S&W K38 Masterpiece rescued

YOu have a great looking revolver. And an accurate one also.

If, for some reason, you really do intend to get it refinished, here is a guy who can do it. He's the fellow S&W recommends to work on the older models.

http://www.oldwestgunsmith.com/gunsmith/swpage.htm

He does it the way S&W used to do it and will not hurt the stampings or roll markings. He really knows what he is doing. I am not convinced a refinish hurts the value but it rarley helps it.

I'd probably have it refinished just because I'm partial to pretty guns. That's one heck of a price!

Sounds about right...

Congratulations on a great shooting new gun, bikemutt. That model is my favorite.

If you wanted a shiny gun, you may have bought the wrong revolver. Could you trade it in on something newer, perhaps? You actually might be able to sell it for a profit and come out better than if you had it refinished.

One of my old 5 screw revolvers was refinished and is now as scratched up as the original finish was when it was replaced. It's disappointing to look at. It would be even more disappointing, however, had I been the one who spent the money to have it refinished.

At one time, old scratched up strats were $500 guitars, so tons of people had them refinished. They aren't $500 anymore...and there are a whole lot of people kicking themselves. But, of course, it's your property, so do as you wish. Have fun!

Mike, you may count me along with the "leave it as is crowd" and shoot it / enjoy that beauty. She just has some character. I have an 8 & 3/8" K38 that I love to shoot. My gun's finish may be in a little better shape than yours, but I improved the visual appeal (to me) by adding Kurac target stocks.

As for refinishing an older gun, I am currently having Ford's here in Florida reblue a favorite Model 15 of mine (my first S&W revolver). I'm anxious to see how she will look with that Master Blue finish. The others I have with character marks will stay that way.

Some people, myself included, are helpless restorers, we just can't resist the urge to buy something old and worn and make it look like new again. We feel an incredible sense of satisfaction from doing this.

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Nice gun. Congrats. I have one nearly the same age. They don't have to look new to shoot well. If you're a tinkerer at heart, you could tinker at the loading bench. You already discovered your K-38 is a good shooter, and it'll only get better with a little load development.

Iggy said:

That gun is barely broke in. You can send it into S&W, spend $250 for a re-blue and change a $500 gun into a $400 one, or you can shoot it, clean it, and take care of it and your grand kids will be able to do the same thing and it will become priceless.

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And that is the way to go.

As long as it's in good condition, shoot it and take care of it. My S&W 15, which looks like it was in a gravel pit for a few years (gray finish) shoots wonderfully and with good reloads will last forever.

Deaf