S&W I Frame?

[rcmodel]

Possibly untrue

No, it's true!

rc

 

[Radagast]

Have you seen one or a pic of one? I tend to put caveats when repeating 'a friend of a friend of a friend of my cousin's brother in laws uncles godfathers had it happen' type scuttle butt.

 

[Old Fuff]

I vote with rcmodel on this one. The little model M Lady Smith's were chambered to use the .22 S&W Long cartridge, not the .22 Long Rifle, and not anythin "Hi-Speed" or whatever in its name. (Notice the name: .22 S&W Long, which was a specific loading which is now (pardon the pun), "long gone."

The revolver was difficult to manufacture and required frequent repairs, either because of the delicate small parts or the fact that the owners used a .22 Long Rifle cartridge instead of a .22 S&W Long.

Roy G. Jinks; History of Smith & Wesson, 10th Anniversary Edition.

Give its age and value (not to mention the difficult nature of finding repair parts and a qualified gunsmith to fix one, it would be foolish to shoot them using anything at all.

 

[Radagast]

Old Fuff:
Thanks for the Roy Jinks quote, it's nice to know the source, especially when its one worth listening to.
I have some .22 Longs. Doubt I'll ever see a Lady Smith here in Australia though. *sigh*

 

[Old Fuff]

I have some .22 Longs.

That's part of the problem. The .22 S&W Long was loaded with black powder or "Less-Smoke (a mix of smokeless and black powder). Both were lower powdered then later all-smokeless .22 Long cartridges. Of course the "I shoot everything I own 'cuz guns were made to be shot," guys are totally unaware of things like this, and all too often ruin antique guns that have historical interest - not to mention substantial cash value. :banghead:

 

[Radagast]

I'm one of those got to shoot it guys, but I'm not going to get my hands on a Lady Smith here in OZ, so don't worry about me boogering up a beautiful piece of history. The Long Zs are for quiet pest control, not for pre-planned destruction of historical artifacts.