As much as I hate to admit not having read every post in THIS MASTERPIECE, and as much as I hate picking yet another nit, and as much as I appreciate the use of the term "non-tapered" (as opposed to the term "untapered"-------which pretty much makes my teeth hurt) when referring to the wide rib barrels to be found on the several later variations of the K-38, please take note of the fact these barrels are tapered-----as are the ribs. They're not tapered much, I grant you; but they are most certainly tapered-----and I suspect they'd look rather "klunky" if they weren't----not to mention they might be a bit nose heavy for some folks' taste.

We'll save the rest of this for another time and place, but you need to know S&W has taken significant pains over the years to produce target grade handguns that are balanced---------just so. And I'll bet the best examples will prove to be surprising----and quite possibly heretofore unknown------at least to those of us who came along later.

Ralph Tremaine