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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 06-14-2017, 06:27 PM
jmten jmten is offline
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I believe the pre-war 22/32 Kit Gun came with a 4 inch barrel however, I saw one with I think a 6 inch barrel is this possible?
The serial number is 530xxx.
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Old 06-14-2017, 06:45 PM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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I believe the pre-war 22/32 Kit Gun came with a 4 inch barrel however, I saw one with I think a 6 inch barrel is this possible?
The serial number is 530xxx.
The 6" barrel I frame .22 came before the 4" Kit Gun. It is known as the .22/32 Hand Ejector, the .22/32 Bekert and the .22/32 Heavy Frame Target. It was introduced in 1911.
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Old 06-14-2017, 09:30 PM
jmten jmten is offline
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The 6" barrel I frame .22 came before the 4" Kit Gun. It is known as the .22/32 Hand Ejector, the .22/32 Bekert and the .22/32 Heavy Frame Target. It was introduced in 1911.
Thanks for the information. Were the 22/32 HE, 22/32 Bekert or 22/32 Heavy Frame Target all produced in the S/N 530XXX production year? This gun does have a target front sight and an adjustable rear sight. Could it be a Heavy Frame Target and were many produced?
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Old 06-14-2017, 10:20 PM
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DCWilson DCWilson is offline
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Before WWII, the six-inch .22/32s were produced between 1911 and 1940. They were known and even marketed under different names, but Heavy Frame Target is the most often seen label that can be applied to all of them.

There are both HFTs (six-inch barrels) and Kit Guns (four-inch barrels) known from the 530xxx serial number range. I believe it has been established that about 20,000 HFTs were made between 1911 and 1940. The Kit Gun was introduced in 1936, and about 1200-1300 (my estimate from statistical analysis of observed serial numbers) were manufactured between then and the onset of WWII. Remember that the serial number range in which all .22/32s are found is predominantly made up of .32 revolvers. All .22/32 revolvers have adjustable sights. Very few .32 HE revolvers have adjustable sights (probably about 2000 tops beginning in 1903 and running to roughly 1940.) The vast majority of this serial number sequence is composed of fixed sight .32 Hand Ejectors, of which about half of those manufactured after 1917 would have been marketed with square butts and sold under the name .32 Regulation Police.
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Old 06-14-2017, 10:28 PM
Muley Gil Muley Gil is offline
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Thanks for the information. Were the 22/32 HE, 22/32 Bekert or 22/32 Heavy Frame Target all produced in the S/N 530XXX production year? This gun does have a target front sight and an adjustable rear sight. Could it be a Heavy Frame Target and were many produced?
Those are the three names that are applied to the same revolver-the 6" target .22 Long Rifle I frame.

Think of the Ford Model T also being known as the Tin Lizzie.
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Old 06-15-2017, 12:34 AM
Hondo44 Hondo44 is offline
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The .22/32 HFT has been reported produced after WWII as well, but extremely rare. The .22/32 Kit gun was as well but not nearly as scarce.

The ".22/32 Heavy Frame Target" with 6" barrel 'heavy frame' means relative to the only other 22 Smith made at the time, the M frame Lady Smith. Often called the Bekeart Model because he was the San Francisco S&W dealer who instigated S&W to produce it as a special order beginning in 1911 on the .32 'I' sized frame. It became a regular production Item in 1915.

In 1930 it was renamed the ".22/32 Target" when the heavier framed K22 'K' sized frame was introduced. The chambers became recessed in 1935 at the same time the ".22/32 Kit Gun" with 4" barrel was introduced. Designated the "Model 35" in 1957 and introduced on the 'J' sized frame in 1960, the .22/32 Target M35 was discontinued in 1974 due to lack of sales.

They are very collectable and accurate revolvers and were produced for 42 years until 1953.



Original box labeling S&W 22 Long Rifle cartridge Heavy Frame:


Photos by Jim Fisher
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Old 06-15-2017, 07:25 AM
jmten jmten is offline
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Thanks all for the complete answers to my questions. It's very much appreciated.
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