What year was this K22 made

[jspick]

I am looking at a K22 with lots of bluing wear. What I want to know is what year it was made
K22, 22LR, 5 screw, I don't remember all the serial number but it is
K 452XX
Thanks for the help and how does one find the date of manufacture on our own? John

 

[peterdeb]

1948
A quick internet search shows this. I pasted a partial list.
- K Series:
K101 – K614……………......1946
K615 – K18,731…………....1947
K18,732 – K73,121……..…1948
K73,122 – K84,149……..…1949
K84,150 – K104,047…...1950
K104,048 – K136,690...1951
K136,691 – K175,637...1952

 

[Hawg Rider]

K22 shipping date vs. manufacturing date

Those are accurate shipping dates, but are not dates of manufacture. The only way to find out exactly when your revolver was manufactured is to request a Letter from S&W- but the shipping date (1948) is often fairly close to when it was made. My K22 (K40403) is 1948, too, and mine is in about the same condition as yours. Most of us on the S&W Forum refer to the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition" (Nahas and Supica). Jim Supica is a Forum member and expert commentator. You can pick up one of these excellent reference books online for a reasonable price, and you won't find a better source of information on all things S&W. Enjoy your K22- they are excellent revolvers and very accurate shooters!

 

[Targets Guy]

Almost certainly shipped in 1948. K455xx shipped 11/1948. K421xx shipped 9/1948.


Mine, s/n K87xx, shipped 11/1947

 

[JH1951]

Enjoy that K22. They are a fine piece of workmanship and a joy to own and shoot.

The 1948 shipping date matches the information that I have. (Trivia: I recall reading that 1948 was one of the highest production years in the first decade or so of production with over 40,000 units shipped. Don't bet the farm on that without verifying.)

As for your request "what year it was made", you must assume it was near that time. As far as I know, "manufacture dates" are not available, and only "shipping dates" can be provided by Mr. Jinks.

All of the letters I have from Mr. Jinks (S&W) state the shipping date, the location to where it was shipped, and often barrel length, finish, and type of grips/stocks. Occasionally other tidbits may surface, but date of manufacture in my experience has not been one.

 

[Doc44]

S&W did not keep track of manufacturing by serial number so it is not possible to determine when a particular revolver was completed. For example, for the 44 Magnum, the plant designation is NT-430 and for the K-22 Masterpiece it is KT-22. S&W would record in its daily manufacturing log the number of NT-430 and/or KT-22 revolvers completed.

The shipping date is used in factory letters as it is recorded in the shipping log and on the invoice. It is often considered by collectors to be synonymous with the manufacturing date.

Bill

 

[jspick]

Thank you for the info. So this one was "shipped" in 1948. That is cool. I already have one that shipped in 1953. They are very fine revolvers. I also have a 617 no dash that is almost as smooth.