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S&W K-22 Hornet conversion
- Thread starter ltc444
- Start date
Jim Watson
New member
In the 1950s the Harvey Kay-Chuk conversion was somewhat popular.
It called for converting a K22 to centerfire and rechambering for the round which was a K-Hornet shortened a bit to fit the cylinder length. There was also a Harvey Standard Chuk which was a regular Hornet profile case shortened the same.
A full length Hornet will not fit a K frame cylinder unless the bullet is seated very deeply.
They did not have the same setback problems of the .22 Remington Jet with its much stronger bottleneck from .357 diameter.
It called for converting a K22 to centerfire and rechambering for the round which was a K-Hornet shortened a bit to fit the cylinder length. There was also a Harvey Standard Chuk which was a regular Hornet profile case shortened the same.
A full length Hornet will not fit a K frame cylinder unless the bullet is seated very deeply.
They did not have the same setback problems of the .22 Remington Jet with its much stronger bottleneck from .357 diameter.
Mike Irwin
Staff
The cylinder having to be forced out of the frame could be something as simple as the ejector rod needing to be screwed back down tight.
Magnum Wheel Man
New member
The Hornet is actually a pretty hot round for a handgun... I have a Taurus "Raging" ( same gun they put the 454 Casull in ) that worked fine in standard configuration, albeit quite muzzle heavy with it's full underlug 10" barrel with the tiny 22 caliber bore... I did a conversion to mine, using a Dan Wesson 6" barrel shroud, & made a custom out of it, mine has a 1 in 9" twist, & can now shoot up to 68 grain bullets
the "Raging" has a double cylinder lock, even though the Taurus bashers will cry foul, the "Raging" gun, is much stronger than a S&W K frame... just from my expirience with the Hornet in a revolver ( & I do have a couple S&W K frames, in 357 ) I doubt the K frame is up to a solid diet of lil rifle rounds
BTW... just converted a 22 mag revolver to center fire... this seems a much more practical solution, if someone would start producing 22 CCM cases again, or even 22 Velo-dog... as it was, I had a couple 100 steel cases turned for my revolver
the "Raging" has a double cylinder lock, even though the Taurus bashers will cry foul, the "Raging" gun, is much stronger than a S&W K frame... just from my expirience with the Hornet in a revolver ( & I do have a couple S&W K frames, in 357 ) I doubt the K frame is up to a solid diet of lil rifle rounds
BTW... just converted a 22 mag revolver to center fire... this seems a much more practical solution, if someone would start producing 22 CCM cases again, or even 22 Velo-dog... as it was, I had a couple 100 steel cases turned for my revolver
I had one
About 1957 I had a gunsmith in West Sand Lake NY convert a new K22 to K hornet. It was a very accurate gun. Will not mention the 100 yard groups because you would find it hard to believe. The k22 is inherently accurate and retained that accuracy in k hornet.
I was shooting it over the top of my car at targets. It was chipping the paint off the rooftop. The blast from between the cylinder and barrel was bright red even in sunlight.
It was an amazing "varmint" gun. Took a lot of woodchucks and one bobcat.
Easy to load for. I filed the tip off of soft point bullets to let them fit into the cylinder. Factory loads (standard hornet) were a little too long. I don't remember just how much but only took a couple of swipes with a file to make them fit.
After a few years I became kind of wary of the pressure. The 22 was not designed for this pressure. Finally traded it in for a Colt Cobra 22. Went from too much power to not enough. Shot a woodchuck with the Colt 6 times and did not kill it. Never used it again on "game".
If you buy a converted k22 (to k hornet) I would recommend some reduced loads. They could still be pretty hot and effective but probably not dangerous. Then, again, never had any hint the one I had was dangerous.
About 1957 I had a gunsmith in West Sand Lake NY convert a new K22 to K hornet. It was a very accurate gun. Will not mention the 100 yard groups because you would find it hard to believe. The k22 is inherently accurate and retained that accuracy in k hornet.
I was shooting it over the top of my car at targets. It was chipping the paint off the rooftop. The blast from between the cylinder and barrel was bright red even in sunlight.
It was an amazing "varmint" gun. Took a lot of woodchucks and one bobcat.
Easy to load for. I filed the tip off of soft point bullets to let them fit into the cylinder. Factory loads (standard hornet) were a little too long. I don't remember just how much but only took a couple of swipes with a file to make them fit.
After a few years I became kind of wary of the pressure. The 22 was not designed for this pressure. Finally traded it in for a Colt Cobra 22. Went from too much power to not enough. Shot a woodchuck with the Colt 6 times and did not kill it. Never used it again on "game".
If you buy a converted k22 (to k hornet) I would recommend some reduced loads. They could still be pretty hot and effective but probably not dangerous. Then, again, never had any hint the one I had was dangerous.
The K-Hornet (the "K" is for the developer, Lysle Kilbourn), proved to be an excellent round in an S&W K-22 revolver. Pressure is not a real concern, though barrel life may be limited. S&W tried to emulate the K-Hornet performance with the .22 Jet, but the shape of that cartridge created setback problems the less tapered K-Hornet did not have.
The problem with that particular gun was probably not due to the fact that it was converted, though it might have been due to an improper conversion job.
Jim
The problem with that particular gun was probably not due to the fact that it was converted, though it might have been due to an improper conversion job.
Jim