Okay, well the mystery continues.
Speaking of mysteries, I have received an inquiry to the effect of what's up with this "short action" business. I reckon if one wants to know, more than one wants to know.
"Short action" refers to the distance the hammer falls when released---more particularly the elapsed time from release to primer strike---and a shorter amount of time is better. I can't speak to the history of the development of short actions, but it figures to have been for the benefit of those few souls who could shoot better than their guns could. And once the benefits became known, it caught on with the many who thought they could shoot better than their guns could.
In S&W land, virtually all pre-war revolvers were long action---so called because their hammers fell a greater distance than the newer short actions---and took longer to do so. And we probably should restrict our comments to revolvers of the hand ejector variety---if for no other reason than I don't have much use for apples and oranges comparisons.
The beginning of the end of long actions came about in 1940 with the introduction of the K-22 2nd Model. It had a short action. I don't know how it compares with post-war models, but it's easy enough to find out----grab a ruler, and measure from a point on the hammer to a point on the frame----at points repeatable on a post-war model.
At this point we have the pre-war long action, the 1940 version of a short action, and the post-war version (which may be the same as the 1940 version--in terms of distance/lock time). And so it was until the introduction of the single action only K-38---known in its early days as a "short action single action". I had one of those, the homemade version consisting of a regular everyday K-38 and a conversion kit supplied by the factory.
Then I got a real one----a Model 14-3, circa 1972. Notably absent was any reference to "short action single action"---at least in the letter. I wondered about that, but not very much. Time passed, and I wondered more.
Then I got out a ruler, and measured a regular K-38, and this Model 14-3. I don't remember what the numbers were, so I did it again---just now. The numbers are: K-38, .8"; K-38 SA, .7" (from identical points on both). So they're both short actions, and one's shorter than the other. As long as I had a ruler out, I measured a K-22 2nd (22/40), 1.1"; and a K-38, 1.1" (from identical points on both---but it's an eyeball comparison because the hammer noses/faces are different). That said, the 1940 short action is very close if not identical to the post-war version.
I also measured an M&P Target (pre-war/long action)---1.1"---compared to a K-38, .8"; so a big difference.
All this (except for comparison with the 22/40) was done from firing pin nose to the front of the frame notch where the base of the rear sight sits. It was done "quick and dirty", which is to say the rear sights were not removed, so the actual numbers are not as precise as one might like; but the error factor is essentially the same with all---so the difference is reasonably valid---and the difference is what counts.
Ralph Tremaine
