S&W revolver names before World War IIName Caliber Frame.22 Hand Ejector Ladysmith 22 Long M.22/32 Target 22 Long Rifle I.22 Outdoorsman 22 Long Rifle K.32 Hand Ejector (round Butt) 32 S&W Long I.32 Regulation Police (Square Butt) 32 S&W Long I.32-20 Hand Ejector 32-20 Win. K.38 Military&Police 38 Spl K.38 Hand Ejector (same as above, withadjustable sights).38 Regulation Police (Square Butt) 38 S&W I.38 Terrier 2' Round Butt 38 S&W I.38/44 Heavy Duty (fixed sights) 38 Spl N.38/44 Outdoorsman (Adj.
CCI Clean Offers a Mess Free Solution in.22 LR. I recently had the good fortune to receive a new ammunition line from CCI called Clean-22. The offering is another quality product from CCI, who. The serial numbers K18732 - K73121 was used in 1948. The K-22 Masterpiece which in 1957 became the Model 17. A very accurate and desirable S&W. The number on the butt is the serial number, the other numbers are assembly numbers. This is one of the most accurate.22 revolvers made. Value 5 to 6 hundred.
Sights) 38 Spl N.357 Magnum 357 Mag N.44 HAnd Ejector Military Model 44 Spl N.44 Hand ejector Model 1926 44 Spl N(shrouded extractor rod).45 U.S. Posting above continued here.DATING A S&WPlease note that this list is a general guide and not meant to be exact. There is some dispute regarding the dates on some serial numbers and your gun may actually be a year off from what is listed. The precise shipping date as 'lettered' can be several years off depending on model.
Dating a Smith & Wesson Revolver: This list is merely a general guide and not meant to be exact. There is some dispute regarding the dates on some serial numbers. Your gun may actually be a year off from what is listed. The precise shipping date as 'lettered' can be several years off depending on model.
For the exact date on your gun request the letter from S&W Historian Roy Jinks.Pre-War N frame.Year/Beginning Serial1908. 4550 None-1936. STUMPED and couldn't sleep.I have a S&W Revolver given to me in the 1990's.It has never been fired since I have owned it. It shows significant holster and carry wear but is in good shape.The problem is I have NO idea what I have.
The serial numbers have no letters, it has a lanyard strap in the grip butt and Trade Mark is on the right side.Not looking for value as it is sentimental.Thanks for ANY advice or direction,MattTHANKS TO EVERYONE! FPrice is going to help explain. This is a quandry with what we found. STUMPED and couldn't sleep.I have a S&W Revolver given to me by a widow in the 1990's.It has never been fired since I have owned it. It shows significant holster and carry wear but is in good shape.The problem is I have NO idea what I have.
The serial numbers have no letters, it has a lanyard strap in the grip butt and Trade Mark is on the right side.Is there anyone that I can send photos to that may be able to help me? I don't have the means to send a request to S&W currently.OR a local dealer very knowledgeable about Smith's who are not going to make a sale?
(Metro Boston)Not looking for value as it is sentimental. Please feel free to email me it that is easier.Thanks for ANY advice or direction,Matt.
Smith and Wesson made a lot of guns. We sometimes debate their efficiency at tracking serials. Part of our confusion comes from us not having a clear idea of how and when they were assigned, and how and when assembly numbers were assigned.
Its also probably important that those methods may have changed over time (remember, they've been in business for a while.)S&W is known to hold blocks of numbers for some purposes. It means if they want to build a comemmorative, all the guns have sequential numbers. Or sometimes, anyhow.
It doesn't mean they were all completed the same day or week, just that someone went to the effort to assure they had similar numbers.From what I can glean from the books on the subject, S&W logs in guns when they move from production/inspection to the 'vault', the place where they're shipped from. The letters we beg from Roy indicate another date, the date they're shipped from the vault. It may be important that those may be the same day, or a date years later.Some guns were hot sellers. S&W is a business. They, like all other business entities have cash flow problems and concerns. If they have a completed gun, and a willing customer, they ship it.
They also completed some batch blocks of guns. Its just cheaper and easier to build the same configuration guns at the same time. Even if there isn't a ready and willing customer.We also know S&W made some ugly ducklings. Many of us don't feel that way today. But there was a time frame where you almost couldn't give away a Heavy Duty or Outdoorsman. So they languished.
Probably in the vault.All an adjacent serial number means is that the guns were probably in production at the same time, maybe even side by side for a few steps in the production process, maybe separated on different racks, too. We just don't know and Roy hasn't indicated if records exist of various guns in various stages. Its probably safe to say many gun frames were sequentially numbered at about the same time. Its an internal control issue.But we also find guns from time to time where the factory has no records of them existing. Its not unusual for one of us to blow our meager allowances on letters. Only to get one back that says 'Open on Company books.' We have no idea what that phrase really means, but probably any of a number of things, including stolen (lunchbox guns), destroyed during production, pulled out for some reason and never shipped or sold, given to an employee for whatever reason, etc.
I've got a beautiful early Centennial that came back that way. It just happens.We seem to read way to much into serial numbers. A lot of are willing to pay a premium, some time a multiple of fair market, just to obtain a desireable number.
I've done it before and I'll do it again. The family (my family) owns 2 637s.
Younger son covets the one with a 'CCW' prefix. Two reasons, he doesn't clean his guns, and the CCW is new/pristine, and its just a cool number. Sebago Son owns a K22. He mercilessly lofts it over my head because he located it in a chicken coop, and because it has K117 on the underside. All I've managed to score are K155 and K166. And I was mad at Blake (one of our posters) because he let K141 escape to an unwashed heathen owner. The guy who owned K137 wouldn't sell it to me, nor would the owner of K188.So maybe I should rephrase the first sentence of that last paragraph.
I read way too much into serial numbers! F.t.B D Green has it right. Researching serial numbers, by the historian,starts with the shipping ledgers.
These were ( and perhaps still are)bound volumes that were pre-printed with serial numbers, in numericalorder. There are several sets of these books, because there weredifferent models with the same serial numbers.When a gun was shipped, its serial number was located in the rightbook, and the shipping date, and destination are recorded in the book,on the line that contains its preprinted serial number. This is whereall history starts. And, as you can see, this scheme is independentof when the gun was actually manufactured.Given a serial number, and a model, the shipping ledger yeilds one oftwo pieces of information.
Either there is a shipping date, or therest of the line is blank, meaning that the serial number is open onthe shipping ledger.Assuming there is a shipping date, that now becomes the key intothe invoice ledgers, which are books ordered by shipping date. Knowingthe shipping date, and the destination, the historian goes throughthose entries ( all together ), and tries to locate the invoice by usingthe destination information ( name of person/business receiving thegun). Once the invoice is located, then hopefully it will containinformation on how the gun was configured, if it was special.Sometimes the invoices have useful information, sometimes not.Sometimes target revolvers are identified as such, sometimes not.The price of the revolver is on the invoice, of course, and from thatthe historian can tell if the gun had adjustable, or fixed sights.Note that nowhere in any of this research trail is the date ofmanufacture.Regards, Mike Priwer. The factory manufactured frames in 'runs'. 100 or 1,000 or even perhaps 5,000. As these runs were done, the frames were each given a serial number.
The parts were also given an assembly number to keep all of the matching and hand fitted parts together during the assembly process. Even stocks that were fitted to the frame received a serial number. Once the guns were completed, they were boxed and stored in the vault awaiting shipment. IIRC, the factory even jumped around within given serial number blocks just to keep the competition from figuring out how many guns they were producing at any given point in time.When an order was received for a given model, the shipping clerk went into the vault and pulled the necessary guns for shipment.
The clerk did not pay attention to serial number order as these were pieces of inventory and he only needed a correct number of the correct model to fill the order. The serial numbers were recorded as they left the factory for inventory control purposes but not as a method of dating the guns manufacture.S&W was in the business to make and sell guns in the present and did not think about how crazy collectors would get at some future time about serial numbers and their relationship to dates.The books can give you a range of serial numbers used for a particular model and the basic years that these guns were manufactured, however, looking at a serial number chart does not give you the actual manufacture or shipping date. Only the company historian can give you that by looking up the serial number in the shipping ledgers.We have seen many cases where a lower serial number gun has a shipping date far later than a gun with a higher serial number.It is possible that somewhere there are records, like the day books, that show what serial numbered guns were built on any given day and hence supply the date of manufacture, but the historian uses the shipping records and thus those are the shipping date.I hope that this helps. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't if you think about it.The Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation and its effort to digitize the company records may afford future collectors the ability to search a given serial number and find all relevant company records and correspondence pertaining to that gun. Unfortunately, that is thousands of investment dollars away. So support the SWHF by sending what you can today!!! Hello I'm looking at a k-22 ser# 99945 on the frame and swing arm but the # on the cyl does not match.
Were the cylinders stamp with the frame #'s? ThanksJim, the numbers visible on the opposing surfaces of frame and yoke are soft fitting numbers, not the serial number of the gun. The serial number is found on the butt of the gun, and may not be visible if covered by target stocks. That number is also found on the rear face of the cylinder and the flat underside of the barrel. It also appears in a couple of other places, but it is harder to see.A postwar K-22 with no Model designation will have a serial number with a K prefix. And I know of one in the 640000 range that lettered as shipping in early 1932. I wouldn't have believed it.
K 22 Masterpiece Serial Numbers Explained
It's almost impossible to figure out what happened during the depression.Hi all, doing a little research on a pistol which my wife's uncle is handing down to our son.Its a S&W, 6 shot 22 LR revolver, the right side of the barrel reads '22 LONG RIFLE CTG.' All the serial numbers on the underside of the barrel, bottom of hand grip, and backside of the cylinder all match.The SN is: K210537.Can anyone give a estimation on the date of manufacture?Obviously the grips are not original, would like to get some original grips if anyone knows where I might get some at.See attached photos.Thanks in advance for your assistance.Randy. Randy, welcome to the forum. With that serial number, the gun probably shipped in 1954.The proper grips for that era are called diamond magnas. These have a relieved diamond in the checking field around the screw escutcheons on both sides. The name magna identifies the style of grip in which the wood comes up over the sideplate and frame, rising to the height of the frame knuckle right behind the trigger. Your gun might also have come with target stocks, in which the wood follows a semicircular upper curve from the frame knuckle down to the rear trigger guard junction with the frame.The following guns are not K-22s, but they show the types of stocks I mentioned.The K-22 is a K-frame gun (or midsize), so you are looking for K-frame magnas or target stocks of the proper era.
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N-frame stocks are too large and J-frame stocks are too small. Old stocks can be found on Ebay, Gunbroker, and in the classified section of this forum.
Randy, welcome to the forum. With that serial number, the gun probably shipped in 1954.The proper grips for that era are called diamond magnas. These have a relieved diamond in the checking field around the screw escutcheons on both sides. The name magna identifies the style of grip in which the wood comes up over the sideplate and frame, rising to the height of the frame knuckle right behind the trigger. Your gun might also have come with target stocks, in which the wood follows a semicircular upper curve from the frame knuckle down to the rear trigger guard junction with the frame.The following guns are not K-22s, but they show the types of stocks I mentioned.The K-22 is a K-frame gun (or midsize), so you are looking for K-frame magnas or target stocks of the proper era.
N-frame stocks are too large and J-frame stocks are too small. Old stocks can be found on Ebay, Gunbroker, and in the classified section of this forum. Hi all, this is my first post here. I was given an old K22 that belonged to my grandfather. I'm trying to date it and was hoping you guys could help me.Serial: K 468XX (on bottom of grips)^^^this is a picture of the firearm. Thanks in advance to all the nice people here!Welcome to the forum. That serial number points to 1948 manufacture, probably in the second half if we assume S&W produced and numbered their frames sequentially.
(They didn't always do that.)By the way, the stocks on your gun are prewar service stocks from the early to mid 1930s. Your gun almost certainly shipped with postwar magna stocks, which are the type that rise up over the sideplate on the right and the frame on the left. Generally, it not having the original grips does influence the value.
Its not all that bad since there are vultures circling and wanting the ones you have. Sometimes you can break even on the swap. Just don't expect the new ones to fit like a glove. Back in that era they fitted the wood to the metal, then used a belt sander to make them perfectly fitted.Prices on old K22s wander all around. They've been going up.
Condition means a bunch, and so does having the correct gold box and black oxide screwdriver. Suffice it to say a 1948 K22 should be worth $800 or so, more or less based on condition and other things.
I have a 6' s&w.22 with s/n 661xxx. It probably was shipped around 1935-6?It looks like it is a K-22 outdoorsman in the blue book.I bought this gun in a pawn shop in Wyoming in the early 1990's. It was the dirtiest gun I have ever had.
I cleaned it andhit a can at 25 yards with the first shot out of it.Also, I just found in a store, a 4' Smith 17-3 in.22, it has some holster wear on the left side.What would be the official model of this gun? Manufactured 1958 and later. I took numbers AVN1296 & G7x2578 off where the clyinder opens so they are probably not serial numbers. They have $650 on it.
Whats it worth? No box.This is a great site with good information and beautiful pictures. The pictures are hard on me,now I want more and nicer smiths.thank you.
Why dont you give us the serial number of your gun (you can X out the last few digits if you are paranoid) and we can give you an approximate date. Also, frames shared serial number blocks among models. In other words there would have been K22's, K32's and K38's all sharing the same serial number range.
It is even possible to have consecutive serial number guns that are different models as Smith didnt do things in serial number order.Hi there, I am buying a K-22 and interested in the manufacture date, the serial number is 16 K 8343Thanks.
Smith & Wesson Model 48 (K-22 MRF Masterpiece) .22 Mag. Revolver
By the Guns and Shooting Online Staff
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S&W Model 48-4. Illustration courtesy of gunsamerica.com.
It is even possible to have consecutive serial number guns that are different models as Smith didnt do things in serial number order.Hi there, I am buying a K-22 and interested in the manufacture date, the serial number is 16 K 8343Thanks.
Smith & Wesson Model 48 (K-22 MRF Masterpiece) .22 Mag. Revolver
By the Guns and Shooting Online Staff
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S&W Model 48-4. Illustration courtesy of gunsamerica.com.
The Model 17 K-22 Masterpiece .22 LR revolver was Smith & Wesson's finest double action (DA) rimfire revolver and, along with the Colt Diamondback .22, probably the best rimfire target revolver available anywhere. A version of the K-22 Masterpiece revolver is still offered today, as the Model 17 Classic.
This article is about the Model 48 K-22 Masterpiece, which was simply a Model 17 chambered for the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (.22 Mag.) cartridge. Most gun manufacturers do not change model numbers when the same gun is chambered for a different cartridge, but S&W does, creating some confusion about their line. Incidentally, S&W called the .22 WMR the '22 M.R.F.' (Magnum Rim Fire) and stamped the barrels of their Model 48 revolvers accordingly.
Winchester's original .22 WMR ballistics called for a 40 grain JHP or FMJ bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1550 fps and muzzle energy of 213 ft. lb. from a 6.5 inch barrel. This made the .22 Mag's JHP bullet a devastating small game, varmint and small predator handgun cartridge out to around 100 yards, with a flat trajectory to match. Compared to the .22 LR, it had the punch to anchor larger and tougher animals, such as jack rabbits, marmots, foxes and coyotes, much more reliably and at longer range.
When Winchester/Olin introduced the hot .22 Mag. cartridge to the public in 1959, they apparently did not consult with S&W. However, for years the Springfield, Mass. USA firm had been building and selling their fine Model 17 K-22 Masterpiece target revolver, chambered for the .22 LR cartridge.
Like the K-32 and K-38 centerfire target revolvers, the K-22 Masterpiece was built on S&W's .38 caliber size K-frame, so strength was not an issue. It was only necessary to lengthen the Model 17's cylinder chambers to accept the longer (and slightly fatter) .22 WMR cartridge and increase the barrel's bore diameter from the .22 LR's .222 inch to the new .22 Magnum's .224 inch. (The same bore diameter as centerfire .22 cartridges.) The Model 48 was otherwise identical to the Model 17.
The Model 48 K-22 MRF Masterpiece was introduced in May 1959 and, presto, S&W had a first rate .22 Magnum hunting revolver on the market. It was offered with a four, six, or 8-3/8 inch barrel, with six inches being the most popular length.
All S&W Masterpiece models were carbon steel target revolvers with a 1/8 inch wide Patridge type front sight on a raised and grooved, full length barrel rib and a micro adjustable (for windage and elevation) rear sight. They came with carefully fitted actions, a double latch cylinder, grooved target trigger, grooved front and back grip straps and checkered walnut Magna grips.
S&W initially cataloged a convertible M48 with an extra .22 LR cylinder. However, swapping cylinders on a double action revolver is not accomplished in seconds without using any tools, as it is with a single action Peacemaker type revolver, and the convertible option was quickly discontinued with very few produced.
The Model 48 Masterpiece was manufactured from 1959-1986. During that time there were five minor engineering changes and the revolvers are stamped accordingly on the frame inside of the cylinder crane (Model 48, 48-1, 48-2, 48-3 and 48-4).
Our sample is a Model 48-4. The -4 was the last numbered engineering change and it moved the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder. This change was introduced in 1977. The first years of M48-4 production were the last when S&W revolver barrels were both screwed and pinned in place. Our gun was made in 1980 and S&W dispensed with pinned barrels in 1982, as an unnecessary manufacturing expense.
Our test gun was acquired from a casual collector in the box, unfired, just as it was originally sold. He apparently bought the gun, put it on a shelf and never got back to it. It came with the paperwork, all accessories (cleaning rod, a small screwdriver, etc.) and still coated with factory preservative. It was quite a find!
Specifications
- Type: DA revolver
- Caliber: .22 Magnum
- Cylinder capacity: 6 rounds
- Barrel length: 6 in.
- Sights: Fully adjustable, Patridge type
- Sight radius: 7-9/32 in.
- Metal finish: Bright bluing
- Grips: Magna style checkered walnut
- Wood finish: Lacquer
- Overall length: 11-1/8 in.
- Weight: 39 oz. (6 in. barrel)
- Country of origin: USA
- 1980 MSRP: $209
- 2016 Fjestad's value: $895 (100% condition)
The first order of business, once our K-22 MRF Masterpiece was in hand, was to rid it of the long since gummed-up factory oil and grease. This was accomplished, as best we could without complete disassembly, by removing the two grip panels and thoroughly sluicing the action with Prolix (a potent cleaner, lubricant and protectant). After cleaning, the cylinder opened and turned freely, a considerable improvement.
Careful inspection confirmed that the frame is straight and the barrel is true to the frame. (Sadly, not always the case with S&Ws of this vintage.) The barrel has a gentle, straight taper from frame to muzzle. It measures 0.715 inch in diameter immediately in front of the frame and 0.593 inch at the muzzle. The muzzle is crowned to protect the bore, without undue tool marks.
Like all S&W double action revolvers, the cylinder rotates counter clockwise, or out of the frame. This is why they need double cylinder latches, one at the front of the ejector rod and the other at the rear of the cylinder.
When cocked, the bolt locks the cylinder firmly in place, without play. Indexing is precise and the barrel to cylinder gap is consistent and very tight. The chambers are recessed to fully enclose the cartridge case rims.
The hammer is powered by a long, flat mainspring inside the grip frame. There is a small tensioning screw located in the lower part of the front grip frame. Screwed all the way in at the factory, we loosened this screw about one full turn to make the hammer slightly easier to thumb cock.
Our RCBS trigger scale measured the single action (SA) trigger pull at five pounds with one 'tick' of creep and almost no over-travel. It actually feels lighter, but that is what it measured. Modern auto pistol shooters would think this trigger is wonderful, but as experienced revolver shooters, we know better.
The trigger pull of a fine target revolver should be about half that weight and completely smooth. Unfortunately, by the time this revolver was assembled (1980), internal action parts were no longer finished and fitted to the standards observed when the Wesson family owned the Company.
The DA pull was unmeasurable, since our scale only goes to eight pounds, but it is probably on the order of 13 or 14 pounds. The DA trigger pull is actually immaterial to a hunting revolver, as it is manually cocked before firing.
A firm push on the hand ejector rod lifts fired cases well clear of the cylinder. The firing pin impression on fired cases is uniform and positive, without being excessive. Functionally, everything works as it should.
All of the external metal surfaces of the barrel, cylinder and frame are highly polished and S&W bright blued, with the top of the frame and barrel rib matte finished to prevent glare. This is one of the best finishes in production handguns. However, with the cylinder swung open, one can see that the inside of the frame window only got a coarse polish; ditto the underside of the barrel normally hidden by the ejector rod when the cylinder is closed.
In traditional S&W fashion, the hammer and trigger are attractively color case hardened, rather than blued, for a bit of subtle contrast. The top of the hammer spur is aggressively machine checkered, with the tip of the diamonds left sharp. Flat topped diamonds would be less abrasive to the pad of the cocking thumb.
Model 48-4 revolvers came with S&W's Magna grips, one of the poorer attempts at revolver grip panels. They do not fill the space behind the trigger guard and they do not enclose the grip frame. The grip shape in cross-section is essentially a square with rounded corners, which is a poor match for the oval shape of a partially curled human hand. Fortunately, the .22 WMR cartridge does not kick hard enough to make the poorly shaped grips a problem. For a high volume shooter, a set of Pachmayr Presentation grips is the easy solution.
The Magna grips are adorned with very coarse, machine cut checkering surrounded by a border cut so deep it is better described as a trough. The gloss lacquer finish is attractive, but not very durable. The Magna grips only redeeming feature is that, being made of walnut, they look nice.
Since 1965, when the Wesson family sold the Company to Bangor Punta Alegre Sugar Corp., S&W has gone through several management and ownership changes and their manufacturing precision and quality control has been variable, to say the least. Unfortunately, not all S&W revolvers, even top of the line models, are created equal. Fortunately, our Model 48 appears to be one of the good ones.
The Model 48 was discontinued in 1986, by which time Smith & Wesson had definitely fallen on hard times. Product quality, and most of all quality control, had declined alarmingly, along with sales. Bangor Punta had essentially run the Company into the ground and in 1984 Bangor Punta and its subsidiaries, including Smith & Wesson, was acquired by Lear Siegler Corp., primarily an aerospace and automotive firm.
Two years later, at the end of 1986, Lear Siegler became the victim of a leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little and Company and Smith & Wesson became the property of the new Lear Siegler Holdings Corporation, which quickly looked to divest itself of 'noncore' assets, including S&W.
Nevertheless, in 1989, the stainless steel Model 648 was introduced with a six inch, full under-lug barrel reminiscent of a Colt Diamondback. (A '6' prefix denotes stainless steel construction in S&W model numbers, so the Model 648 is a stainless steel Model 48.) This variation was produced until 1996.
In 1997, S&W was purchased by Tomkins PLC, a British owned conglomerate. In 2000, Tomkins signed the notorious agreement with the Clinton administration that made Smith & Wesson the pariah of the US firearms industry and sparked a consumer boycott of S&W products that endures to this day among shooters old enough to remember the betrayal. However, Tomkins did attempt to improve S&W's product quality, which by this time had been a festering problem for over a decade, by instituting improved production methods, improved product testing and better quality control.
In 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation purchased Smith & Wesson from Tomkins. The following year, Saf-T-Hammer restyled itself as Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.
In 2003 the Model 648-2, a Model 648 version with an internal safety lock that was heartily disliked by shooters, was introduced. The 648-2's short production run ended in 2005.
The new Smith & Wesson Corporation has been racked by successive management scandals, turnover, controversy and patent infringement suits, while simultaneously attempting to license (some would say 'whore') the S&W name to products totally unrelated to firearms. However, they have also attempted to expand and improve the S&W firearms line.
Part of the latter effort was the introduction of the Classics line of, 'coveted models . . . enhanced with modern advantages.' The Model 48 Classic revolver was introduced in 2010. This is essentially a re-creation of the Model 48 K-22 MRF with a four or six inch barrel (sans under-lug). To our rather jaded eyes, the traditional Masterpiece guns, without the under-lug, are how a Smith & Wesson revolver should look and the Classic is in this mold. The Model 48 Classic remains in the line in 2016, as these words are written, so at least a clone of the original K-22 MRF Masterpiece lives on.
S&w Model 19 Serial Numbers Chart
Note: An expanded version of this article, including shooting results, is available on the Product Reviews index page.
