I got this gun back in the Spring, and I've been shooting it regularly since. I quickly settled on a 148g DEWC over 3.2 grains of Bullseye as a standard load. That is a pleasant load to shoot and very accurate.

I wanted to try some SWC bullets just to see what would happen. I made up two different loads.

Load 1 was a 158g lead SWC over the same 3.2g Bullseye. It shot well with minimal recoil.

Load 2 was intended to be more of a "full power" .38 Special. I loaded a 158g SWC over 6.5g Blue Dot. It was considerably stronger, but amazingly accurate.

I posted a pic of my best 6 shot group at 50 feet!

Rawhyde

Model_14_with_Target_cropped_webpic.jpg

Very nice group, great gun. I have a 14-2 that was made in '65 and it never ceases to amaze me.

Nice shooting and a nice 14! I have a few of em and they are great revolver's.

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Stay safe people!

Good job!

No greater pleasure for me in handgunning than a lazy afternoon and a bunch of 38 cast lead wadcutter reloads.

That's some nice shooting there. My 14 does that when I'm not behind the trigger.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

Very nice shooting! My Mdl 14 is my favorite shooter and does very well with a light target load of Speer 148 gn hbwc's and 2.8 gn. Bullseye.

Can I get an Amen?

649Guy

I have had three 14's and still have two in the safe. I was in love with my first but her cylinder would lockup and not rotate so I had return her to the shop for a trade..... but since then I found a complete NIB 6" safe queen and shooter 8-3/8.... darn nice firearm......... enjoy... Amen Brother 649Guy

I am not a collector, even though I have accumulated a few guns over the years, I consider myself a shooter and the Model 14 is a great gun to serve a shooter.

I bought mine used in 1985, when .38 Specials were not too popular and everybody was on a Magnum-trip, and it has seen a lot of use at competitions since then. A friend of mine had also borrowed my 14-2 for more than just an occasional competition.

That is a good group that you have there, Rawhyde, and explains why the model 14 was so popular among target shooters!

What cal is a model 14? I have a model 19 which I really like. Is it the same frame?

+1 Love my 14-4. More accurate and all-around enjoyable than any gun in my accumulation.

I recently picked up a "Pre-14", a K38 Target from about 1950. It is amazingly accurate. One of the most accurate S&W I've ever fired. Had some HBWC loads with 3.2 gr. 231 on hand, and all sent into about 1 1/2" at 50 ft. I wasn't overjoyed with the red dot when I bought it, but it sure does make shooting easier for my old eye's.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

In response to your question Alphabrace, a 14 is a K-frame .38 special revolver that typically comes with a 6" barrel. It's the successor to the K-38 and has been around in one iteration or another for decades. For a long time it was thought of as THE target revolver, in addition to the K-22 or its successor, the Model 17, in .22lr. 14s are known to be amazingly accurate. The 19 is also a K-frame, but it fires .357 magnums as well as .38s.

Nice shooting, ya gotta love the model 14

/c