Help ID a K-22

Register to hide this ad
Closest SN I have to K 74451 on my list is K 757xx (a K-38) which shipped in 5/49. I also show a K-22 with SN K 761xx which shipped in 10/49. Your gun was definitely 1949 production. K-22s did not have high horn grips. Yours should have the so-called "Sharp Shoulder" Magnas, in use until the early 1950s.
 
Last edited:
I agree with all above.

High horn Magna grips are shown on the Centennial J frame left, middle, and Med high horns are shown on the Bodyguard top, right:

CIMG6160.jpg
 
. . . K-22s did not have high horn grips. Yours should have the so-called "Sharp Shoulder" Magnas, in use until the early 1950s.

Help me out here - I always thought the high horn term referenced the high sides on the stocks that rose above the butt-frame onto the sides of the frame. They could be either sharp or rounded shoulder.

So you could have a high horn, sharp shoulder set of stocks??
 
Help me out here - I always thought the high horn term referenced the high sides on the stocks that rose above the butt-frame onto the sides of the frame. They could be either sharp or rounded shoulder.

So you could have a high horn, sharp shoulder set of stocks??

No, you could have round or sharp shouldered Magna stocks, as opposed to Service or round top stocks.

Only J frames could have med high and high horn Magnas.
 
Last edited:
I was going to add pics, but fell asleep and didn't win the auction.
It is still up for sale, as I've moved on to a different gun.
If you want to see it, the site rhymes with FunSmoker!
 
I agree with all above.

High horn Magna grips are shown on the Centennial J frame left, middle, and Med high horns are shown on the Bodyguard top, right:

So they are the exact same design as the K frame Magnas and Targets except for the round butt. So who started using this term and why is it only reserved for the J frame?? As E. F. Hutton said "Inquiring minds want to know".
 
The terms develop from collectors over many years. "Necessity is the mother of invention" as it goes. So when the Model names and numbers fail to describe specifically a model's features and/or vintage, collector descriptive terms evolve.

There's numerous examples of this verbal shorthand in Smith collecting: "pre model", "pre war", "post war", "baby Chiefs", mushroom knob, barrel knob, screw count (5, 4, 3 screw frame), cokes, etc., etc.

I and J frame Magnas on two models only made on the J frame have characteristics specific to those models that K frames do not, hence the 'high horn' and 'med horn' terms for the Centennial and Bodyguard Magnas respectively. Early models have them, later versions do not, so they help distinguish the vintage, or if they have incorrect replacements.

K and N frame Magnas have the 'sharp shoulder' feature on early models that J frames do not have. And later models have 'round shoulders', hence those terms are only specific to K and N frame Magnas.

Hope this is helpful,
 
Last edited:
I am just have a hard time seeing the exact same features and not being able to define them the same.

I threw together a pic of a K frame and a J frame. Which is which?

. . . and don't even get me started on the ejector knobs!!:D
 

Attachments

  • Untitled.jpg
    Untitled.jpg
    47.1 KB · Views: 44
Last edited:
Both look like standard: standard J Magnas, and standard (round shoulder) K Magnas; neither high horn nor sharp shoulder terms apply.

The only difference of J vs. K vs. N standard rd shoulder Magna rd butt stocks is overall size.

On the J sq butt stocks, they have round butt corners similar to J rd butts and again 3 different overall sizes.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top