A few years back I handled one of the 5" Combat Masterpiece's that had originally been an Illinois State Police duty weapon. I'm a sucker for the five inchers anyway, so needless to say I loved both the "look" as well as the balance. Thats when the quest for a five inch CM began.

I saw a few on GunBroker and other sites, but they were always either sold quickly or the prices were far more than I could rationalize paying.

Fast forward to this past weekend and the S&W Collectors Association Annual Meeting in nearby Boise. Well..nine hours IS "nearby" by Montana standards.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found this guy on Russ Lindenlaub's table. A short time later it was in a case aong with a period correct set of diamond magnas.



The Missouri State Highway Patrol started taking delivery of these five inch guns in 1953. The Illinois State Police also carried a very similar configuration with a heavier five inch barrel. The differences and history of these two similar models would take several pages to do them justice. The S&W Collectors Association Journal has THE definitive article on these two variations in the Spring 2011 issue. Authored by Russ Lindenlaub, Shawn McCarver and Roy Jinks.

I know this is far from a pristine LNIB example. But as a former Highway Patrolman ALL of my duty weapons took a beating as well. Simply the nature of the job.

The issued grips would have been diamond magnas, but the diamond Targets simply appeal to me and they WERE installed on many, many duty weapons instead of the issued magnas. I had them on my Duty revolvers so they are "right" for me.

FN in MT

Very nice. Appeals to me for a lot of reasons.

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NHI, 10-8.

Congratulations! That's a fantastic gun. My 5 inch Model 10 is my favorite revolver; I wish I had a Model 15 in that length.

Very neat gun. Russ is a good guy to do business with. All my best, Joe.

Yes. Quite a Gentleman. Then again everyone I was introduced to was friendly and happy to have a "new Member" at the Show.

Heck of a show.

Amazing I came home so financially unscathed. The prices overall on guns and especially grips, boxes and other accesories...were in my opinion FAIR and REASONABLE. (Other than a few tables)

Anyone on the fence about joining the SWCA should make the leap and become a Member. Especially to attend one of the Shows!

FN in MT

Yet another configuration I didn't know was made. Outstanding find and I can sense your draw to it. I agree the targets look much better for that model.

Congratulations on your purchase! Russ is a good friend and he is trustworthy and honest and was a pleasure to work with on our article. You will not find a finer guy anywhere.

As to the 5 inch K frames, I think S&W should have offered this length with the Baughman sight as a regular production item, either in the Missouri variation with the tapered barrel (Combat Masterpiece) or in the Illinois variation with the non-tapered barrel of the K38.

I never understood why the factory did not offer this length as a regular production revolver in 38 Special Models 15/67 and in .357 Magnum in the 19/66.

Of course, I also did not understand the seeming unwillingness of S&W to offer such other popular variations as the 3 inch and 4 inch Combat Magnums in round butt as regular production items. I know there were some runs of 66s with 3 inch barrels, but customers really wanted those variations because they balanced so well.

In any event, it is unlikely the factory will offer such in the future, so hang on to the nice revolver you just got from Russ. Great gentleman and great revolver!

Shawn McCarver

You bought it from a prince of a member. I had the good fortune to acquire one of the IL State Police versions at a local auction in IL this spring. Russ helped me identify it's authenticity before the bidding began and I think I was the only one who really know what it was. It had been given to the auction by an 81 yr old retired trooper who was the only owner, and had sent it back to the factory for a re-conditioning in 66 and they put a pair of "current" target grips on it. Russ helped me put the correct stocks back on it.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Here is one of 24 special ordered 5" Model 14-2 K-38's that shipped to American Wholesale Hardware in Long beach, CA in January of 1964. The Diamond Targets were already on it so I couldn't complain about the Magna's being missing. The seller had it priced as a used K-38 Masterpiece and I almost set my wallet on fire getting it out so fast. The box and contents all came with it and the label notes 5 in the barrel section.

I have never seen a 5" K38, what a nice looking combination!

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Even older, even crankier....

I have a new grail gun! As much as I love my 4" M-15, a five incher would be notably better.

Very cool weapons and they all look great in 5"
Did not know a 5" combat masterpiece existed.
I learn something new on here every time i visit.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Nice piece. I also think that S&W missed the beat when they did not offer a 5" variant of the 19 or even the 13, a long mid weight 5" barrel on a 13 would have been sweet.

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Brian
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Great find, I love the 5 inch Bbl's, thanx for sharing the pics!

I like it! Five inchers appeal to me from a shooting standpoint. They seem to be the best compromise between 4 and 6, of which the 6 inch is the better gun for my purposes, shooting (compared to the 4 inch). I like the longer sight radius of the 6 but sometimes they have a bit too much forward weight bias for me to do my best offhand target shooting. All the 5 inch guns I have fired have suited me to a tee. For hunting the un-wieldy 8 3/8"s are better from a velocity and sight radius aspect, but for targets they have too much forward bias for offhand, for me.

I have never had a 5 inch CM in my hands but I'll bet it would be a great shooting revolver. The CM is a great little revolver in it's own right (old Air Force Shooter here) at 4 inches. You can bet if I ever run across a shooter grade or collector grade in my price range I'll add it to my stable.

What would a 90% 5 inch gun reasonably go for??? Not trying to hi-jack this thread, just curious.

Great find!!

This is why I like this forum so much. You learn something new every day.

Thanks for informing me of this rare variation.

TAKJR

Very nice CM and a desirable bbl length. I also had the pleasure to talk with Russ on the phone when we traded guns. I have an ISP over run 5" shooter that is very accurate. It was lettered as 1 of 10 sent to Miami Fl. Russ is very knowledgeable abt the K-38's and I'm sure others. All I can post is thumbnails, here's mine. Nice catch, Larry

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Thanks for all the very kind comments . . . it has been a pleasure gathering and sharing the information on these very special 5" Masterpieces and meeting many fine folks in the process.

Frank . . . it was great to meet you and your two sidekicks (Randy and Andrew) in Boise. I'm glad you're pleased with your 5" K38 . . . it surely went to a good home.

Efforts are already underway to assemble a display for the 2013 S&WCA show to be held in Kansas City. Tentitively titled "The Smith & Wessons of the Missouri State Highway Patrol", it will feature several of the 5" K38 survivors. As highlighted in the Journal article you mentioned, they were carried for 24 years by the Missouri patrol and most were purchased (and continue to be treasured) by the troopers who carried them.

Russ

And...That 5" SHOOTS pretty fine too. Shot 1/2 a box of wadcutters through it yesterday. That really IS about the perfect barrel length.

Great Show...looking forward to 2013's. You may see a "S&W's of the MT Hwy Patrol" exhibit. LOL.

FN in MT

WOW!
I have never seen nor heard tell of either a 5 inch M14 or M15. Sure reminds me of the 5 inch nickel plated Model 19's that the Florida Highway Patrol used to issue. They also had some 5 inch M27's and 5 inch Colt Troopers. Those were the days.

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Retired Dep Sheriff & Armorer

That's a solid looking revolver. I'd be proud to own one.

I saw a Model 14 in my local shop for $300 and it had the target hammer, trigger and grips. One small problem -- someone had whittled away the top of the grip! Apparently they wanted a "custom" fit for their thumb but - man it ruined it for me. Otherwise would have bought it right then and there.

I want a 5" Model 19, that would be a great revolver ! I have a 4" 19-2, but to have it in the 5" length would be even better. Same thing for the N frames, S&W really missed the boat on the 5" barrels.

Very nice, ... congratulations! I missed that one, and others, I'm sure. I was dazzled by the number of unusual models for reasonable prices, and by the time I thought I should plunk down some cash and buy one - they were gone.

...and Russ is a class act. It was a pleasure to meet and chat with him.

Jerry

I've got a 14-1 4 inch gun that has the same barrel profile as your 5 inch gun (heavy, not tapered). Thanks for sharing the pics of that historic firearm.

Great find! Working guns should LOOK like they worked! If that could talk, huh?
I'd love to own that.
Stocks look great on it as well.

Two ISP guns. First one is from the first order the next is from the second order. Russ has provided me with some very good information and I was able to provide him with a copy of the original shipping documents for the first order with all the serial numbers. I'm sure Russ will correct me if I am wrong but I think there were about 100 overrun guns that went to distributors so there are a few out there.
DW

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"NUTS"