We've had a rush of K-22 posts in the last several days, so let me do something to remind everybody that S&W made some very fine I-frame .22 revolvers with adjustable sights as well. They were called .22/32 revolvers, and after 1936 you could even get them with four-inch barrels. These were called Kit Guns.
Here's 534566, one of the last prewar KGs the company produced. It was shipped in April 1940, but I don't yet know the designated recipient. I'll post back once I get this one lettered.
Rebated frame with Regulation Police stocks; Patridge front sight, standard square notch rear. About 95%, I think. There is evidence of holster carry, with some muzzle and cylinder edge wear, as well as a spot of thin blue on the backstrap. The action is first rate; bore and chambers are spotless. There is not much external evidence of having been fired. To judge from the undamaged screws, the sideplate had never been off. Inside there was lots of carbon grime and dried lubricant. Had somebody shot some old black powder .22 ammo in it? I don't think the gun had been fired in decades. The cylinder could be forced to turn on the yoke spindle, but it would not twirl; the oil was that congealed.
The fitting is as fine as always on a prewar gun, but individual pieces don't look as finely finished as as I have come to expect from 1930s work. And the charge holes seem to have little spurs under the ejector star that would make it hard to load this gun. It may need some judicious attention with a round tool to clean up the little intrusions into what is supposed to be cartridge space.
The highest number I know on a prewar KG is 534576, just 10 above this one. There are no known prewar .32 caliber I-frames numbered above this run of Kit Guns. I don't think there are any prewar I-frames with serial numbers above 534600, which I pick as a round number. Known I-frames in .22 or .32 caliber with numbers above 534600 are postwar transition models.
This came out of the Amoskeag auction last month. These little guys can be found, but you have to look for them. I am blessed that this one still has its original box, which is numbered to the gun. Note that the interior boilerplate is for the .22/32 Heavy Frame Target, which had a six-inch barrel. This box was made to serve for a Kit Gun by slapping the proper label on the outside and hand correcting "6" to "4" on the inside of the lid.
ADDENDUM. Oops, forgot to mention that these are the wrong stocks. They are numbered 530415, which might be another Kit Gun, but could also be a .32 Regulation Police. The two closest known guns on either side of this number, 530286 and 530553, are both Kit Guns and reside in my safe.
Here's 534566, one of the last prewar KGs the company produced. It was shipped in April 1940, but I don't yet know the designated recipient. I'll post back once I get this one lettered.
Rebated frame with Regulation Police stocks; Patridge front sight, standard square notch rear. About 95%, I think. There is evidence of holster carry, with some muzzle and cylinder edge wear, as well as a spot of thin blue on the backstrap. The action is first rate; bore and chambers are spotless. There is not much external evidence of having been fired. To judge from the undamaged screws, the sideplate had never been off. Inside there was lots of carbon grime and dried lubricant. Had somebody shot some old black powder .22 ammo in it? I don't think the gun had been fired in decades. The cylinder could be forced to turn on the yoke spindle, but it would not twirl; the oil was that congealed.
The fitting is as fine as always on a prewar gun, but individual pieces don't look as finely finished as as I have come to expect from 1930s work. And the charge holes seem to have little spurs under the ejector star that would make it hard to load this gun. It may need some judicious attention with a round tool to clean up the little intrusions into what is supposed to be cartridge space.
The highest number I know on a prewar KG is 534576, just 10 above this one. There are no known prewar .32 caliber I-frames numbered above this run of Kit Guns. I don't think there are any prewar I-frames with serial numbers above 534600, which I pick as a round number. Known I-frames in .22 or .32 caliber with numbers above 534600 are postwar transition models.
This came out of the Amoskeag auction last month. These little guys can be found, but you have to look for them. I am blessed that this one still has its original box, which is numbered to the gun. Note that the interior boilerplate is for the .22/32 Heavy Frame Target, which had a six-inch barrel. This box was made to serve for a Kit Gun by slapping the proper label on the outside and hand correcting "6" to "4" on the inside of the lid.
ADDENDUM. Oops, forgot to mention that these are the wrong stocks. They are numbered 530415, which might be another Kit Gun, but could also be a .32 Regulation Police. The two closest known guns on either side of this number, 530286 and 530553, are both Kit Guns and reside in my safe.
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