S&W Model 53 .22 Remington Jetfire Revolver

BRONX2SNELLVILLE

A friend of mine has a now discontinued S&W Model 53 Revolver chambered in .22 Remington Jetfire.What is the best way to prevent the problems of the cylinder locking up(I understand this gun is known to do such at times in certain instances).What application does this round have?What else do I need to know about this round and the Model 53 Gun?

JudgeColt

The cylinder lockup problem may be a little overstated. If the chambers are kept clean and dry (swab the chambers with lighter fluid or the like occasionally), there is no problem. Be sure there is no case lube left on the cases if you reload.The .22 Magnum (the official name as far as Smith & Wesson was concerned) was designed as a varmint cartridge. It is a necked down .357 Magnum. Why Smith & Remington did not make it straight-walled like the .256 Winchester Magnum, I do not know. Putting that kind of taper in a high pressure cartridge is inviting case backup. The M53 is one of my favorite Smiths. It is the only .22 rimfire that is identical to its equivalent centerfire revolver in every way except bore diamenter. The M53 has the Magnum length cylinder the same as the M19. Other rimfire Smiths have shorter cylinders.The M53 also has a .222 bore so it is accurate with .22 rimfire, unlike the .22 WMR, which has a .224 bore.Try to get one with a .22 LR cylinder so you can shoot rimfire without the troublesome chamber inserts. The M53 is also becoming a bit rare, so it has increasing collector value.Hope this helps.

TaiChi

The cart. is 22 Jet. The idea was a high velocity pistol round for varmint hunting/ small game hunting. To help prevent the fired cases from setting back in the cylinderkeep the chambers spotless/residue freekeep the ammo clean and stay away from max loads. The Jet is a fun gun to shoot, it hits with authority, has a lot of muzzle blast and is it loud!!! Wear hearing protection.