David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. LXXX, K-22 Part 2

[bradshaw]

Webber asks important questions of marksmanship, just now inquiring my preference in target, bullseye or not, and color. A couple of thoughts....

Bullseye vs plain paper or cardboard
This afternoon I will continue handgun instruction of an individual new to firearms. Started her on brown cardboard rectangles. Purpose, to read the sights, not the target. Whatever one’s skill level, the final split-second of SQUEEZE is spent on the FRONT SIGHT. To be IN MIND of the TARGET liberates us to shoot; therefore, mind remains on target through squeeze. The eye has satisfied the mind of the target (location), there reverts visual responsibility to SIGHT ALIGNMENT----finalizing on the PLANE of the FRONT SIGHT.

The front sight is not about the sides of the blade, it is about the PLANE. Without this no alignment with rear sight is possible. Even when holding (elevating) front sight for long range, the plane of front & rear sights define sight picture. Target shooters, silhouette competitors, and hunters know the front sight mantra gets you nowhere without a picture.

A mass target----as opposed to a target with a aiming point on it----removes the visual magnet. facilitates sight concentration. Comparison of sequential targets, bullseye vs plain cardboard, @ 100 yards with K-22 illustrates my preference for the mass target.

The four targets of big bore silhouette are chicken @ 50 meters, pig @ 100m, turkey @ 150m, and ram @ 200m. Most difficult is the turkey, which most closely resembles a bullseye. Albiet, an asymmetric bullseye tilted like a football on a tee. One may argue the turkey’s difficulty rises from its size + distance----150 meters or 164 yards----making it just a spot on a .125-inch blade, but its amoebic bullseye shape challenges visual fix. Anytime a target is hard to see makes it a magnet for the eye.

Iron sight are jealous, demanding visual attention.

Color or value of target
Regular cardboard works as visually neutral to the eye during normal daylight. Middle range in value, unexciting as a hue.

The black bullseye depends on white background for contrast. Traditional, cheap to make on newsprint with black ink. Placing the bullseye and background on the same piece of paper eliminates ambivalence from the visual field, an advantage unknown in silhouette, where each target is an individual plane----versus a continuously varying background fixed to no plane at all (similar to hunting).
David Bradshaw

[tdbarton]

I’m fixing to shoot some cardboard this weekend. Will give a go at painted/vs unpainted. Thank you for the info.

[bradshaw]

Huey.... a few notes as you prospect a new Model 17 Classic:
Bought this K-22 from a fellow member of the college pistol club. Paid the princely sum of 50 skins, plus $5 for a steel-lined Bill Jordan holster by S.D Myers. It had been shot a lot, to which I added more. Don’t know what a new K-22 cost at the dawn of the 1960’s, but I couldn’t afford new. Besides, in those days, “used” meant nothing. Quality & condition were everything. A used Colt Officer’s Model Match would have cost more, but it didn’t matter; the the K frame fit me better. Nor did I seek the single action-only variant of the K-22/M-17. I like squeezing a two-way trigger both ways. In this regard, the Colt trigger may be made to work both ways lighter than a Smith----single & double action.

Back then, nobody called the Model 17 by its model; it was a K-22. The Model 29 is another matter; it immediately became the “Model 29.” Or, simply a “29."

As stated earlier, this Model 17 features slightly tapered chambers. The taper makes for a snug exit hole. Very short, smooth forcing cone. Excellent chamber-t0-bore alignment. Beautifully uniform bore. Everything a bay-soft .22 rimfire needs to lullaby flight.

During a visit to S&W a department manager informed, “Smith & Wesson invented roller burnishing.for chambers.” He may have meant “introduced.” Be that as it may, double action revolver makers, namely Colt and Smith & Wesson, knew the importance of smooth, uniform chambers for simultaneous extraction. As proven by Ruger single action chambers, which are finish reamed but not roller burnished, uniformity is more important than smoothness. A roller burnished, wavy chamber guarantees stiff extraction f cases fired under mag pressure.

Trust your K Classic aquits itself on the firing line. A proper K-22/M-17 is a monument to revolver building.
David Bradshaw