I've been thinking long and hard on these possible purchases. I'm asking for your opinion. Due to limited funds I can only buy one of the two. The first package is a (1) Post War 38/44 Outdoorsman, blue 6" Mint in its original gold box. (2) A Post War 38/44 Heavy Duty 4" Nickel Mint in its original gold box. I can but both for $1850.00. The other offer is a K32 6" Blue Mint in its original Gold box for $1950.00. I'd ask my wife for a loan to buy all 3 but her gun money just went for a Savage 899 factory engraved. Needless to say her gun funds are pretty much tapped out.

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Don Mundell

If it were me, I would buy the K-32.

Bill

You know the answer. Buy all three. But if not, I would go for the k32

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Charlie

I guess I am a contratian. I would go for the 38/44 package.

No brainer. K32. Big Larry

I'd want all three but the price of the K32, and the fact I don't have one, would make that the choice. I'd move fast though as I haven't seen one for that price in a long time. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I would buy what I liked the most, but that is just me. Thankfully I am married to a gal(she is younger so I do call her a gal) who tells, buy what she would like the most...what?? Where do I come in, she just says, you don't. LOL.

When Mama ain't happy nobody is happy, but glad she is into firearms.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

K32 gets my vote. Good luck with your dilemma.

Absolutely the K-32. No doubt at all.

Don, why are you interesting in those guns in the first place? If it is to fill gaps in your collection, which model do you need the most. If it is for investment purposes, return on purchase price, I think the K-32 is the right answer since it has appreciated way beyond the 38 Outdoorsman and will probably continue to outpace the 38s. If one looks at rarity, I think that nice K32s are few and far between and as time goes by, less likely to find one. If it to accumulate more S&Ws in general, two is better than one. If another reason, let us know since depending on why you are looking, opinions may vary.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Don - those are screaming deals on both packages - probably half price!!! Somewhere scrounge up the funds and get both. I’m a fool for both the Masterpieces and the 38/44. But I would probably lean towards the 38/44 package because I love shooting the .38 specials in large N Frame revolvers. Good luck in your decisions.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Gary
I like the K32. I have a K22 and K38 both LNIB's. According to Roy's letter they were sold as companion guns. They are both pre-model guns, but they are in blue boxes with Target stocks, so a display wouldn't be proper. That means I'd have to find a K22 & K38 in gold boxes. The thing about the 38/44's is they are both stunning and you don't see them in that condition often.

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Don Mundell

I would buy all three.

Enjoy them for a while then sell the k32 for enough to own the other two outright.

The nickle 38/44 does seem the hardest to find of the three.

Don you have "stuff" if worth it to you Raise some funds

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

I’m a 38/44 junkie so my money would go that way.

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Tim
SWCA #2697

I'd find a way to buy all three if thats what I wanted. But noone knows whats in the safe, including the wife and I always get to the mail first.LOL

Well, it is a shame you cannot swing it all. I understand about value, and collectibility, but I do not like 32 cal guns. I am also not real hot on the 38HD, although you do say mint, and nickel. I guess I would go with the mint 38 package.

Another way of looking at this is the 38/44 alone is worth the price of the package. You could sell that and have a mint 38/44 HD for free. Although of the 2 I like the OD the best.

Tough decision. There probably is no right or wrong at those prices and condition

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Now there’s a First World problem if I’ve ever seen one ...

But seriously, if none of the two options speaks to you strongly enough to make the choice clear, so that you felt compelled to get input here, go with the better investment; as others have pointed out, that’s probably the K-32.

Personally, the K-guns just do not interest me, and I have never bought a gun for its potential increase in value, so buying the two 38/44’s would be a no-brainer.

I've never had a problem with my wife. She has almost as many Savage and Stevens rifles and shotguns as I have S&W's. Her dad worked at Savage Arms for 45 years. Needless to say we a gun people.

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Don Mundell

K 32 models seem to show up more often that in the box 38/44 models.
2 for the price of 1 ??

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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135

No choice for me. I would snap up the K32 in a New York minute

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SWCA LM#2190 SWHF#414

Buy everything. You don't see guns like that, in boxes in that condition at those prices hardly ever.

Sell something that's been sitting in the safe or in the corner if you need $$ or go borrow 2K.
If you have a home with equity in it, borrow or take a home equity line of credit against it. The interest on that is usually pretty low.
I wouldn't use a credit card!!!

I would complete the trifacta, I would buy the K32 first and work on funding the purchase of the 38/44s second if you want to go in that direction of collecting. Just because they are nice condition, that is not necessarily the best reason to buy, been there done that.

You can always look for the gold boxed K32 and sell what you bought for a nice profit down the road. For now they would display very nicely. Your K32 purchase would help you keep up with the rising values of that model, so purchasing an earlier example will be simple. I think K32 will outstrip 38/44 in value increase.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

N frames all the way in my book.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

K32 and I am a big bore guy. But, have found I have a soft spot for 32s

I vote K-32.

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Where do we go from here?

You buy the 32. I’ll buy the N frames. When you raise the nut, you buy the N frames From me for $1850 + shipping + ffl fee. Where do you find guns like these at prices like this? Grab em. Dave
Ps. You don’t raise the money, I keep em and am thrilled.

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Illegitimi non carborundum

Don, here's my suggestion.

You buy the 38/44 package and let me buy the K32. Win-win situation.

Curl

Old Injun trick: Flip a coin... while the coin is in the air you'll think "I hope it lands on...." & you know what you really want. PS: Ignore how the coin really landed, it might confuse things.

That 38 OD is a one-of-a-kind!
Does anybody see why?

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I've had an inordinate amount of fun with my nickel prewar HD. So, I'd go for the N frame combo plate over the K 32.

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SWCA #3356, SWHF#611

Problem solved by a generous offer!

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Mike H

Weren't most of the ODs 6-1/2"? And only a couple thousand made in any length?

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Easy solution. Sell me one of your club guns and buy all three.

Bob

The biggest problem is that these are all "mint" guns, which means that they are safe queens that you can only look at, not shoot. Which one(s) do you want to look at the most?

Problem solved!

Bob
I already have a 38/44 OD. It was once owned by Ray Cheely. Right now, I'm leaning toward the K32.

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Don Mundell

Don, the K-32 all day long!
Chuck

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SWCA1517 SWHF256
Rangers LTW!

I'm way back earlier in the described transaction! Hung up on wife with "gun money". Likely I'd be focused on me with "body armor"! :

But returning to "seriously"... I've never been super-affected with the financial side gun buying. The .32, with its rarity, perhaps the better "investment". I frankly don't know. I do know that the "S", aka "N" frames traditionally center-interest and coincidentally where S&W investments presently lie. I'd do that 38/44 package and not look back.
My "investments" in guns always followed my prevailing interests. Never "driven" by them! "Appreciable value" in particular guns lusted over, more a pesky reality/nuisance in budgeting according to acquisition desires & capabilities. Such rather than than 'booking' projected acquisitions for max profit potential.
Now half of century collecting, regrets short list focused over "parted with". "Career" investments, mostly funding "grad school" the 'ebb tide' of my collecting; yet with lifetime happy career results!
For me, disposable income, a medium for achieving the things in life that matter! Not the objective of 'in the business' profit motives controlling my collecting!
Many of us with collections; property needing to be recognized and dealt with as resulting "investments". Not to ignore. Just "happy fallout" of wild collecting era ride!
Just my take!
Best & Be Safe!
John

Well??? What did you do?

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

This is what short term loans from the Credit Unions are for.
SWCA 892

Doesn't anyone want to know what Lee is referring to? I'm sure not knowledgeable enough to know!

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Dennis
SWCA #2409, SWHF #353

There were only a few thousand post war Outdoorsman made and the standard barrel was 6-1/2...so if it is truly a 6 inch, it could be very unusual

Robert

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Don

Do any of the three have anything interesting in their provenance? Perhaps not, if they are all mint. Other than mint, which only takes one word to describe, guns with interesting history get long writeups, and that is worth a lot. It also attracts a lot of buyers in auctions. Look at McGiverns guns - nothing even close to mint, but they sell for a lot. Much more than a K32, for example.

Mint is just mint - at some point, the number of mint collectors gets a bit rarified. It reminds me of the Cheely Garbrecht era. The two of them really drove the market for mint guns. Of course, they had deep pockets, as well.

Regards, Mike Priwer

I own no 32 caliber guns, but as a collector/shooter I'd buy the K-32. There seems to be a lot more 38/44's around.

Based on your choice of a wife......I'll trust you on this one!