Back in the 70's I purchased a used S&W 22 cal. revolver at a local shop. The serial # is K284239 , I would like to know when this piece was made, and any other info about it. It has a 6 in. blued barrel, and is double action. It's a great piece, just trying to get its history. Thanks

It was manufactured in 1956 going by the Standard Catalog of S&W (SCSW), the most often used reference book on this site.

At least for the .38 Masterpieces 1956 was the year S&W phased out their long standing practice of stamping the serial number in six places. How many places does the serial number appear on your .22 Masterpiece? Also does it have the speed hammer, i.e. the “fish hook hammer” or a half inch target hammer?

That is one of the nicest shooters ever made. It's a pre-17 (if built prior to '57), and you can feed it a steady diet of .22 short, longs, or long rifles. Standard velocity or target loads work best. High velocity will sometimes result in difficult-to-extract cases. I have K208932, and it's my favorite revolver. Enjoy.

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Mike, thanks for the info, it has the target hammer, and a target trigger also I think, the trigger is grooved and about an inch wide. The serial # I gave you is on the cylinder, there is also this # visible when you swing the cylinder out to load, K 66 134 7 it is on the frame. You are sure right though, it is a fine shooter. Does that other info mean anything to you?

All S&W hand ejectors get an assembly number stamped on the frame, yoke and side plate before the revolver is assigned a serial number. The most common place for the frame assembly number was under the barrel where it is covered by the yoke. The group of numbers you gave us in your second post includes the assembly number. The back of the cylinder was one of the six places the serial number was stamped in the old days. The other five were the bottom of the butt, extractor, rear surface of yoke visible through a chamber, barrel bottom flat and inside surface of the right stock. Target stocks usually weren’t marked with the serial number. I have a 1955 bright polished five screw K-22 that has the serial number in the traditional six places. It has the standard .265” serrated service trigger and speed hammer.

As you might guess from my screen name, K frame .22 LRs are my favorite guns. I get great results with Federal’s bulk pack 36 grain cartridges in all of mine. Prior to the buying panic it was one of the least expensive varieties of .22 LR which is important because I go through a lot of .22 ammo. Hopefully Federal will get caught up on production before I run out. Unfortunately I’m afraid we’re in for another price hike when the stores restock.

If your trigger's an inch wide, I suspect it has a trigger shoe on it. Factory triggers are generally .265, as k22fan mentioned or 1/2 inch for the trarget trigger. Some guys detest trigger shoes. I like them. If it has 2 small allen set-screw on the side, it's a trigger shoes. (See attached)

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Hard to beat a a K22 or pre Model 17 and the only complaint is they sometimes have extraction problems with high velocity 22LR Ammo.

My 1955 K22 5 screw

Thanks to all for the help and info, good thing I'm not selling lumber, the trigger is 1/2 in. with no set screws,so I guess it's a target trigger and I think the hammer is also a target type. I'll try to post pictures. Thanks again.

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