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Old 03-17-2013, 02:56 PM
opoefc opoefc is offline
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Traybo, My guess was correct, it seems. The "767" and 3 1/2 tons" stamped n the barrel indicate the gun was proofed by the Brits, after WW2, when it was sold as surplus to a British Gun dealer, who was then required by British Proof regulations to have the gun proofed if it was to be offered for sale in Britain. Apparently it was later imported to the US by an American gun dealer, unless your GGF bought the gun overseas. Thousands of these surplus Victory Models were imported to the US and sold cheaply in the 1950-60s era. Many like yours, that were originally .38S&W caliber ( Brits called them 38/200 after their military nomenclature for that caliber) had their cylinder chambers rebored to accept .38S&W Special rounds by the US dealers. You can test yours by seeing if a .38 Special round will fully chamber in the cylinder. If not, it's still in the original .38 S&W caliber. You can obtain a S&W factory historical letter for the gun from Roy Jinks, Factory Historian, for $50. It will tell you when the gun was shipped, to whom or where, and the original configuration of the gun, style of finish and stocks. For a family heirloom gun you want to pass on the future generations, a factory letter, is a great addition to authenticating the gun. Good Luck, Ed.
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