Saw a victory in a pawn shop today. It was a short barrel, 2 inch I think. the revolver had been chromed or nickeled. The hammer and trigger were also plated. I didn.t notice if it was 38 S&W or 38 Special because by that time I had decided that I wasn't interested. Sn V 171XXX. Had a plugged place for the lanyard . Price was $335.00. Later I got to thinking about the grips. They were the early K type with diamonds and were in perfect shape. Checkering was sharp and beautiful on both panels There was no S&W grip gold or silver buttons , just the polished wood place where they were installed on later model grips. These were probably 1904 to 1919 or so and were absolutely perfect. SCSW shows a picture of them on page 21, top picture, bottom row, left most picture. I was wondering if I shuld go back and buy it for the grips and throw the gun away. Advise please, Captain Hornet
Butchered Victory.
- Thread starter Captain Hornet
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OP
Saw a victory in a pawn shop today. It was a short barrel, 2 inch I think. the revolver had been chromed or nickeled. The hammer and trigger were also plated. I didn.t notice if it was 38 S&W or 38 Special because by that time I had decided that I wasn't interested. Sn V 171XXX. Had a plugged place for the lanyard . Price was $335.00. Later I got to thinking about the grips. They were the early K type with diamonds and were in perfect shape. Checkering was sharp and beautiful on both panels There was no S&W grip gold or silver buttons , just the polished wood place where they were installed on later model grips. These were probably 1904 to 1919 or so and were absolutely perfect. SCSW shows a picture of them on page 21, top picture, bottom row, left most picture. I was wondering if I shuld go back and buy it for the grips and throw the gun away. Advise please, Captain Hornet
Sebago Son
Member
Cap,
Pre War Magnas are all pretty nice, but I wouldn't pay 1/4 of that price for even a very good pair.
Maybe if you want the grips you can take the seller a pair of modern magnas and a few bucks to see if he will trade... sometimes that works.
Sadly, butchered Victories are pretty common. I once had one given to me that had the 'full treatment'. Chopped Barrel, Cold Blued, Plastic Stag Grips, "Re-Chambered" to .38 Spl. with a Dremel Tool. It would fire, but cases wound'nt extract.
I disassembled the gun, and while crossing a high bridge between Maine & NH, tossed the frame out one car window, and the cylinder out the other.
RIPieces in the Great Salt Bay.....
Pre War Magnas are all pretty nice, but I wouldn't pay 1/4 of that price for even a very good pair.
Maybe if you want the grips you can take the seller a pair of modern magnas and a few bucks to see if he will trade... sometimes that works.
Sadly, butchered Victories are pretty common. I once had one given to me that had the 'full treatment'. Chopped Barrel, Cold Blued, Plastic Stag Grips, "Re-Chambered" to .38 Spl. with a Dremel Tool. It would fire, but cases wound'nt extract.
I disassembled the gun, and while crossing a high bridge between Maine & NH, tossed the frame out one car window, and the cylinder out the other.
RIPieces in the Great Salt Bay.....
Coug45
Member
But, what's a 2" Victory worth? (assuming it's originally a 2" - even with a poor nickle job) IIRC, not too many of these.
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
It's a 99.9% chance that it's not original. Barrel's been chopped. Even if it is an original 2" gun the other mods ruined the value.
cmj8591
Member
So that's where the gun that hit me in the head while I was fishing on the Piscataqua River came from!!
C H
One of your comments stuck with me . Was the barrel on this gun shortened,
or is it an original 2" gun ? Or is it even something else ?
If its an original 2" gun, then this is a whole different discussion.
An original 2" Victory, that can be restored, is certainly worth more than
zero. Of course, you would need a factory letter to verify what it was/is,
but maybe, by examination, you can tell if the barrel has been shortened ,
by the roll markings, etc.
If the grips are not magnas, then they are not a worthwhile reason to buy
the gun.
Later, Mike Priwer
One of your comments stuck with me . Was the barrel on this gun shortened,
or is it an original 2" gun ? Or is it even something else ?
If its an original 2" gun, then this is a whole different discussion.
An original 2" Victory, that can be restored, is certainly worth more than
zero. Of course, you would need a factory letter to verify what it was/is,
but maybe, by examination, you can tell if the barrel has been shortened ,
by the roll markings, etc.
If the grips are not magnas, then they are not a worthwhile reason to buy
the gun.
Later, Mike Priwer
Sebago Son
Member
And just what were you doing down there that time of night in a blinding snow storm anyway?
OP
The prewar magna's were perfect and I thought they might be worth $330. The gun was a two inch and it looked as if the barrel came that way. The front sight was a half moon and looked factory. I didn't pay too much attention because by that time I has decided I wasn't interested. Captain Hornet
CH,
Did the grips look like any that are in this post? Scroll down to # 3.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/540103904/m/816107028
Did the grips look like any that are in this post? Scroll down to # 3.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/540103904/m/816107028
There is a picture of a factory 2" Victory in the book US Handguns of WW2. If I recall the pic correctly it the revolver had a 2 line address on the side (left?) of the barrel. A cut 4" or 5" revolver should be obvious by the markings. 10 years ro so ago a local gun shop had 6 or 8 cut Victories that had been turned in on trade from a local police department. When I commented that I thought that was odd the owner (retired LEO) said not really. Victories were cheap 50 years ago, police armourers could do a good job of cutting them down in-house. They made a good, cheap, issue undercover revolver.
cmj8591
Member
I heard that the Kittery Trading Post was having a Victory Model sale and I was trying to beat the rush.
Sebago Son
Member
Wasn't even 50 years ago....
Portland PD traded in a pile of them in the mid-70's. I was working part time for Eastern Fire
Supply and I remember PPD coming in with a big wooden box filled with excelsior and 4" Victory models. These had been held in storage for reservists, constables and probationary officers, but most were unissued and none I took were altered.
GHD mostly, but I kept out one that was Navy marked. Even that one got away from me much later in a trade for a then impossible to find K-22.
I bought most of these EFS Victories and then traded them off to a Smith Starved Market.
Excellent condition, $45. Mint $69. I got $100 and $125 respectively and thought that I was doing a big stroke of business....
Wish I had kept just one.... Sigh.
Drew Sr.
OP
Muley Gill. Short answer-- No- They looked like the ones from BigBores post- about two down from your post. They looked like the bottom left set. Captain Hornet
OK, I didn't word my post above very well. The ones in BigBores's post are the ones I was referring to.
Those are service grips, not Magnas. stbryson has a picture of Magnas in his second post. Service grips are only worth 25-35% what pre-war Magnas will bring.
OP
Muley Gil, Thanks for helping me out. I have been a S&W collector-shooter for over 40 years but this whole business of grips still leaves me confused. My son LDave45 knows more about it than I do. Thanks, Captain Hornet.
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