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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 08-24-2010, 09:43 PM
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Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!! Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!! Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!! Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!! Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!!  
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Default Here's one you won't see everyday!!!!!

I was in South Vietnam in 1967 doing Bomb Damage Assessment. The Navy was using MK 82 500# bombs that were dated back to WW II!!! Many were not detonating and the VC were digging them up and making booby traps out of the explosive.. I was a Navy CPO and was the leader of an EOD team. We usually had a Army or Marine Squad assigned to protect us depending on where we were working and the local conditions.. We would dig up these duds, remove the fuses and then detonate them...

On one of these missions, we ran into a little trouble with some VC. I was at the time carrying an M14 after a bad experience with an M16A1. I stepped from behind a tree and came face to face with a VC. He was just a boy, about 14 or so. He was armed with an AK and had a pistol in his hand. As he raised the handgun and began to point it in my direction, I brought the M14 up and fired two quick rounds, both of which hit him in the chest...

He fell back against a tree and I moved over to him and kicked the pistol out of his hand. After the situation stabilized, I picked up the pistol and saw it was a Victory Model S&W. I observed a bullet sticking out of the barrel, so I emptied the chamber of live rounds, which were WW II dated USGI, and dropped it into my pack.

When I had a chance to examine the gun, I could feel lumps in the barrel and so I knew that there were rounds in the barrel. I brought the gun with me when I flew back to the ship on my way back to the States. At the time I was working part time for Dick Green at his gun shop on Whidbey Island, WA. I removed the barrel and using a dremel tool, I cut a section out of the barrel and found 9 rounds stuck nose to tail!!!!! That means he had to reload it at least once!!!!! I made a new barrel for it, and that is why the barrel lug is cut off.... I replaced the original barrel in the receiver when I started working the gun shows. Thousands of people have seen this relic...

This pistol is chambered in .38 Special, however the barrel is marked .38 S&W CTG. which is a different round.... However, they are both .357 bullet diameter. the round sticking out of the barrel is a tracer, which is probably the curprit, and the rest are GI Ball....

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Old 08-24-2010, 10:22 PM
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Fascinating, thanks for posting.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:26 PM
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Like a cat, that guy had nine lives - the tenth was the end for him. Does say something about the level of training ........
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:26 PM
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Unique and very interesting story.

Great picture.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:27 PM
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Actually, the .38 S&W has a bore diameter of .360, as opposed to the .38 Special which is .358 usually....
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:31 PM
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Interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:32 PM
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Thank goodness for happy ending's! Other than the bullet filled barrel it look's to be in good shape considering who was useing it. Good job Sir and thank's for your service.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:49 PM
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The moral of this story is, NEVER POINT A GUN AT ME, as there is no SECOND PLACE in a gunfight. Also, if you are going to get in a gunfight, BRING A GUN THAT WORKS!!!
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Old 08-24-2010, 11:00 PM
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Wow, that's some heady stuff. You had an angel on your side!
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Old 08-24-2010, 11:05 PM
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Well, it was usual for surplus dealers to ream British surplus .38-200 (.38 S&W) out to take Specials, why would not a VC?

I once read that the British had a problem with sticking bullets in those guns when they went from the original 200 gr lead bullet to 178 gr jacketed.

There was an American Rifleman article about government trials with .38 Special +P not for more power but to avoid sticking the jacketed GI bullets.
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Old 08-24-2010, 11:06 PM
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WOW! Not much of a training program, eh? To your advantage, may all our enemies be so ignorant of their weaponry.
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Old 08-25-2010, 12:20 AM
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Obviously a Brit gun that was reamed.

I have heard of Civil War rifles being packed to the muzzle with charges as soldiers forgot to cap the nipple in the heat of battle and would snap the hammer and then ram down another charge.
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Old 08-25-2010, 08:40 AM
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It is true that the British had problems with the S&W .38/200 revolvers. I suspect that some may have had .357-.358 barrels fitted by accident. I have not seen similar reports involving Webley or Enfield .38's. I think they must have slightly looser bore dimensions. But the jacketed bullets needed a heavier powder charge.

Because the bore on Mr. Holbrook's gun would be looser than .38 Special specs, it is fascinating to speculate on why .38 Specl. bullets wouldn't clear the muzzle.

I have seen another S&W barrel stacked up this way, after a squib load stalled in the barrel and subsequent shots were fired. It does speak well of S&W safety standards.

That is NOT a suggestion that people rechamber a .38/44 for .357 ammo or fire Plus P ammo in older guns.

BTW, nice shooting, Mr. Holbrook!

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Last edited by Texas Star; 08-25-2010 at 08:44 AM.
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Old 08-25-2010, 08:55 AM
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What an interesting story! Your are right, it is definitely " one you won't see everyday." Thanks for taking time to share it with the forum.
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Old 08-25-2010, 01:04 PM
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Good story Chief, thanks for your service. I saw that gun or another one plugged like that on display in a gun shop near Denver a few years ago. I can't remember if it was a Victory or commercial but it was a pre-10 and sure caught my attention.
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Old 08-25-2010, 01:17 PM
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Very interesting story and also Thank You for your service to this Great Country of ours.
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Old 08-25-2010, 03:52 PM
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Default Great engineering by S&W, great story!

Glad you were/are proficient in the shooting skills as well as the bomb disarming skills. Very interesting story and thank you for sharing the story and serving our country.
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Old 08-25-2010, 06:24 PM
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Very cool post thanks for sharing
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Old 08-26-2010, 01:37 AM
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Interesting post..... good reaction on your part.
I saw a similar cut-away on the wall of the police armorer's course room while taking a course @ the S&W plant in '92. It was a 6" 38 target nickeled, looked like a model 14. Anyway it too had 6 shots lodged in the plumbing.
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Old 08-26-2010, 02:26 AM
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Thank you for your service and this interesting little bit of history. You EOD guys do a job that most would run from. I have the utmost respect for that. Kudo's to the reliability of the M-14 and the steady hand too.
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Old 08-26-2010, 06:05 AM
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Great story. Lucky for you for the failure.
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commercial, m14, model 14, pre-10, rifleman, s&w, victory, webley

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