According to Eric R Snow :
[ ... ]
Now, another
question if you don't mind: My other pistol is an H&R model 999
Sportsman. In case you aren't familiar with this gun it is a .22
caliber, 9 shot, top break revolver. A friend of mine told me about
revolver he has that has different cylinders that can be exchanged.
One is for .22 LR and the other for .22 magnum.
Are both 9 shot? I strongly suspect that the .22 Magnum would
be 6 shot, so the walls between the chambers are thicker. The 9-shot
cylinders are really pushing the strength of the cylinder material.
(I'm not sure whether there is sufficient travel in the indexing pawl to
properly index a six-shot cylinder in that weapon. If not, then perhaps
there never was a .22 Magnum version of this weapon. (And I personally
tend to dislike the idea of putting any kind of Magnum in a top-break
revolver, as the frame strength is much poorer.)
I have looked a little
for a similar cylinder for the Sportsman with no luck.
Try looking at old ads for the company back when that was made
to see whether the .22 Magnum was considered an option.
If I am able to
find another .22 LR cylinder for this pistol would it be safe to alter
it for .22 magnum and fire the pistol?
With a 9-shot one -- I strongly doubt it. A six-shot might be
strong enough, with the right metals.
I would also want a cylinder which shrouds the back of the case
for a .22 Magnum, as the chance of blowout at the rim is increased.
(Just as you will proably find .38 special cylinders with the base of
the cartridge projecting out behind the cylinder, but the magnum version
should have the base shrouded.)
I can even make a cylinder from
scratch but I don't know how to determine if the pistol can safely
fire this round.
The cylinder walls are the first weak point, which is why I
don't think that you will find a 9-shot cylinder for the same weapon.
(It would need to be a larger diameter to make for thicker inter-chamber
walls.)
Next is the strength of the frame, and I don't really trust a
to-break frame with more powerful cartridges -- though I could be wrong
about the .22 Magnum.
I suppose I could look up the load a .22 mag puts on
the gun firing it and use the strength of mild steel and the way the
gun is put together but it makes much more sense to find out from
someone who knows if I'm doing it correctly. Or to tell me to get real
and don't mess with it.
My suggestion would be the latter -- but I don't know from
personal experience.
Part of the problem with any rimfire cartridge would be the lack
of the ability to make a "blue pill" to stress test it in a safely
enclosed test fixture. Until you have passed several such test shots,
you really don't know when it may decide to fail -- usually *not* on the
first shot, unless it is really severely under-strength.
If you want something which packs a punch in a .22 revolver,
look for one of the S&W .22 Jet revolvers. The .22 Jet is a 357 magnum
necked down to hold a .22 jacketed bullet. Note that you really want to
have the cylinder walls free of oil and dry (and the same for your
reloads), or the cartridge will back out and bind the cylinder.
Now *that* weapon was available also with a replacement cylinder
for .22 LR. And *that* cylinder, I would expect to be capable of being
bored out for .22 Magnum.
Out of curiosity -- since I don't have any .22 Magnums available
to check -- is the diameter of the rim larger than on the .22 LR? If
so, the firing pin will not strike it in the proper place, and it is
very likely to misfire or hang fire frequently. The S&W .22 Jet has two
floating firing pins, and a switchable striker in the hammer. And even
if you don't have the alternate cylinder, there was a set of sleeves to
allow you to fire .22 LR from the same weapon for low-power practice.
This was particularly attractive to those in certain South and
Central American countries, where the laws prevented a civilian from
having anything larger than .22 -- but the .22 Jet had a very impressive
bark. :-)
Enjoy,
DoN.
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