I'll start with a true masterpiece, the S&W K-38 Masterpiece. Shortly after WW II, Smith decided to produce a series of purely target revolvers with the goal of dominating the target revolver market. In this, they succeeded. Legend has it that they were so proud of these guns, they gave them the name of Masterpiece. In the beginning, these were all 6" barrel guns with adjustable sights and blade front sights. The series included three chamberings, the K-38 (38 Special), the K-32 (32 S&W) and the K-22 (22 LR). The K-32s were never popular and were only produced in small numbers. The K-38 and the K-22 were hugely popular, though. In fact, the LEO community so loved these revolvers, they clamored for combat versions with shorter barrels and ramp front sights. Smith responded with the Combat Masterpiece series.
And here's our newly acquired K-38 Masterpiece.
My research shows that this gun shipped in January of 1957, so it was probably made in '56 or so. 1957 is an important year in S&W history. That was the year Smith gave and marked all their revolvers with model numbers instead of names. Thus, the K-38 Masterpiece became the Model 14, the K-32 Masterpiece became the Model 16 and the K-22 became the Model 17.
Our K-38 is in excellent condition, showing only a little carry wear and virtually no shooting wear. As was the norm in vintage S&W days, you could order your K-38 with a wider target hammer, target grips and a wider target trigger. Ours has the target hammer and grips, but the standard width trigger, and, speaking of triggers, this one has that beautiful vintage S&W trigger. After all, this is a target gun. Shoots like one, too.
Did't have access to our usual 25 yard range, today, so we made do shooting at 18 yards. No problem, here's one of my best groups with the K-38. Tells me all I need to know about the gun's accuracy. 3 first shots touching, upper left, then some sight tweaking and two dead center in the bull. Oh, yeah, pure target gun.
And now it's one of the masterpieces of our collection.
