David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. XXXV

[Lee Martin]

Smith & Wesson Model 34 Kit Gun, a classic .22 LR built on the J-frame



Extreme quality in a production revolver, M-34-1 with 4" barrel.



Smooth, firm chambers, fine bore, spell accuracy.



.22 Long Rifle high speed penetrates one side of oil drum from 4" bbl., often fails to penetrate from shorter 2" barrel. Penetration favors 4-inch for small game and livestock chores.



Kit Gun, like K-22, used floating firing pin in frame, during era when S&W centerfires mounted firing pin to hammer





Despite need for cleaning, note smooth forcing cone, critical to soft .22 ammo.



Recessed rims and rimfire ignition go together. Each countersink must be to exact same depth for consistency, accuracy.



While M-34 .22 LR and M-640 .357 Mag share the J-frame, the 4-inch barrel really belongs on the .22.



Bird head grip is classic J-frame.





-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[bradshaw]

Thanks you, Lee.

The J-frame Model 34 Kit Gun represents a prize for a marksman. I mislabeled grip as "bird head," when meant to say round butt. A salient feature of pocket carry, the round butt helps offset the 4-inch barrel.
David Bradshaw

[Ken O'Neill]

The 4" 34 and its stainless Mdl. 63 version are truly wonderful rimfires.

[oldschool]

Apr 10, 2014 11:37:28 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

Thanks you, Lee.

The J-frame Model 34 Kit Gun represents a prize for a marksman. I mislabeled grip as "bird head," when meant to say round butt. A salient feature of pocket carry, the round butt helps offset the 4-inch barrel.
David Bradshaw

I have one of those that was left to me by my Dad. I'm thinking that it might be an I-frame (early 50s?). Nice little revolver.

[bradshaw]

oldschool.... M-34 built on J-frame is larger, newer than S&W I-frame. The M-34 carries what we now consider the classic, straightforward, and simple Smith & Wesson lockwork. The J-frame uses a coil mainspring, while the larger K, L, and N frame uses a drop forged flat mainspring. Drop forged parts include cylinder frame, yoke, barrel, hammer, trigger, thumb piece, rebound slide, cylinder stop, cylinder release slide, and rear sight body. (Believe on some models the extractor was milled from a forging.) In addition to being forgings, hammer and trigger are case hardened----for surface hardness, not looks.

Chambers on S&W revolvers are roller burnished, a technique developed at S&W to ease simultaneous ejection. Whether chambers of the Kit Gun are roller burnished, I don't know. Suffice to say chambers are uniform, firm, and very smooth, attributes critical to accuracy with soft little bullets, such as the .22.

I would have no reason for a smaller .22 LR than the Kit Gun, as accuracy friom a smaller package would be a challenge to deliver. With this revolver, beauty is very deep indeed.
David Bradshaw

[alukban]

The 34 is one of my all time favorites

I scored an I frame 34 a couple of months that was rebarreled at one point with a 6" tube from a Model 35.

It is my easiest gun to shoot accurately and represents the nadir of compact 6" barreled rimfire revolvers to me.

[oldschool]

Speaking of the M35...during grad school, one of my Geology professors knew I was a gun nut and pulled an M-35 out of his car. He had found it in a Pawn shop in Montana several years before and I had never seen one before. Since we were again in Montana doing field work, it seemed appropriate to take it out and shoot it a few times over the month we were there. I guess it was special privilege, as none of the other students got invited on our plinking forays. Those were nice opportunities for study breaks for me, however! That M35 was nice shooting gun.

[alukban]

I am nowhere near a very good shooter but my hybid 34/35 (bought from Bob who is also on this forum) let's me hit hanging 4" plates at 25y while DA standing like I was throwing magnets at a refrigerator - just sucks them in

[alukban]

It is this beast!

[bradshaw]

alukban.... beautiful revolver. Please explain the Model 35. And, how could there be an I-frame M-34?

And I take it the revolver at the top of your photo is a contemporary remake of the K-22 with top strap configured to resemble early 20th century, albeit with the much better post WW II sight. Permit me to ask, is one of 'em more accurate.
David Bradshaw

[alukban]

Thanks David!

You can see the frame length difference between I frames and J frames very easily just in front of the trigger guard (as well as the flat latch, of course). The "Model 34" was the shorter I frame but the "Model 34-1" is a J frame.

The Model 34, to my understanding, was a rename of the original ".22/32 Kit Gun". The Model 35 is the 6" barreled target version of the .22/32 Kit Gun. The .22/32 Kit Gun itself is a shorter/kit version of the original Bekaert 22/32 framed 6" rimfire so it kinda went full circle.

The 34 pictured above has a 35's barrel with a beautifully reshaped front sight that is holster friendly. I have the original 2" barrel that was sold to me with the package anda pair of lovely NOS Herrett stocks.

The bigger gun in the above pic is a K frame Model 17-8 which was a Performance center gun that was part of their Lew Horton Heritage series and looks more like the original Bekaert rimfires because of the I frame/Terrier type grips and pencil barrel. Those are the grips that came with the gun from the factory. Neat eh?! I have small hands so they are perfect to me and my preference.

They both shoot very well but I have only put the 17-8 on paper once at 10y. I have not put the 34/35 on paper so I can't really compare. As far as handiness and feeling like a laser pointer out to 40y with CCI Blazer ammo, the 34/35 seems easier to hit with than the 17-8 even though its action is stiffer and rougher. The 34/35 gets carried a lot more (26 oz vs 38.4 oz).

The I frames are better sized for rimfire to me. The M frames were even more so. Putting a 6" barrel with adjustable sights on an I frame makes for the most compact and accurate rimfire DA revolver that one can get and hit a mark for me. It makes me wonder what a 6" barrel with aadjustable sights would be like on the old M frames though the small levering in the action may be self defeating. One can still find Model 35's here and there. The one I have is special to me because IT SHOOTS!

[Thumper]

Apr 26, 2014 14:49:52 GMT -5 alukban said:

It is this beast!

That is cool!  My 34-1 is a bit shorter:

[seancass]

I'm relatively new to the world of S&W sixguns and before this thread I'd never really heard of the I-frame. Turns out I want one really bad. So apparently I now need a 34/35. I'm sure that'll be easy to find!

[bradshaw]

The M-34 blue or a good M-63 stainless with 2" barrel is for sure a beauty, and is way ahead of any .22 pocket auto for life insurance. The Model 34-1 with 4" barrel was tried on an oil drum from 140 yards, with this result:

Single Action
5x6
5x6
4x6
5x6
19x24 @ 140 yards

Double action
3x6

To my surprise, Winchester Hi-Speed round nose punctured the on-side of the drum, except for a couple of tangent hits. Duly note that not all 55 gallon drums are of equal gauge; nor, probably, of equal steel. Nevertheless, this drum is sound, and the performance of the little Smith & Wesson M-34 speaks for itself.
David Bradshaw

[James]

The m 34 was the third handgun I bought. Used it so much I kept wearing the blue off so I had it hard chromed...
----James

*****

James.... just noticing this. A vintage Model 34 Kit Gun represents a compact .22 meant to be carried in a box of fishing lures or your pocket, yet built to the highest manufacturing standard, and built to be shot!
David Bradshaw