smith and wesson .22 cal. revolver

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ford406go

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Hello all,
I am new to this forum. Thank you for having me. I have just acquired a 6 in. smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver. It is a pre model 17..I believe K22 masterpiece. would love to hear from someone here who could tell me more about what i have. Serial number on this gun is K36X (3 numbers). No model number. Anyone in a position to help me out here? Thanks in advance. Attempted to load a pic but wouldn't take.
 
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ford406go said:
Hello all,
I am new to this forum. Thank you for having me. I have just acquired a 6 in. smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver. It is a pre model 17..I believe K22 masterpiece. would love to hear from someone here who could tell me more about what i have. Serial number on this gun is K36X (3 numbers). No model number. Anyone in a position to help me out here? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


Welcome to the Forum! You will find the answers you are looking for here and meet a bunch of great gals and guys.

But, we like pictures. We thrive on pictures. Make some with your phone or camera and post them. They provide information that words alone cannot and attract more interest.

Sounds like you landed a sweet piece. Let us see it! :)
 
Welcome.
Sounds like an early post war gun, probably 1947,though experts here can render a better estimate..
Some members here really fancy the low number examples,such as you have.
 
I own many pistols most I would trade off in a hart beat,
The one I would not trade is a 1948 K22 masterpiece, my gun has been through many thousands of rounds, still a very a curate pistol, that has a single action. Break of 1.5 lbs.

I own it's contemporary 10 shot model 617 but it's not as accurate as my old gun, I also have a new ruger GP100 4 inch in 22, while it's a great pistol, it can not compete with the old gun.

I can't help with date other than knowing when the gun lost the extra screws,

But I feel comfortable telling you you have the best rimfire revolver ever built
 
Thanks guys! I also have the 617 in 6 in. and while I have yet to fire it (old man winter) I'm sure its not the handgun this older smith is. Just really curious regarding the low serial numbers.
 
OP, yours should have the Larger extractor rod knob/tip and the single line address. The larger knob increases the value since they were using up pre war parts and there's less than approximately 6000 or less (someone will know for sure) with the larger knob. Here is one with the larger knob. Some call it a LERK, but that name angers others. :D Pictures would help. The low serial shouldn't increase value any unless it was serial 101 or 102, since 101 was the first one.

 
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That is the gun and it does sport the larger ejector rod end. Guys, thanks for the input! I'm working on getting a pic posted here. problem is....I'm not too computer savy.
 
 
They were cranking out K frame targets with a vengeance in the early post-war years---a handful in 1946, maybe 500---18,000 in 1947----and 50,000 and change in 1948---and backed off to about 10,000 in 1949.

A couple of my early .22's---K7568 shipped December 17, 1947, K55489 went out a year later, December 7, 1948----my earliest .32, #K58970 on March 24, 1949----a couple of .38's, #'s K76068 and K78822 on May 16, 1949 and November 18, 1949.

The name of the game was GO-GO-GO!!!


Ralph Tremaine

Well, it took me a while; but it finally dawned on me you're talking about a serial number of K+3 digits---rather than my first impression. That being the case, yours is a 1946 gun. And if my recollection is correct, the earliest is also circa 1946---and is K101(??). (And that is correct, K101 through K614 in 1946.)
 
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My profound "thank you",goes out to "weatherby", for his help in posting the pic of my new toy. Thank you for offering to assist me via email. I will eventually get this figured out,but, in the mean time...look her over, pic her and let me know your thoughts. Thank you all or the input and thank you weatherby for the help.
 
ford406go said:
by the way,,,the combats are coming off and the original diamonds are back in..just did that to tease a buddy of mine locally. He hates them!
Click to expand...

Does one side of your grips have your serial number on the back?

That style of grip looks more like a 1950s style or maybe the top edge got sanded a little rounder by the last owner.

The stamp looks like this.
BkEUj7e.jpg


The top edge on the most early grips have a pronounced ridge at the top.
HPEKutw.jpg


Three digit k 22s are a hoot to own and I really like mine.
 
Apologies to Mr. Tremaine...............

As much as I wish rct269's statement were true and not to be argumentative, I know that all the K-3 digit numbers were not shipped in 1946, at one time I owned K-138 and remember it was shipped in 1947. There were quite a few others of the K-3 digit revolvers shipped in 1947. ford406go you have one of the more desirable K-22 revolvers as stated before and the shipping date for yours has not yet been confirmed as far as I know, sure hope it was one of the 1946 first year revolvers.
 
I think that we pretty much know for sure that there were less than five K-22s out of the first 200 or so numbered guns that shipped in 1946 and they shipped in December 1946... the rest (including SN K-101) shipped in 1947. I would be very surprised if K36X shipped in 1946. Most likely early 1947. :)

Get it lettered and let us K-22 fans know.:D
 
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Ralph Tremaine

Well, it took me a while; but it finally dawned on me you're talking about a serial number of K+3 digits---rather than my first impression. That being the case, yours is a 1946 gun. And if my recollection is correct, the earliest is also circa 1946---and is K101(??). (And that is correct, K101 through K614 in 1946.)
Ralph
Please check with Roy. K101 did not ship in 1946.
 
Wow! really surprised at all the interest on this firearm. And i really do appreciate all the input...seriously ! Thank you! to all of you who have been informative with helping me to identify this firearm.
 
I think it must be clarified that a lot guns were manufactured in 1946 but shipped in 1947.

A lot of us go by the shipping date for our guns birthday as its the date that will be on the factory letter and it can be verified.

I prefer to go by the ship date as there seem to be many instances of guns made out of order.


One of the great things about joining the SWCA, is that you can go deeper into how the Company and factory operated and the nuances that arise.

Please consider joining,it can be very informative and there is a great bunch of guys willing to share what they picked up.
 
While I'm at it here...please check the wanted section as well. I'm looking for a pre model 27 83/8 in. that i owned in the early 80,s that was an inheritance. It was my grandfathers and I had to sell it to feed my kids..I would love to locate it and attempt to get it back. Please review that add and BOLO..thanks
 
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