smith 38 special

[Bignutt]

Fired my first k38 smith this weekend..... wow! I had heard all about the smith pistols but I was a ruger guy I guess, shot some other smiths but finally got ahold of the one they talk about I guess. Still amazing to me, shows you just how good of a shot you are for sure.

[dubber123]

Now you need one..

[jetinteriorguy]

Now you need one..
Or two, or three, or four, and on and on.

[Uncle R.]

Yep.
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Score yet another point for my all-time favorite gun writer - the old curmudgeon himself - Dean Grennell.
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I was a young man when I first read about how he considered the K-38 an all-around wonderful handgun. My first K-frame was a used model 15 that I bought just because I wanted to see why Grennell liked them so much. I now own - lemme see - four K-frames and am actively seeking the 5th. They do grow on you, and the old curmudgeon was right. They're pretty nearly the perfect DA revolver.
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Enjoy - and welcome to the K-frame club!
:)
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Uncle R.

[R.M.]

If you ever get a chance to shoot a K32, by all means do so. As far as I'm concerned, they are the sweetest shooting thing out there. Now finding one at a decent price is an effort in frustration.

[Scharfschuetze]

Yep, K Frame Smiths are a treat that all handgunners should enjoy!

[Char-Gar]

Get them now, they won't get any cheaper. The value will only go up.

[bedbugbilly]

Bignutt - I have a number of handguns - Colt, Ruger, Smith & Wesson . . . by far, my favorites as far as shooting 38 spl. are my K frames - mine are all "vintage". I'm putting a picture of mine below - the upper right is a K frame 4th Change M & P Target (circa mid to late 1920's) - 6", next (upper left) is a 1956 pre-15 Combat Masterpiece - 4", second one on right is a 1952 M & P Pre-10 - 5" and the lower left is a J frame Model 36 (my CCW). All are great shooters but the one I like the best of the four is the Pre-10 - made the same year I was born. If I could only own one Smith - it would be a K frame Pre 10 or Model 10 - I personally think that is one of the nicest all around DA revolvers ever made that has such a wide variety of uses.

The second photo shows the Smith Target Model along with my 1910 Colt Army Special - 6". It also is a nice shooter. They are pictured with an original Winchester bullet mold the is for the ".38 S & W Spl". This throws a lead slug that usually weighs + or - 160 grains. I like using this in my reloads in the vintage revolvers - this mold is probably from the early 1900s - the 38 spl being introduced in 1898.


9369293693

[John Allen]

I really like the early pre 1940 colts and smiths. They are smooth and shoot great.

[pworley1]

They should have called them "special K's"

[Bignutt]

That is really a nice collection of 38s there my friend! Your kinda making me drool a little bit....

[Leadforbrains]

93714

[Bzcraig]

I left revolvers behind about 25 years ago and became a dedicated auto guy. I recently picked up a Ruger GP100 and rekindled my affair with the revolver. I know this is a 'Smith Thread' but I started remembering all the Colts I used to have and how much I now miss them. And I sure can't afford to replace the Pythons, Troopers, Diamondbacks and Cobra's I sold. Ok, I'm depressed, need to go shoot! :roll:

[TCFAN]

I have posted this photo before. This is my K-38 model 14 38 special I bought new in the late 90's. Target was shot at 50 yards using the Speer HBWC and 2.7 grs. of Bullseye. Shot the group from a Pistol Perch using a 1X scope.The gun has a harder than normal trigger for a Smith but is still a fine shooting revolver....Terry

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx200/TCintheOzarks/Cast%20Boolits/DSCN8242-1.jpg (http://s755.photobucket.com/user/TCintheOzarks/media/Cast%20Boolits/DSCN8242-1.jpg.html)

[GLL]

I also enjoy shooting the older S&W K-frame .38 Special revolvers but still prefer the old long-action N-frames.

1948 long-action "transitional" .38/44 Outdoorsman
http://www.fototime.com/B0E3C917754938C/orig.jpg

Jerry

[2shot]

Nice grips there Jerry.
Who made them?


I also enjoy shooting the older S&W K-frame .38 Special revolvers but still prefer the old long-action N-frames.

1948 long-action "transitional" .38/44 Outdoorsman
http://www.fototime.com/B0E3C917754938C/orig.jpg

Jerry

[Petrol & Powder]

Every now and then something comes along that is just "right" and the K-frame Smith & Wesson's are one of those "right" gems.
The basic design goes back to the late 1890's and it's been refined along the way, but not fundamentally altered. They got it pretty close to right from the start.
Mechanical designs often evolve as improvements are incorporated and eventually a pinnacle is reached. Once the design matures it will either continue because nothing else can fulfill that role or it will be supplanted by a totally new design. We see this progression of refinement followed by a long term production of the final design in many different applications: engines, watches, aircraft, ships, etc. The K-frame matured and survived because nothing else could match it for size, strength, accuracy, weight, durability and relative cost.
They are classics.

[Char-Gar]

I am a fan of the 38 Special round in Smith and Wesson and Colt medium frame sixguns. I have a number and have had many more over the years. For giggles here are two pics of my oldest (1913) and my newest (2005) K frame 38 Special. The K frame 38 has survived for well over a century because of merit.

[FergusonTO35]

.38 Special + S&W K frame (or Ruger six series)= pistol perfection.

I currently have a 10-5, 642, and Ruger Service Six. This year I want to add a .38 with a 4" barrel and adjustable sights. A late model S&W 67 or Ruger GP-100 would be perfect but don't know if I'll have the funding for it. I'm thinking the Rossi 851 might be the way to go for now.

[Petrol & Powder]

................The K frame 38 has survived for well over a century because of merit.

/\ Bravo! Well said.

[Dale53]

Well, I'm sure a believer in the K-Masterpiece:

This is my PPC gun "light" (I installed a Bo-Mar rib on it). It has been through a LOT of matches and still is as good as the day I got it.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers5Selects-0189.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/DalesPistolsRevolvers5Selects-0189.jpg.html)

Here is my most used .38 Special load - a home cast bullet from a four cavity original H&G #50 wadcutter sized to .358"
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/HG50BB-1402_900x1200.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/HG50BB-1402_900x1200.jpg.html)

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/HG50BB-1399_1600x1200.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/HG50BB-1399_1600x1200.jpg.html)

Dale53

[GLL]

Dale:

Exceptionally nice ! :)

Jerry

[gwpercle]

Be careful......those things are habit forming. You can't own just one...they start calling your name....they follow you home.....Whatever you do don't start shooting N frames...they are addictive also.

[Petrol & Powder]

The only thing standing between me and full blown firearms addiction is a very thin wallet.

[beezapilot]

If you ever get a chance to shoot a K32, by all means do so. As far as I'm concerned, they are the sweetest shooting thing out there. Now finding one at a decent price is an effort in frustration.

I'm with RM, I love .32's. Picked up a K-32 a few years ago and thought it was wonderful, two weeks ago picked up a 32-20 K frame that is even sweeter.....

[Scharfschuetze]

Ah yes. 32/20 Smiths.

[Old Caster]

I like the N frames better because they are easier (for me) to cock with one hand when shooting bullseye but of the 2 model 28's and 1 model 27 I tried, none of them are as accurate as the 14-2 K frame which incidentally is more accurate with a RCBS 150 bullet than it is with HBWC's. The K frame gets me in the knuckle when shooting sustained fire sequences and my Python doesn't have the hammer in the right place for me to cock correctly with one hand but the Python shoots well with almost anything including HBWC's. No matter what I do, something isn't right. Maybe I should make a concerted effort to get one of the N frames to shoot better.

[captaint]

As much as I like my N frames, the K-38's have a special appeal. My newest was made in 1977, the oldest was in 1950. I still need a dash 2 and a dash 1. I keep telling myself - patience, patience. Mike