Guys:

When my shooting pal Turnerriver began outshooting me with his Colt .38 Officers Model I put the .38 2" and 4" Smiths down and started looking for a 6" barreled shooter. (Of course, as we all know the problem is always the gun, never the shooter, right?)

At a show a few months ago the biggest gun dealer in FL was there with his usual 40 table setup and swarms of new guns which are of no interest to me. However, he also takes trades so I have learned to see what he has on his used gun table. On this occasion I noticed a Smith with a 6" barrel. Picking up the tag I read that it was a .38 Special Model 15. Processing that bit of confusion I opened it up and realized that this was in fact a 5 screw pre-Model 14 K-38. It had on some kind of really ugly rubber grips. It was also terribly dirty, had a rather muddy looking bore but the finish was still nice with only some very minor cosmetic flaws. With a tagged price of $450 I started losing interest and was preparing to move on when the owner, Khalid, rolled up on his Segway. (Yes, he really rides one of those at the shows, as FL members here will confirm.) He knew me as a frequent gun show attendee and occasional buyer so he moved into "let's make a deal" mode. I pointed the error of the tag. He checked that out and confirmed my point. He then made me a deal that was impossible to turn down: $330 out the door. Done deal.

After getting it home I tossed those ugly grips and spent considerable time cleaning it up. It turned out rather well, I thought, with just enough finish wear to still be handsome but not so pretty that I had to worry about messing it up with a holster and knocking around in the range bag. The serial number of K104733 puts into the 1951 time frame, I think. It's found a home with me.

The next step was finding some suitable stocks. Many here have extolled the virtues of Patrick Grashorn's stag stocks. I had admired them and ordered a set. Patrick quickly provided me with a beautiful set of stocks that fit very well.

At the range I learned that it shot as well as I had hoped and I am now back in the game. Here are a couple of pics after I got it cleaned up.

The left side.



The right side. Just a little bit of muzzle wear on the blue.



The last step was to find the right holster for it. My pal Turnerriver solved that problem by providing me with a nice George Lawrence field holster, lined and with an extra long safety strap.




Now if my shooting takes a turn for the worse I will have no excuses. Even so, I am sure that if pressed I can come up with another reason to buy that next old K-frame Smith.....

Regards to all,
Charlie Flick
S&WCA #729
NRA Life
S&WHF Member

__________________
Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

Guys:

When my shooting pal Turnerriver began outshooting me with his Colt .38 Officers Model I put the .38 2" and 4" Smiths down and started looking for a 6" barreled shooter. (Of course, as we all know the problem is always the gun, never the shooter, right?)

At a show a few months ago the biggest gun dealer in FL was there with his usual 40 table setup and swarms of new guns which are of no interest to me. However, he also takes trades so I have learned to see what he has on his used gun table. On this occasion I noticed a Smith with a 6" barrel. Picking up the tag I read that it was a .38 Special Model 15. Processing that bit of confusion I opened it up and realized that this was in fact a 5 screw pre-Model 14 K-38. It had on some kind of really ugly rubber grips. It was also terribly dirty, had a rather muddy looking bore but the finish was still nice with only some very minor cosmetic flaws. With a tagged price of $450 I started losing interest and was preparing to move on when the owner, Khalid, rolled up on his Segway. (Yes, he really rides one of those at the shows, as FL members here will confirm.) He knew me as a frequent gun show attendee and occasional buyer so he moved into "let's make a deal" mode. I pointed the error of the tag. He checked that out and confirmed my point. He then made me a deal that was impossible to turn down: $330 out the door. Done deal.

After getting it home I tossed those ugly grips and spent considerable time cleaning it up. It turned out rather well, I thought, with just enough finish wear to still be handsome but not so pretty that I had to worry about messing it up with a holster and knocking around in the range bag. The serial number of K104733 puts into the 1951 time frame, I think. It's found a home with me.

The next step was finding some suitable stocks. Many here have extolled the virtues of Patrick Grashorn's stag stocks. I had admired them and ordered a set. Patrick quickly provided me with a beautiful set of stocks that fit very well.

At the range I learned that it shot as well as I had hoped and I am now back in the game. Here are a couple of pics after I got it cleaned up.

The left side.



The right side. Just a little bit of muzzle wear on the blue.



The last step was to find the right holster for it. My pal Turnerriver solved that problem by providing me with a nice George Lawrence field holster, lined and with an extra long safety strap.




Now if my shooting takes a turn for the worse I will have no excuses. Even so, I am sure that if pressed I can come up with another reason to buy that next old K-frame Smith.....

Regards to all,
Charlie Flick
S&WCA #729
NRA Life
S&WHF Member

__________________
Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

A real beauty! And a good deal, too.

My guess is that when you guys step up to the firing line, Ol' Turnerriver won't be able to take his eyes off that K-38 long enough to aquire a decent sight picture. Should shift the advantage in your favor Charlie.

Ya done well sir.

Mark

__________________
S&W Forum Member #721

Great looking K-frame Oguy, how did I miss that one?

I got Khalid big time one time. I was walking around with 27-2 with some issues and only had $350 in the gun. I spotted a 28 no dash with and S S/N 1958 in mint condition on his used table. The 28 had what he called faux ivory magna grips on it. I asked if he would like to trade, yup, he would trade me and pay the fees, plus $50 and new box of .357 Mags.
"Let's do it!"
When I got out to the parking lot in the sunlight, I discovered they were real ivory and sold them for $350 a month later, so I end up with a free gun, no fees, $50 bucks and a box of shells.
I never told him.

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Dick

charlie, i'm afraid you have entered into another phase of S&Ws. you will absolutely need a K-22 and possibly a K-32 if one comes along at the right price. enjoy it. i love all of mine. lee

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VFW, NRA, VVA, S&WCA 1758

Thanks for the nice comments, guys. Just got lucky on that one, I guess.

Dick, I liked your Khalid story too! I will say that he has always treated me very fairly on the few guns I have bought from him.

And, Lee, I have a couple of K-22s already but one can never have too many K-22s, or Smiths, right?

Regards,
Charlie

__________________
Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

Charlie

Looks like the narrow-rib ? With the fish-hook hammer, its a very nice gun.

Regards, Mike Priwer

Nice catch, Charlie.
I had a 14-1 that was a really sweet shooter but I rarely shoot my S&w's so I sold it to N-Frame (Chris) and he shot it a while.

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John

Charlie, you lucky dog you,
as the ol' sayin' goes 'The sun don't shine on the same dogs a** everyday', I got a turn comin' to be lucky sometime too!

Anyway, good for you, she's a looker.

Su Amigo,
Dave

__________________
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Charlie, you are so right. Other than that one time I have also bought about 6 or 7 guns from him and always got the best price around. Can't complain.

__________________
Dick

I love a happy ending.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

Way to go.
104, 733- Fairly early heavy barrel. We don't see a whole lot of them below 100,000.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Charlie ,,way to go. Is it just me or did that gun clean up REALLY nice?
I think we ran into each other in Ft. Lauderdale once ? Yes?
I love to shoot my K-38 ,,you will too. I have a K190xxx bought from a friend for $300.
Welcome to the club.


Lee .What you doin'up so late??

Regards ,,,Allen F.

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

Here's your K-38's little brother.
Bob

Ordnanceguy,

Great story, great catch. I'm envious.

I've got to believe that out there someplace is one of those with my name on it. I'll just keep looking.

DCW

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David Wilson

Stunning Sixshooter!

Great find! - Congrats

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Rick
SWCA #2727 , SWHF #435

Beautiful gun, great clean up job, and as it turns out, a great price!

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

I just picked up a shooter Friday and it’s the most accurate handgun I’ve ever shot. What a pleasure to shoot.

Beautiful guns, both of them.

Have fun with them. Scott

Christmas is not but once a year....

Good eye, good negotiation, good turnaround to firing-line condition. These are wonderful shooters, and easy on the ear and purse.

Best,

Dyson