Here is an article that I found from a Oct 98 issue of Shooting Times, by John Metcaf
Will just post a few paragraphs, I hate typing.
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SOLVING THE SETBACK PROBLEM
Every experienced shooter I've mentioned these new .22 Hornet
revolvers to has immediately asked, "How can they keep the tapered
cases from setting back and locking up the cylinder?" So, I'll address
this issue right off the mark. The question stems from the well-known
fate of the Smith & Wesson Model 53 revolver, manufactured from
1961 to 1974. This double-action revolver was chambered for the
.22 Remington Jet, a centerfire .223-caliber cartridge built on a
necked-down .357 Magnum case with a tapered shoulder that would
generate approximately 1800 fps velocity with a 40-grain softpoint bullet from an 8 3/8-inch revolver
barrel. It was a precision shooting tool with several unique features, including a rotating rimfire/centerfire
striker in the hammer and aluminum chamber inserts to allow interchangeable use of .22 Long Rifle rimfire
ammunition. Unfortunately, the Jet case would frequently back out of the Model 53 chamber at the moment
of ignition and "weld" itself over the firing pin hole, stopping the cylinder. Of the chambers were roughened
to prevent setback, extraction became difficult, often requiring a mallet to knock the ejector rod. S&W
finally got tired of Model 53s coming back to the service department to fix the unfixable and dropped the
gun from its catalog. No revolvermaker since has dared try to chamber for a tapered- or shoulder-case,
high-velocity cartridge.
Until now, that is. And I'll cut right to the chase and tell you that neither the review sample .22 Hornet
single-action MRI nor the double-action Taurus Raging Bull had any problem whatsoever with case
setback or difficult extraction. In loading their cylinders full—six for the BFR, eight for the Taurus—and
running them through rapid-fire, I experienced no drag or hangup. And when I opened the loading gate on
the BFR or swung out the Raging Bull's cylinder, the fired cases dropped out into my hand, pushing the
extractor rod was barely required.
The reason for these revolvers? success is their ignition design. Both
employ positive transfer bar safety ignition systems, similar in design,
wherein a flat-fronted hammer transfers its force through an intervening
piece of metal to a spring-loaded firing pin in the frame. By comparison,
the direct-impact hammer-ignition design of the old K-Frame S&W
Model 53 was lightweight, without sufficient mass to hold forward at the
moment of ignition, and allowed the rearward force of the fired case to
kick back hard enough against the firing pin to bounce the hammer. With
the Taurus and MRI .22 Hornet revolvers, the entire combined masses of their heavier hammers and
transfer bars provide sufficient inertial resistance against rearward case movement at the critical ignition
instant (or so the engineers say). The threshold force is probably very close to the edge, but it's nonetheless
enough to eliminate the setback problem. Whatever the exact technical explanation, cylinder rotation of
both guns works flawlessly.
Of course, beyond their similar transfer bar ignition mechanisms and the fact that both are offered with
10-inch barrels, the DA Taurus and SA MRI .22 Hornet revolvers are quite different.
TAURUS' DA RAGING HORNET
The double-action Taurus revolver is designated as the Model 22H raging Hornet (with appropriate bold
barrel logo) and is built on the massive new Taurus raging Bull frame, action, grip, and barrel system
introduced last year for the profoundly powerful 50,000+psi .454 Casull cartridge. As such, it can easily
handle the 43,000 max-psi .22 Hornet loads. Like the .454-caliber version, the Model 22H features a
dual-latch independent locking system for the eight-shot cylinder and a recoil-cushioning shock-absorber
insert in the rubber grip (scarcely needed since recoil on the 10-inch, nearly five-pound Hornet revolver is
virtually nonexistent). To sustain the Hornet motif, according to Taurus, the grip insert on the Model 22H
will be bright yellow instead of the signature red color of the .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .44 Magnum
versions.(Note, however, that the review sample Raging Hornet had a red grip insert.)
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I don't think that ANY Smith & Wesson can handle this 43000 PSI maximum load.
Robert
