TARGET MASTERPIECE, PHOTOS AND INFO AS PROMISED

[robertrwalsh]

I picked up the "new" Target Masterpiece yesterday and photographed it along side of it's slightly older brother. As far as I can tell the older one is from 1948 and the newer from 1949. The newer one is wearing Pachmayr grips, the older one more traditional furniture. As far as I can tell they are identical except for the barrel profile and rib profile (and weight of course). The older one has a rib that measures about 0.275" wide at the rear end and about 0.185" at the muzzle. The newer one has a rib that measures about 0.625 at the rear and about 0.550 at the muzzle. The older one has a barrel with a noticeable taper beginning shortly in front of the frame and tapering to about 0.575". The newer one has a barrel with no obvious taper beginning about 0.715 immediately in front of the frame and ending about 0.650 at the muzzle. (The yellow paint on the sights is me.) I haven't shot the "new" one yet. The old one shoots much better than I can hold.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Forgot photos. Here they are, I hope.

 

[Fullmetaljacket]

Thanks for posting the two barrel profiles side by side. A pic is worth a thousand...you know the rest.

 

[Engine49guy]

The narrow rib 6" is a K38 Masterpiece.
The wide rib one is a 6" K38 Heavy Masterpiece.

Prior to WW2 when SW put target sights on a .38 M&P it was called the "M&P Target" and the .22lr equivelant was the "K22 Outdoorsman" until 1940 when SW produced a small run with the new micrometer rear sight, those were the pre war "K22/40 Masterpiece".

 

[wheelgun610]

I suppose you realize those are pre-war stocks on the one with the tapered barrel.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Yup. They are what came on it, though I had to do a little research and seek some input. I am a bit weak on the furniture thing. I am pretty sure the Pachmayr's are post-war.

 

[Timb1]

Tapered barrel K38 are fairly rare. I think they were only made for a couple years at most.

 

[JP@AK]

Engine49guy pegged the nomenclature.

The first K-38 Heavy Masterpiece was serialized at K66222. It shipped on February 4, 1949.

Full production of the original K-38 Masterpiece (narrow rib) started in May 1948, with only a handful made in 1947. The lowest number on a K-38 that I'm aware of is K2142, but most of the early examples are in the K4000 range.

If you provide the serial numbers of your new acquisitions, we can give you a rough idea of when they shipped. I could also add them to the database.

Incidentally, "Target" was never part of the name for the K-38. The books out there that say that are incorrect.

 

[JP@AK]

Tapered barrel K38 are fairly rare. I think they were only made for a couple years at most.

They were available until at least 1952. For several years S&W made both the K-38 Masterpiece and the K-38 Heavy Masterpiece.

They only come along once in a while, but they were made long enough that "rare" doesn't apply. When I was building my K-38 collection (1947/48-1982), I found and purchased a high-grade narrow rib version (shipped in April 1949) long before I was able to locate a high-grade Model 14 or Model 14-1 for sale.

 

[USSR]

D@mn you guys. I just went and bought one of those narrow rib K-38 Masterpieces.

 

[Engine49guy]

.....As far as I can tell they are identical except for the barrel profile and rib profile (and weight of course). The older one has a rib that measures about 0.275" wide at the rear end and about 0.185" at the muzzle. The newer one has a rib that measures about 0.625 at the rear and about 0.550 at the muzzle.....

If you look closely the frames actually have several differences between the two, the narrow rib Masterpiece frame is notched at the front edges to mate to the narrow barrel rib cosmetically, for this reason a wide rib barrel will not mate to a narrow rib frame cosmetically.

Btw, The narrow rib frame continued in use on the "Combat Masterpiece" up until the 15-4 revision, the 15-5 changed to the wide rib.
The wide rib "Heavy" Masterpiece frame top strap is square at the front lacking those notches, another difference is that the wide rib frame usually has a bead blasted top strap on either side of the rear sight leaf where the narrow rib frame should be a smooth polished finish.
One last thing if you compare the two front sight units they should be different in width and shape so would not interchange.
While strictly from memory there might be a difference in the way the muzzles are finished as well but I might be wrong about that,

Be interesting to see their muzzles close up side by side to see and also comparing their front site and ramp base widths .

 

[robertrwalsh]

Serial # are K43924 and K81247.

 

[JP@AK]

Serial # are K43924 and K81247.

K43924 probably shipped in the summer or autumn of 1948.
K81247 most likely shipped in 1950.