Mystery Smith & Wesson .22 Revolver

[ugaarguy]

IIRC, the only Smith called a COMBAT Masterpiece was the Model 15, a .38 Special, 4" gun. ( I have one under my pillow.)
The Model 17 was simply the K-22 Masterpiece, as was the Model 14 the K-38 Masterpiece. Both were 6" barrel target revolvers, nearly identical in size and weight so target shooters could have a matched set.Also,the Model 19 .357 was called the Combat Magnum.
All were based on the mediun size K-frame.

Not quite. There are pre 14 K-38 Target Masterpieces, and Pre 15 K-38Combat Masterpieces. There are also pre 17 K-22 Target Masterpieces, and pre 18 K-22 Combat Masterpieces. The M15 & M18 are the numbers that were assigned to the K-38 and K-22 Combat Masterpiece revolvers when S&W switched to the number system in 1957. There was also a K-32 Target Masterpiece revolver that remained in production until 1973 as the Model 16. Further there are the Model 67 Combat Masterpiece Stainless and the relatively new M617 Target Masterpiece Stainless, in 38 Special and 22 LR respectively. Could a 618 Combat Masterpiece Stainless 22 LR be in the works?

http://www.handloads.com/misc/Smith.Model.Changes.asp

 

[Hammerdown]

It has no model number but the serial number is 5312XX.

Hello benedict1
The serial Number you have provided proves to be a Pre-War serial Number and in 1936 S&W Introduced the 22/32 Target gun you show with a 4" barrel. In that year the serial number's started out at 529771 for the .22/.32 Hand Ejector series of which your revolver is. This revolver was continued until the World War II time span, When S&W stopped all civilian production hand guns, just Prior to World War II, and the last serial number series of Pre-War 22/32 hand ejector Target revolver's like the one you have shown was 534,587 and 534,636 of the .32 Hand Ejector series as well. The .22 Caliber Target and Kit gun were reintroduced After the war with a start up production date of September 6, 1950. The Post War Models looked exactly like Your Pre-War model with the exception of a new Safety Hammer block added to the action, that ran from the rebound slide, to up under the hammer nose area. This can be seen by removing the side plate as well, and would be an easy way to distinguish if a revolver of this era was a Pre-War or Post-War model, regardless of what a serial number may be, ALL revolver's that left the factory After the End Of World war II had this new safety feature, and we have learned that sometimes a revolver may have been serial numbered years before being shipped, depending on what the consumer demand was, and after the war, it was a while before the economy picked it's pace back up, so Many Post War S&W's that were now shipped can come back to a Pre-War serial, if the company had them on reserve in their vault till after the War. A Factory letter is the Only True way to know exactly when a revolver was shipped as well. In conclusion the serial number you have given above would clearly indicate your revolver was made between 1936 and the Start of World -War II leaning towards the Very late 30's or Early 40's Time span. The grip's shown on Your revolver were a target style "extension grip", a S&W factory option to allow better grip at target shooting, with the Round Butt frames. The very early examples of these Factory option Target extension grips were released on the special order placed by Phil Bekeart, a California dealer and avid shooter back then, Called The Bekeart target revolver's and ones seen on his ordered revolver's had the revolver's serial number branded on the out side of the grip panel, along the lower front grip frame area. Most of these Extension Target style grips were made from select Walnut that had a marble stripped effect with the grain and we quickly notice the black stripes often seen on this classic wood used in S&W grips of that time frame, along with the Birth of the early Magna style factory grips, and some early service grips. I hope this is of some use to you, I was attempting to add a little more information to other member's excellent description of your revolver, and that is one sweet looking revolver, even if it has a factory star, may indicate a refinish of the bluing or parts replacement done at The Smith & Wesson Factory. The factory letter will add to it's value and having a family piece like this is something to really cherish and be Proud of. Best regards,Hammerdown

 

[Hammerdown]

The Complete S&W Combat Masterpiece series

/dogngun/ IIRC, the only Smith called a COMBAT Masterpiece was the Model 15, a .38 Special, 4" gun. ( I have one under my pillow.)
The Model 17 was simply the K-22 Masterpiece, as was the Model 14 the K-38 Masterpiece. Both were 6" barrel target revolvers, nearly identical in size and weight so target shooters could have a matched set.Also,the Model 19 .357 was called the Combat Magnum.

Hello
Smith & Wesson's "Combat Masterpiece" Series was introduced in 1950 at that time the factory Planned to produce in Three calibers. 38, .32, and .22.
Fondly Named the K-38 model 15, The K-32 Model 16, and The K-22 Combat Masterpiece, model 18 and the newer more Modern version, 17-5 Bull Barrel revolver, that has the same features as the rest of the Combat series with it's 4" barrel and Baughman quick draw front sight. The Combat Masterpiece series was a shorter 4" barrel version of their Target Masterpiece, Most commonly with a service length barrel, and Baughman quick draw front sight. They did however make exceptions on some model standards, as the Model 15 was Known to come with the standard service 4" barrel, along with the Heavy Bull barrel and Baughman quick draw sight, and the model 14 may have been considered a target Masterpiece as it more commonly wore a 6" barrel or the longer 8-3/8" barel with a Patridge style front sight But Here is a revolver that was a special order revolver by "Dayton Sport's" of Dayton, Ohio. This revolver is one of 2038 produced by S&W between 1965-1968 that had the very same features as the model 15 but was clearly marked a 14-2, and this would also be considered a Combat Masterpiece as well, with it's features exact to a model 15 mentioned by a previous responder.I did contact Mr. Jinks and he confirmed this revolver is one of the low production Dayton Combat masterpiece models, that shipped from the Factory in 1966. Shown below is The S&W Model 18 .22 Caliber Combat Masterpiece, which is almost the same as it's cousin the K-22 6 " Barrel Target version that has a Patridge front sight as mentioned earlier, and the Model 14-2 Combat Masterpiece, along with yet another Combat Masterpiece the 17-5. Although my current reference book's do not show this More Modern Model 17-5 K-22 to be one of the Combat Masterpiece models, as they are Older than this seldom seen K-22 Bull Barreled model, Which had a short Three year span before S&W added a Full Lug under the barrel from 1986-1989, and it should be Noted to have been one of the only model 17 K-22's to have a shorter 4" barrel as well. It certainly has all the features that S&W require's it to qualify as another Combat Masterpiece bearing in mind to be a true S&W Combat Masterpiece all revolver's must have the 4" barrel and Baughman quick draw front sight.To date this shows the Combat Masterpiece series to have a total of 5 revolver's all of different models and Four of the same caliber, being the Model 14 & 15 and the model 17 & 18. I have a real affection for The Combat Masterpiece series, and have not owned one that did not shoot well making them one of the best S&W revolver's to me. Best regards, Hammerdown