I have this pistol S&W K22 serial #00189

Need information to identify correctly

Thanks

Hi from North Dakota

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John

Welcome! I will move your (first) post into the Revolvers 1896-1961 subforum.

Have a look at this post for more needed ID information:

To IDENTIFY your Gun >

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I own S&W K22, serial number 00189. I am 86 and can no longer shoot very well, I would love to give the K22 to my Daughter, but I would like as much information as possible to verify the true facts concerning this Model.

I am new to the forum and any help would be very good.

Welcome to the Forum Bill Pugh, can you post pictures? The serial number seems a little odd, is it from the butt of the gun? Is there also a K on the butt perhaps separated a little from the number?

Jeff
SWCA #1457

HI and Welcome Bill
Is the serial just K 189 and your just adding those 0''s?
If so it is an early post WWII one and very desirable.

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

Hi Bill,

As noted above, pictures will help tremendously.

The serial number doesn't match any known K-22 range. The pre-WWII guns started in the 600,000s, though after WWII they started again at K101. The K is part of the serial number. Do you have K189? That is a legit number.

If the butt (handle) reads 00189 with nothing else, part of the serial number has been removed through a refinish or change to the grip frame.

Below is my pre-WWII K-22 serial# 638578 made in 1931. Note the skinny barrel with no rib on top and S&W logo on this side which make it easy to identify as pre-WWII.



Below is a very early postwar K-22 (not mine). If you're not able to post pictures, which does your gun look like?

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Psalm 27:2

Bill, welcome to the forum from Massachusetts, the home of Smith and Wesson.

I don't think that is a correct serial number. If you are reading it from the butt of the gun, you may be holding the gun the wrong way and perhaps the real number read backwards is 68100. There is still the possibility that there is a K in the serial number as many times it is separated from the numeric portion by a large space but is still part of the legal serial number. This same number should be found on the face of the cylinder when the gun is opened and it is much harder to read incorrectly as the numbers read left to right in a clockwise direction.

If my thoughts are incorrect and the gun really does start with 00 then I think that it would be a "club gun" but I am not knowledgeable about them but have never seen one with 2 0's at the beginning, only one 0.

If you could supply a photograph of the gun butt we could probably solve this for you.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass, Bill!

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

The postwar K-22s had a SN beginning with the letter K, starting around early 1947. 68100(0?)would be a pre-war K-22, probably from late 1939- early 1940. SN 681165 is a K-22 which shipped in 1/40.

A few good pictures (include the rear sight) would be most valuable in making a full determination as to exactly what you have, as we need more information to do that.

Welcome to the S&W Forum... you will be amazed at the kind of information you can get here! As others have stated, any kind of pictures showing key features will save you time and effort trying to describe what you have and waiting for further questions!

If the bottom of the grip strap (the "butt") shows it would be the very best place to get the serial number... some grips cover that up so we get it from other places, but that's the legal definition of the serial number for any Smith revolver... the one on the grip frame.

Details about barrel configuration, sight style, etc will also make it possible to get a good read on the age and variation of your revolver. As a fellow "seasoned citizen" I commend your efforts to not only pass this nice gift to your Daughter but to let her know its significance as well so future generations can appreciate it as well.

Regards,
Green Frog

Hah! Hadn't thought about reading it backwards. 681000 would make sense.

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Psalm 27:2

Just a thought... if the number is 68100, could it be a pre-War HFT with the numbers on the front of the grip frame?

Froggie

No, the HFT's start with the Bekeart era guns starting at 138226 and go to around 534XXX prewar.

My guess is that this gun is K 68100 which would place it in 1948.

Unfortunately without a photo of the butt we are merely guessing.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Aaaaannnd...gone.

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No life story has happy end.

Shame. My guess is he figured out the serial # with our help and has no desire to learn how to post pics.

I know I've joined forums to fix problems or find info, got what I wanted in 1-2 posts, and never went back

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Psalm 27:2