bought this gun early last year now just trying to find something about it it has a 2 inch barrel and no markings

Toro, Welcome to the Forum. Can you post some pictures of your Victory Model? Victory Models with original 2 in. barrels are rare items. Worth big bucks. Victory Models with 2 in. barrels that have been cut down from 4 or 5 in. barrels are common. Worth very little, and only as shooters if they are in good mechanical condition. Describe ALL stampings and markings on your gun and where they are. Is the caliber .38 Special or .38S&W? A factory historical letter will tell you whether the gun was shipped with a 2 in. barrel, or not. Ed.

i will try to load some pic today thanks for the info . how do i obtain a history letter.
its a 38s&w caliber

Pictures by deltoro101 - Photobucket

heres the pics thanks for any info.

The barrel has been cut from it's original length to the current 2 in. length. This is easily seen from the lack of the barrel lug where the front end of the extractor rod locks in place when the cylinder is closed. The barrel lug left with the cut off portion of the barrel. You have one of the many cut barrel Victory models altered after WW2 for the civilian markets. A factory historical letter will tell you where it was originally shipped and with probably a 4 in. barrel. Ed #15

Deltoro, welcome to the forum. With that serial number, your revolver was probably manufactured and shipped in mid to late 1944. I probably would not bother to letter the gun, as there is little uncertainty about the date or destination of military contract revolvers. But I am certainly not telling you not to letter it; that's your call.

Lots of these cut-down .38 S&W Victory models (maybe almost all of them) had their chambers deepened to accept the .38 Special round when they were converted. There is a longstanding discussion of whether this is good or bad, because the .38 special round has a slightly narrower case than the shorter round. That can lead to bulged brass or even occasional case splits when shooting .38 Special. But other people report converted Victory models that handle .38 Special ammo just fine, and there are even some .38 Special revolvers that can chamber the .38 S&W round without modification; it seems to be a matter of production variance.

The exterior looks pretty good. The charge holes look like they could use some attention with strong bore brushes and maybe even some polishing compound.

That should be a dandy shooter at the self-defense distances two-inch guns are designed for.

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David Wilson

thanks for all the answers enjoying the forum

need info on victory model 38 s&w special ctg. serial number V311xxx

Airborne, welcome to the forum. The V-series of serial numbers was introduced in 1942 and the company put them out at a good clip. Your gun was probably manufactured and shipped in 1943 or 1944. In .38 S&W caliber (not .38 Special), it was intended for delivery to a commonwealth country.

Many Victories were converted to .38 special by simply deepening the charge holes to accept the longer round. Your gun may be one of those. Depending on the barrel length, it may be unmodified, or it may have had its barrel shortened so it could reimported to the US and marketed as a personal or business defense weapon. Post a photo if you'd like to.

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David Wilson

5" barrel, nickle plated, barrel says:38 s&w special ctg.

I'm very sorry but a V Model that's been cut up has very little (read none) value and I would not even advise shooting it with the front lug missing after being cut off.

People who cheat unsuspecting buyers with these butchered guns should be horsewhipped.

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No life story has happy end.

Was told he brought it back from the war. V1991XX stamped on barrel, cylinder, & heal of handle next to lanyard lug. 37532 stamped on the inside of each side of the cylinder mounts. 38 S.&W. SPECIAL CTG markings on 4" barrel. U.S. NAVY stamped above the cylinder. Smooth wooden handle grips and black mat finish.

murdock,

That's a nice looking Navy Victory model. Treasure it as a link to your granddaddy. It's a shame you all didn't get to shoot it together.

Was he a Marine or Navy pilot?

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

He was in the Navy but not sure if he was a pilot or not... I always thought he was "signal" but heard rumors he might have been a spook...

I know nothing about this piece. Is there anything I should be doing for up keep?

Most Victory Models in Navy service were issued to flight crews, but of course not all of them. They were in use for that purpose even up through the Vietnam era. One of the uses for such revolvers by the Navy was for distress signalling, using tracer bullets. The Navy took a good majority of the .38 Special Victories made, and after mid-1943, they no longer had the "U. S. NAVY" topstrap stamping, but rather "U. S. PROPERTY." Yours shows obvious signs of service, but nonetheless appears to be in good condition. I wouldn't be surprised it could bring at least $700 if you ever choose to sell it, which I doubt if you will. If you want to shoot it, just go buy some standard velocity .38 Special ammunition with lead bullets. There is nothing weak or delicate about the WWII Victory revolvers. They were made to withstand hard combat service then, and can still take it now. You won't decrease its value by shooting it, just don't abuse it and keep it cleaned. It will probably outlast you.

I do recommend you get a factory letter ($50), and keep it with the gun.

I strongly agree with everything DWalt wrote in the post immediately before mine. Good comments and good advice.
I have only one thing to add, and that relates to your comment:
During WWII those were NOT mutually exclusive categories. And this would have been a good reason for him to have been issued a revolver.

As for the Victories being used in 'Nam, most of us AF types carried Model 15 Combat Masterpieces. But I knew a few pilots who carried Victories and I knew quite a few Army fliers (mostly chopper pilots) who were issued the Victory. I also met at least one "tunnel rat" who used a Victory. So, they were pretty common in my day.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I just don't know anything about up keep on a revolver. I was half tempted to pull the hand grips off to confirm the numbers in all places but got scared... lol Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. How do I get a letter?

Murdock--

There's a "sticky" somewhere on the forum with info on getting a factory letter, including a request form that willl aid you in providing all possible information about any given gun for purposes of inquiry. The more info you can provide, the easier it will be to determine if yr gun is in factory original configuration.