Smith & Wesson 16-4

[mag318]

Over the decades S&W has made some truly interesting firearms, and this is one of those. It's a K frame with a full lug barrel chambered in 32 H&R Magnum. These were an offshoot of there K32 Masterpiece which was chambered in 32 S&W Long and was a very popular target pistol. These 16-4s were only produced for a few years and were soon dropped because of lack of demand. Interestingly they are more in demand now then when they were available. Some owners have the chambers reamed out to accept the 327 Federal Magnum which is even a more versatile chambering. These were made in 3 barrel lengths 4",6" and 8 3/8" and all are quite scarce. I was fortunate to pick these up at a LGS this year and all I can say is WOW! My 6" came with a target hammer and trigger, the 4" has the standard service hammer and trigger. This model was one of the very few thought that came from the factory with S&Ws finger groove, Goncalo Alves Combat grips.

[deputyG23]

Post that on the S&W forum. Those guys will love it. There aren’t that many K-Frame .32s out there. That would be a sweet squirrel hunting revolver. Enjoy!

[jandbj]

Oh my! Those are pretty.

[mtnbkr]

I have an earlier version without the heavy underlug barrel, chambered in 32swl. I think mine is a 16-2.

Chris

[oregon45]

Awesome! A 16-4 is on my "must buy" list when I find one for a reasonable-ish price. Barring that, I may just have one made from a Model 19 fitted with a rebored Model 17 barrel and rechambered 22lr cylinder. May even come out money-ahead given the prices 16-4's are bringing.

[Wheeler]

16-4’s are cool. They look like juvenile sized 586’s.

[ragnar_d]

Very nice. I've been on a revolver kick and the .32 caliber revolvers seem like they're underrated little guns. Especially if they're able to be modified to take .327 Fed (though I would be scared as hell to modify something like those 16-4s).


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[Malamute]

Awesome! A 16-4 is on my "must buy" list when I find one for a reasonable-ish price. Barring that, I may just have one made from a Model 19 fitted with a rebored Model 17 barrel and rechambered 22lr cylinder. May even come out money-ahead given the prices 16-4's are bringing.

Ive considered this approach, but using a model 15, they arent as pricey as 19s. The other thing thats crossed my mind is getting an S&W 38 K frame barrel bored out to use liners like Dan Wesson barrels and have a switch barrel 32/38. Youd need a cylinder to match each, but youd already have the 38 cylinder from the donor gun. It would likely require the heavier barrel profile than the older tapered model 15 barrels though. DW barrel nuts and wrenches can be bought. None of the work would be that complicated.

[mag318]

I have an earlier version without the heavy underlug barrel, chambered in 32swl. I think mine is a 16-2.

Chris

The earlier 16s are worth a pretty penny.

[mtnbkr]

The earlier 16s are worth a pretty penny.

Yup. I wanted one for years to fill out my Kxx Target trio (had a true K38 "Target Masterpiece" and a M17 "K22" already). On a whim, I stopped by a gun store that seldom had anything interesting and found this one in the case on consignment for a giveaway price (less than half market value at the time). Pure luck on my part. It's not cosmetically perfect (not rough, but not pristine), but it shoots well. 32SWL in a mid-frame revolver is one of my favorite combinations. Near-22-level recoil and report, but more oomph for small game and reloadable to boot.

I haven't tried the 32H&RMag yet. I'm tempted to get a revolver like yours, but I already have a 32-20, which is closer to that than my 32SWL.

Chris