Originally Posted by JP@AK

If you must. I prefer to call it a "straight side barrel."


Yes. Sort of. If you put a micrometer on it, you will see that it does have very slight taper toward the muzzle. But the sides are straight, with no dramatic taper just in front of the frame bridge. That's where we get the term "tapered barrel" on the earlier edition.

Again, the point of the straight barrel and wider rib was to bring the dry weight of the revolver up to the point that it matched that of the K-22 Masterpiece. Hence, the name "K-38 Heavy Masterpiece."