any idea how old this is, it was my fathers gun past down to me the serial #is 50316

You will need to provide considerably more information and a picture or two before anyone can answer your question. Many different guns could have that SN. For example, is a pistol, revolver? What caliber is it? What is stamped on it , etc. etc.

It's sort of like asking someone "I have this Ford car with license plate XYZ 888. How old is it?"

If your gun is a revolver marked "Victor" (and not "Victory") and ".38 S&W," it was probably manufactured by the Harrington & Richardson company and chambered for the .38 Smith & Wesson cartridge. These were relatively inexpensive but serviceable guns that were quite popular in their day.

If you can post a photo of your gun, great. Please do. At least please post whatever you see stamped into each side of gun, including the barrel.

Welcome to the Forum!