Help w/ Info and Value on 5-screw K-38

[HWayne]

I just bought what appears to be an old(er) K-38 6" 5 screw revolver at an auction. It was 'sold as' a Model 14, but after reading a bunch of posts online, it certainly seems like it was built prior to the pre-57 Model 14 designation. Here's what I know:
- 6" heavy barrel
- .38 S&W Special Ctg.
- Serial # K 1782xx - located on the bottom of the barrel, above the ejector rod
- 4 screws on the right side of the frame, one under the top portion of the right grip panel
- 1 screw in the front portion of the trigger guard
- Additional numbers/markings inside the frame when you open the cylinder as follows: N (line 1) 4895 8 (line 2) 8 (line 3) These appear to be randomly spaced and perhaps hand applied on lines 1 and 3 - spacing on line 2 is uniform.

Overall the revolver is in decent - not great - condition. The finish is worn thin in spots and does not have the deep shine/lustre that it used to. There is some light pitting on the barrel near the muzzle, and other marks and light scratches, but no visibile rust or significant dings anywhere. The wood grips also look pretty good for their age with no scratches or dings, but the've lost a bit of their shine too. They do appear to be original wood, with the diamond in the middle and deep clean lines in the insets. The left grip is relieved for the thumb rest on the left side under the cylinder release. There is a trace line on the cylinder and it's a bit dirty/sticky so I know it was a 'shooter'. The forcing cone looks good, and operation of the cylinder release, hammer, and trigger all seem fine. In fact, the let-off is probably on of the crispest 'suprise' breaks I have ever felt! The hammer appears to be 'normal' - not a wide spur, and the trigger has a very wide shoe attached with two very tiny allen screws, but I have no idea if that was a factory option or added later.

This is obviously no 'safe queen' so I am very much looking forward to shooting it alongside my late 60's Colt Officer's Model Match .38 for comparison! I am new to the forum and to collecting older revolvers so any/all input is welcome. TIA

-H

PS - I have photos if someone can tell me how to upload on this forum.

 

[LEO918]

Welcome to the forum from Arizona. Sounds like you have a nice old K-38. You'll love it as a shooter.

 

[scha]

This serial number is vintage 1953.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[murphydog]

Welcome also. Probably a 1953 shipped gun. The additional stampings you describe are internal factory codes that have no official meaning after its departure. Hope this is helpful.

 

[HWayne]

Thanx guys! I tried to upload photos but I am getting an upload error. Any ideas?
-H

 

[Fredo Batali]

HWayne,

I found the easiest way to download photos is to uplaod them to Photobucket first and then click on the thumbnail in your "library"
A menu will drop down from the tools symbol in the upper right corner when you click on it. The choice you want is "get links" click on the bottom line (jpg or some such) and it will turn "yellow" for a very short time and the word "copied" will flash in it. Go to your post and click where you want to insert the photo. Right click and chose "paste" and it will appear as a letter/number code. When you post your reply the photo will be there. Pretty long winded reply but it's really fast when you get used to it. Hope this helps.

De Oppresso Liber

 

[H Richard]

I did a nearly identical comparison between a 1951 K38 Target and a Colt Officers Model Heavy Barrel Target, both 6". Using a sandbag rest at 25 yards with HBWC target loads it was a toss up. A lot of fun.

 

[glowe]

Try this link for posting pictures. Just repeat the process to add additional pictures, up to 5 are allowed.

Smith & Wesson Forum - FAQ: Reading and Posting Messages

 

[k22fan]

No one else has been willing to touch your title question so since less than a year ago I purchased a 1948 K 38 that would grade about the same as yours we can compare what we paid. Bear in mind that I bought mine before the buying panic started but from a knowledgeable dealer. I paid $383 OTD. I expect the forum’s advanced collectors will howl that's ridiculously high but for the most part they don’t shop for lower condition guns. If you compare our K-38s to similar priced alternative adjustable sighted revolvers the price is justified. The alternatives are Taurus, surplus police 15s, or maybe a worn Ruger Security Six. What did it cost to get your’s home including transfer fees, taxes, etc.?

You’ll find the serial number stamped in five places on the metal and if the stocks are original on the inside of the right stock. The number should be on the butt, barrel flat, rear end of cylinder, back surface of yoke visible through a chamber and on the extractor. The assembly number that keeps the frame and side plate together before a serial number is assigned will be on the side of the grip frame and back side of the side plate.

Unless one was special ordered with a bright polish K-38s of this vintage got a dull brushed finish so the finish on yours may be closer to how it originally looked than you thought.

 

[Mike McLellan]

Howdy. That K-38 is one of ther finest revolvers ever made. It's well worth whatever you paid for it! Those stocks have been going for $150.00 lately on ebay. That trigger shoe (after market) costs about $25.00, and I have them on all my guns, even though many shooters don't like (trust) them. Have fun shooting that old rascal.

 

[k22fan]

Reflecting on this thread it occurred to me that I didn’t consider this when I posted:

[...] The left grip is relieved for the thumb rest on the left side under the cylinder release. [...]

The “thumb cut out” likely is a “foot ball” reloading relief cut in a set of target stocks. It was unusual for the serial number to be marked on target stocks when a revolver left S&W wearing them. So the lack of a # doesn’t mean they aren’t original, but IIRC 1953 is early for foot ball targets.

 

[LEO918]

The grips are ruined magnas or targets that are too late for the gun.

 

[HWayne]

No one else has been willing to touch your title question so since less than a year ago I purchased a 1948 K 38 that would grade about the same as yours we can compare what we paid. Bear in mind that I bought mine before the buying panic started but from a knowledgeable dealer. I paid $383 OTD. I expect the forum’s advanced collectors will howl that's ridiculously high but for the most part they don’t shop for lower condition guns. If you compare our K-38s to similar priced alternative adjustable sighted revolvers the price is justified. The alternatives are Taurus, surplus police 15s, or maybe a worn Ruger Security Six. What did it cost to get your’s home including transfer fees, taxes, etc.?

You’ll find the serial number stamped in five places on the metal and if the stocks are original on the inside of the right stock. The number should be on the butt, barrel flat, rear end of cylinder, back surface of yoke visible through a chamber and on the extractor. The assembly number that keeps the frame and side plate together before a serial number is assigned will be on the side of the grip frame and back side of the side plate.

Unless one was special ordered with a bright polish K-38s of this vintage got a dull brushed finish so the finish on yours may be closer to how it originally looked than you thought.

Thanx for all the replies! Keep 'em coming!

I was the top bidder for this K-38 at $375 - $450 out the door (after the auction house premium, taxes, fees, etc.). Based on what I have seen recently, I thought this a pretty fair price. There was a 4" K-38 there that was in a little better condition that went for double what I paid ($750 top bid), and a couple K-22s that were in worse shape went that high as well. I supect that it's a sign of age and pining for the 'good old days' but prices are just CRAZY now, and my hope is that I can afford some ammo to enjoy what I own.

I didn't verify that the serial number is the same in all places but can do so the next time I take the grips off. The cylinder matches. BTW, the grips enclose the bottom of the frame so that is not exposed either unless you remove the grips.

I have to run now and will be gone all day - will try to upload photos again tonight. Thanx again for the replies!

-H

 

[DCWilson]

Any five- or four-screw K-38 Masterpiece revolver in sound mechanical condition is at least a $400 gun even if it is kind of worn and used looking. The better the finish the higher the price. It sounds to me as though your gun would bring at least $500 almost anywhere, so you are OK on your purchase. In best condition, these guns can go for up to $800, and if they are the really early ones with single-line address marks ("MADE IN U.S.A.") and even the prewar style of ejector rod they can go for over a thousand.

Looking forward to pics, and welcome to the forum.

 

[HWayne]

I think I figured out why my pictures won't upload (not the most tech savvy anymore!) - looks like my pics are way too big/dense compared to the sizes allowed for jpg files. Do the same limitations apply when I upload them from a web site? What's a good tool to use to crop and 'dumb down' my photos so that I can share them on here? TIA

 

[DWalt]

Most photo software will have a feature allowing you to resize the image. Simply make it smaller, using fewer pixels, and therefore reducing the file size. Another way is to greatly lower the resolution of your camera (if your camera has that capability). For posting purposes, the lowest resolution is generally OK. Another tip - use your photo software crop the image down to showing only what you want to show. That also reduces image size.

 

[DCWilson]

I think I figured out why my pictures won't upload (not the most tech savvy anymore!) - looks like my pics are way too big/dense compared to the sizes allowed for jpg files. Do the same limitations apply when I upload them from a web site? What's a good tool to use to crop and 'dumb down' my photos so that I can share them on here? TIA

You have a good response on resizing already, but I just wanted to add that uploading your images to a hosting service like ImageShack or Photobucket won't run into the size problems. That's one of the reasons I prefer the Photobucket solution -- the images appear in full (or almost full) size in the post itself, not as attached thumbnails.

 

[DWalt]

I use Photobucket. It is free, and you can store a lot of images there (just how many, I don't know, but I have well over 100). It has a feature which generates Image files (/IMG) which can be copied and pasted directly in your postings.

 

[HWayne]

OK - I uploaded my photos to photobucket in an album named K-38. Let's see if you guys can access them! Let me know if this works.

http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/hwaynekeyser/library/K-38 Masterpiece


<div style="width:480px;text-align:right;"><embed width="480" height="360" src="http://pic2.pbsrc.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf" flashvars="rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed1315.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft581%2Fhwaynekeyser%2FK-38%2520Masterpiece%2Ffeed.rss" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" /><a href="javascript:void(0);" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_geturs.gif" style="border:none;" /></a><a href="http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/hwaynekeyser/library/K-38%20Masterpiece" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_viewall.gif" style="border:none;" alt="hwaynekeyser's K-38 Masterpiece album on Photobucket" /></a></div>

Or embed a slideshow?

http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/hwaynekeyser/slideshow/K-38 Masterpiece

 

[HWayne]

Still not getting it right...

I now have a photobucket album with my K-38 pictures, but I am struggling with how to get them into my post for y'all to see...

I feel like such a tech moron!