Beginner’s Luck: 1937 S&W .38/44 “OD” King Gun

[Say When!]

Howdy Smith & Wesson Forum members!

I'm a rookie revolver collector in Lucas, Texas.

Recently, I stumbled across a pre-war, blue finish, 5-inch barrel 1937 Smith & Wesson Model .38/44 Outdoorsman revolver with D.W. King Gun Sight Company of San Francisco modifications and sporting handsome "Culina" (brand) American Holly (wood) stocks (that look like ivory!) advertised For Sale in Colorado for $1,899.

I had never seen an "OD" before and was unfamiliar with this model. I consulted my Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition to learn more about it. I was very intrigued by what I discovered about this heavy, super-charged .38 Special caliber, ground-breaking predecessor to the .357 & .44 Magnum!

I called the seller (from whom I had previously purchased) to learn more about it. He was complimentary but admitted that the original 6.5-inch barrel had been "chopped" down to 5-inches. The seller also revealed his opinion that the revolver has been refinished. I expressed my interest in making an offer for this revolver, but was politely rebuffed by the seller, who stated that the wealthy consignor was unwilling to negotiate the price.

A couple of days passed. Something about this super cool revolver called to me! So, I threw caution to the wind and sent a $1,500 e-mail offer to the seller. To my delight, the seller "went to bat" for me with the consignor and convinced him to accept my offer. Upon receipt, I discovered that the revolver was even more impressive in person than the pictures revealed. I was very happy with my purchase!

To be safe, I shipped the revolver to my gunsmith, Bobby Tyler with Tyler Gun Works in Friona, Texas. When he received it, Bobby called me and to tell me that he was also very impressed with the revolver! I was delighted to hear that!

Bobby inspected & safety-checked the revolver. His inspection revealed that, in his expert opinion, the revolver had not been refinished and the original blue finish is in fabulous condition for an 85-year-old revolver! In addition to the inspection & safety check, Bobby tuned the timing, did an "Action Job" on the revolver and cleaned & lubricated it.

Bobby suspected that it would be worth the time & money to leverage his S&W "connections" to do an authentication letter on the revolver, which he did. In so doing, Bobby discovered that this revolver was shipped directly from Smith & Wesson to D.W. King Gun Sight Company, who shortened the barrel and made the modifications. Please see attached letter.

Bobby called me to share his discovery with me and enthusiastically complimented the condition, provenance, scarcity & value of this pre-war .38/44 Outdoorsman King gun! Bobby Tyler is a very well-respected and innovative leader in the firearms industry. As you can no doubt imagine, to hear this genuine & lofty praise from such a highly esteemed & respected gunsmith was absolutely thrilling for me as a novice gun collector!

Consequently, I want to share my discovery & beginner's luck with y'all!

I welcome your insights.

Kind regards.

 

[LPD256]

Beautiful find for you. Congratulations.

 

[Truckman]

.38/44's are one of my passions...I think you did well taking a chance on that one considering the provenance you now hold...I would also go for a SWHF letter to go with it......Ben

 

[leonardocarrillo]

After seeing the photos I understand their emotion and joy.
Congratulations!!
Now to enjoy it and thanks for showing it.

 

[DGNY]

A true treasure to acquire something with all the characteristics you articulated so clearly. Even had you paid more, it would be quite an outstanding acquisition, in my estimation.

Not to mention that the 38-44, should you ever decide to try it discreetly, is itself awesome, as precursor to the .357 Magnum..

Please share with us any other lucky finds that you may encounter!

 

[bigmoose]

That is one very cool revolver. With those sights, hammer, and grips, I would head to the range, no doubt. And oh yeah, it has a Tyler action job! Congratulations on a beautiful score.

 

[Modified]

I want to preface this by saying that I am a nut for old king guns, and I love yours. I think you paid a great price for it. I would have done the same. None of what I say should dampen your enthusiasm

1) If there is blue on the face of the barrel, it*is* refinished. Possibly multiple times. It would have to be for the face not to be in the white.

From the pictures I would say re-finish even without that. But, whoever did the most recent re-blue did an excellent job.

Please understand that when you are dealing with old school finely modified guns like yours a re-finish isn't really a negative *if* it was done right. Most of them are actually re-finished, and in fact often multiple times. Thing is, when the S&W service department, or outfits of D.W. King caliber did it, the finish may as well be original. Often the only way to tell is that small dings have blue inside them, or a part of the gun that was modified is blued (when if it were original it would be in the white).

2) King would have tuned the gun when the hammer was installed, and even before that S&W would have shipped it with a trigger that we could consider highly tuned today. Target sighted S&Ws of the era *all* left with special attention paid to the action and are unbelievable.

When you say Bobby tuned it, did he provide details for what he did? the only real job I can imagine even being possible on a gun like this would be to sort out slow timing. Which is a good thing.

3) The pricing for the modifications in the letter. Do you know if Bobby has old King Records? Many of us would be extremely interested to have access to them if he does.

Unfortunately we can usually only say roughly when one of these King guns was modified based on the original ship date of the gun, and sometimes features. Then hit the various catalogs to check on pricing. So those prices may be correct, but as very few original King invoices are around it's hard to say for sure.

A while back when I had more time I tried to start to put together some of the King info I had come across, and gather a bit more: D.W. King Information Thread

You should find it interesting.

4) Could you give us some shots with the stocks removed, of both sides of the frame? The markings added there can sometimes give us some clues as to where the gun has been and what it has done. Depending on what is there we may be able to provide some more info.

5) As a novice gun collector I fear you may have been completely spoiled with this beauty. Going up from here is going to be a challenge, especially after you put in some range time with this one.

Loving this gun as much as you do I may suggest the following pursuits:

a) More King Guns. They were "jobbers" there, and there is literally no end to what you will find if you really dig.

b) Ropers. Original or Keith Brown. Get yourself a copy of Walter Roper's books Experiments of a Handgunner and Pistol & Reolver Shooting. It's incredibly important to understand that Ropers are fantastically technical grips that no picture can truly explain. The real beauty in them isn't how they look at all. He explains it in his books, but very few people really have had the opportunity to handle enough sets of original Ropers (particularly ones that fit them) to understand what the heck he was talking about.

c) You have gone into the finest era of S&W craftsmanship with this gun, you will likely become unsatisfied with lesser guns. Some guns to start looking for will be Registered Magnums (if you can swing the $$$), a K-22 Outdoorsman, and a K-38 Military and Police Target Model (keep in mind the pre-war target guns were all factory tuned).

 

[paplinker]

Looks like a great gun to shoot and own. King sighted guns are a passion of mine and if the letter says it was shipped to King directly its a home run!
The only thing that catches my eye is that the hammer does not appear very King shaped. Is there a king cockeyed hammer stamp on the side? King hammers varied some so it could be something the customer asked for directly.

As far as the bbl goes there is a slight chance King special ordered a five inch bbl if the customer was willing to pay for it. My King shipped modified HD came with a special ordered 6 1/2 inch bbl

Would love to hear a range report sometime on this gun.

I own one gun shipped directly to King and they really tuned this gun up perfectly for my likes. After buying this gun looking for guns shipped directly to King has been one of my main focuses. King really knew there stuff.

 

[Say When!]

Howdy "Modified":

Thank you VERY much for your thoughtful response and sharing your insightful expertise!
I recognize and sincerely appreciate the (obvious) time & careful consideration you invested in composing your succinct, informative & well written post.
Today, I texted Bobby Tyler - President of Tyler Gun Works in Friona, Texas and politely asked him to reply (at his convenience) with guidance to your thought provoking comments & questions.
Yes! I will remove the Culina (brand) American Holly (wood) stocks, take additional digital pictures and post them.
Finally, I afraid you're right!
Exposure to the "finest era of S&W craftsmanship" will undoubtedly make it a lot tougher & more expensive for me to discover & afford to purchase comparable quality handguns!
Thanks again for your consideration.
Kind regards.

 

[Say When!]

Howdy "paplinker"/Rich:

Thank you for the courtesy of your reply!

No, there is not a "king cockeyed hammer stamp on the side".

Yes! I will definitely post a range report as soon as possible!

Thank again!
Kind regards.

 

[burneyr]

I saw that sit on the listing site for weeks, but that car themed presentation box it sat in looked a tad overdone to me. I figured whoever made the cheesy looking box did something equally cheesy with the revolver.

Oh man - you made out like a bandit with that one. Very happy for you!

 

[Say When!]

Howdy "burneyr":

Yes sir!
The Packard automobile display case.
The seller, David Hannah with The Firing Line in Colorado, was selling this "OD" on behalf of his wealthy (Aspen, CO) consignor that has a hobby of creating & selling handguns in display cases.
Thank you for your reply!
Kind regards.

 

[Ruger 13]

Very nice pistola!