Help on a S&W .22

B

BoomieMCT

New member
A friend is looking to sell a S&W .22 revolver he inherited. It is a six shot .22, not sure if it is an old Model 17 or K-22. Serial number on the grip is 252xxx, but 11xxx inside the crane (or is that a model number?). It's blue, no lug, maybe a 6" barrel.

Anyone have info or know a good website to check?
 
Well we could probably identify the gun and date it for you. The SN you gave cannot be right, as it is out of range for a pre war gun, and for post war, they had a K prefix for many years. Even after the K prefix, there was a K in the SN, perhaps until recently. If the SN (on butt of gun) is K 252XXX then it dates to approx 1953. I have my grandfather's K-22 which is K253XXX which dates to 1953, IIRC.

11XXX inside the crane is likely an assembly number, used for factory purposes, IE it has no meaning to us. The gun should be a 5 screw, if the number you gave has a K prefix. Look for a screw on the upper right hand corner of frame, right below the rear sight. That screw was the first to be removed for K and N frame revolvers.

Once again, assuming that the SN has a K prefix, it would be considered a K-22 masterpiece which is the predecessor to the later model 17. Some people call what you may have a pre 17. these were usually blue, and had a 6in barrel most often. There was a 4in variant made, which is the K-22 combat masterpiece.

As for a website, there is the S&W forum, but most often, everyone references the SCSW 3rd which many people here have anyways, including myself. Verify the SN (K prefix or not) and post a pic if you can.
 
Quite right, there is a K in the serial number. It was just far left justified.

It's in pretty good condition with a little wear on the blue and no box. Any idea what a good price for it would be?
 
A good price for you to snipe it? Or a fair price for him to get when he sells it?

A K-frame Smith & Wesson .22cal revolver that's in perfect working order and in great exterior shape without the original box that's as old as this one seems to be is routinely going to be priced between $600 and $700 at a gun show, and will sell somewhere a bit lower than that price in most cases.

Things to consider...
We still know almost squat about the condition of this particular revolver. It's horribly difficult even to do it with pictures... and we don't even have pictures. One guy's "GREAT SHAPE!" is another guy's "wow, every one of these 12 things is a chink in the armor."

That's just how it is. And again, if you are trying to get it from him for a fair price, that's different than hm attempting to get top-dollar for it.

There's definite value here. They made MANY of these, but they are absolutely in demand. Well kept, these guns will last lifetimes.
 
K252xxx dates it to 1955 which makes it a K-22.
S&W began assigning model numbers around 1957 at which time the K-22 became the model 17.

Jim
 
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