I recently purchased this revolver at an auction. Serial No V755247. I believe it is a victory model lent to the British. I measured the cylinder and I believe it is chambered in.38 S&W. It has british markings on it in many places, the letter P on the left side and backstrap, and P0090 under made in use on the right side of the frame. I do not see any importers mark. Any additional info those much more knowledgable that me would be appreciated. photos attached. Thanks in advance.
Gary

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First, that SN would put this BSR's shipment date to probably be around late 1944-early 1945. The prefix changed from V to SV (to indicate the improved drop safety) in early 1945 at around SN low SV 76xxxx - but there is one known SV-prefix gun known as having a somewhat lower number. Second, it appears to have been reblued. Third, I don't know what the P0090 number on the frame means, or the meaning of the large P. But they were not factory-applied. There are others known with similar markings. Importer's markings were not required until after 1968, so yours probably came into the USA during the BSR importation binge of the late 1950s to mid-1960s. You might check to see if it has been rechambered to use .38 Special cartridges. Here is further information: http://www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/v...and_wesson.htm

A .38 special brass will not fully enter the chamber. I measured the depth of the chamber to the cartridge stop and i got .744 in.

That's actually good in one way that it has its original .38 S&W chambering. However, today .38 S&W ammo is not that easily found and can be expensive.

I just ordered 100 rounds at $24 a box, and will reload that brass when empty. Lee sells a die set for .38 S&W

Reloading is the best way to go if you plan to shoot much. I use .38 Super dies. I've found that .357-.358 cast bullets work OK. For use in a BSR, you can load .38 S&W to be somewhat hotter than factory .38 S&W loads.

The large P marking has been the subject of discussion before, for example here:

What Are These Victory Markings?

But I do not believe we have a conclusive answer as to its origin and meaning yet. The same, to my knowledge, applies to the numbers under the MADE IN USA.

Late 1944 would be my birth year-- be glad to take it off your hands.

How can you tell if it has been re-blued? I don't see anything obvious. Or are you thinking it had a rough wartime finish when made?

Looks to me like the inside flutes of the cylinder still retain the dulll war finish. I could be wrong? Otherwise the gun is a good find, I too have a 6 inch in 38S&W. Mine is a pre victory but I get pretty decent accuracy out of my .358/.359 145 grain lead bullets that typical for 9mm reloading with some HP38. Give us a range report once you get it out. Enjoy

At that serial number the gun definitely left S&W with the Sandblast Black Magic finish, which this equally definitely is not. It has been polished and given a commercial blue.

A comparison showing one of the OP's photos next to an original finish from half a year earlier; focus on the surface texture, as the lighting gives my photo a bit of an overly brownish tint.

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Not sure why you state the serial prefix is S when it is clearly visible on the butt to be a V.

I'm no expert but added numbers on the frame usually mean the gun was issued to some civilian agency after the war. Sometimes it was Germany or Austria but maybe Great Britain also reused them for civilian police?

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The S serial number was a typo, and by the time I realized it, I couldn't go back and edit the post. Yes, it has a V serial number, but the position of the V is odd. Other victory models I've see posted have the V on the right side of the lanyard ring. next to the numbers. .Although I didn't include a photo showing the complete pistol, I also didn't mention it has a 5 inch barrel (measured with ruler).

The position of the V depends on how high the number is. In notes from the time, it says moving the V happened when the number got to six digits, but that clearly didn‘t happen; there are many guns in the 100-thousands still with the V on the same side. But by the 200—, they were all like yours.

The edit button for any of your posts, no matter how old, (bottom right), is always available, by the way.

Missouri bullets has a .360" 145 grain LRN bullet that is great for reloading. I've also used Magtech 146 grain .360's and like them as well. I personally prefer Bullseye powder for this round, but Unique works well also.