In early 1936 Smith & Wesson introduced a new model based on the .22/32 Target Revolver. That predecessor model, at its introduction in 1911, had been called the .22/32 Bekeart and for a period of time thereafter (mostly from the mid-'teens through the 1920s) the .22/32 Heavy Frame Target.
The company called the new revolver the .22/32 Kit Gun. It differed from its parent model in that it had a shorter four-inch barrel and an expanded variety of stock sizes and front sights that were offered as production options.
The photograph shows most of those options.
The Kit Gun was intended to be a compact adjustable-sight .22 that an individual could carry in his fishing or hiking "kit" during a day or two in the outdoors. The company's plan to differentiate clearly between a small .22 target revolver and the larger K-frame .22 Outdoorsman meant that their basic I-frame model would carry small round butt stocks. The basic Kit Gun is barely over eight inches long from muzzle to rearmost curve of the grip frame, a perfect size to carry in a large pocket or hiking backpack. But knowing that some who would be interested in the gun had hands that would find the round butt configuration too small, the company also offered the small square butt (Regulation Police) and large square butt (two-screw extension grip) options. The top row in the photograph shows the round butt configuration. The RP configuration is in the middle row, and the larger extension stocks (along with one set of custom Sandersons that I will explain later) are seen in the bottom row.
Within each row I have sorted the guns to show the standard Patridge front sight on the left, followed by the stepped half round sight that is called the USRA pocket revolver sight. Other front sight blades were also used, such as the Sheard bead you can see at the end of the first row and the King Reflector sight (probably an aftermarket replacement, and not original to the revolver) at the end of the second. One of the Patridge sights in the last row is actually a Call Brilliant sight, with an inserted stainless steel bead that is the standard sight seen on the larger K-22 Outdoorsman models.
As far as I know, the USRA sight was never used on any S&W model other than the .22/32 Kit Gun in its prewar and postwar transitional phases. Note its presence on the fourth gun in the second row. More about that gun below.
The Kit Guns supplied with the RP grip necessarily had a rebated backstrap. The large extension stocks would fit both rebated and non-rebated frames. The larger stock options covered the butt of the gun, so on these models the serial number was stamped on the forestrap of the grip frame, behind and below the trigger guard.
Interestingly some guns that now carry RP or extension stocks are found with serial numbers on the butt rather than the forestrap. This is good (but not perfect) evidence that the guns originally shipped with round butt stocks, and that the larger stocks on the guns now were owner replacements. In the case of the RP stocks, fitting them to a round butt frame required either shaving some wood from the stocks or filing a step into the back of the frame. In the photo above, both approaches are represented. The first and last guns in the second row would have shipped with round butt stocks. The anachronistic 1920s-era RP stocks on the first were whittled to fit the unmolested grip frame. On the other gun, the frame was filed down so that the unnumbered RP stocks would fit it without modification to the wood.
The last gun in row two is also unusual for its King Reflector Sight and an enlarged "target" hammer. If you look closely, you can see that the original hammer spur was removed and that a longer spur was welded on and reshaped.
The gun in the last row with Sanderson stocks is another gun that shipped with small round butt stocks. When the gun came to me it was wearing some ill fitting RB stocks from some other gun, so I put these Sanderson J-frame target stocks on it. As postwar wood they are seriously anachronistic, but they make for a more comfortable grip than the company's extension stocks.
The fourth gun in row two is a "virtual" or "honorary" Kit Gun. It was originally shipped in 1923 as a Heavy Frame Target, but in November 1946 (date code on grip frame) it went back to the factory to get a new barrel, cylinder, and refinish. The new parts were numbered to the frame. We know that the cylinder was replaced as well as the barrel because the one on the gun now has recessed chambers in the 1930s style. The original cylinder in 1923 would have had a flat rear cylinder face. The USRA sight on this gun is typical of postwar transitional Kit Guns. Before the war, the Patridge sight appears to have been the standard sight, though of course other options were possible on special order. In the postwar transitional period, the USRA sight is seen more frequently.
The exact number of prewar Kit Guns manufactured is either not known or has never been published. From statistical analysis of the 62 serial numbers known to me, I have concluded that 1300 prewar KGs were manufactured. (I can go into the rationale for this claim if anyone is interested; in general, it relies on a presumption of random distribution in observed serial numbers and the average separation between closest pairs of serial numbers.) That number may be as much as 50 too high, but I can't see a way in which the estimate would be low. With that low level of production, one can understand why these revolvers are not commonly seen. The photo above probably shows one percent of total prewar Kit Gun production.
All known prewar Kit Guns lie between serial numbers 529451 and 534600. Guns with those exact numbers have not been observed, but those are the limiting numbers in the 25-number blocks that I believe characterized prewar Kit Gun production. The lowest number in my collection is 529488; the highest is 534566. One lower numbered Kit Gun is known, as well as one higher numbered gun. Production of the .22/32 Kit Gun (and the other I-frames as well) seems to have ceased in 1940 as the company began converting to wartime contracts. At least a few Kit Guns remained in inventory through that year and even into the next, because there is one prewar Kit Gun known to have shipped in 1941.
Kit Guns in the 529xxx and some in the 530xxx serial number ranges have unmarked sideplates and display the small logo on the left side of the frame. Higher serial numbers usually have the large logo on the sideplate, indicating production in 1937 or later. There appears to be a fuzzy zone in the middle with some large-logo Kit Guns showing serial numbers lower than other KGs with small left-side logos.
As a footnote, I would like to take notice of the existence of 527712, shipped in 1934, which letters as a .22/32 Heavy Frame Target with a special order four inch barrel. The gun, which has the first USRA pocket revolver sight known to me, was delivered to one of the Wesson family. This has to have been a prototype Kit Gun, and it is possible a few other such specimens exist (or once existed) that were also turned over for family and management evaluation before a production commitment was made. Regardless of factory terminology, I would have no problem calling such guns the first prewar Kit Guns.
That's it in a nutshell.
The company called the new revolver the .22/32 Kit Gun. It differed from its parent model in that it had a shorter four-inch barrel and an expanded variety of stock sizes and front sights that were offered as production options.
The photograph shows most of those options.
The Kit Gun was intended to be a compact adjustable-sight .22 that an individual could carry in his fishing or hiking "kit" during a day or two in the outdoors. The company's plan to differentiate clearly between a small .22 target revolver and the larger K-frame .22 Outdoorsman meant that their basic I-frame model would carry small round butt stocks. The basic Kit Gun is barely over eight inches long from muzzle to rearmost curve of the grip frame, a perfect size to carry in a large pocket or hiking backpack. But knowing that some who would be interested in the gun had hands that would find the round butt configuration too small, the company also offered the small square butt (Regulation Police) and large square butt (two-screw extension grip) options. The top row in the photograph shows the round butt configuration. The RP configuration is in the middle row, and the larger extension stocks (along with one set of custom Sandersons that I will explain later) are seen in the bottom row.
Within each row I have sorted the guns to show the standard Patridge front sight on the left, followed by the stepped half round sight that is called the USRA pocket revolver sight. Other front sight blades were also used, such as the Sheard bead you can see at the end of the first row and the King Reflector sight (probably an aftermarket replacement, and not original to the revolver) at the end of the second. One of the Patridge sights in the last row is actually a Call Brilliant sight, with an inserted stainless steel bead that is the standard sight seen on the larger K-22 Outdoorsman models.
As far as I know, the USRA sight was never used on any S&W model other than the .22/32 Kit Gun in its prewar and postwar transitional phases. Note its presence on the fourth gun in the second row. More about that gun below.
The Kit Guns supplied with the RP grip necessarily had a rebated backstrap. The large extension stocks would fit both rebated and non-rebated frames. The larger stock options covered the butt of the gun, so on these models the serial number was stamped on the forestrap of the grip frame, behind and below the trigger guard.
Interestingly some guns that now carry RP or extension stocks are found with serial numbers on the butt rather than the forestrap. This is good (but not perfect) evidence that the guns originally shipped with round butt stocks, and that the larger stocks on the guns now were owner replacements. In the case of the RP stocks, fitting them to a round butt frame required either shaving some wood from the stocks or filing a step into the back of the frame. In the photo above, both approaches are represented. The first and last guns in the second row would have shipped with round butt stocks. The anachronistic 1920s-era RP stocks on the first were whittled to fit the unmolested grip frame. On the other gun, the frame was filed down so that the unnumbered RP stocks would fit it without modification to the wood.
The last gun in row two is also unusual for its King Reflector Sight and an enlarged "target" hammer. If you look closely, you can see that the original hammer spur was removed and that a longer spur was welded on and reshaped.
The gun in the last row with Sanderson stocks is another gun that shipped with small round butt stocks. When the gun came to me it was wearing some ill fitting RB stocks from some other gun, so I put these Sanderson J-frame target stocks on it. As postwar wood they are seriously anachronistic, but they make for a more comfortable grip than the company's extension stocks.
The fourth gun in row two is a "virtual" or "honorary" Kit Gun. It was originally shipped in 1923 as a Heavy Frame Target, but in November 1946 (date code on grip frame) it went back to the factory to get a new barrel, cylinder, and refinish. The new parts were numbered to the frame. We know that the cylinder was replaced as well as the barrel because the one on the gun now has recessed chambers in the 1930s style. The original cylinder in 1923 would have had a flat rear cylinder face. The USRA sight on this gun is typical of postwar transitional Kit Guns. Before the war, the Patridge sight appears to have been the standard sight, though of course other options were possible on special order. In the postwar transitional period, the USRA sight is seen more frequently.
The exact number of prewar Kit Guns manufactured is either not known or has never been published. From statistical analysis of the 62 serial numbers known to me, I have concluded that 1300 prewar KGs were manufactured. (I can go into the rationale for this claim if anyone is interested; in general, it relies on a presumption of random distribution in observed serial numbers and the average separation between closest pairs of serial numbers.) That number may be as much as 50 too high, but I can't see a way in which the estimate would be low. With that low level of production, one can understand why these revolvers are not commonly seen. The photo above probably shows one percent of total prewar Kit Gun production.
All known prewar Kit Guns lie between serial numbers 529451 and 534600. Guns with those exact numbers have not been observed, but those are the limiting numbers in the 25-number blocks that I believe characterized prewar Kit Gun production. The lowest number in my collection is 529488; the highest is 534566. One lower numbered Kit Gun is known, as well as one higher numbered gun. Production of the .22/32 Kit Gun (and the other I-frames as well) seems to have ceased in 1940 as the company began converting to wartime contracts. At least a few Kit Guns remained in inventory through that year and even into the next, because there is one prewar Kit Gun known to have shipped in 1941.
Kit Guns in the 529xxx and some in the 530xxx serial number ranges have unmarked sideplates and display the small logo on the left side of the frame. Higher serial numbers usually have the large logo on the sideplate, indicating production in 1937 or later. There appears to be a fuzzy zone in the middle with some large-logo Kit Guns showing serial numbers lower than other KGs with small left-side logos.
As a footnote, I would like to take notice of the existence of 527712, shipped in 1934, which letters as a .22/32 Heavy Frame Target with a special order four inch barrel. The gun, which has the first USRA pocket revolver sight known to me, was delivered to one of the Wesson family. This has to have been a prototype Kit Gun, and it is possible a few other such specimens exist (or once existed) that were also turned over for family and management evaluation before a production commitment was made. Regardless of factory terminology, I would have no problem calling such guns the first prewar Kit Guns.
That's it in a nutshell.
Attachments
Last edited:
You've got to start warning me when you're going to post something like this so I have time to put on a bib! The problem is, it seems like every time you get out your camera, you post "something like this." I think you have outdone even yourself this time, though.
