I was pretty excited to find this revolver the other day. It is a 1950 (Per SCSW - although more precise dating would be appreciated) 6" K-38 Target Masterpiece with target hammer and a standard trigger. Serial Number is K843XX. It was a trophy gun provided by S&W for the National Mid-Winter Shooting matches held in Tampa, FL in 1950. As if that wasn't enough, it has a pretty rare set of grips on it from what I can tell - the 3-piece target stocks that appear to have been only offered in 1950. I am going to get it lettered and hopefully it comes back as being sent out that way. The story on the gun is that it belonged to an officer in the Army who shot on their pistol team for many years from the late 40s into the 60s.
Any additional information on this revolver would be appreciated - including a guesstimate of value - I won't be selling it any time soon. There was no box with it. I will start looking for the appropriate box and accessories.

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	K-38 1.jpg (130.8 KB, 341 views)
	K-38 2.jpg (127.6 KB, 330 views)
	K-38 3.jpg (92.6 KB, 303 views)
	K-38 4.jpg (84.5 KB, 324 views)
	K-38 5.jpg (75.8 KB, 309 views)

A couple more pictures.

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	K-38 6.jpg (64.8 KB, 215 views)
	K-38 7.jpg (67.3 KB, 240 views)

I have nothing to add, aside from stating my extreme jealousy at what may be (all things considered) my perfect K38 Target Masterpiece.

Wow, nicely done.

Call me a heretic, but the bottom and sides extent of the checking on those remind me of Cokes, although the top border is pretty straight as opposed to the more circular form of true Cokes. And the rear view seems to show the suggestion of a palm swell.

Question - does the serial number begin with zero? If so it would be a factory "club gun" as the engraving on the right side might indicate. Club Gun Fan, please check in!

Very Very Nice.

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Dave

That is a real prize - no pun intended.

Your PM box will soon be full with offers to purchase.

Good Luck & Best Wishes.

Nice find.

My s&w K38 masterpiece target doesn't have the history that yours does but I cherish it anyway. It's mine. Lol

A gun with history, sure makes it special too. Congrats on your acquisition, I recently made a purchase on a model 14, certainly lacking the history of yours but looking forward to shooting it soon.
You have something quite special, very nice and unique and I hope you get all the answers you are looking for and can share some more info.
Nice, very very nice!
Karl

I've never heard of three piece stocks before. Fine looking K-38, thanks for posting.

Member Handejector discussed these grips in a 2010 post. I don't know how to repost but it was pretty interesting and made it sound like these stocks were pretty rare. Hopefully he chimes in and provides some insight/data. He had posted some catalog listings of the stocks in his post as well.

O/P, great find, color me green.

Now I have a grip question. I thought that the grip adapter was intended to be used with the factory magna style stocks, as the target stock cover the front strap to begin with? Is a longer grip screw needed when using the set up you have?

Thanks all,

old bear

Added:

Never mind.
Just read Lee's thread from June 2010. Learn something new almost every day.

Tom K, I am with you. When I saw the photos the thought of K frame "cokes" jumped to mind.

OP: extremely nice find. That is a super revolver in all aspects.

Tom K, I am with you.

I'll join too.

Very neat gun with very rare stocks.

I believe this is the thread previously mentioned

The RAREST Target Stocks

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

Excellent Find; both the gun and the stocks. Here is a link to more info on the Mid Winter Matches;

National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships

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Kris
OGCA, NRA LM

Very nice,
Here is how they were originally advertised:


and after the adapter was eliminated

Wonderful! This is a terrific find and would be a great addition to any K-38 collection. Congrats.
Would you be willing to share with us how it happened to come your way?

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

That would be one of the first heavy barrel/target hammer Masterpieces produced in very early 1950. Are the mid-winter pistol matches always held in March? If so, this gun might have been assembled as late as February. I believe the first heavy barrel Masterpieces began appearing with serial numbers around K75000. I have K78197, which shipped in early February. Another gun I know of with a slightly higher serial number than mine shipped in January 1950. I have suspected for some time that the first HB Masterpieces were assembled in December 1949, but I can't prove that. They were first announced (along with target stocks and target hammers) in the company's early 1950 circular.

Looks like whoever won this trophy never got his name engraved on it, which is a shame. Can we deduce who the winner was from contemporary records of the match?

Value? I think you would have to review offers to see how high others might value it. Ignoring the sideplate markings, I think the gun would be a $1250 item just because of its condition and the rarity of its target stocks. As an inscribed trophy, it would probably shake $2000 or more out of the pockets of many collectors, and maybe $3000 from a few. At that point my imagination fails. There may be a competitive market for trophy guns that I know nothing about. If so, keep counting higher.

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David Wilson

David - I have never seen a Mid-Winter trophy gun that had the winners name engraved. I thought they were presented at the event. Are you aware of some that were?

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Dave

Kennicka - Very nice acquisition. Does your right hand stock panel have a serial number or initials. I have a set that are serialized to my gun (even though the gun was of a much earlier ship date) and are stamped JGB.

Attached Images

Stocks apart.jpg (47.4 KB, 77 views)

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Dennis
SWCA #2409, SWHF #353

No, I'm not. I don't follow trophy guns, and it was just an assumption on my part they they would have been added. I'm happy to be corrected on this point.

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David Wilson

My stocks are not numbered unfortunately. I am still hopeful the revolver will letter as having shipped with these stocks. I need to get my letter in and then the long wait begins!

As for the story behind the gun, other than what I put in my original post, being owned by an Army Team shooter, that is all I know. I got it from one of my LGS who didn't have any more info. I have tried looking for the winners of the 1950 match but have only found info for going back to 1951.

Thanks for all the replies thus far. Hope to hear from more with any additional information/insights.

Attached Images

K-38 8.jpg (140.6 KB, 58 views)

Trophy Guns and Club Guns are two different animals. Some Club Guns were given out as prizes. Trophy Guns were made specifically for giving out as prizes. I have never seen a Trophy Gun's serial number start with the number 0.

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Don Mundell

Huelet L. Benner. U.S. Army, Ft. Knox won the 1951 National Mid-Winter Pistol Championship. According to this website the event was held every 3 years beginning in 1951. Not sure why your gun is labeled 1950. Obviously the person's name was meant to be engraved but was not.

National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships

Attached Images

1951-NMW-Photo.jpg (231.8 KB, 21 views)

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Dennis
SWCA #2409, SWHF #353

Forget to mention the serial number doesn't have a 0 in front of it.

Not finding any info on the 1950 match. One article I read mentions that there wasn't a National Trophy Pistol match (Not sure if this is the same one held in Tampa) in 1950 due to the beginning of the Korean War.

from my brief time on Google this morning the matches started in 1951 and were held every 3 years. I guess it could it be possible your gun was an engraving error since it also does not have the winner's name?

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Dennis
SWCA #2409, SWHF #353

here is an earlier link from the same sight. they were started in 1931.

National Mid-Winter Pistol Championships

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Kris
OGCA, NRA LM

Whew doggie!! Very nice and the 3-piece target stocks are amazing. Who knew. Great info here and the older links. Thanks