[Buckeye2B]

I googled and came across your website. Lot's of info here for the shooting enthusiast.

I am mostly just trying to identify a S&W .38 that came into my posession. Year of manufacture or close would be great. I also am trying to identify if this particular gun should be blued or parkerized, as the original finish appears to have been removed and a poor attempt at rebluing the gun was done. I believe I have the skill to hot blue the gun properly, but wonder if there is any way to identify the original protective coat. If the original coating is Parkerized, it goes to the shop.

SN is K760339. It also says MOD and followed under it by 142. I assume this to stand for model 14-2, but may be wrong.

I saw that folks from your website have done this on other threads, and whereby I ended up here and thought it might be worth asking. Thanks for any help you can give.

[ugaarguy]

Buckeye, welcome to THR. A google search seeking info on a S&W revolver (pre-10 M&P; fixed sight version of what you have) brought me here as well, and I stuck around. Welcome and please enjoy the forum.

As for your revolver The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd Edition says that the SN places it at 1966 production, making it one of the last 14-2s made before the -3s entered production in 1967. The original finish would have blued or possibly nickled. Only a letter from S&W historian Roy Jinks could tell you (and at $30 it's quite reasonable), but the majority were blued.

[XavierBreath]

Nickel revolvers from this time period commonly have a N stamped on the reverse of the cylinder, as well as the frame underneath the grips.

This revolver would not have left the factory parkerized.

I moved your thread to revolvers. Some of our revolver guys never venture elsewhere......

[Buckeye2B]

That's cool. That tells me what I have to do then. Just kind of wanted to make sure before I ventured forward into this. The help is appreciated.

[EddieCoyle]

It looks like you have a Model 14-2 (a.k.a. K-38 Target Masterpiece) made in 1967. It was likely shipped with a blued finish. A few were nickel plated at the factory, none were originally Parkerized.

[Buckeye2B]

You guys are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks again for the help.