K22 help

[chuckbiscuits]

Hi all. Although I've been a member since 2009, I spend most of my time on Rimfire Central. So I guess I'm a new guy!

I am helping an elderly friend of a friend to sell her firearms that are now making her nervous having them in the house. I have some questions regarding what I believe to be a K22 Masterpiece. My preliminary research (on RFC) has led me to believe it is from 1948, but any assistance, expertise and experience you can lend will be much appreciated. I will attempt to post pictures, so be patient.

One of the things that concerns me is that the serial number on the crane and on the frame adjacent are different than the serial number on the butt, although they are the same as each other. Is this weird or normal?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[chuckbiscuits]

More pics.

 

[series guy]

The numbers on the yoke and on the yoke cut in the frame are assembly numbers and have no bearing on the serial number or date of manufacture. The K60459 is the serial number and 1949 should be a close estimate.

 

[JP@AK]

That is a very nice K-22 Masterpiece. Ship dates for revolvers in the K60000 range are rather spread out. I show one as early as December, 1948, and one as late as February, 1950. Most of them seem to have shipped in 1949.

The picture is complicated by units of the K-32 Masterpiece line which also show up in that serial range, shipping in 1949. I also show K-38 Masterpiece revolvers in the K60000 range shipping in 1949.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass, Chuck! Yes, a K-22 Masterpiece from around 1948-49 as series guy says. There should be serial numbers on the rear face of the cylinder, under the barrel on the extractor rod flat, on the back of the right grip panel as well as on the butt frame of the gun. These should all match to indicate it is in its original configuration...and there is no reason to doubt they match. If you want an appraisal, I recommend you take more, well-lighted pictures of all sides of the gun and post them here for the experts to see. If she has the original box, papers and tools, those need to be pictured as well as they add value to the package.


Ah, I see Jack posted before I finished typing.

 

[JSR III]

I think what is partially confusing here is that the serial number on the butt is similar to the assembly numbers that I am trying to read in the yoke albeit somewhat difficult.

Normally a serial number like K 60459 would have an assembly number like 2055 so there would be no misunderstanding. I can't remember the exact numbers that I saw but being that they both appear to start with 60 and have 5 digits makes it confusing.

 

[Targets Guy]

I've logged s/n K600xx shipping 12/48, s/n K602xx shipping 12/49 and s/n K607xx shipping 1/50. All were 6" barreled, blue.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

The ONLY number you need is the serial number on the butt. The other numbers have absolutely NOTHING to do with the shipping destination. It is in great condition. If you come across and Smith & Wessons where the serial number starts with Zero (0), let me know with a PM.

 

[glowe]

Even with the anomalies, I believe your revolver was likely shipped at the end of 1948. I have K61189, that shipped in December, 1948. At least your gun would have been manufactured in 1948. Great shooting guns in both 22 and 38 Special.

BTW, the K22 reads 65536 for the assembly number, and is appropriate for the era. It seems that the factory used ascending numbers for some time. My K44,863 is 32432 assembly number and K102233 is 99315 assembly number.

 

[sjmjax]

I'm sorry to hear she wants to be rid of it.
A revolver like that should be a treasured family heirloom.

 

[chuckbiscuits]

Thanks for all your help fellas. I will endeavor to post better pics soon.

 

[sceva]

Per the SWCA database
K60198 shipped Jan 1949
K60705 Shipped Feb 1950

That is probably a 1949 Revolver.

 

[rct269]

Jinks' History of Smith & Wesson tells us the post-war K frame serial numbers K18732 through K73121 were manufactured/assembled in 1948---and as we all know, it could have been shipped pretty much anytime after it was assembled----several days or several years-----several years being rather unlikely----all things considered.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[glowe]

Ralph, not sure about those serial numbers associated with a K22 CM? Roy states in his History of S&W that they were not in production until 1949. He stated that by 1949 the demand for a 4" Masterpiece was sufficient to to place the model in limited production. He also stated that the 1950 catalog shows the first appearance of a Combat Masterpiece, which I assume was a K38. The K22 CM did not get its own section even in the 1952 catalog.

 

[rct269]

I'm not sure either. The only thing I am sure of is he (Roy) titled the chart in his book "POSTWAR K-FRAME SERIAL NUMBERS". So he presumably knew sometime prior to May, 1977---when the book was first printed, that revolvers carrying the serial numbers shown in the chart (and obviously shown in the factory records----his source) were manufactured/assembled when he (then) said they were. It's perhaps noteworthy that he didn't bother to say anything about the several models within the K-FRAME designation---and I also don't know why he would have bothered to do so.

My copy of the book is from the eleventh printing (December 1992) so it stands to reason he had more than a few opportunities to alter anything he and/or the publisher deemed worthwhile.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[Targets Guy]

Jinks' History of Smith & Wesson tells us the post-war K frame serial numbers K18732 through K73121 were manufactured/assembled in 1948---and as we all know, it could have been shipped pretty much anytime after it was assembled----several days or several years-----several years being rather unlikely----all things considered.

Ralph Tremaine

In that s/n range the latest shipping date I have logged is March 1950; that occurred twice. s/n K700xx and s/n K721xx. Both were K-22s. My log does not include all of the s/n's in that range; only 76 revolvers.

 

[rct269]

In that s/n range the latest shipping date I have logged is March 1950; that occurred twice. s/n K700xx and s/n K721xx. Both were K-22s. My log does not include all of the s/n's in that range; only 76 revolvers.

That doesn't surprise me. The post-war demand for commercial firearms was huge, and the several manufacturers were steppin' and fetchin' to meet that demand. To do so was a Herculean effort--more so for some than for others.

S&W's post-war production of K-frames (with K prefix serial numbers) started in 1946----when they turned out a whopping 513 such revolvers---and I figure those guns went straight to the shipping folks as fast as they came off the line. They stepped things up a bit in 1947, when 18,116 such revolvers were cranked out. Come 1948, they had their act together, and 54,389 of them were produced. That must have satisfied the marketplace for the time being, because only 11,027 were done in 1949.

These folks were doing what they were doing to make money----and the more the better. They didn't spend much time making product they hoped might sell---sometime. They made product to fill orders---and the more the merrier!!

Ralph Tremaine

 

[JP@AK]

S&W's post-war production of K-frames (with K prefix serial numbers) started in 1946----when they turned out a whopping 513 such revolvers---and I figure those guns went straight to the shipping folks as fast as they came off the line.

Well . . .
If there were 513 K target guns assembled in 1946, I have no idea what they were. The K-22 Masterpiece was the first to ship. Only a handful were made in 1946, and only two actually shipped that year - in December.

The 1947 All Model Circular states that only the K-22 Masterpiece was ready for shipping that year. It says that completed guns "are shipping against orders placed during 1946."

Regarding the K-38 Masterpiece, it says that "full production" will take "some time." In fact, the first K-38 wasn't assembled until June, 1947, and full production didn't begin until May, 1948.

Two paragraphs later, the AMC says, "We anticipate being able to have the entire Masterpiece Line in complete circulation before the end of 1948."

 

[glowe]

So now I get it. You gave us production numbers for the entire K frame line, 22, 32, and 38. This thread was about K22 CMs, so I was referring to them specifically. I find no way to know the serial number range or numbers of K22 CMs made, but earliest I can find so far is K87XXX range, having been shipped in August 1950.

 

[JP@AK]

I find no way to know the serial number range or numbers of K22 CMs made, but earliest I can find so far is K87XXX range, having been shipped in August 1950.

Yes. That is the right range. I show a .22 Combat Masterpiece with serial number K75510 shipping on May 26, 1950. That is the lowest number and earliest ship date that I know of.

 

[Rusty parrot]

I will add this in an attempt to just provide some additional information.
K60366 shipped March 1950 and K60762 shipped February 1950.
Obviously your best source of information would be to get a Historical Letter.
Good luck.