You have a British service revolver, originally chambered for the .38 S&W regular (not .38 Special) ctg. I hope it has not been altered by a surplus dealer to take the slimmer .38 Special. Cases may bulge or crack.
Photos will help for further detail, but your gun probably has a dull gray Midnight Black finish and smooth walnut stocks if not altered. Earlier ones were blued and had checkered stocks with a silver medallion; they were identical to commercial guns of that model, except that they had lanyard rings. The cosmetic change took place in April, 1942.
US-Issued Victory Models were in .38 Special and had four-inch barrels. The gray-finished Brit. guns have five-inch barrels, but four, five, and six-inch barrels were provided on the blued ones.
Your question has been asked NUMEROUS times here in this month alone. Check the other likely topics and read more.
Victory Model made 1943-45. Hopefully it's in original condition as many were butchered after the war by having barrels cut and chambers reamed for the longer 38 Special cartridge.
Correct ammo is 38 S&W (not Special) which is pricey if you rely on store bought ammo. Makes it not a good choice for the casual shooter.
Here's mine in original condition (except the post-war stocks).
As Saxon Pig stated, your revolver should look like the one in his post. Many of these guns were re-imported after WW II and altered to accept .38 special cartridges. Many also had their barrels cutdown and the sights altered. Some were nickel plated as well.
BTW, barrels are measured from the front of the cylinder forward to the end.
My .38 is also a victory model used for targed shoorting once a month
Brass is hard to get. So i have to reload. MOA 1 inch on a good day at 10-15 yards
My .38 is also a victory model used for targed shoorting once a month
Brass is hard to get. So i have to reload. MOA 1 inch on a good day at 10-15 yards
Trying to Identify MY S&W Revolver
Linear Mode
