun. I dropped by my local gun store today and purchased a Hoppe's .22 caliber stainless steel tornado brush in hope that this may help alleviate some of the tightness.

 

[HSMITH]

I've helped some of these K22's out with a process similar to what Dave mentioned. I used a brass brush, wrapped a tight patch on it and coated it with JB Bore Paste. I chucked the affair up in a cordless drill and honed the cylinder a smidge. The downside to this approach is it takes FOREVER to remove any material, this isn't something you can do in 10 minutes. The upside is you would have to be a complete moron with the patience of a saint to take too much material out.

 

[Topgun]

I got ..... s o m e .... help with some 360 grit w/d wrapped on a slotted rod.

But .......I think I am gonna see if Folsom prison would allow me to take just the cylinder to an inmate.
He's the only one with enough time to do it I think.

I tried the paper on a nylon jag and it tore all to hell.

Then I got some better action with a worn out brass brush with STEEL center. Think it just wears away some.

But I am back to my ....old old old..... rule.

NO REMINGTONS IN A K-22 !!!!!!!!!!!

Those things have to be DRIVEN in.

I found an old box of Win HP that just drop in, but remembered that the box has been in the garage for probly 15 yrs.

CCI std vel and Win T22 seem to be .......fairly...... OK.

Maybe a reamer WOULD be the ticket. Just not all the way in.

Worst part is that my 9422 rifle.....LOVES.....Remington 525 count bulk ammo. Shoots it better than any match ammo.

But not the K22.

 

[mete]

The proper way would be to machine a rod to the right diameter and use lapping compound.

 

[Jim K]

I always took care of a too-tight chamber with a chambering reamer, and I think that is the way to go. The price is $50 from Brownells. Be sure to get the .22 revolver reamer. Many gunsmiths have them, but cylinder reaming is an easy job that is a money maker, so the charge is fairly high.

Barring that, you can try a split (fine saw cut) dowel rod chucked in a drill press and some 600 grit emery paper. You will have to change paper often and it will take several minutes a chamber, but should solve the problem. (Any finer paper will take too long; any coarser will create a rough chamber that will hurt extraction and be hard to clean.) Keep moving the cylinder up and down on the dowel so you polish the whole chamber. You DON'T want to do just the front part as you create a "jug" and cases won't extract. Do one chamber until it is OK, then work on the others.

You can get fine paper at auto stores; it is used in auto body work.

Jim

 

[grendelbane]

I have the same problem with my model 18 S&W.

Most brands chamber and fire just fine. Aguila is a problem.

I would just buy something else, but only Aguila makes those nice, quiet, primer only loads. I can shoot them without bothering the neighbors.

Maybe I will try the J-B bore cleaning compound. Seems like that would be a safe practice for even a moron to tackle.

 

[Old Fuff]

Disassemble the cylinder and remove the extractor. Then check the chambers for cartridge fit. Sometimes a slight misfit occurs between the extractor star and the chamber, causing cartridges to be hard to load, and cases even harder to extract.

In the long run, as Jim said - the best solution is a chambering reamer. Sometimes the ones' at the factory don't get changed out soon enough, and the results are some tight chambered cylinders.

 

[Dave Sample]

I find buying a $50.00 reamer for one job a little silly. I agree it's the best way to go and if it were me, I would find a smith that had one and pay him $25.00 to do it. I don't do .22 revolvers so I do not have one. I like big guns that make a big bang like 45 Colt.

 

[Topgun]

I have solved the problem. I went to the gunshop yesterday and bought a box of BRAND NEW Winchester Super-X.

They are made to the same dimensions as when I was a kid. They just plop right in. Same with the Super-X hollow points.

I don't want to ream a gun that can be cured with an ammo change.

The CCI standard velocity also fits ......pretty......well. Still a Weeeeee bit tight.

The Winchester T-22 with the black lead bullet is a bit tight but not the copperclad Super-X

Just use Super-X and I think ALL the K frame .22's will work just fine.

But NO Remington. Have to DRIVE them out after shooting and drive them in before. And sometimes it takes the first hit to seat it. NOT a good way to improve your flinch.

 

[DMK]

I used a brass brush, wrapped a tight patch on it and coated it with JB Bore Paste. I chucked the affair up in a cordless drill and honed the cylinder a smidge. The downside to this approach is it takes FOREVER to remove any material, this isn't something you can do in 10 minutes. The upside is you would have to be a complete moron with the patience of a saint to take too much material out.

I had the same problem with my Single Six. I did the same thing Hsmith recomended above except I used a wooden dowel with a slot cut in the end and stuck the patch in it. It didn't take that long for me, maybe an hour with periodic cleaning the cylinder with mineral spirits and test fitting a few different brands of ammo. Of course, it helped a lot to have the cylinder out of the gun and that it has only six chambers in it.