K-32 What do I have

stu1ritter

stu1ritter

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I know the K-32 had a 6" barrel. OK. Today I walk into my LGS and there is a pre-K32. I ask him if I can see it, look at the numbers and tell him I'll take it. This is a 4" barreled K-32 and all numbers match. He told me it had been re barreled as, of course, it should have a 6" barrel. I told him I didn't care, it was a K frame .32. Would those who know please look at these photo's and tell me what I have. The serial number which is on the cylinder, grip and barrel match at K 67160. The grips were diamond magna's but didn't match (later gun). I'm filling out the form right now for a factory letter.
thanks,
Stu

hb75stm
 
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It's interesting. Based on the location of the barrel stampings, it looks to have been shortened from a 6", but the million dollar question is if it is factory original, altered or aftermarket. The Patridge front sight suggests a gunsmithing job to me. I think there were shorter .44 HE Targets of this time frame that had the non-centered barrel stamps that were confirmed as factory guns in semi-recent threads here.

Mike Priwer may have some insight here, and it looks like a candidate for a factory letter in any case. Interested to read what others think.
 
Better send that letter request out! Looks good. Can you take a few pics of the muzzle?
 
Photo's of the muzzle
 

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Memphis said:
Hmmm..that muzzle and crown look righteous to me.

Roger
Click to expand...

Me, too. Now that 410bore posted the previous link I recall reading it (but obviously not the part about the Patridge front sight) :).

Interesting about the spacing of the digits of the SN on the gun on the 2013 thread and this one...must've been the start of new tooling for the stamping between the two guns.
 
There was today a posting mentioning the existence of a few 4" .32 Combat Masterpieces that never made it to the mass production stage. Maybe this is one of them. I have no idea. Definitely worth a letter.
 
My early K revolvers aren't nearby for comparison of barrel stamping locations but I see nothing that precludes it being a .32 Combat Masterpiece. The crown looks correct. I've read here that the earliest .22 Combat Masterpieces had patridge sights and my early one is so equipped. That seems consistent with this .32.
 
stu1ritter said:
Yes, there is the serial number

gfs7.jpg
Click to expand...

No rework marks,Thats a good sign.With Guns like these you just never know until the Letter is in your hand.I have a rare barrel length Gun that I have been waiting for over 3 Months for a letter on.I have went back and forth in my head about a Million times now:o
 
jhvaughan2 said:
um... what you have is a dream come true.
Click to expand...

I was getting ready to go up to the Denver Merchandise Mart to help setting up for the Colorado Gun Collectors show this weekend. I've been having trouble with a first year 586 with a tad of excessive headspace and decided to go to a LGS to check out a Ruger GP100 4". This was sitting next to it. The moment I saw it I told the clerk I'll take it and I had to go back home to get the cash to buy it. I was pretty buzzed all the way as I've wanted a K-32 for years and years. Price was $600 and I didn't question it. It was on consignment.

Stu
 
stu1ritter, K-32 Combat Masterpiece?

Well Stu, I hate to be the one who has to inform you of your good fortune, your gun looks "Righteous" to this Non Expert. The letter you are seeking will surely confirm what others including myself believe. Even if its not the original barrel length its a really cool revolver! Please do not print what the cost was but confirm, if you will, that they knew not what they had for sale!

I see what they were asking and suppose you did not haggle but I like it very much!

CONGRATULATIONS are in order in my opinion!
 
smitholdtimer said:
Well Stu, I hate to be the one who has to inform you of your good fortune, your gun looks "Righteous" to this Non Expert. The letter you are seeking will surely confirm what others including myself believe. Even if its not the original barrel length its a really cool revolver! Please do not print what the cost was but confirm, if you will, that they knew not what they had for sale!

I see what they were asking and suppose you did not haggle but I like it very much!

CONGRATULATIONS are in order in my opinion!
Click to expand...

The guy that owns the store told me that "if the barrel hadn't been cut it was a $2,500 gun, but it sure will be a good shooter". When I went home to get my cash I grabbed my feeler gauges to check barrel to cylinder and headspace and they are well within spec. I wasn't going to let go of this revolver no matter what. A 4" K-32, what more could you ask for?
Stu
 
After sitting and staring at my narrow rib K-32----#58970, and measuring "things"----and sitting and staring at two later Combat Masterpieces (22 & 38)----and making some totally off the wall SWAG's, I've decided you have a very nicely cut/finished barrel. Let me know if I'm right or wrong when the letter shows up.

Ralph Tremaine
 
Stu, this is definitely a case of "Good things come..." regardless of the gun's provenance. You definitely have a winner there. It would be nice to get confirmation that it is "factory" but at the price you paid and for what you've got there, your are definitely in High Cotton! Congratulations and enjoy it.

Froggie
 
There was a special order for 10 four-inch K-32 Masterpieces placed by B.W. Folsom of Warren, OH. I don't know if the full set of serial numbers for these guns has ever been reported, but it appears from ones that have turned up that the numbers lie in the K66xxx-K68xxx range. Obviously that range includes this one, so it could be a Folsom gun. I don't know if all guns were shipped at once, but one of them was shipped in May 1949; it just turned 65.

Bear in mind that regular production of four inch barrels on the K-38 and K-22 Masterpieces did not begin until later in that year, and some sat in inventory until early 1950. I believe the lowest serial number known on a Pre-15 is about K80000, and the lowest serial number on a Pre-18 is about K90000. These four inch Folsom K-32s may have played a role in the company's decision to offer target K-frames with shorter barrels in the more popular calibers. The production Combat Masterpieces had ramp sights, of course; these 10 K-32s and a few special order K-38s had Patridge blades.

I'm thinking that any four-inch Masterpiece assembled before summer of 1949 would have sported a barrel cut down from six inches at the factory. If the only crowning tools available were designed for use on longer barrels with a slightly smaller muzzle diameter, that might explain the slight ridge around the crown we see on the shorter barrel here. I agree that the crown here looks a little non-factory.

I'm leaning toward this being one of the Folsom guns. It will take a letter to nail that down, of course, and I hope the OP comes back with an update when he gets the verdict from the company historian. I'll eat crow if it turns out I have overinterpreted the scant evidence at this time.
 
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David, I am mailing off the letter request this morning. Do you think it would be OK to mail a list of URL's for the photo's or do I really need to send actual photo's along?
thanks,
Stu
 
It's easier for Roy if you print out some photos and put them in with the letter request. You don't need to bury him in pics. I usually send only one or two photos when I'm lettering something.
 
Just found a local camera store where I uploaded on line and pick up prints later this morning. That worked. Thanks and I will most assuredly keep y'all informed when I get the letter.
Stu
 
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