Date of manufacture for my "broken" S&W?

[mkl]

I was at a fairly large gun show here in Texas a while ago, and came upon a table on which an individual had five guns laid out.

One of them was a pin-frame Smith & Wesson that looked like it just came out of the box. Caliber 38 Special; six-inch barrel; beautiful blue with no wear, even on the cylinder where the indexing pawl rides, adjustable rear sight.

I picked it up and was looking it over, when the guy at the table said “Nice gun, but I gotta tell you it is broken.”

“What’s wrong” said I.

“Well, it won’t shoot double action like it is supposed to. Only works single action.”

Now since I have always had a soft spot for pin-frame S&W guns, and since this one was in mint condition, I played with it just a little more. The action, indexing, and trigger pull was superb, bluing perfect, no scratches or marks of any kind, etc.

Price he had on the tag was $135.00 for this “broken” gun.

I took out my wallet, dug through it and told him I only had $100.00, and since it would probably take me another fifty or so to get it fixed, I’d give him a hundred on the spot.

He took my offer and I came home with the gun.

A little research and I discovered I had bought a pin-frame S&W Model 14 K-38 that was made single action only. What an incredible surprise.

On the cylinder yoke is stamped “Mod 14-4.”

Think I got a pretty good deal.

Anyone know roughly when the “Mod 14-4” was made? It is a pin frame, so I know it was made before S&W “value engineered” their handguns.

Thanks. I couldn't resist bragging about my “broken gun” find, but would like to have an idea of just when the gun was made.

Best wishes

mkl

 

[CSA 357]

$100 You Need To Be In Jail ! Great Deal:d

 

[Will5A1]

1977-1982 for the 14-4.

Congrats, wish I could stumble on a deal like that.

 

[mkl]

CSA357: Yeah, I sorta feel kind of guilty, but I really did not know that S&W made a single action revolver when I went to the gun show. Needless to say, I was a very early entry to the show...

will5a1: Thanks for the information. I thought it may be a "recent" make, and wanted to make sure it would handle modern 38 Special loads (pressures).

Next step is to take it out to the range and try out some of my favorite 38 Special handloads. I never load 38 Special over "normal" pressure; if people want a "hot" or +P load, my personal opinion is they should invest in a 357 Mag. Although modern quality 38 Special handguns will handle pressures close to the 357 Mag, why push the envelope and possibly loosen up the frame of the older 38's?

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Will5A1]

2.7 - 3.0 grains of Bullseye and Horandy's 148gr HBWC - once you settle on the best powder weight you'll be shooting cloverleafs with it. Nothing will force me to focus on sight alignment and trigger squeeze like shooting my K38one handed - these guns are very accurate, fun to shoot and train with and just flat out classy revolvers. Have fun with yours.

 

[CSA 357]

My 14-1 Shoots The 148 Hbwc Realy Good, 3.0 Bullseye If I Remember Right, I Dont Think I Have A Better Shooter In The House! Csa

 

[Old Fuff]

Why only a single action? Answer: It was made for serious bullseye target shooters, and the hammer's cocking cycle is shorter then the regular double-action model. Also if you pull the trigger without cocking the hammer the cylinder will rotate. A handy feature if in the middle of a string one cartridge doesn't fire. As it is you can go back and hit it again.

Smith & Wesson also sold kits so that shooters could convert regular K-38 Masterpice or model 14 revolvers that they already owned.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Great find... That was some low price, I'm guessing a M14 should be well over $500 in the condition you are reporting.


One thing though: