Smith & Wesson Victory

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campbellvdk

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Hello, my name is Campbell and I recently stumbled upon this page, I am hoping to gain some information on a revolver I just picked up. It is a Smith and Wesson Model Victory. Supposedly chambered in .38 S&W, however, I have not checked the bore with a caliper yet. I have images I would like to share.
 

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Welcome to the forum! Looks like a very nice and original S&W Victory model. You will find a plethora of info on the Victory model here. I believe someone keeps a database of them for historical purposes. Hopefully, it is not import stamped, doesn't look like it from your pictures. Enjoy!
 
Yes. The 5" barrel and the caliber stamp tell us it was British Service Revolver. It was also a Lend/Lease gun - note the property stamp and Guy Drewry's initials on the top strap.

Gil's reply is correct. Do the cartridge test. If you are lucky (and I'd guess you are) the cylinder has not been altered. Looks like a pretty nice example of a BSR.
 
I had bought .38 S&W and it was shipped to my house today. I dropped one in the cylinder and it fit perfectly. Is it good to have it in .38 S&W?
 
campbellvdk said:
I had bought .38 S&W and it was shipped to my house today. I dropped one in the cylinder and it fit perfectly. Is it good to have it in .38 S&W?
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It is good if the gun has not been altered. S&W chambered the guns it made for Britain in 38 S&W because it is exactly the same dimensions as the then current British service cartridge. American Victory models were chambered in the more powerful 38 Special. The barrels on the British revolvers are longer and have a slightly greater inside diameter than the American ones. The 38 Special cartridge is a little skinnier but longer than the 38 S&W and holds more powder. Many British revolvers imported back to the US after the war had the chambers of their cylinders bored out a little so the longer 38 Special cartridge would fit - cheaper, more common ammo. Would still fire the originally-chambered 38 S&W too. Gun in original condition is more valuable/collectible. I've got one I bought a surplus 38 Special Victory cylinder for, and I shoot it that way. Accuracy seems fine for me, but in theory should be a little less than ideal because of the slightly larger bore dimension on the Brit barrel.
 
The bore diameter of the BSR version is a hair greater than that of the .38 Special barrel but that makes little practical difference. For a long time I handloaded .38 S&W using standard .358 lead bullets as used in the .38 Special instead of the .361 bullets used by the .38 S&W. They worked OK. The converted BSRs can fire both .38 S&W and .38 Special ammunition. .38 Special ammunition is far easier to find than .38 S&W, and much less expensive.

If you are a handloader, you can easily load .38 S&W to produce .38 Special performance. But only for use in a solid frame revolver such as your BSR.
 
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The point others have been making is many of the BSR's like yours have been modified to accept 38 SPECIAL. If it was modified it will still chamber the original 38 S&W Ctg. If a 38 special cartridge fits all the way in, it has been modified, which in my opinion hurts the value of the gun. Try a 38 Special in it.
 
Would you think getting a Factory note would be worth it? I'd like to know more information about this revolver especially because there are other markings like a "P" next to the V on the butt of the revolver. I am confused about the markings on the gun. I also have HKP stamped into the backstrap and I have heard it could also be from Hong Kong. Is anyone able to give me some clarity about maybe the age or where it could have been?
 
campbellvdk said:
Would you think getting a Factory note would be worth it? I'd like to know more information about this revolver especially because there are other markings like a "P" next to the V on the butt of the revolver. I am confused about the markings on the gun. I also have HKP stamped into the backstrap and I have heard it could also be from Hong Kong. Is anyone able to give me some clarity about maybe the age or where it could have been?
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A letter will not tell you anything of value beyond its exact shipping date from the factory and nothing about its later service use. I would not bother. It could be Hong Kong Police as HK was a British crown colony, but I do not know. In post-WWII Europe, German and Austrian police departments were given such revolvers. But they were normally stamped with police stampings. Searching for its historical users is likely going to be a fruitless exercise as they got swapped around a lot and there are no records. The P is a proof mark.
 
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DWalt said:
A letter will not tell you anything of value beyond its exact shipping date from the factory and nothing about its later service use. I would not bother. It could be Hong Kong Police as HK was a British crown colony, but I do not know. In post-WWII Europe, German and Austrian police departments were given such revolvers. But they were normally stamped with police stampings. Searching for its historical users is likely going to be a fruitless exercise as they got swapped around a lot and there are no records. The P is a proof mark.
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I've got the same gun as yours. It apparently was sent to New Zealand during WWII. I paid $150 for it about 15 years ago. I have several other S&W's in that caliber and the ammo can still be found, not sure where though because my son orders it for me. It is low recoil and fun to shoot. It bounces off some things that a .38 special or 9 mm will go through. I spent a long time as a LEO and worked several cases where victims were killed with this caliber.
 
38 S&W

It is pretty easy to purchase ammunition online. I’ve purchased ammo from Target Sports USA, Grafs.com and SG Ammo. SG Ammo currently has more 38 S&W ammo in stock.

You can also order ammo online from stores like Academy and have it shipped to your local store if that store doesn’t stock that cartridge. You can do the same thing with Walmart, order a product online and have it shipped to your local store. I doubt Walmart permits this with ammo.


Here is a link to SG Ammo

Cheap bulk 38 SW Short Ammunition for sale | SGAmmo.com
 
I'm not sure if this would work. I do not have anything that shoots .38 special so I bought dummy rounds to see if it would fit my Victory. They fit just fine, does this mean it was rebored or should I get a live round .38 Special to try?
 
I'm not interested in collector value so I had rather have one that has been bored to fire .38 Special. It gives an option to fire another cartridge if times get difficult.
I shot several of them in the 60s and never had one to split the .38 Special cases. I have one now with a 3 in. barrel and I have loaded 18 cases 3 times and no splits. Larry
 
I have another Question

Could you break down the stamps on the barrel? I am not sure what these mean. All serials are matching besides the hand grips. Barrel Stamped:
Smith & Wesson Springfield LD, MASS. U.S.A. Patented FEB.6.06.SEPT.14.09.DEC.29.14

S/N: V454359
 

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Normal barrel marks with patent dates. You mentioned earlier that the 38 Special dummy rounds fit which indicates the chambers have been bored so 38 spcl will work in it. You already have 38 S&W ammo so fire away. The conversion was fairly common when they were imported back to the US, which brings up another question, that of import marks. The Gun Control Act of 1968 required the mark to be more noticeable and pre-68 marks tend to be more cryptic. There is also the possibility the gun was brought back here by some GI, bypassing the importation markings and converted after that. VEGA SAC CA is common import mark seen on these guns (Vega of Sacramento, CA I believe). There were other importers of course. You should look for the import marks, over an above the P (proof) and flaming bomb (ordnance acceptance) and US Property on the top strap.

The Victory models are part of WW II history and S&W made a ton of them in the war effort. In fact, S&W pretty much shut down manufacturing for the civilian market to support the war time effort.
 
The "usual" commercial 38 S&W uses a well-downloaded "recipe" and a smaller weight bullet than the wartime UK loading. From memory a 146 versus a 178 in the UK military round. I have a local company provide the wartime bullet size and weight then my "stable" is happy and shoots to POA. Dave_n
 
The Brits used a 200 grain bullet. Many decades ago Western had a 200 grain 38 special round they called the Super Police. Peter's had the same load but they did not have the fancy name on theirs. But I digress.
 

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