I went to the range today to fire Dad's K-22 made in '56 like me, and his K-38 made in 1947 or so. My Dad shot NRA Bullseye matchs with the Sheriffs Office.

Both were shot at 25 yards over a solid sandbag rest. Both are 6" barrel.

The K-22 shot CCI 0032 standard velocity ammo and the K-38 shot my reloads....5 gr. Unique/ 158 SWC.

Guess after all of these years these still do the job and then some.....

Wish Dad could have been with me....then again whose to say he wasn't.

Thanks Dad....whereas I miss you dearly, your Smiths don't miss at all!

Randy

Attached Images

	K-22 & K-38 S&W targets August 8 2018 003.jpg (61.1 KB, 240 views)
	K-22 & K-38 S&W targets August 8 2018 004.jpg (63.9 KB, 232 views)
	K-22 & K-38 S&W targets August 8 2018 005.jpg (123.1 KB, 196 views)

Great shooting. My Dads K38 was purchased by a fellow Marine in 1957, who never paid him for it, or I would have it now. I did get his 1949 Target Woodsman though. Those are two keepers for sure. Big Larry

Beautiful old guns. Your dad would be proud! I hope you continue to enjoy them!

In about 1979 or 80 I was wheeling and dealing some High Standard stuff from my collection. At a gun show in Norfolk, VA I had a fellow show up that wanted one of my guns real bad and offered me a K-38 with a set of later, target type grips. He assured me he had the originals and would send them to me (yeah right!) but I priced the deal as if I knew I'd never see them.Well, a week later the postman brought me a package and sure enough, the matching number grips were all mine! I "made the mistake" of showing it to my dad and he traded me out of it. Nearly forty years later as his health was failing, Dad gave it back to me. It was still at least a 95% gun

In the meanwhile, I had purchased an all matching K-22 at a local auction. It was/is a lower condition, perhaps 85% or so, but surprise of surprises, it and the K-38 both date to 1948, the year I was conceived (OK, so they're not birth year guns, but I still like them!)

I wanted a matching K-32, but it doesn't look like that will happen, so the Model 16-3 homage was born, but that's another story. I'm sure Dad would have approved, and it's a good thing he talked me out of the K-38 all those years ago, 'cause I was young and stupid and would have long since swapped it off before I even knew how cool it was.

Froggie

Nice shooting and that's why he bought those Smiths , and I like to think they're looking over our shoulders thinking that's my kid !

Your S&W revolvers will in all likelihood still be giving reliable service when you grandchildren have them. These are magnificent firearms that have stood the test of time!
Jim

Great guns ,great story.I like older revolvers that have a history but my favorite guns are the ones from my dad and granddad .Grandad had a Remington 740 woods master he bought new in the late 50s man o man was he proud of that rifle ,every deer season just to make him feel real good dad would try to buy it off him Dad would say "old man you should sell that gun to someone who can shoot it"grandad would say something along the lines of that rifle will lay 5 rifle balls out there as fast as you can pull the trigger I dont need to be able to shoot good and laugh out loud. Dad use to tear up everytime he took it out of his gun cabinet to wipe it down ( remember when you could keep guns in a gun cabinet on display) now they are gone and I am the one that tears up .

I hear ya.

Awesome story. I too was "made in 1956" and love shooting revolvers from that era including my M17 which I'm gonna shoot this weekend. My dad, who passed away 20 years ago, was a bird hunter. My brother and I both have side by sides that he used to hunt with. His WWII era service rifle was recently passed down to my son and we all get together a few times a year to run a box of shells through it with delight. Enjoy those beautiful revolvers!

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Pass it on.
Mark

Those are both great guns; thanks for letting us see them.

While there were a few K-38s in existence in 1947 for testing and marketing purposes, actual commercial distribution of these guns began in February 1948. The four- line address block on yours means it was assembled after April in that year. The target hammer on yours was probably not available until late 1949 at the earliest (and likelier, early 1950), so if it is original to the revolver the gun is a little younger than you thought it was. If the gun's serial number is below K75000 (late '49, roughly), it probably shipped with one of the new-profile standard K-frame hammers (AKA the "sculpted" hammer) in 1948 or 1949. The target hammer would have been dropped in later.

If the gun's serial number lies between K80000 and K100000, it is likely to have shipped in the course of 1950. As always, a solid and reliable answer will require a letter from the S&W Historical Foundation.

My miserable eyes can't see the barrel profile well enough to tell if that is a wide-rib or narrow-rib barrel (also called "heavy" and "light" (or sometimes "standard"). If it's a heavy barrel, it is close to impossible for the gun to have shipped before 1950.

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David Wilson

Great info David!

Here is what I can tell you about the K-38....SN K82696.

I was always told that Mom bought this for a wedding gift for Dad in August of 1949.

The target hammer and trigger could have been changed out at some point in time as Dad shot on the Sheriff's Office Pistol Team when he was a deputy.

The grips are numbered to the gun and the rib measures .617 across the entire width and .276 on the ribbed section only. The barrel O.D. is .640 at the muzzle.

If the side plates were ever removed it was done with properly fitted screwdrivers as I cannot see any tool markings from removal of screws.

Randy

That sounds like a wide rib variety to me, and the serial number is appropriate for a heavy barrel variety with the optional target hammer installed. I have a wide-rib K-38 with target hammer K78197. The gun might have had its target hammer from day one, but the history letter doesn't mention it. I have to acknowledge that the hammer on mine might be a later addition. My gun was shipped in January 1950.

I found references to K-38s shipping in January, February and March of 1950 with serial numbers in the K81xxx, K82xxx and K83xxx ranges. I'm thinking your Dad's gun probably shipped in early 1950 as well.

That's not necessarily inconsistent with the wedding gift tradition you mentioned. An order could easily have been placed in 1949 that wasn't fulfilled until models with the desired specs were available for sale. In 1949 S&W was being lobbied by target shooters to produce K-38 revolvers with matching loaded weights in all three Masterpiece calibers. I have no doubt your Dad would have been familiar with the S&W product line as well as the upcoming models that target pistol competitors were hoping to see any day.

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David Wilson

Back in 1968 I was about to graduate pharmacy school and bought a new K 38 at a local k mart. A couple of years later I was a pharmacy officer in the USAF and was talking guns with some of the med techs in our clinic and one of the NCO's had an interest in a pawn shop and brought in a K 22, new condition but no box and I grabbed it. I still have both. A year or so later at another base I acquired a couple of pair of the larger target grips which the still wear. I looked a couple of weeks ago and still have the original grips. I suppose my son or grandson will someday get them.

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Jeff

Very nice revolvers. I was born in 56 too and have a K22 from that year. A real pleasure to shoot. I’ll wager you Dad was there and is braggin’ to St Pete now!

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I invest in Lead and Copper!

I have a 1951 K38 heavy, a 1957 K38 heavy, and a 1953 Combat Masterpiece K38, all have target hammers and all letter to that fact. Yeah, sometime S&W may have left the hammers off the ledgers, but I own 3 for 3 when they were special order. The CM, also letters with walnut target stocks and they are the unrelieved type.
Big Larry