A KING SUPER TARGET

Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
6,364
Reaction score
11,212
Location
Pikeville, Tennessee
RKmesa put up pictures of this one on another thread a while back in response to a request from a member. Then he opined it deserved its own thread. Okay, but it'd be nice if it had any sort of story to tell---aside from being pretty spiffy.

Terry Wagner sent some pictures of a 1st Model Single Shot to me a while back. It's drop dead gorgeous---and was carrying Ropers----and an Olympic barrel (Yep---a 1st Model with an Olympic barrel!!)----and had been shipped to Dr. So&So, a famous champion target shooter. Now THAT is something that deserves its own thread!!

This one, on the other hand--------------------------------------------------------------------------------???

I've wanted one of these for a long time----couldn't make a compelling case why I actually needed one---but I've never been one to be confused by facts.

So anyhow----here's this rug. The tag says TRIPLE LOCK KING on it. I open it----and I am SMITTEN!!! I suppose I always thought in terms of a K frame version, but we all have to make sacrifices.

Take a look, and you'll see what I mean.

g95uRbo368wJUo34S1pUH1FVxuB-gk5AUfWC_hnlxZ4i6wLwy7fEfGn_TpCePjkD5xC0ETDMdg6t51XRdc4iriXXW1FgTuwF3tm3SgqoWV5P77o_F0egEaM1u5gT7lici06iA0khLg=w1574-h949-no


jcsdnFIA9TZTeh1LbYcq91EvhkLlor851IZmZcmIyzpUKbjn6kWGmlw5zCSXJk_lGHiO_fHUGATLvR2M2kXxfsunVyKypNuLvrK55HgGrCiowPPG0ftJbvc8MySux6OO1dAhmlVCVA=w1681-h949-no


... and a photo with a different background that highlights the beautiful color in the ivory:

T7GXRndYv3uYazOj05XagezhyjZUZg2l5mK4AyDD4Q_gaAwFhyvjGbDYjW1ljQvO0eJ8-7LZsLSLLp5kvLf37R3cNco6sgxByEJXWgVSW61jzIFYSV33AK_E66WLdOScdy-zPJ-Zew=w1815-h949-no


This one left the mother ship in 1915---went to distributor in NYC---from there to a retailer somewhere----and from there to a consumer. How'm I doing so far?

And right about here is where things get peculiar. By all appearances, it went into a sock drawer then----and it stayed there until August 23, 1938----or sometime after---August 23, 1938 being the patent date on the rib. Then it was treated to a trip to San Francisco where a milling machine had its way with it. When you pop the rib off, and have a look, you can't help but be impressed by the sheer genius of the folks who thought it up, and those who did the work. All things considered, it had to have been jigged off the bore centerline, and it was all downhill after that----and then it was shipped back to wherever it came from.

At this point, by all appearances, aside from test firing at S&W, and again at King, the gun had never been fired. The turn line suggests it had been played with a bit, but that's it.

So--------------now this sucker is ready to go!! And where did it go? It went right back into the sock drawer---and as it stands today---right here and right now, aside from the testing---it's never been fired---at least not so you'd notice.

There was a time when I decided all my guns needed to be sighted in. That led to weekly trips to the range with a bag of guns for a while. That in turn led to more like work than fun, and it stopped. Maybe it'd be fun to do it again----with just this one.

EPILOGUE: These are the first pictures of a gun I've ever taken----and the first of anything at all I've taken since film went out of style----more than a few years!! It was a bit of a challenge to learn enough about these new fangled cameras, but having sat here for more than a few years since my son gave it to me, I decided I should at least open the box. The first thing I learned is what you see isn't necessarily what you get. The first two pictures are what you get. The last one (with the white background) is what you see----AND what you get---which is to say that's what the gun really looks like---the colors are right (and the white background is the only difference). I don't understand all I know about that, so I'll study on it for a spell to decide if I care. If a white background is the answer (as it appears to be), I'm not all that driven to know why---at least not right now.


Ralph Tremaine
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Ralph,
I am the member that asked to see pics of this gun and boy you did not disappoint.

It's magnificent !!

I have a real passion for these Super Kings.

As much as I like your ivory service grips it seems like King target guns cry for Ropers. :D
 
Last edited:
Ralph:

Welcome to the world of posting photos in a thread. Now you can add a few photos with all the great advice you've served up over the years.:)

That there KST TL is O U T S T A N D I N G ! ! !:cool::D

Thanks for sharing it, along with its "sock drawer" story with the rest of us.

Keep 'em coming...
 
ME TOO!

Very curious to know if this gun started as a target or fixed sight gun?

I figured I'd find out when I took it apart for its welcome bath. I was reading about the rib in an old King catalog---said it was "full floating". I took that to mean it was attached only at front and rear---and had at it.

The front attachment is via the two pins through what's left of the (S&W) front sight. The only alternative at the rear was the elevation adjusting screw was doing double duty---and it was. Off came the rib assembly. There's a great wide chasm (and a notch at the rear) milled in the frame, and the front sight was milled down to a stub to accommodate the pins. The barrel on either side of the front sight had been just kissed by the mill. It didn't occur to me to measure anything at the time (the width of the front sight stub) to compare to the boss on a target model, but it figures they're the same animal. The quick and dirty clue was there were only the (King) pin holes and no blade slot in the boss---and there would have been a third pin hole and a slot if it started life as a target. Comparing the King version to a TLT suggests the installation preparation would be the same on both guns--and they'd have had a head start on the target version---which already has a channel milled in the top and a notch cut at the rear---albeit both smaller than the King versions.

The only hiccup in the disassembly/assembly accompanying the bath arose from the similarity of the King windage adjustment spring and the S&W cylinder stop spring----that and the fact the dummy doing the work wasn't paying close attention. It turned out that the S&W spring can be installed in the King sight---also the sight blade (with some difficulty)----and the sight works. The difficulty in installing the blade was a big clue, but I pressed on regardless. As you might imagine, the King sight spring also fits in place of the S&W cylinder stop spring---fits only---doesn't work. The dawn comes!!

Ralph Tremaine
 
This revolver might be my all time favorite revolver, it is really special. Thanks for showing us.
 
Well done on several fronts. An excellent speciman of a vintage revolver that someone added the ingredients to maximize it's effectiveness with the King rib. I have seen several examples of their craftsmanship and always marvel at it.
I commend you on your photography results, I have dabbled with the new tangled digital photography, after having decades of experience with 35mm film cameras. Your photo's are excellent.
 
Last edited:
You'll have to wear a three piece suit and polish your shoes to fire it if you ever do. Anything less would insult that gorgeous gun.

And the thought of taking a screwdriver or punch to that gives me shakes. You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.
Congratulations!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top