I got one a few months ago, not sure why I bought it other than I liked it, and I've always had a thing for J frames.

This one is a Model 351C, aluminum frame/cylinder, chambered in .22 WMR. Holds 7, hammerless 'Centennial' style, no lock either. Really like the XS big dot up front and the U shaped rear notch. Trigger is heavy like any rimfire double action but consistent and quite shootable, I was dinging the 8" plates on a friend's dueling tree out at 15 yards with every shot. Gun is the lightest handgun I've every owned. Also the first gun I've ever owned in .22 mag, no real recoil but you know it went off unlike a .22 LR.

Oddly enough this my first J frame with a black finish, every one I've had or have has been all stainless or stainless and silver anodized colored. I really like the satin black finish a lot, looking to add a better set of stocks, something I get all three fingers around.

Not the most capable cartridge on earth, but I wouldn't want to get shot with one, especially the Hornady FTX and Speer Gold Dot rounds. Pictured below are a few of each I fired into a bunch of those water gel freezer packs (unfrozen), I recovered these about 12 packs in...(picture may not be displaying correctly, it was right on photobucket) I might consider it as a backup gun, but it is mostly just a fun toy.





There were a couple 43C's in the case when I bought this one, I may have to go back and get one of them, it holds 8 rounds of .22 LR, same finish and sights.

How about y'all? Any love for J frames in rimfire cartridges?

I have been considering one for awhile. 7 rounds of 22 mag seems effective enough.

A revolver in rimfire certainly has an advantage over an auto because if it misfires you simply move on to the next chamber, immediate action drills with a Beretta 21A aren’t too easy...

The defense oriented 22 Mag loads are a lot more costly than my 9x19 and 38 Spl reloads, I paid $18 for the Gold Dots and $13 for the Hornady, all boxes of 50. They are about $10-15 less than the per 50 price of the centerfire loads I use.

They both shoot quite cleanly in the 351C. The other ammo I tested, CCI Maxi-mag and Winchester Super X (both 40 gr JHP) had me blowing lots of unburned powder out of the gun. They are $14 and $10 per 50 respectively, so I just shoot the Hornday FTX round, it is very available here.

I haven’t noticed any difference in point of impact between those four rounds. Group sizes all stay inside a 21C bull inside of 25 yards, not too much difference there either.

I have a 43C and I do like it but like a lot of .22 double actions it has a pretty heavy trigger pull.

I have both a 351C and a 43C. Owned them for about 3-4 years now, haven't shot the first rd through either one. I bought them for collection purposes & because I wanted them.

Both are also no-lock models.    

That seems to be the number one complaint I hear about rimfire revolvers, even the LCR .22 trigger is pretty heavy. Some folks on the S&W forum have had luck with lighter springs, others have not.

I had a Model 34 in .22 LR and it was the worst shooting S&W revolver I ever owned.

Like this one:



I'd try a 4" but no more snubbies in .22 for me.

Rimfire ammo requires a substantial smack for reliable ignition. Semi's have good triggers because they're not compressing the mainspring like a revolver does during trigger pull.

If one wants a good trigger in a rimfire, they need a K-frame or just shoot a J-frame in single action.

Owned for 10 yrs a Smith 651 4" adj sights, .22 WMR.  Great kit gun when fishing.

CD

Only have one in this category, an early '70s 34-1 Kit Gun professionally chrome plated.  It's since been polished up a bit and is indistinguishable from a stainless one, a 66.

I mostly got it for my daughters, but it's a tough gun to learn on due to the trigger pull.  It's 95% single action these days.

Had a good little Model 63 pinned kit gun. Nice little gun but my K frames took over.

I have a 351c. I like it. It is not 100% with Winchester ammo. I have sent it to Smith once already.

I've got a buddy with a 63 and I got to shoot that one time.  I was nailing the small spinner .22 metal targets at 25 meters in double action with that thing.  Not every time but enough that I was having a lot of fun.  Although I was actually using a rest some of the time for that.  LOL.  It was still cool because it was my first time with a .22 DA revolver.

I have a 4" Model 34 that is a nice shooter.
Had to put a Pachmayr Compac grip on it to get that tiny little grip frame to fit my hand, though.

I have a 43C that I was really excited about until I shot it and it had all sorts of issues. Trigger failing to reset, cases wouldn't extract, cylinder locking up, horrid trigger pull. Sent it back to S&W a couple years ago but haven't shot it since.

I did pick up a new old stock 317 no luck stubby. Really love this gun and wanted it for about 20 years before getting one. But again haven't shot it yet

Now after handling and dry firing an LCR in 22lr I want one of those. Trigger pull and action smoothness are on a whole different level.

Ive been debating for a year or more on getting a small rimfire revolver.

Here its against the law to ccw on state land. BUT there are hunting seasons that run all year (except Sundays)  and I can hunt with a rimfire pistol.

Ive been thinking 3in LCRx.  And would entertain others. But right now I use my G19 with AA kit.  And don't think I'd do any better

But I really like that snub OP

Get it.  I have the same model, an it's a great gun.

Accurate, no jamming issues, light as a feather.

Couple of points - the trigger pull is heavy, as just about all rimfire revolvers are from what I've read, to be able to give the rim a good whack and make sure it goes off.

Also, after 30 rounds or so, bits of brass from the crushed rims will build up under the extractor star, marking it hard to fully shut the cylinder.  Just brush them off with a toothbrush and you'll be back in business.

They're not cheap - I think mine was 550 or so, but well made and fun to shoot.

Yes,my experience as well , Once I got my 617 the kit gun was not much fun.

Although I am a S&W fanboy I once shot a friends lcr and was favorably impressed with it's trigger

I too had a 317 for a while, but it was one of the ones that ended being sold when I was out of work for a while a few years ago. It was one of those guns I saw in the S&W catalog they sent me when I was a teenager and wanted, it looked so cool. I only got to shoot it once before I had to sell it. I still want a 329PD for the same reason, lightweight and it looks cool.

I was going to put the 43C on layaway last Saturady, they aren't cheap as someone pointed out, around $550 before the (exorbitant) sales tax which is closing in on 10% around here. I ended up taking home a used 2.5" 686-6, so maybe I can grab the 43C after Christmas, I think they have 3 of them in that shop.

351PD was my EDC for years in Arizona since, thanks to climate, I never really figured I'd have to shoot through much more than a t-shirt and a flannel.  It's still in heavy rotation during the summer with one Glock or another taking over as the winter gun.

That 351PD is gorgeous: with the old style grips, and fiber front sight, it is a perfect blend of old and new. I think they came with an Altamont boot grip in rosewood.

I really like fiber optic front sights, I am going to buy one soon for that 686, might do it for the 351C too. The XS white dot on there works pretty well though.

It did have the boot grips, but after half a dozen Phoenix summers with that puppy right next to Mr Wally, the wood was kinda gross and delaminated on one side and the screw was rusty.  I decided to give it a makeover with something more traditional with the buffalo stocks and Tyler T-Grip.