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Smith & Wesson "Victory Model" postwar snub nose conversion.

L

leicanthrope

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I recently picked up a Smith and Wesson "Victory Model" revolver (serial V441047) that's been nickel plated and converted to snub nose. Short of splurging for a factory letter, what should I be looking at to determine if I've got one of the many repatriated .38-200 Lend-Lease pistols that was bored out for .38 Special and converted, or an American contract pistol? The usual caliber markings were either removed or were faint enough that they're no longer visible after the nickel plating. Are there any other markings (or the absence thereof) that would point one direction or the other?

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(Also, the grips are not original. It came with obvious anachronistic aftermarket grips.)
 
Try a .38 Spl. round in the chambers....if it fits, its been reamed. Many thousands of these were returned and altered after WWII, and they have no collector value at all. Notice that the front locking lug for the ejector rod is gone, so the barrel has been cut. If it shoots well, enjoy it, but don't spend the money to letter it.
 
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It is a near certainty that this is a British Service Revolver from 1943. It would originally have had a 5" barrel and was chambered for the .38 S&W cartridge, not the .38 Special.

The barrel has been cut so far back that the front locking lug was eliminated, commonly seen on BSRs that have been modified. As you pointed out, it has also been refinished in nickel plate and not by Smith & Wesson.

You are wise to refrain from purchasing a letter for this revolver. The market value isn't a whole lot higher than the price of a letter.
 
leicanthrope said:
Short of splurging for a factory letter, what should I be looking at to determine if I've got one of the many repatriated .38-200 Lend-Lease pistols that was bored out for .38 Special and converted, or an American contract pistol?
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Looking just at your picture, it could (just theoretically) be either, and either one would fit a .38 Special round. But as Jack says, it‘s indeed a near certainty that it started out as a British model. Very many of those, and hardly any of the US version, were so converted. Since the frames were identical and factory barrel markings are gone, proof positive is provided by a) possible British post-war proofs and b) visual evidence of an original .38 S&W cylinder that was converted (check the chamber walls).
 
Absalom said:
a) possible British post-war proofs and b) visual evidence of an original .38 S&W cylinder that was converted (check the chamber walls).
Click to expand...

I can't find any proofs.

In regards to "b", what should I be looking for? (Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to revolvers.)
 
leicanthrope said:
In regards to "b", what should I be looking for?
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Unfortunately, I don‘t have a photo of either a converted or original .38 Spl. cylinder available. The picture attached shows an unconverted British service cylinder. Note the shoulder halfway up the chambers; a converted (reamed) chamber will have those ground down, but visible as “ghost rings”, and there will be further rings closer to the muzzle end.
 

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Even though it has been reamed to 38 Special, you can fire 38 S&W in it! Personally, I would shoot whichever shoots most accurately and avoid +P ammo.

Your bore diameter probably started as .361" instead of the .357" of 38 special. If you reload you will want to match that.

Ivan
 
Welcome aboard from ol' Wyo.

leicanthrope said:
In regards to "b", what should I be looking for? (Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to revolvers.)
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There's no such thing as a dumb question.

Here's a photo that shows a comparison of the depth of the cylinder walls for .38 S&W and .38 S&W Special along with the two different cartridges.

If yours has been reamed to accept .38 S&W Special you'll probably see two different shoulders in each cylinder.

If by some chance your cylinder hasn't been reamed, the second photo applies -- the .38 S&W Special round won't go in.

Hope this helps.
 

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Have one myself. I’ve used it as an occasional carry piece. On the heavy side. Mine has been bored out to .38 spcl. Makes a cute step on the fired brass. I cleaned it up and changed the ejector rod and grips. Left the lanyard ring on it. To the OP, hit your pistol with some Mothers Polish, great stuff. Had a nickeled 2 in that was so yellow the seller thought it might have had a gold wash. A little elbow grease and Mothers made it bright again.
 

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Yep, that’s exactly what it is. I have my dad’s, which dates to 43. He carried it as his off duty piece until he retired.

Edit: Just checked and mine has the extra step in the cylinder. It does have British proof marks on the frame below the barrel pin and above and forward of the trigger guard.
 

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I have the same gun done the same way. Victory with barrel cut to 2.5 inches and nickeled. If you turn my gun over and swing out the cyl you can make out .38 and 3.5 tons. Mines reamed to .38 spec.. The finish was really cloudy, so I hit it with Mothers and it shines like a ruby in a goat's ***.
 
As shown and commented adove by Absalom, you will be able to see the faint original shoulder or the .38 S&W part way down the chambers if it was rebored to .38Spec. If it chamber .38 Special cartridges but you can't see the faint shoulder ring, then it was .38Spec. all along.
 
I have a similar one, except mine was blued rather than nickel. I bought some 38S&W brass and some cast .361 bullets and started shooting it. It did OK for a hacked up 2" revolver. Then one day I retreived one of the fired bullets that had lodged in a tractor tire I filled with dirt for a backstop. The bullet was basically undamaged from the impact with the tire and I measured the diameter of the barrel lands--.357. So apparently it had been rebarreled to a 38 special barrel and retained the modified cylinder. I started shooting 38 special in it but the cases would swell sometimes to the point of splitting.
I had put the gun away for a couple of years until a friend of mine mentioned he had a couple of SW cylinders he had gotten in a trade. He gave them to me and one of them was almost identical to the one in my victory mdl and it was also brand new in 38 special. So now I have a fully-converted Victory in 38 special. I have since then parkerized the gun and added some laser grips. It shoots very well and doesn't swell the cases. Turned a basically useless (to me) gun back into a very useful and practical tool.
 
For those of you guys that have a similarly bored out pistol, how accurate is yours when running normal .38 Special ammo? Admittedly I've never shot a snub nose before, but this one is somewhere in the Minute of Broad Side of Barn territory, and seems to have roll and yaw confused.
 
Across the room accuracy is about all you can expect. Its best use is under the front seat of your car or truck, so if it gets stolen, you are not out much.
 
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leicanthrope said:
For those of you guys that have a similarly bored out pistol, how accurate is yours when running normal .38 Special ammo? Admittedly I've never shot a snub nose before, but this one is somewhere in the Minute of Broad Side of Barn territory, and seems to have roll and yaw confused.
Click to expand...

Thats the result of a .357 bullet wobbling down a .361 bore.

You can try hollowbase .38 Special 148 grain wadcutters, which may upset enough to catch some rifling, or you can just use .38 S&W ammo if you can find some.
 
DWalt said:
Across the room accuracy is about all you can expect. Its best use is under the front seat of your car or truck, so if it gets stolen, you are not out much.
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There's an oddball little shop near me that had some compatible "sweetheart grips" in the junk drawer, which look to be period correct. If I can get my paws on some .38 S&W, I might run some through it as an experiment. Other than that, I doubt I'll use it as much other than a historical display piece.

I hesitate to use it as a truck gun, lest I end up shooting out my own tires instead of the bad guy.
 
sigp220.45 said:
Thats the result of a .357 bullet wobbling down a .361 bore.

You can try hollowbase .38 Special 148 grain wadcutters, which may upset enough to catch some rifling, or you can just use .38 S&W ammo if you can find some.
Click to expand...

While there may be a slight bit of truth to that contention, I have found that 0.357-0.358 lead bullets work just fine in BSRs. And they do not wobble down the bore. I have used them in several other .38 S&W revolvers with similar results. Note also that minimum SAAMI bullet diameter specifications for .38 S&W lead bullets is 0.355”. Look it up. I agree that the “correct” 0.361” bullet is preferable, but it is not essential to adequate performance.
 
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