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Lets talk 22 Mags and 22LR
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Schoolboy
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November 5, 2025 - 11:38 am
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First off for those of you that have one of the few DW 22mag revolvers; can/do you shoot 22lr out of it? 

If you do is it still accurate with 22lr vs the standard 22lr chambered revolvers? 

It is my understanding that the 22mags have a bigger bore diameter, correct? 

Do these 22 revolvers seam to be picky about their ammo between supers and subsonics for accuracy?  I have a pile of federal 45gr subs for my suppressed sig p322 as that ammo has been super reliable for me.

I believe that when it comes to the 22lr revolvers the 8" barrel was longest one they made without it being a silhouette edition which came with a 10" barrel?

 

I ask all of this because I'd like to round out my 744/715 8V collection with a matching 722/722m depending on your guys input. 

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Stinger
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November 5, 2025 - 12:00 pm
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Schoolboy said
First off for those of you that have one of the few DW 22mag revolvers; can/do you shoot 22lr out of it? 

If you do is it still accurate with 22lr vs the standard 22lr chambered revolvers? 

It is my understanding that the 22mags have a bigger bore diameter, correct? 

Although the bullet diameters are the same, the larger .22 WMR chamber does not support the smaller .22 LR cartridge.

Firing the smaller .22 LR round in a .22 WMR chamber results in swollen or split cartridge cases, high-pressure gas leakage from the rear of the chamber, and bullets striking the chamber throat out of alignment, which can result in injury to the shooter or bystander and which does result in poor ammunition performance.

~ Wikipedia ~

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Stmstan 445
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November 5, 2025 - 12:19 pm
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The 22 mag Dan Wessons are pretty darn rare. You do not see them come up for sale very often and when they do they go for some $$$$$ $1500 and up. I was lucky enough to get a First issue 22 mag (722) 6 months ago for $1400 a great deal!IMG_8623.JPGImage Enlarger

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Supermagfan
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November 5, 2025 - 2:46 pm
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Stinger already answered the question about firing LR out of the magnum chamber, so I'll share my experience about accuracy.

 

I have both and have shot both out of their respective revolvers.  My experience with the magnum round was moderate accuracy, at best with about five different ammo selections. 

The .22LR is able to group better than the magnum, but that is with standard velocity ammo, which is inherently more accurate than the high velocity anyway. 

I am a Bullseye pistol shooter and with my match guns we all (team members) shoot standard velocity to gain the highest level of accuracy.      

I feel that in my experience the .22 rimfire calibers all do significantly better from rifles than handguns except for those specialized match pistols.

I don't know if any of this is helpful or not, but it is my experience.

SMF

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Schoolboy
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November 5, 2025 - 3:50 pm
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Stinger said

Schoolboy said
First off for those of you that have one of the few DW 22mag revolvers; can/do you shoot 22lr out of it? 

If you do is it still accurate with 22lr vs the standard 22lr chambered revolvers? 

It is my understanding that the 22mags have a bigger bore diameter, correct? 

Although the bullet diameters are the same, the larger .22 WMR chamber does not support the smaller .22 LR cartridge.

Firing the smaller .22 LR round in a .22 WMR chamber results in swollen or split cartridge cases, high-pressure gas leakage from the rear of the chamber, and bullets striking the chamber throat out of alignment, which can result in injury to the shooter or bystander and which does result in poor ammunition performance.  

Good to know!  For some reason I had it in my mind that 22lr would shoot from a 22mag chamber just like 38spl and 357 mag do.  But now that I am thinking about it, that why guns like the SAA are always sold with a 22lr cylinder and a 22mag cylinder.

 

Stmstan 445 said
The 22 mag Dan Wessons are pretty darn rare. You do not see them come up for sale very often and when they do they go for some $$$$$ $1500 and up. I was lucky enough to get a First issue 22 mag (722) 6 months ago for $1400 a great deal!

Ya I have had an amazing run of good luck last two months tracking down 3 of my personal unicorn guns so when I found out about the DW 22M I needed to educate myself.  Looks like you found a really nice example for yourself!  

 

Supermagfan said
Stinger already answered the question about firing LR out of the magnum chamber, so I'll share my experience about accuracy.

I have both and have shot both out of their respective revolvers.  My experience with the magnum round was moderate accuracy, at best with about five different ammo selections. 

The .22LR is able to group better than the magnum, but that is with standard velocity ammo, which is inherently more accurate than the high velocity anyway. 

I am a Bullseye pistol shooter and with my match guns we all (team members) shoot standard velocity to gain the highest level of accuracy.      

I feel that in my experience the .22 rimfire calibers all do significantly better from rifles than handguns except for those specialized match pistols

I don't know if any of this is helpful or not, but it is my experience.

SMF

 

That was extremely helpful, and exactly what I was looking for!  I am going to ignore the 22m's going forward and focus on finding a nice 722 8v or possibly the silhouette 10v like the one currently on gunbroker.  Except that one looks like its been pretty well abused.

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Scout728
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November 5, 2025 - 5:57 pm
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As for the 22 mag.   We are all looking for the next one.  

One DWF member offered me a pac years ago for $3K.   I should've taken it and checked that unicorn off the list.

Happy to plink and hole punch with my 22LR

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mister callan
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November 5, 2025 - 7:05 pm
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How about "convertible" revolvers like the High Standard Sentinel Mk IVs?

These come with quick-change cylinders for .22RF & .22Mag.

That solves the case splitting issues obviously but hows the accuracy from them?

Matthew Quigley on handguns:

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I didn't know how to use it.”

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Schoolboy
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November 5, 2025 - 8:33 pm
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Scout728 said
As for the 22 mag.   We are all looking for the next one.  

One DWF member offered me a pac years ago for $3K.   I should've taken it and checked that unicorn off the list.

Happy to plink and hole punch with my 22LR

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Thats an interesting stock, and it looks like a damn good shooters.  The silhouette you posted from gunbroker is the one I was talking about.  It looks to me like its not just dirty but also rusty, hard to tell with such crummy pictures.  The other thing that doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling is there is literally no description saying if its SAO or DA ect.

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Stmstan 445
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November 5, 2025 - 9:35 pm
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Yes I love the High Standard Convertibles (not the western style but the very rare Sentinels) You hardly ever see a Sentinel. I have a couple of them but still looking for a nickel one (they were not really nickel more of a brushed aluminum. I love the look of a Python. They really did not make many of them the steel frame sentinels were only made a few years. They started making the Mark l (22LR) and the Mark IV (22 mag) then changed and dropped the "Mark" and they were called "Sentinel 22 caliber" this is when they were offered in the convertible style you would get two cylinders and one gun. Screenshot-2025-11-05-7.29.19-PM.pngImage Enlarger

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Ole Dog
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November 6, 2025 - 8:19 am
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I went through my HS period. Loved the Mkiv but I found they are not as accurate as I liked and cases tend to stick in the cylinders. I think I have 3 left. An ANIB electrolysis nickel 4", a 3" fixed sight blue and the later Camp gun. That is the Mkiv with both cylinders. The first Camp guns had a 6" Barrel.

On other subjects, 22 mag powder is generally slow burning. It performs best in Rifles. A 22 mag revolver has little more power than 22 LR. The shorter the barrel the more equal it is to LR.

  DW 22 mag and 22LR have the same barrels. The 22 mag is one thousands larger in diameter but most makes use the same barrel. I cannot attest to accuracy. 

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Ole Dog
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November 6, 2025 - 8:33 am
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PS, I love the 10" Vent barrel for accuracy. The longer sight radius helps my poor skills. The 10" VH is too muzzle heavy.  If you can find a 10" barrel tube you can use a 357 shroud without the Ram. 😄. The Silhouette 22 on Gunbroker now looks very beat up. Rubber grip, no tool or box. I would keep looking. They are SA only but can be easily converted to SA/DA by putting a regular hammer in them. The SA lacks the strut. 

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November 6, 2025 - 1:01 pm
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mister callan said
How about "convertible" revolvers like the High Standard Sentinel Mk IVs?

These come with quick-change cylinders for .22RF & .22Mag.

That solves the case splitting issues obviously but hows the accuracy from them?

  

Mister Callan,

 

I had a Ruger single six with twin cylinders years ago and had the same results with magnum and .22LR out of that revolver as well.  The magnum group opened up a bit as compared to the .22LR counterpart.  I have no experience with any other manufacturer's convertible offerings.

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mister callan
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November 6, 2025 - 1:44 pm
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Yes the 4" blued steel is what I'm looking at. It has both cylinders & the box & instructions. Condition I'd rate as V. good to Ex.

What's a fair asking price In your opinion? No pics, sorry.

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Stmstan 445
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November 6, 2025 - 3:22 pm
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I just sold this one for $850  That was a good deal in my world. I think one with the correct box and foam would get close to $1000 if the gun is in excellent condition. The one I sold did not have the correct inner box but the revolver was correctly marked "Sentinel 22 Caliber" so it was pretty close. The exterior box was correct. Screenshot-2025-11-06-1.19.19-PM.pngImage Enlarger

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Schoolboy
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December 3, 2025 - 3:42 pm
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Would you guys consider this to be a normal wear pattern on the cylinder from the cylinder stop?  I've never really seen one that looks like tooling chatter marks.  All of the drag lines on a cylinder that I have seen are just that a clean line.  Could this be a sign of being wore out?

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Ole Dog
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rwsem
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December 4, 2025 - 4:19 am
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If everything checks out otherwise, it's good.  The pattern doesn't indicate anything.

Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....

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Schoolboy
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December 5, 2025 - 3:38 pm
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rwsem said
If everything checks out otherwise, it's good.  The pattern doesn't indicate anything.

  

I wish I could check it in person, but like all of my recent online purchases, I have to look at the pictures and hope its not trash when it shows up.

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mister callan
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December 7, 2025 - 11:02 pm
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Sadly, The State of Md wants more in training, licensing, Authorization & fingerprinting fees than the street price of the pistol. So this is a dead duck.

Thanks for all the info though. mad

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Ole Dog
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December 8, 2025 - 5:45 am
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You are thinking of S&Ws. They call the part that slides into the cylinder to line up the chamber with the barrel the cylinder stop. Dan Wesson calls that the bolt. A cylinder stop in DW lingo is the nub on the sideplate that prevents the cylinder from sliding off the crane when the cylinder is open. The very act of timing the cylinder and test firing produces a line. Especially on stainless guns with the much softer metal than carbon steel. Colt Pythons won't show the line unless they are out of time because the bolt, /stop doesn't drop until it reaches the scalloped part of the cylinder. In DWs it drags the whole way around the cylinder.

Some folks will put a little bit of tape on the cylinder so the bolt doesn't contact the metal. Others will file the sharp edge of the bolt so it won't score the cylinder. I suspect that could affect the timing prematurely. If it locks up tightly it doesn't affect anything. On a stainless Dan, a white or gray Scotchbrite pad can erase the line and restore the finish. 

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