S & W Model 53

[don leo]

I have a chance to purchase an 8 inch Model 53 in .22 jet used. Has anybody had any experiences with these revolvers? I heard sometime ago that S & W stopped manufacturing this revolver due to binding of the cylinder. The gun comes with inserts to shoot .22 LR, but is it still wise to shoot .22 reloads in this gun. Any answers appreciated...

[Johnny Guest]

The long barrel Jet (8 inch or 8-3/8 inch?) might be a good collctor's investment. It is my understanding that the cartridge has long been discontinued, and no one even makes the brass currently. I believe you can still buy the dies from RCBS to form it from .357 Mag revolver brass. High loss rate in forming, but there's always a price to be part of the elite! ;)

Yes, the binding you mention is due to the case setback and they recommend shooting with NO lubrication whatever in the chambers.

I never heard there was any problem in shooting .22 LR using the inserts. Ejection and reloading is quite slow. Replacement inserts are quite expensive

Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Johnny


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---The Second Amendment ensures the rest of the Bill of Rights---

[radom]

I have seen these at almost 1000 bucks at under 98% with the box and such. 30 yars ago I almost bought one new for 125 bucks. wish I did and just kept it in the box. It is a collectors item if in very good shape that can be traded for a few 27s or 29s. or both. They work fine if loaded down a bit and the brass and cylinder is kept very clean. A hot load will do the primer flow thing just like a .357 and lock. I think the factory ammo was a bit too hot and many tryed to load it up to do what a .222 would. :)

[Oldspeed]

I own two Model 53's with 8 3/8" brls. I used to buy cases and bullets from Midway but I think that they are no longer available. The chambers should be cleaned with something like lighter fluid to avoid case set back when firing .22 Jet ammo. If any lubrication is present set back will occur making opening the cylinder difficult. S&W used to offer a .22 L.R. cylinder as an option to using the inserts. The gun is very accurate using the inserts. I have bought .22 Jet reloads from Old Western Scrounger that featured Hornady 40 gr. .222 bullets. They may still be available? I love my 53's and have owned them for almost 20 yrs. They are quite loud - use ear protection,
Bob

[toadsucker]

When this caliber was put out it was the first time that one manufacturer made the revolver and another mfgr made the round that fired it. It was invented because it was illegal in Brazil for Americans to carry anything other than .22's. America was developing oil reserves in South America and the bandits were carring .45's. They took a .357 case, formed it to .22 Nearly all the .22 jets were sent to S.A. to protect Americans from bandits. At the time it was the fastest bullet ever put in a handgun. My cousin owned one and he just told me by phone that every time he would fire the cylinder full of jets (6 rds) It was real hard to get the cylinder to open. And if the cases expanded he had to take apiece of wood and hit the ejector rod to get them to eject. Santa ordered 1-50rnd box of .22 Jets from old Western Scrounger but they are on backorder. I don't look for them before x-mas. When I responded to the confirmation e-mail the guy who answered said they were "optimistic"

[Mike Irwin]

"When this caliber was put out it was the first time that one manufacturer made the revolver and another mfgr made the round that fired it."

The .22 Jet was not even remotely the first time one company made the round and another company made the revolver.

Smith & Wesson had been collaborating with ammunition manufacturers on development of ammunition for decades.

Examples...

Winchester developed the .38-44 and .357 Magnum cartridges in the late 1920s and early 1930s, respectively.



"It was invented because it was illegal in Brazil for Americans to carry anything other than .22's."

The .22 Jet was inspired by the .22 Harvey K-Chuk (sp?), which was a popular wildcat based on the .22 Hornet and chambered in reworked revolvers.

It was intended for the American handgun hunting market, not for Brazil's oil fields.

[chupps]

This was my first handgun purchased in 1982 and it was a pain in the butt for all the reasons mentioned above. I esp. disliked the time involved to extract and reload regular 22 ammo from the inserts. I finally got tired of it and sold it several years ago for something I enjoyed shooting, a S&W 586.

Unless you are a collector and reloader, I'd pass.

[carguychris]

This probably goes without saying, but if your goal is to shoot .22LR, a S&W Model 17 aka K-22 Target Masterpiece will do the job for a lot less dough, and you won't have to deal with the inserts.

Due to the well-documented ejection problems and rare ammo, IMHO the Model 53 is one of those guns that's best bought for its value as a collectible and fine example of the gunmaker's art, not as a frequent shooter.

That said, I think they're neat and might buy one someday... ;)

[Gun 4 Fun]

From everything I've ever read Mike Irwin is spot-on, I don't know anything about non filtered camels or bourbon.:o

[Gun 4 Fun]

I just checked over on the S&W forum, and there's a guy selling the inserts for the 53, for $120 for 6. Ouch!