Would YOU get excited? S&W M48 22/22WMR

S

Sir William

New member
I found a less than perfect example today. Apparently this was a hunting/field carry revolver. The action checks out OK. Both cylinders check out OK. Target sights, trigger, hammer and grips seem OK. Forcing cone appears intact. Is a dual cylinder M48 K frame Target a must have? I was looking at a 617 for the same price that is 22 only. Anything I should be wary of or check out besides the usual?
 
Well, that is generically helpful. I was wondering if there was a specific area/part that I should be concerned with. Thanks for the link though.
 
I have an early M48 set up with a scope and it is one nice field gun! Like most rimfires they are ammo sensitive, but with the Winchester 22 Mag (both JHP and FMJ) it will deliver around 1.5-2" groups at 50 yds. Some ammo brands will not hit a lard bucket at that distance, however. Just the nature of a 22 rimfire, even a Mag. Some types of 22 Mag ammo may also lead to some impressive leading -- considering the shallow rifling of a 22 anyway, this may be an issue when checking the barrel.

One thing to look for during check out is to make sure no one has dry fired the crap out of it. If they have, you will notice peening at the top of the charge hole recesses, which may lead to both unreliable ignition and poor accuracy due to inconsistent ignition when you do get fire. The firing pin face may also be slightly flattened or misshapen if excessive dry firing has occurred. Other than that and the usual wear and tear, they do not suffer a lot of firing stress. Unless someone has abused it by "Barney Fife-ing" the cylinder, it should not be "loose" from normal use.

One more thing I find to be true about them -- do not be suprised after firing 4 or 5 cylinders full that extraction becomes suprisingly difficult for such a small cartridge! I don't know why, but a lot of them seem to do it. Some folks polish the charge holes, but then you risk enlarging the throats and screwing up any accuracy you may have had.
 
Glad to have helped, Sir William. Good luck and I hope it meets your needs. I really like the 6" M48. The little 22 Mag is a very impressive woods cartridge and adds a whole new dimension to revolver hunting. It gives the 6" revolver comparable and in some cases even better power than a 22 rifle. Not to mention a rather large bang to boot! Since the revolver is marked as a 48, I would assume the Mag cylinder is original to it and should work fine. The performance of the 22LR cylinder may or may not be good depending on its fit (and of course ammo type), but it sounds from your description like a gun someone used and enjoyed a lot, and that's not something usually associated with poor performance.
 
According to the FFL, this was a older fellow who recently passed best squirrel pistol. The family consigned his collection. They all look like they were taken care of until recently. I will give this S&W a good look and maybe it will get the TLC it deserves. It may prove to be a POJ. I know better now what to check out. 22s have been problematic for me. My old H&R 6" is a good one though.
 
G'day Sir William

I have owned a model 48 with a 4" barrel for over 30 years. On the barrel is the model number and .22WRM. Because we are not allowed to field shoot with a handgun in most states of Australia I can only tell you how the rabbits fall over in my dreams. :rolleyes:

To my knowledge it was not sold with both cylinders. My .22 RF cylinder was purchased a few years later and I had the S&W distributer time the two cylinders. I have had a scope on it to "compliment my dreams". It is an old Tasco with an eye relief that likens looking through the scope to that of looking through a drinking straw.

My biggest problem was unburnt powder jamming the cylinder. S&W would not give me advice on what to use but the helpful man did tell me he used one with CCI without problems. Since I have been using CCI mine has worked perfectly.

Cheers from down under
Aussie Bob
 
What to check on a 22

On any used rimfire, check the firing pin for damage and check the chambers in the cylinder for peening. Some people don't know that dry firing rimfires can damage them. On a rimfire revolver, the firing pin pinches the rim against the cylinder. If the gun has been dryfired much, the firing pin may be damaged and I have seen a 22 rovolver that had been dryfired so much that the edge of each chamber was peened causing drag on the cartridges when they were inserted and making them hard to eject once they had been fired. If there is enough damage to the firing pin, you can get misfires.

Dry firing can damage any rimfire, revolver, pistol, rifle or shotgun. Yes there were rimfire shotguns like the Winchester Model 37 9 MM.

If the gun checks out ok, you've got a really nice set up with the dual cylinders. These were not real common in S&Ws like they were in single actions like Colts and Rugers. Usually the gun had to be sent back to the factory and the extra cylinder fitted to it if it didn't come with the extra cylinder when new and the only time they did was on special order.
 
I have one in 6". Near mint but no .22 lr cyl. (which was an option).I can't say how it will shoot the smaller dia bullet of the 22 lr but I can say mine is a TACK driver. A for the fouling, it's common. ( As is spitting from the gap when it get fouled) It's not a bad idea to take a brush to the range /field if you plan to shoot more than 50 or so rounds. A quick swipe in each hole seems to help .
 
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