A K-32 with a nearby serial number shipped in 1952. Your wife's gun probably did too, or maybe a year plus or minus -- guns that weren't big sellers sometimes languished in inventory for some time, and the company had no policy that required them to ship in SN order. In 1957 this model was designated the Model 16. Guns without that model designation, which were produced from 1949 to 1957, are known as Pre-16s by collectors.

You are describing target stocks. Do they have S&W medallions in them? At the time that gun was shipped, it could have been ordered with target stocks as an option. Standard stocks were somewhat smaller and did not extend forward from or below the grip frame.

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David Wilson