Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom K
In the '50s and '60s S&W built the Masterpiece series to be as close to a set as they could. The K22 (Model 17), K32 (Model 16) and K38 (Model 14) were their target revolvers and usually came with 6" barrels. To make them all as close as possible to be the same weight and balance, S&W varied the rib width on the top of the barrel to compensate for the differing bore diameters.
The K22 had a small rib because less material was removed. The K38 had a wide rib to compensate for the larger bore, and the K32 was in between.
When the full underlug Smiths came around, they dropped this practice, probably as a cost cutting measure. The extra machining to tailor the rib to make the weight match probably didn't matter to most people, and by this time bullseye shooting was not as popular as it had been.
(The 14-5 has a threaded hole in the underlug end because it came to me with a Wichita barrel weight/compensator attached. I haven't yet made a proper plug for the hole.) |
That's really cool. I am more into snubs, but even I dig that set. I love all with lug, all without lug. That's wonderful and I'm very glad you have such a cool set goin on. One of these days I'll get my sets together, just gonna take a while. I'm a little late to be starting my collection, but better late than never. Nice stuff, thanks for sharing! I learned something new.