Steve and Giz

This is turning into a longer story than I have time for, right now !
However, let me offer a couple of comments.

There are different ways to think about the same gun. At one point,
a few years ago, a round-butt .38 M&P target, from about 1908, lettered
as a late-shipped 1902 . Some years later, a very similar gun , and
slightly earlier gun, lettered as a 1905 . From my studies of round-butt
K-frames, they were designated 1902's well into the 1930's . Still in
all, from a perspective of trying to have a consistent basis for engineering
changes, calling them all 1905's is understandable. Otherwise, the
round-butts are out-of-sync with the square butts, vis-a-vis changes.

I argue, and I think the historians comments support my notion, that
32-long K-frames are K-32's . It is true that in 1896, and 1910 and 1916
and 1936, when they made 32-long K-frames, they were not cataloged.
Generally, they were special chamberings of the standard K-frame
revolvers. In the records, they are not named, but described as such.

For some reason, after most-recently producing 32-long K-frames for
two years (from 1936) they cataloged the revolver as a K-32 target,
about in 1938 . I argue that this name retro-actively applies to the
identical guns made in 1936, and 1916, and 1910. Those earlier
32-long K-frame targets were the special-orders that led to finally
cataloging them in 1938. My 1938 All-Model Circular does not list it -
they first show up in the 1940 Circular.

When I wrote that story about the First K-32, it was my intention to
submit that to the S&WCA Journal, for publication. I knew there were
several ( 5 to 10, maybe) other 32-long K-frames made in the same
serial number range (1910), but it wasn't known if any of those were
target. I asked the historian if my gun was the first one of that
caliber, at that time in 1910.

He wrote back, with the subject of his note as

" First K-32 Seven Shot "

He went on to decribe the gun as a

Model of 1896 Seven shot K-22 in .32 S&W long,

and included a picture.

My point is that if he thinks that was the first K-32, then I feel very
comfortable in saying that the 32-longs of 1910, 1916,and 1936 are
K-32's .

Regards, Mike Priwer