Smith 14-2 K38 Masterpiece 4" madness

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bikemutt

bikemutt

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I've been lusting after this particular specimen for a while now, a rare, 1000 or so made, K38 14-2 with a 4" heavy barrel. Apparently made for Dayton Gun once only in 1965.

I'm not sure why but I want this bad enough to dream about it, $1500, please tell me that's crazy :eek:

The picture is lifted from the online for-sale ad.

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Not crazy at all, as long as you have the money to buy it. If I came across one of them, I'd FIND the money somewhere. Then I'd be looking for the .22lr version so I could compete in bullseye the "old school" way.
 
That's really cool. I don't know if I could afford $1500, but I'd love to have that...any other s&w's produced in that configuration in another model number, or is that the only way to get a blued .38 with a hb, and those sights?

To me, that's perfection in a .38 revolver
 
I landed one for a retired police friend here in Ohio a few years ago. He had had one in his younger years and regretted selling. Found the replacement on gunbroker for less than $600 at the time, and we thought we stole it. Keep your eyes open and you may get lucky.
 
bikemutt

Very nice and very rare, but to me, definitely not $1500 nice. And at that price you just might be obsessing, and not dreaming, about it. In all fairness you did come on here and ask us if you're crazy for wanting it so much.

Having said that, if you can afford it, really want it, and have been looking for it for a long time (as in this is your Grail Gun), then by any and all means go for it.
 
It all depends on how bad you want it. Even though the price is high, the gun is rare and looks to be in excellent shape. Good luck in making your decision.
 
I know your dreamy feelings, I wanted a #15 Smith 4", I finally found one, 95 %, but I only gave $400 for mine, that one seems plenty steep !
 
Just to pour a little oil on your fire: 14s are very nice. I've got a '59 model, no dash, 6" barrel that my grandpa gave me. I get it out occasionally to gaze reverently at it. It's in almost as nice shape as the one you're looking at. :neener:
 
Nope. Yes it's one of a thousand, but its still a variant of a not that rare gun and can be considered a heavy barreled version of the Model 15 which is not rare at all.

It's probably worth a decent premium over a standard Model 14, but two to three times the price? Nah.
 
I know S&W made some for the Dayton PD. Not sure it was 1000. I also am 99% sure they made several more runs of 4" HB Model 14s. Perhaps checking on a S&W forum would get you a better answer.
 
From a collector's standpoint it's a rare variation that commands a premium.

From a practical standpoint it's either a Model 14 with a barrel that's too short and the wrong front sight (for target shooting) or a common Model 15 with target hammer and trigger that are wrong for defensive use. A nice gun to be sure, but neither fish nor fowl. Which is probably why they made so few of them.

A minor quibble: As I understand it, the K38 became the Model 14 when S&W went to model numbers. So you can have a K38 or a Model 14, one or the other, but there's no such thing as a "K38 14-2".
 
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It balances just a little heavier at the muzzle than the Model 15 4", and that is what it was intended to do. For the cop of the day, required to carry a .38 revolver, it offered that particular balance, and some officers coveted it for that reason. Bear in mind that many were required to carry a .38 Special specific revolver, and did not have the option to use a .357 with .38's in it.
 
A minor quibble: As I understand it, the K38 became the Model 14 when S&W went to model numbers. So you can have a K38 or a Model 14, one or the other, but there's no such thing as a "K38 14-2".
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I'm not certain, if you are correct though, a lot of folks get it wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_14

Just about every time I showed someone one of 14's they'd say something like "got yourself a K38 Target Masterpiece eh?".
 
I may be wrong, but I think I remember seeing some factory Model 14 boxes that also said "K-38 Masterpiece" on them. I think it was on the earlier Model 14 boxes. I'm guessing that when Smith and Wesson changed over to their model number system, they probably wanted to maintain some continuity for the sake of customer - so the customer wouldn't be confused into thinking this was an entirely different gun. Therefore, if my recollection about the words on the box is correct, one could say that there was a "K-38 Model 14".


As far as the price, that's a hard one. Depends on why you're buying it. I don't buy premium condition vintage guns that are also rare, so I'm out of my territory a bit. If you're buying it to own a near mint uncommon version of gun you've always wanted and will keep forever, that's one thing.

If you think you might unload it in a few years if you don't like the way it shoots, that's quite another. You might have a hard time recouping that cost. Maybe even take a 4 or 5 hundred dollar hit. That could be painful.

On the other hand, the best condition and most desirable collectables (guns, antiques, etc.) usually end up in the hands of those who are willing to pay the most. Anyway, Pythons go for that kind of money all the time.

And speaking of boxes, does this one come with the original box? That tends to add hundreds on a gun like this, and might explain it's high price.
 
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If you are looking at it as a collectable and willing to keep it in mint condition (in other words, a safe queen) consider paying the price if you can afford it. How much higher the value will go is debatable, but it's unlikely to go down.

On the other hand if you want a shooter I would personally pick up a good used but sound K-38 Masterpiece or model 14 with a 6-inch barrel and have S&W or a custom pistolsmith shorten the barrel to whatever length I wanted, and remount the front sight or replace it with a Baughman “fast draw” style one that was used on ordinary model 15's. The resulting revolver would be identical to the one you are considering, but should cost considerably less, with the only noticeable difference being the stamping on the barrel wouldn't be centered.
 
I'm going to have to be happy with my 15-3 4".
It's a good shooter and I like it a lot.
 
natman said:
A minor quibble: As I understand it, the K38 became the Model 14 when S&W went to model numbers. So you can have a K38 or a Model 14, one or the other, but there's no such thing as a "K38 14-2".
Click to expand...

bikemutt said:
I'm not certain, if you are correct though, a lot of folks get it wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_14

Just about every time I showed someone one of 14's they'd say something like "got yourself a K38 Target Masterpiece eh?".
Click to expand...

From your link:

First produced in 1947 and originally known as the K-38 Target Masterpiece, it was renamed the Model 14 in 1957 when all Smith & Wesson revolvers were given numerical model numbers.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I said. Yes, I saw that whoever wrote the first line got it wrong. It may be a common mistake, but it's still a mistake.

The K38 Target and the Model 14 are virtually the same gun with different names, so it's understandable if one gets identified as the other. However, any given gun is one OR the other.
 
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In 1957 Smith & Wesson had a problem. While most of they're human customers perfered names, such as Military & Police. or K-38 Combat Masterpiece, the early-day computers they were using didn't like them. So for that reason they went to model numbers. These of course were strongly disliked by many buyers who couldn't always remember what number was what.

However at the time, the switch in model identification was not relative to any change in the respective handguns. Of course changes did come later, and important ones were identified with a dash number.

What all this means is that until a numbered model received a dash number after the model, there was little or no difference between it and the previous named one.
 
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