S&W models 22a and 22a-1..different how?

Mort4570

March 12, 2013 22:44

and,are the barrels interchangable ? I believe they are since the model is not stamped on them,but just want to double check.

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  rufe-snow

  March 12, 2013 23:56

  Dug out the S & W book. It notes that the -1 engineering change dates to 2004. It reworks the barrel latch to prevent it breaking when the barrel is removed. The way I interpret it the barrels aren't affected. The barrel release mechanism in the frame has been soldier proofed.

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  pirate2501

  March 13, 2013 03:39

  I've got the 5.5 bull barrel, hi-viz sights model 107426 made in 2010 and it says 22A-1 on the frame. I do believe the barrels are interchangeable since the barrel latch on the frame and the barrel are in the same spot for mating. Also on the S&W parts website different length barrels are listed for this model but only one frame part #. The barrels start at around $189 and up according to length.

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  beantownshootah

  March 13, 2013 05:55

  I know at some point Smith introduced a magazine safety into these guns. (The two I own are older and don't have one).
  
  Don't know if this was part of the "-1" engineering upgrade or not.
  
  FWIW, I bought a 7" barrel directly from Smith for this about 2-3 years ago. Pretty sure I paid less than $189 for it then, but its a hoot to shoot, super accurate, and IMO worth every penny.
  
  Also, at one point the firing pin in one of my guns broke. Send the slide back to Smith and they fixed it and sent it back to me at no charge (though IIRC it took about 2-3 months to get it back).
  
  If I can, I'll see if I can post a picture of this later.
  
  Edit: To answer the original question, I can't possibly imagine the barrels are NOT interchangable between the 22 and 22-1.
  
  Here's a pic of one of mine with the earlier-mentioned 7" bbl. The blue grips were a nice aftermarket find. So far as I can tell they're identical to the black factory thumbrest/soft grips, just with blue plastic. My guess is that these were made by the same maker as the original grips for Smith as a test run, and Smith never picked them up. They were later sold as NOS, and I strongly doubt any are still available for sale. When I asked Smith's customer service about this, the rep told me they don't have any and never offered any for sale.
  
  

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  Mort4570

  March 13, 2013 12:13

  my a1 does have a mag safety,which is why I got rid of it...I"m betting that that is the main change they made.
  
  thanks for the replies !!

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