Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Preference in S&W K frame

The thread is about K frames. Anyway, like always, you are still wrong. The best Smith and Wesson 38 special revolver ever produced was the 38/44 Outdoorsman.

Maser has never even held a real gun in his grubby little paws. Unless he stole it.

He’s a useless lying POS Troll. His only area of “Eggspurtise” is Internet child porn and posing in diapers.

That's what the gun press always said, but it was never my observation.

When I was at Davis, the most frequent guns we received were LE guns. At that time, not a whole lot of the LE guns we serviced issued 125’s. I recall two that issued Silvertips, but the vast majority carried .38 Special +P FBI loads. The CHP M68’s (if I’m remembering correctly), then the M10’s, M13’s, 15’s, 19’s etc… We saw split forcing cones on high round count K frames regardless of issue ammo. Obviously the hotter the ammo the sooner it happens. K frames when they fail tend to split forcing cones (.38 special guns included, just not as frequent as .357’s), and frame split right under the crane. Again, these are very high round count guns. IIRC (and that’s a big if…) it happens more on 19’s and 66’s because those models had the thinnest forcing cones from the crane clearance cut. Can’t remember, but it was either -4 or -6 that were the most frequent of the 19’s. I recall one of those dash iterations actually made the problem slightly worse, but my memory is too weak to remember which one it was.

As for the warranty guns, I recall a particular lot of Winchester Silvertips that hit S&W’s warranty repair system exceptionally hard; I think that was 1986. Most off the street warranty guns were from magnum use, and reloads.

Sorry gents, the best K frame .38 Specials are the models 14 & 15. Two of the least problematic revolvers ever built and certainly examples of S&W at their finest. If you want a S&W target .38 you go 14. If you want a service grade, carry revolver...how on earth do you beat the M15???

Found this K38 in a pawn shop couple days ago. They had it mis-id'd. Tag said "pre-model 10". Its got a couple issues, .004 end shake and the timing is just barely slow but thats all I see wrong with it. Pretty easy fixes.

This is exactly what Jack Huntington said was the primary cause

Judging by the blue wear, it looks like it was carried a lot in a leather holster.

Pre-15 Combat Masterpiece...VERY cool .38.
K frame S&W's are the easiest of them all when it comes to working on them. Getting her back in time isn't hard at all on a K frame. Endshake is a simple tool purchase, and then a patient, steady few twists of the wrist, followed by a shim that's harder than a politician's heart.

Those are definitely cool.

The stainless version with wood grips is super 😎 and a great value.

There is a reason they sold so many of them.

I have owned this model 66 since the early 70s. So I guess this would be my favorite K-frame of the seven I own.

I always coveted my buddy’s m18 .22 K-frame. I liked it better than my 17. Both too heavy for a .22 as a K-frame I thought. I had a 66 for a time and it looked nice, but I wasn’t enamored with the .357 magnum cartridge. The WI. State Patrol had 66’s as their issue sidearms before they went to a semi-auto, but they shot loose with magnum loads from what I was told.

The M18 is the one K frame I have never owned that I have always wanted to own. One of these days...

I love mine. It is well used.

Nice looking gun with the stainless rear sight and all.

The grips look like reshaped Targets. Beauties. If true, who did them?

They look like Eagle Heritage grips.

Nice

They are reshaped and checkered smooth presentation targets that Curt Harlow did. His work is exemplary. He posts on the S&W forum on occasion.

As it should be sir...OUTSTANDING revolver.

Always wanted a Smith M18 but somehow just never ended up with one…Always an option…I see one priced in a manner that makes my hand involuntarily reach for my wallet and its all over.

The S&W 617 is as close as I ever got to the K22. It has been an outstanding revolver, and 10 shots is just way too much fun. I have put an obscene amount of ammo through that particular 617 and it has never given me the fist hint of trouble…Kinda feel like I got my money’s worth with that one.
These days I let my son shoot the 617, and I shoot my Colt Officers mostly. The Officers come with very stiff mainsprings for quick single action lock time. So I had to re-spring mine because I’m not a bullseye competitor and I really love shooting DA. Now she’s butter smooth and is tied for my favorite handgun to shoot.

Absolutely outstanding.

What is curt harlow's handle over there?