Model 14 special ordered barrel lengths

One of this Forum's greatest strengths is it allows us all to learn from one another. In the spirit of knowledge sharing, I'd like to post the following factory letter from Roy Jinks, S&W Factory Historian about some of the special order S&W Model 14 revolvers that have been the subject of recent threads.

This factory letter was in response to a request to confirm the authenticity and ship date on a 4" Model 14-3 s/n 1K32110. . . which Roy Jinks addresses in the last paragraph. (Note Roy made a typo and referred to it as a 14-2 . . . like the rest of us, he's human) Although this shipment to Olympic Wholesale contained 20 units, LC'92 just shared with us his 4" 14-3 factory that says another 50 were shipped to Gil Hebard the same month . . . and I'm sure there were others. To my knowledge, we don't have a good total production on this very desirable 4" Model 14, but I'd love to start a research project.



In the historical information paragraphs that Roy Jinks thoughtfully shares, he provided some general information on the special ordered 5" pre-model K38s for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Illinois State Police. What we have learned from more detailed research is that the MSHP and ISP special orders accounted for only 835 of these very special 5" K38s . . . meaning that influential S&W distributors & dealers who had an appetite for special barrel lengths etc, ordered almost four times as many for sale to the general public. It's an undeniable truth that not every special-ordered 5" K38 went to either of the MSHP or the ISP . . . not that that makes them any less desirable to those of us fortunate enough to have one.



Roy also provides general information on the 4" K-38 Heavy special ordered by Dayton Gun Headquarters. I don't believe the quantities of 1,040 and 200 in the two runs that Roy references are meant to be a definitive . . . "that's all there were, folks" . . . number, but rather information readily available to him at the time of writing this letter. The shipment of 200 units in 1966 we know was followed by at least one shipment to Dayton Gun Headquarter in January 1967 (including K660813 which I own). Since I don't have any first-hand information on the total produced, I won't offer my opinion . . . other than to say the best information from a VERY reliable source is 2,038.



Gathering and documenting historical information is an ongoing process, so it's not surprising that as collectors study these fine S&W revolvers we learn more. Stay tuned and please share what you learn so we can all benefit from the knowledge.

Russ

Russ:

Good post. Thanks for shedding some additional light on these very interesting K-frames.

Reply to Russ

Russ,

Years ago (35) I encountered a 4", believe pre-14, at Law Enforcement Equipment Co., Kansas City, MO. They told me they thought it was one of a group that had gone to KCPD. Good luck.

Regards,

Dave

DS-66 said:

Russ, Years ago (35) I encountered a 4", believe pre-14, at Law Enforcement Equipment Co., Kansas City, MO. They told me they thought it was one of a group that had gone to KCPD. Good luck. Regards Dave

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Dave,

Yes, the first 4" Heavy Combat Masterpiece that I am aware of was indeed a special order for the Kansas City PD in 1957. In 25 years of S&W collecting here in Missouri, I've only seen one and it belongs to the (now retired) KCPD Sergeant who carried it on duty. When I mentioned I was looking to buy one, he advised his will never be for sale . . . it's already spoken for to the next two generations. I'll just have to keep looking.

Thanks for sharing that piece of the 4" Masterpiece history,

Russ

Here is a thread I posted about a year ago about a specially ordered Model 14-2 with a 5" barrel:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1961-1980/151394-model-14-2-k-38-5-special-order.html

Walter Rego said:

Here is a thread I posted about a year ago about a specially ordered Model 14-2 with a 5" barrel:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1961-1980/151394-model-14-2-k-38-5-special-order.html

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"Walter",

Very neat and unique 5" K38 Masterpiece? Thanks for sharing it with us . . . again.

While studying the 1952 special order of 5" K38 Masterpieces for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, I learned of other 5" Masterpieces that were "special ordered" . . . not surprising since the 5" barrel length was/is very desirable and it was never a cataloged item. The largest quantity was of course the 1957 special order of heavy barrel 5" K38s for the Illinois State Police.

Of all those that turned up, yours remains the latest and, if fact, the only model-marked 5" K38 example I've seen. My guess is there are others out there . . . I'm simply not aware of them.

Anyone else have a model-marked 5" example they'd like to share with us?

Russ

Good post Russ, I'll be watching to hopefully see where the 4" went to. It could have been an order for 20 units just to sell . The LAPD also went to 4" 14's and cut the bbl's on some they had to 4". Good luck, Larry

My 5" K-38 Model 14-2 was one of 24 delivered in the same shipment to American Wholesale Hardware in Long Beach, CA so there are undoubtedly more still surviving. I found mine at a Sou. Cal gun show and always keep my eyes peeled for another at local shows.

Speaking of 14-2's, here is a 14-2 that came with a 5" barrel and when a factory letter was requested, there was no information available as the gun never was shipped from the factory or at least there is no record of either the build or the shipping. Ah mysteries.

Stu

UPDATE 1/3/2019
Thanks to the generosity of Bill, Doc44, I now have the invoice for my 5" 14-2 that showed as open on the books. Invoice included in photo's now.

stu1ritter said:

. . . here is a 14-2 that came with a 5" barrel and when a factory letter was requested, there was no information available . . .

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It's disappointing when an "open on the books" comes back but it does happen . . . especially on large shipments.

I've been keeping track of the 5" Combat Masterpieces and 5" K-38s for several years now and the only batch of 14-2s that I have encountered are those 24 that shipped to American Wholesale in Long Beach, CA and posted by WalterRego (linked in post #5 above). Your s/n is close enough to have been in the same batch.

One of these days Roy will letter a 14-2 that has all the serial numbers on the invoice and yours will be among them . . . and just didn't get posted in the books.

Russ

Interesting thought Russ, sure would be nice if it was. Walters shipped 1/13/64 and Roy stated mine was made in the Spring of '63. Do you think that order for 24 might have covered that wide a range in time? As an aside, I'll be bringing it to Spokane and I'm rummaging around trying to find a period correct lunch box.........

stu1ritter said:

. . . Walters shipped 1/13/64 and Roy stated mine was made in the Spring of '63. Do you think that order for 24 might have covered that wide a range in time? . . .

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It would not be unusual since S&W made no attempt to manufacture in s/n sequence . . . and even less attempt to ship in s/n sequence.

And, since the 5" bbl was a special order, I would envision the factory pulling in unfinished frames from a wide range to complete the order.

Russ

I had the fortune of seeing a 5" 14-2 in a gunshop around here recently, but the misfortune of not having ready funds since I had just made another purchase. Oh well........it sure felt good in the hand!

Updated Post 9
Stu

There was a recent post about Skeeter Skelton requesting a special order 5" Model 19 (IIRC) and being turned down as it would have been too expensive to tool up for just one... I'm guessing these barrels used for special 5" Model 14s were all gone by then or one could have been remarked and mounted on a 19. If they would have done it for anybody, it would probably have been for Skeeter. What an exciting variation that would be to find!

Froggie