A True Masterpiece

First group from my new Smith & Wesson K-22

Some weeks ago my wife was gracious enough to allow me to acquire a new piece that will enhance my humble collection and also provide me with long periods of relaxation at my indoor range.

As you will immediatelly tell from the picture above the new old Smith & Wesson K-22, or more precisely a Model 17-3 made around 1971 according to the serial number, is in pristine shape, and the first (and so far only) off-hand five-shot group at 10 meters demonstrates that purebred target precision is clearly alive and well.

The roots of the K-22 can be traced back to 1899 when Smith & Wesson introduced what would become the gold standard to which all revolvers are compared, the .38 Hand Ejector Military & Police Model revolver, built in the then new K-frame. By 1913 the adjustable sight configuration, the .38 Hand Ejector Military & Police Target model (eventually called K-38) held 24 of 40 all-time records of the U.S. Revolver Association.

But the .38 Military & Police was not only popular with target shooter, it also became the virtual standard police handgun, not only in the United States of America, but either as original Smith & Wesson or unauthorized copies in countries that issued wheel-guns to its police forces.

And due to the massive popularity and constant use of the .38 Military & Polcie, both target shooter and police department started claiming for a revolver with same handling carachteristics od the K-38, but that would shoot the much lower cost .22 rimfire ammunition (and by this time the .22 Long Rifle had already become the de-facto standard).

In order to provide the same handling, the new .22 revolver had the same loaded weight as the K-38, and to allow for the same handling the center of gravity had to be the same, and threfore the .22 barrel is slightly taped towards the muzzle. And in keeping with its competition roots, Smith & Wesson guaranteed that the new K-22 would group five shots under 1 1/2 inches at 50 yards.

From 1931 to 1939 this fantastic .22 revolver was called the K-22 Outsdoorman, and from that point, after incorporating a new micrometer-adjustable rear sight it became the Smith & Wesson Masterpiece, and I cannot think of a better name to christen the best .22 revolver ever made.

In 1957 Smith & Wesson introduced model numbers to replace the model names, and the K-38 became the Model 14, while the K-22 became the Model 17. Why they did not became the Models 38 and 22 I will never understand!

In order to really pair my new K-22 and my old K-38 I need to find some original grips to replace the aftermarket combat grips of the latter, but that is neither hard nor expensive, and in a short time I should have a perfect pair of target revolvers.

My $99 Anschütz

The perfect complement for my Haversack

On my latest trip to Brazil I had the opportunity to visit my hometown in the last weekend of October, and during that time I had the pleasure to meet my friend Aluísio Albuquerque, and during a brief visit to his home he showed me a gift that he had received shortly ago, a little Winchester 22 bolt-action "Tumb Trigger". To say that I was envious would probably be an overstatement, but that reminded me that I did not have a single shot twenty-two, and a professional small boy, to parafrase the late Peter Hathaway Capstick, who was too smart to take himself too seriously, not only needs, but truly desires such a timeless classic.

Well, some weeks ago my wife, who among many other responsibilities takes care of our mail and personal accounting, handed me a US$ 120 vaucher that Gander Mountain sent me and minutes later I found another US$ 10 gift card gratiously sent by Pheasants Forever. With that much "free" money available I was compeled to visit the local Traverse City store and explore the many possibilities to use my newly acquired funds.

The first trip with my wife was unsucessful as nothing caught my eye, but a week or so later the situation changed. After dropping my wife at the gym I drove to Gander Mountain to again search for that special something that would find a place in my heart and my life (you know how small boys behave).

Upon entering the store and quickly perusing the new firearms without finding anything attractive I moved to the relative small used guns shelf and among a lot of Mosin-Nagants, several shotguns and other center-fire rifles there was this small bolt-action twenty-two. I saw that it was in very decent shape and started to exam it and two things really caught my eye: the ANSCHÜTZ logo on top of the action and the $99 price tag!

As the sales associates were busy and there were other people looking at used guns that could steal my just found treasure I just stood there until help came my way, and before anything I double checked the price. It really was $99 and soon afterwards we , the little Anshütz and me, were on our way home.

When we arrived I immediately started an internet search to learn about my new acquision and after some false starts which called the rifle a "Garden Gun", which would have made me happy if that was the case as I really like those ancient European smooth bore "micro-shotguns", but finally I found a copy of an early 1960's Stoeger catalog that portraited ANSCHÜTZ JUNIOR VARMINTER .22 Long Rifle Caliber Rifles and Carbines. There were four guns on the page with prices varying from $22 to $110, and the top and least expensive one was the MODEL 1361E .22 RIFLE. The description matches my own rifle in every aspect, except that while the catalog states "A single-shot rifle with a manual cocking knob" my rifle will cock upon the bolt being closed.

As we had a week of pretty nasty weather the only place that I could comfortably test my new rifle was my basement airgun range, and in order to make it safe I relied upon Aguila's Super Colibri ammo which is actually less powerful and quieter than some of my air rifles, and therefore totally safe for my bullet traps. At around thirty feet off-hand (remember Jeff Cooper: rifles must have practical hitability) the little Anschütz performed as expected, hitting the twelve gauge empty hulls I was using as reactive targets and later my airgun metallic silhouettes. The only noise was that of the 20 grain lead pointed bullet hititing its target.

Today I disassembled the little Anschütz for proper cleaning and to better understand it mechanism. A single screw joins the stock with the lock and barrel. A robust leaf spring provides resistance to trigger movement, and the complete lock mechanism is of a sinmple and elegant construction, and the complete rifle probably has less than twenty parts, counting all moving and non-moving parts. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo da Vinci

Since my Anschütz held minute of mice accuracy in the indoor range, I am sure it will perform just as well outdoors, and I am now planning a small game safari after cottontail rabbits and maybe squirrels for the Christmas holidays, but first I must secure the front sight that has some play to it. Maybe Del will coach me.

Well, now I have a rifle that not only rivals Aluísio's Winchester Tumb Trigger, but complements my grandson's Crickett (maybe in four or five years), and also is the perfect companion for my haversack. And who knows which adventures we may enjoy in the northern Michigan woods?

The 1960's Stoeger catalogue page