That is an interesting explanation of the development and demise of the .22/32 HFT's and the birth of the "kit" gun however, some of Tom's information is in error.

It reminds me of a scene from the movie Braveheart where they show a series of Scotsman telling the story of William Wallace killing first 10 men, then it becomes 50 men and lastly 100 men.

As information or facts are gathered, sometimes errors are repeated or expanded upon and the final story becomes something not quite resembling the original truth.

As we now know, Bekeart received 294 guns from the first 1,050 produced, not 292 as appears in many of the books. And there were more than 292 produced in this initial run and production was not halted at 292. All 1,050 of the original run of guns produced was assembled and shipped albeit not to Bekeart.

IMHO the birth of the "kit" gun was not the result of inquiries for a shorter barreled .22 but the result of a gun company trying to sell an I frame product when a new K frame .22 has been developed in the early 30's. They merely took the 6" I frame .22/32 HFT and cut the barrel to 4" and the kit gun was born.

There are a few other discrepancies with stock configurations and serial number starting points but suffice it to say, be careful when reading printed information as many times it is the opinion of the author and may not always be 100% accurate.

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James Redfield
LM #497