Mas writes the check while Ernie, holding the gun he’s selling, does the paperwork. Mas got the better part of the deal, he thinks. \ud83d\ude42<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/MassadAyoob\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/SW_K22.jpg\" "\\"S&W_K22\\"")
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Every now and then, we firearms folk walk into a gun shop and find something that just grabs us by the eyeballs. That was my experience in early March when I visited Ernie Traugh\u2019s Cedar Valley Outfitters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The gun in question was a Smith & Wesson Model 17, the classic K-22, with the uncommon 8 3\/8\u201d barrel.<\/p>\n
I got my first K-22 before I got my driver\u2019s license, the early model that S&W called the Outdoorsman when they introduced it in the early 1930s. (Didn\u2019t get it then, though; I just LOOK that old. Would\u2019ve been early 1960s when it came into my eager, then-young hands.)<\/p>\n
I already had a few of the six-inch barrel versions of this six-shot .22 Long Rifle revolver, and one of the four-inch barrel versions, the Model 18. I\u2019ve owned the \u201clong Tom\u201d 8 3\/8\u201d barrel S&Ws in .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, but never one chambered for .22 rimfire, the most popular cartridge in the country.<\/p>\n
Ernie gave me a good deal, as he typically does; I wrote him a check, and he set the K-22 aside until a dealer in my state could get a copy of my Federal Firearms License to him. I spent most of the month on the road, and didn\u2019t get to pick it up at my local gun shop and shoot it until now.<\/p>\n
The .22 Long Rifle round has been one of the most useful for rural Americans since its introduction in the year 1887. Ridding the farm of predators, vermin, and uninvited produce consumers, and feeding the family with rabbit, squirrel, head-shot grouse and more for about as long, the .22 LR has earned its place as the most popular American cartridge.\u00a0 The overwhelming majority of that ammo has been fired through rifles, but over the decades, target-grade .22 handguns have proven that within their range, they can do the same job. And for every .22 round that ever bagged meat, there were probably hundreds if not thousands just fired at inanimate targets for fun.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t buy the long-barreled K-22 for blasting bunnies to create hasenpfeffer, though. Truth to tell, I bought it for\u2026fun.<\/p>\n
Beautifully crafted, it is a song in steel, sung to celebrate American workmanship. This one, \u201cpre-owned,\u201d was fitted by its previous custodian with a pair of Hogue grips. It shot a bit left for me at 25 yards. Well, that\u2019s why they came with adjustable sights. The gentle kiss of the screwdriver will fix that.<\/p>\n
With that extra-long barrel, you\u2019d think it would be more accurate than a standard-length K-22. It wasn\u2019t. Balanced nice in the hand, though.<\/p>\n
I bought it because it was\u2026cool.<\/p>\n
And, in the end, that\u2019s reason enough.<\/p>\n
Bet some of you out there have guns you didn\u2019t really need, but bought for similar reasons. Share with the rest of us. The folks who come here understand.<\/p>\n
The S&W K-22 under discussion, with eight and three-eighths inch barrel.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Mas writes the check while Ernie, holding the gun he’s selling, does the paperwork. Mas got the better part of the deal, he thinks. \ud83d\ude42<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n