Converting .22 LR to mag in a revolver?

[JJHACK]

Had a fella tell me this was rather common and works great. Surprised me, but seemed like it would work. He claimed the drill package is made and gunsmiths do it all he time.

Freedom arms uses .22 LR barrels for their .22 mags claiming the tighter fit is what makes them so accurate. Would be cool to have an 8 shot SP101 use five
LR rounds and three magnums.

 

[DPris]

Not at all common.
Doesn't necessarily work all that great.

Doesn't allow you to use both calibers in the same cylinder interchangeably without splitting .22 LR brass & affecting accuracy to at least a minor degree.

There's a reason a gun is chambered for one or the other caliber, not both.
Denis

 

[hq]

Would be cool to have an 8 shot SP101 use five LR rounds and three magnums.

Drilling cylinders from lr to wmr is certainly possible in some cases, but shooting lr ammo from a wmr chamber is a recipe for disaster. It won't be a mix-and-match proposition, rather than a permanent mod.

 

[rcmodel]

Would be cool to have an 8 shot SP101 use five LR rounds and three magnums.

Not to me it wouldn't.

Dual caliber guns need to have adjustable sights to hit what you shoot at with each caliber.

It just sounds like a good way to ruin a good .22 revolver to me.

rc

 

[David E]

Maybe he was thinking about only rechambering five of the eight chambers?

If you want an LCR in .22 magnum, buy the one Ruger made in .22 magnum.

 

[Dframe]

Generally I understand that barrel bore of the 22 magnum is .224 while 22l.r. is .222. So while 22 magnum guns are sometimes equipped with 22lr cylinders the opposite usually isn't. The convertable guns you often see were originally chambered for 22 magnum and most don't give ideal accuracy when 22lr ammunition is used. They're perfectly safe. Just not usually that accurate. Rugers convertable 357/9mm is much the same. Chambered for the larger round, the smaller .355/9mm usually gives only "so so" accuracy as it travels down the larger (357)bore.

 

[rcmodel]

Maybe he was thinking about only rechambering five of the eight chambers?

Yes, that's what he said.

And that's an ever worse idea then re-chambering all eight chambers for the same caliber ammo.


Imagine if you will, having a revolver with 5 holes for one caliber and 3 holes for the other!!

You'd have to bring a flash-light & somebody to hold it for you to sort out the ammo and the chambers to shoot after the sun went down!!

rc

 

[Jim Watson]

There was a post on one or another gunboard about the old fashioned woodsman who recut ONE chamber in his Single Six for .22 WMR. He marked it and left it empty, as one should with conventional single actions. Until he felt the extra power was needed, when he would load it with one of a few magnums he carried and index it to shoot. Such preparations call for extra care that the Internet Generation will not want to bother with.

 

[rcmodel]

Hmmmm?

I can't imagine too many situations where the extra power of one .22 WRM could make a difference??

And is the need for the one slightly more powerful shot going to wait around for you to sort out the ammo in your pocket and load one chamber?
And then index it to fire next in a single-action??

Mmmmmm, I'm thinking again?

O.K. I'm done thinking!

Probably for sure, Not!!

rc

 

[JJHACK]

That's the Barney fife model

 

[CraigC]

Some folks have been known to do the one chamber thing but it was in a Bearcat. Can't remember if it was Paco Kelly or Jim Taylor but both are well respected men who saw the utility in such a setup.

 

[BCRider]

As I recall seeing the cylinder pictures there is not a lot of wall left on an 8 round SP101 cylinder. Chambering for Magnums would make the webs between each chamber that much thinner. In support of this idea it should be noted that when Ruger made their Single 10 they did not choose to provide it with a second Magnum cylinder. Instead they introduced the 9 shot Magnum version. More evidence that one does not really want to make the webs between chambers too much smaller on something already pretty tight like the SP101 cylinder.

Then there's the fact that the faster Magnums would hit a lot lower than the LR's. The one revolver I've got which is convertible is thankfully sighted in for the .22LR's. With the sights set as they are the Magnums print the target a good 3 to 4 inches lower at 12 to 14 yards. For me that is far enough out of whack that I sure would not want a mix of the two in one cylinder.

So that's TWO reasons not to go with such a modification.