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S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


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  #1  
Old 05-21-2010, 07:37 PM
S&W2296 S&W2296 is offline
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I have a S&W 14-3 serial number K9329XX. It has the target hammer. Is this a K-38 masterpiece or 14-3 and can someone tell me close to what year it might be?
Thanks
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Old 05-21-2010, 07:46 PM
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Ref: Std. Catalog of S&W 3rd Edition

K Serial Prefix by Year, Postwar
K9329XX = 1969
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Old 05-21-2010, 08:33 PM
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Thanks Very Much!
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Old 05-22-2010, 09:29 AM
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It is a 14-3 and also a K-38 Masterpiece.
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Old 05-22-2010, 10:10 AM
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Welcome to the forum. The M14-3 is a very nice gun. How about some pictures. Here is my M14-3 with target trigger hammer and single action. Don



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Old 05-23-2010, 01:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S&W2296 View Post
I have a S&W 14-3 serial number K9329XX. It has the target hammer. Is this a K-38 masterpiece or 14-3 and can someone tell me close to what year it might be?
Thanks

S&W2296,

More than you wanted to know, but here it is."Masterpiece" is nothing more than a designation S&W chose to apply to the three K-Frame Target revolvers, K-22, K-32 and K-38, at the time they made the transition from the tapered barrels to the heavier wide-ribbed type barrels which have a heavier straight taper. This occurred in 1949, and the reason was to give all three models, all having 6" barrels, the same weight and balance so they had the same feel in the hand for target shooters who would be using all calibers in different NRA matches for revolver.

No doubt the appellation "Masterpiece" was to give the impression that the revolvers were the ultimate development of the model. In 1957 this became the Model 14.

At approximately the same time they also introduced a 4" version of the pre-"Masterpiece" K-38 with the original tapered barrel as an up-graded Police service type revolver and gave it the appellation "Combat Masterpiece". This became the Model 15 in 1957.

Strangely, over the production life of both the Model 14 "Target Masterpiece" and the Model 15 "Combat Masterpiece", the M-14 was fitted with 4", 5" (rare) 6" and 8 3/8" heavy barrels. The M-15 was later also fit with the heavy barrel and was offered in lengths of 2", 4", 6" and 8 3/8". The result was there were times where you could have two revolvers of the same barrel length and type, otherwise indistinguishable from one another except for one being marked as a Model 14 and the other Model 15. Odd, isn't it!
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Old 05-23-2010, 02:17 PM
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Was the main difference between a Modle 15 and a Model 14 the front sight? Usually the 14 has a Patridge and the 15 has a Baughman Quick Draw. I also suspect it is less usual for the 15 to be found with the Target Hammer and Trigger (widest ones). On the other hand S&W has a wonderful way of having an incredible number of variations!

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Old 05-23-2010, 03:11 PM
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Was the main difference between a Modle 15 and a Model 14 the front sight? Usually the 14 has a Patridge and the 15 has a Baughman Quick Draw. I also suspect it is less usual for the 15 to be found with the Target Hammer and Trigger (widest ones). On the other hand S&W has a wonderful way of having an incredible number of variations!

Dwight
At the end it sort of came down to that. At the time model numbers were originally assigned in 1957 the K-38 "Target Masterpiece" and "Combat Masterpiece" were distinct models. By the time both were offered in optional barrel lengths, the M-15 was given a heavy barrel, and either could have target stocks about the only distinguishing feature was the front sight, and either model could be ordered with either sight. I don't recall ever seeing a M-15 with a Patridge sight, although I can guarantee you they exist. The "Target" was eventually provided with a shrouded full-lug barrel like the Model 17 K-22. This is one feature/change I don't believe was ever applied to the Model 15.

In reality, both models really always were the same gun with only relatively minor cosmetic differences between them. The only time there was really a distinct difference between the models was 1949 when the K-38 "Target Masterpiece" was a 6" wide-ribbed and heavy-barreled gun and the "Combat Masterpiece" was a 4" with a narrow-ribbed tapered barrel. Eventually the only really defining difference between the models was the model number stamped in the yoke cut. This and that the M-15 never had a full-lugged barrel.

Last edited by Alk8944; 05-23-2010 at 03:38 PM.
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baughman, combat masterpiece, k-22, k-frame, k38, m14, masterpiece, model 14, model 15, model 17, nra, patridge, ribbed, s&w, target masterpiece, transition

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