Can you help me find the age/production year for a 38 S&W Special CTG I just bought on an auction?
It has a 6” barrel and the weapon number is 18054.

Another question; with it came a box of 38 SPL ammunition in WADCUTTER.
Can you see any good reason for using WADCUTTER in this revolver instead for FMJ or LRN ammunition?

Attached Images

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Take a minute and read this-
Sticky: To IDENTIFY your Gun >


You probably got #18054 from behind the yoke.
If so, that is NOT the serial number.


The serial number starts with a K.
You can read it off the bottom of the butt if you pull the grips, and it should also be on the bottom of the barrel and back of the cylinder.
For now, with the bright blue on a five screw, I'll guess the number is above K250,000, putting the gun in 1955-56.


CTG stands for "Cartridge" and has nothing to do with the model of the gun beyond naming the 38 Special Cartridge.


Wadcutters are quite accurate and cut clean holes in paper targets, making them easier to score.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Thank you for a quick reply. I got the “number” from the registration. Thus I expected this to be the right number. Does this mean that there can be more revolvers with the same “number”, if this is the only number registered?
I pulled off the grips and found, as you wrote, a number starting with K and above 250,000; It is K 255867
Does this still place it in 1955-56?
Thanks in advance!
Best regards
Sauerman

K 255867 is likely 1955, maybe 56.


If it has 18054 behind the yoke, that is just an assembly number put on the frame and the yoke to keep them together after being fitted. That assembly number was possibly/probably reused at some point in time, maybe multiple times, but each gun would have a different serial number and could quite likely be different models.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Thanks a lot for your help.
Best regards
Sauerman

The closest on my list to K255867 is K2554xx which shipped in 4/56 so yours likely shipped within a month or two of that. It is in the 1955 manufacturing SN range.

Welcome to the forum.

As the big Gorilla told you the number you supplied is an assembly number that is only used by the factory to get fitted parts back to the right gun once it is disassembled and sent off to be finished.

Many sellers that are not familiar with S&W's and especially when target stocks cover the butt where the serial number is found, often use the assembly number by mistake. I would definitely take this gun back to where you bought it and have them correct their records. You certainly don't want to have any issues down the road or if you ever decide to sell.

I also can't tell from your photo but a 1955 gun would have a diamond around the stock screws. This is the norm up to about 1968.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Thanks for the additional information DWalt and JSR III. It is much appreciated.
I will contact the registration office tomorrow to straighten this out.

Best regards
Sauerman

Registration office?

It's a pretty common mistake that FFLs make. Colt revolvers and more recent S&W revolvers have the serial number on the frame where you open the yoke/crane.

Waveski and jmace57,
The OP is not in the US of A. He's in Denmark.

Sauerman,
Let me add a hearty welcome to the S&W Forum. The number problem you have encountered is not unusual in this country where the S&W revolvers are probably a lot more common than there in Denmark, so it is not surprising that the agent who recorded the "serial number" would read the obvious one instead of the hidden one under the gun's grips. I hope the records correction will go smoothly for you.

Meanwhile, the gun you have is highly regarded by many as one of the finest revolvers S&W ever made. Called the K-38 Masterpiece, it was built specifically for target shooters and can be expected to be quite accurate and to have a very smooth action and a "good" trigger. As someone already mentioned, those grips (also referred to by S&W as "stocks") appear to have been added sometime after the gun was first built and sold, a not-uncommon upgrade that a target shooter would have often done. Without the original box or a factory letter, it would be unlikely that you would be able to determine how it was originally equipped, but in its current configuration it is a very desirable gun. I don't know anything about gun prices in Denmark of course, but it looks like you got a nice one regardless of the auction price.

As for ammo, if you do limit yourself to lead wadcutter target loads, it is unlikely you will ever wear this gun out, no matter how much you shoot it. If you use more powerful loads with semi-wadcutter or round nose lead or even jacketed bullets, the wear and tear will be somewhat greater, but it is doubtful you will shoot it enough to really damage it significantly. The gun is well built and designed to handle "service" loads as would be issued to police and military personnel.

I hope you will enjoy your new acquisition and will come back and "visit" with us here with reports of shooting your S&W K-38 in Denmark.

Regards from Virginia in the USA,
Green Frog

@ Waveski; As I live in Denmark all handguns and rifles must be registered by the Police or if - as I am - you are a member of a sport shooting club by a centralized registration office. Quite strict rules, but that is the way it is.

@Green Frog; Thanks a lot for the information you provided about my latest acquisition. That was very informative and I did not know any of it on beforehand. Now I really look forward to test the revolver next week on the shooting range.
I paid approx. 390 USD for this piece, which I find a good purchase, It was estimated to have a value of approx. 800 USD, with the current prices in Denmark.
For sure I will follow this forum, as I can see there is a lot of valuable information to be found in here.

Best regards from Denmark
Sauerman

Welcome to the Forum, Sauerman.

That was an excellent price for a K38. The 4" was called the Combat Masterpiece and was quite popular as a police service revolver before the .357 Magnum came to be.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Sauerman , If I understand correctly , your revolver is what was later called the Model 14 , formerly "Target Masterpiece. It is basically a model 15 with a 6" barrel and a Patridge front sight.

As coincidence would have it , I just returned from a shooting session with my 14. I was 5 for 6 on a 4" hanging steel target offhand sa at 25 yards ; good enough to make me smile. You are in for a very rewarding shooting experience with that revolver. Mild loaded 148 grain wadcutters mare a wonderful rouund for your target .38 special ; wish I had a stockpile of them.

Let us know about your shooting experience with that Smith , and Welcome.