This is the 1947 vintage K-22 I got from emptypockets. I like it, a lot. It shoots better than I can. This is 30 rounds this afternoon at Bare Arms Shooting Range, single action at 10 yards. My hands are shaky these days, so I'm not a bit unhappy with the result.
The sights were square on the bullseye on target. All deviation is my 70 year old hand shake. If they were steady, it would have been a boring shoot - one big hole on the "X". Ammo was Federal HV 40gr RN.
Didn't know until today that these 22 Target Masterpiece (?) had flat trigger faces and frame mounted firing pins. Was S&W the first to use the frame mounted firing pin?
Got the sideplate off to do some deep cleaning. It is very dirty along all the moving parts. Obviously, previous owner(s) cleaned the cylinder, bore, and outside, but never got inside to get the inevidable crud buildup from 22LR rounds. After 74 years, not surprised the DA hung up occasaionally.
Any tips on easily removing/reseating the trigger return block and trigger? Lots of tiny springs in there - don't want to launch something across the kitchen and never see it again.
One other question. What does the 5th screw on the front of the trigger guard do? It's not holding the yoke. My 1950 M&P 38 is five screw, but I've only had the side plate off to look, and it hasn't needed a deep clean inside. It has a very smooth SA and DA, so I didn't touch it, just lubed it.
Got the sideplate off to do some deep cleaning. It is very dirty along all the moving parts. Obviously, previous owner(s) cleaned the cylinder, bore, and outside, but never got inside to get the inevidable crud buildup from 22LR rounds. After 74 years, not surprised the DA hung up occasaionally.
Any tips on easily removing/reseating the trigger return block and trigger? Lots of tiny springs in there - don't want to launch something across the kitchen and never see it again.
One other question. What does the 5th screw on the front of the trigger guard do? It's not holding the yoke. My 1950 M&P 38 is five screw, but I've only had the side plate off to look, and it hasn't needed a deep clean inside. It has a very smooth SA and DA, so I didn't touch it, just lubed it.
I can't recommend this tool highly enough for removing and reinstalling the rebound slide in S&W revolvers:
Do yourself a favor and grab one...it will make the job so much easier and less prone to scratching of either yourself or the gun!
Once you have that, check out a disassembly video on Youtube or something. if you've never done it before. It'll save you some hassle. It's a pretty easy process.
The screw in front of the trigger guard is the stop pin for the cylinder stop spring. Unscrew it and you can pull out that spring to take tension off the stop.
This screw was deleted in the early 60s when S&W changed to the "3-screw" configuration and that carries on to today. Now, instead of putting in the spring from the outside then capping with the screw, it is fed in from the inside, thus saving some costs of the screw and the labor to drill and tap.
Last edited by smithra_66; 04-06-2021 at 06:38 PM.
smithra_66, thank you! Ordered one before I posted this. This is going to save me a world of grief, and make deep disassembly of my stable of older and newer S&W revovers so much easier.
I use a phillips head screw driver to depress the trigger return spring. Works removing and re-installing. BTW, the screw in front of the trigger guard is normally referred to as the 4th screw. The one at top by the hammer is the 5th screw.
Craftsmanship at its finest. Those grips are nothing but "Splendid."
The left stock has been modified from the original target stock configuration. The 1946 through 1948 guns would not have come with Target stocks, since they did not start production of those stocks until quite late in 1948. The first sets were non-relieved stocks, basically meaning that you could mark them up with the extractor star of the brass when emptying the chambers. That is probably why someone modified the top of that left stock. The company later put relieved "football" cut-out in the top of the stock starting around 1955. My 1948 K-22 came with unrelieved target stocks, but would have only left the factory with Magna stocks as shown below along with the Targets.
The K22 has a pair of not-quite-right fitting targets, old enough looking to be in the 50's (maybe) but not numbered inside. Temporarily I put my 1950 M&P's numbered magnas on it. They fit like they were made for it. Interestingly, the oversize targets fit the M&P perfectly. Got a set of black walnut targets coming from eBay - probably Altamonts, but they are "purty". Should look great on the K22, and correct to my area - lots of black walnut trees, even in my downtown neighborhood.
Interesting Thread...learn something new every day
Even after receiving a Factory Letter, and a copy of the original invoice, I still couldn't make my K 22 Masterpiece jive with current thinking and engineering changes.
So...mine is s/n K 905, all numbers match everywhere, including Magna stocks. I had always figured 1946 because of the low 3 digit serial number. Factory Letter says it shipped August 12, 1947, yet it has the LERK feature which should have stopped almost a year earlier.
Another "interesting" fact that showed up on the invoice is that the customers original order is dated July 30, 1940, yet it was only entered on factory book on July 31, 1947...& years later! WWII interruption, typo,??? probably won't ever know, but also the invoice is clearly described as "K 22 1946 Masterpiece" and indeed...it seems to have all the features of a 1946 manufactured piece.
Typical example of "further mystery" that sometimes shows up when obtaining a Factory Letter.
Reviewing the notes I have collected over the years state that change took place in 1947.
Barrel ejector rod knobs ended by 1947. The barrel shape knob was eliminated by a change order to a knurled end of the rod on October 4, 1946.
A little clarity might be helpful here.
The change order came down on October 4, 1946. It applied first to the M&P, which was in full production. The lowest number I've found is in the S874xxx range, shipping in February, 1947. The first K-22 was assembled in August, 1946, but production didn't begin until December of that year. So, you wouldn't expect to see many K-22s with the barrel shaped knob, which proves to be the case. The vast majority of early K-22 Masterpiece revolvers had the knurled end of the rod.
Quote:
Originally Posted by weatherby
It does still have the one line address though.
I could be off a bit on this but thought it was the same time frame it changed to the 4 line.
The four line address shows up in the Spring of 1948, roughly a year later. I once owned a K-22 Masterpiece with the one-line address that Roy said shipped in late 1949 (I forget the month). Clearly that was a one-off; it apparently sat in the vault for a long time.
See my Post #16, which I was writing when you posted and went up a few minutes after yours.
Production of the K-22 started, as I stated above, in December, 1946. By mid-January, fewer than 50 had been assembled. So shipping probably started in January or February. Hence, it isn't surprising that yours went out the door in August, even with that low number. As we all know, shipping never corresponded to serial numbers or assembly date.
As a side note, the Magna stocks on your gun are typical of the type used in 1947. The earlier style retaining washers were all gone in early 1946.
Cleaned the insides up today, and DA and SA are too smooth. Put the Black Walnut Altamonts on it, which fit perfectly, because, why not. This is a classic target shooter. I expect I'm going to shoot a lot of my 22LR accumulation through it in the future.
I have read that only 6 k22's shipped in 1946, a couple of those to family members. K208 shipped Feb 47, K956 shipped March 47 ... a birth month/yr gun for me.
Mine is #3251, so whenever it was built, it probably shipped in 1947. Got to wait a bit before getting a letter on it.
Neighbor crashed into my car early Friday morning, and totaled it, parked on the street. Texting and speeding, I think. Cars are still more expensive than guns right now. Got to wait on her insurance, and mine, and juggle my money while I shop for a new car.
To answer your question about the frame mounted firing pin - with the exception of the .22 Hand Ejector (Ladysmith), all Hand Ejector rimfire revolvers have this feature.
"One other question. What does the 5th screw on the front of the trigger guard do? It's not holding the yoke."
It is the cylinder stop screw, used in K frames from 1905 to about 1961. The forward vertical sideplate screw is for "yoke retention".
1947 K-22
My wife may debate that fact.
Nice revolvers BTW.
Linear Mode
