Hello, I purchased this old K22 5 screw because I love .22 L/R and the price was right ($460) due to the wear and would like help dating and obtaining any other information, such as is the proper name for this pre 17 a K22 ? I am looking on page 398 of the 3rd edition of the S&W Standard Catalog and if that is the correct place for this firearm my best guess for the serial # K 48095 would be 1948. Can someone please confirm this for me and if I am mistaken please add the correct pg. number if you own this edition. I own some other .22 L/R, 34, 18, 617 and all post 1957 so this is my first K22 and I am glad I purchased it on a whim because it was in a condition that fit my budget and actually looks better than the photos I purchased it from. Unfortunately after removing the cylinder to clean it up it now binds just prior to locking up so I am trying to determine what I did to cause it to not fit upon reassembly. That is for another day. Thanks for your input.

Attached Images

	S&W MK 22 .22 LR SN K48095 002.jpg (64.4 KB, 138 views)
	S&W MK 22 .22 LR SN K48095 005.jpg (68.3 KB, 114 views)
	S&W MK 22 .22 LR SN K48095 008.jpg (69.9 KB, 137 views)
	S&W MK 22 .22 LR SN K48095 013.jpg (69.7 KB, 119 views)
	S&W MK 22 .22 LR SN K48095 016.jpg (60.2 KB, 97 views)

'48-49 would be my best guess. I have a K38 with a very close ser#.

1948 was my guess also.

While members have posted that K-22 alone narrows it down to your gun's time period .22 Outdoorsman boxes were imprinted K-22. When I chose my screen name I thought I was including all K-frame .22 LRs and I cling to that definition. Pre-Model has no definition so I'd call it a 194x K-22 or an early post war K-22. That way every one knows what you are talking about.

If the front of the cylinder is dragging on the back of the barrel check your cleaning area for end shake washers that might have fallen out unnoticed.

K1722 shipped in May of 1947 and is a .22 and K23233 shipped in May of 1948 and is .38.

Using very unscientific calculations they were using up around 1800 serial numbers a month. At that rate it would have taken about a year to 13 months to get up to 48059 or around May or June of 1949.

Again, this is very unscientific and production could have increased or slowed dramatically so this is just a WAG.

If other members have other serial numbers to add to the mix, we may be able to get closer.

Make sure that if you unscrewed the cylinder that you got it back tight again.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Closest I can get to yours is K53853. It shipped 11/48. K18806 shipped in March 1948. Pretty good idea yours shipped in 1948.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Nice score. Also make sure the extractor rod is screwed in all the way.

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Ken

Nice find at a good price. What happened to the one stamped 253432? I think the rules state you can only have one K-22 Masterpiece .

Agree the most likely cause of cylinder binding is not having the fitted yoke retention screw (the forwardmost one on the sideplate) in the correct position.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

There you go, so much for trying to guess shipping dates using math. K 85403 shipped in June of 1950 so based on the difference between 53853 and 85403 they were up to about 4500 serial numbers a month and this assumes that all numbers were used and no blocks of numbers were shipped.

So at more than double the production cited in my first attempt, it now looks more like October of 1948. Obviously, only the S&W Historian can give you the exact shipping date but I think unless it is one of the many flukes, 10/48 is looking good.

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James Redfield
LM #497

My birth year K22 and K38 were shipped in 1948. K44863 shipped in October 1948 and K61189 shipped in December 1948, so guess where yours falls.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

"K 48095 would be 1948"

Very likely true. Closest on my list is K504xx which shipped in 10/48. The latest on my list shipping in 1948 is K573xx which shipped in late November. Undoubtedly there are higher SNs which were shipped in 1948. See immediately above.

In the picture i'm looking at it looks like the crane retention screw is missing.

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Old Age Ain't For Sissies

Nineteen Forty Eight must have been a heck of a year for K-22s. I commented recently on another thread how many I've read about turning up lately. Of all the guns I've owned and still owned, the one that seems to keep finding its way back into my hand is my '48 vintage K-22. I'm going to guess yours has the old light barrel and narrow rib, giving it a nice, natural feeling balance without any extra weight. Yep, the "Greatest Generation" knew how to get real quality when they bought their early post-war guns. I'm glad one made its way down to me!

Froggie

If you only removed the one screw to clean the cylinder, switching screws is unlikely. But if the previous owner pulled more and switched them he may have left it loose and when you tightened it you discovered his error. Loosen the screw half a turn, if it helps switching the two lower screws may fix the problem.

...I was gonna tell him he had a screw loose...

...but then I thought better of it...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

It surely does... so much for binding on the screw...

And I can add K45302 shipped in October 1948 and K56876 shipped on November 22, 1948.

Using James's ship date calculator I think we can safely predict K48095 shipped on Friday October 29th 1948 at 2:05 pm . . . or not!

Russ

"And I can add ... K56876 shipped on November 22, 1948."
On my list is another having a SN about 600 higher which shipped on the exact same date. Probably in the same shipment.

My very first K-22 also shipped in 1948, but it is long gone. It was a beauty, ANIB. I no longer have its SN. From my list, it seems that around 50,000 K-series revolvers shipped in 1948.

Wow, Thanks to all the above for the input, as usual the Forum is a treasure trove of information that I have come to expect. Regards

While it should have been my first check it got overlooked due to me getting obsessed about loosening up some crud that may have been holding it back from closing. As soon as I read your response I went right in and knew it would make the difference so thanks again.

Attached Images

	Part 2 K 22 .22 LR DOB 1948 003.jpg (69.8 KB, 11 views)
	Part 2 K 22 .22 LR DOB 1948 010.jpg (72.0 KB, 11 views)
	Part 2 K 22 .22 LR DOB 1948 011.jpg (89.4 KB, 14 views)

Thanks for asking, I hope to have it in a few days. I will get it cleaned up and post it. I am always amazed how much you can learn on this site. I seem to be on a roll with theses K 22's ,.I am pretty sure you can't have to many. Regards