The mystery is that over the three different rounds that you can fire from this revolver, you also have 3 different bullet diameters. The .22 Jet is specified with a .222 bullet diameter; a .22 long rifle has a .223 bullet diameter, and a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire bullet is .224 diameter. I have a Model 53, and have fired both .22 Jet and .22 long rifle from it, and the difference is, to say the least, extreme. The .22 Jet muzzle blast is formidable - as in everyone else at the range turns and asks "What was THAT"? I often say that it doesn't matter if you hit your target, because you'll either scare them to death or set them on fire with a .22 Jet. The single-action trigger pull is, like other 1960's Smiths, light and slick. It did suffer from cartridge setback when firing from chambers that were too oily, thanks to the taper of the case - but if fired in a dry chamber, I never had a problem. Ammo is hard to find, but thanks to its heritage of being based on the .357 Magnum case, can be fabricated using sizing dies and neck trimmers, so it's unlikely that a reloader would ever run out of ammo for it thanks to the .357's popularity. An enjoyable, accurate, and flat-shooting round. Thanks for the review.
Back in 1968 I saw an article in Outdoor Life magazine where two guys were hunting woodchucks in PA. One guy carried a Ruger Hawkeye and the other a Model 53 S&W. I still have that article (somewhere). I was really impressed by these guns and would like to have one even though I don't hunt anymore.
Well this is something I've never heard of before, thanks for sharing! I bet that .22 Jet would be great in something like a high wall or some other kid of single shot target/varmint rifle
I had one and it shot great but the ammo was outrageous and I swapped it for a k-17 22LR since I was shooting 22LR in it anyway but I wish i had kept it now.
Somewhat of a best-of-both-worlds revolver in that era. The jet was more of a novelty caliber and unstable at long range, I read in old reviews. But a splendid weapon nonetheless
I never owned one, but I have loading dies for it and used to load it for a friend who had one. It is fairly easy to form cases. Do not use too much lube or it will dent the shoulder area. If this happens, it is not a major issue. The case headspaces on the rim, so just fire them and the "lube dents" will get blown out. The biggest issue with it was that bottlenecked cases don't work well in revolvers. They can "set back" on firing and can totally jam the cylinder from rotating. The best way to avoid this is to make sure the the cartridges AND the cylinder chambers are clean, dry and free of any oil or grease. Regular media tumbling will remove the lube from the cases and the cylinder can be cleaned and degreased prior to firing. My friend has no issues with his as long as it was clean. The same thing happened with another cartridge, the .357 Bain-Davis. (.44 magnum necked to .357). Ruger made their .256 as a single shot with a rotating breechblock in a Blackhawk frame because of this issue. Bottlenecked cartridges are not an issue with autoloaders since any "set back" actually helps the eject the fired case. Cartridges like the .357 SIG or 5.7x28 work well in autoloaders. The .22 Jet was doing what the 5.7 x 28 does 60 years ago!
When I get through buying all the handguns I feel I have to buy, and can start on getting the ones that I just think would be cool to own, I'm going to seriously consider hunting down one of these Model 53's. There is just something about this whole concept that appeals to me for some reason.
Due to its extreme taper the 22 magnum Jet cartridge had a bad habit of backing out and locking up the cylinder. Ballistics aren’t much better than a .22 mag either. Total flop ...Just get a .22 magnum.
I can appreciate a unique firearm but what’s the point if you have to wear gloves to handle it. Seems like it’s a piece of wall art you can show your friends.
It's just a precaution so no-one can blame these guys if something turns up wrong later on. Same reason you should take pictures of rental properties when you move in - So you're not on the hook for stuff that's not your fault.
Very, very cool. Learned something. Thank you.
Saw one of these at my local gun store 7 or 8 years ago, real cool collector peice
Thanks Keith n Steve Pretty Cool Oddball Pistol 😀😊😎
The mystery is that over the three different rounds that you can fire from this revolver, you also have 3 different bullet diameters. The .22 Jet is specified with a .222 bullet diameter; a .22 long rifle has a .223 bullet diameter, and a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire bullet is .224 diameter.
I have a Model 53, and have fired both .22 Jet and .22 long rifle from it, and the difference is, to say the least, extreme. The .22 Jet muzzle blast is formidable - as in everyone else at the range turns and asks "What was THAT"? I often say that it doesn't matter if you hit your target, because you'll either scare them to death or set them on fire with a .22 Jet.
The single-action trigger pull is, like other 1960's Smiths, light and slick. It did suffer from cartridge setback when firing from chambers that were too oily, thanks to the taper of the case - but if fired in a dry chamber, I never had a problem.
Ammo is hard to find, but thanks to its heritage of being based on the .357 Magnum case, can be fabricated using sizing dies and neck trimmers, so it's unlikely that a reloader would ever run out of ammo for it thanks to the .357's popularity. An enjoyable, accurate, and flat-shooting round. Thanks for the review.
Reminder Set 😮😀😊
Back in 1968 I saw an article in Outdoor Life magazine where two guys were hunting woodchucks in PA. One guy carried a Ruger Hawkeye and the other a Model 53 S&W. I still have that article (somewhere). I was really impressed by these guns and would like to have one even though I don't hunt anymore.
Well this is something I've never heard of before, thanks for sharing! I bet that .22 Jet would be great in something like a high wall or some other kid of single shot target/varmint rifle
I had one and it shot great but the ammo was outrageous and I swapped it for a k-17 22LR since I was shooting 22LR in it anyway but I wish i had kept it now.
I have one that I don’t want
Somewhat of a best-of-both-worlds revolver in that era. The jet was more of a novelty caliber and unstable at long range, I read in old reviews. But a splendid weapon nonetheless
Great, very interesting.
I never owned one, but I have loading dies for it and used to load it for a friend who had one. It is fairly easy to form cases. Do not use too much lube or it will dent the shoulder area. If this happens, it is not a major issue. The case headspaces on the rim, so just fire them and the "lube dents" will get blown out.
The biggest issue with it was that bottlenecked cases don't work well in revolvers. They can "set back" on firing and can totally jam the cylinder from rotating.
The best way to avoid this is to make sure the the cartridges AND the cylinder chambers are clean, dry and free of any oil or grease. Regular media tumbling will remove the lube from the cases and the cylinder can be cleaned and degreased prior to firing. My friend has no issues with his as long as it was clean.
The same thing happened with another cartridge, the .357 Bain-Davis. (.44 magnum necked to .357). Ruger made their .256 as a single shot with a rotating breechblock in a Blackhawk frame because of this issue.
Bottlenecked cartridges are not an issue with autoloaders since any "set back" actually helps the eject the fired case. Cartridges like the .357 SIG or 5.7x28 work well in autoloaders.
The .22 Jet was doing what the 5.7 x 28 does 60 years ago!
Do you still have the dies and by chance willing to part with them lol
@@davidrayman3576 I still have the dies, but I will hang on to them.
When I get through buying all the handguns I feel I have to buy, and can start on getting the ones that I just think would be cool to own, I'm going to seriously consider hunting down one of these Model 53's. There is just something about this whole concept that appeals to me for some reason.
This is probably the right choice...
I have one I do not want
Didn't the .22 Jet have a case setback issue that tended to lock up the revolver?
Own 4 of them and just bought one yesterday with the secondary cylinder and have never had an issue with over 8k rounds through the 4 of them
Neat, but I would never pay Rock Island bandit premium. I am sure they ripp off the sellers too, so they make more money one both ends.
If you ever thinking about shooting a 5.56 NATO cartridge out of a handgun, particularly from a revolver, go and hit that auction website button.
The cylinder would have to be very long, like a 45/70 revolver (heavy). Interesting, but it wouldn't sell.
Due to its extreme taper the 22 magnum Jet cartridge had a bad habit of backing out and locking up the cylinder. Ballistics aren’t much better than a .22 mag either. Total flop ...Just get a .22 magnum.
I can appreciate a unique firearm but what’s the point if you have to wear gloves to handle it. Seems like it’s a piece of wall art you can show your friends.
It's just a precaution so no-one can blame these guys if something turns up wrong later on. Same reason you should take pictures of rental properties when you move in - So you're not on the hook for stuff that's not your fault.
It's so the gun doesn't get covid.