Curious about a Victory Model

[GaryR.]

Hello all,

I'm new to your site and have loved reading your posts as a visitor but never had a smith to chime in about, until today. I recently came into a victory model and was wondering if anyone could help with some details. Barrel is 4" serial numbered to the frame and is marked "38 S&W special ctg" serial number on butt starts with a sideways "W" followed by V 5126xx with lanyard ring,left side is marked "Bavaria Municipal Police". There is a P above cylinder shield. The inside of the cylinder is marked P then V 5026xx then S. The yoke and inside of the frame facing the yoke is numbered "67678". The grips are also serial numbered to the frame. No military markings or British proofs so I am really lost as to how this one came about. Finish is about 60% but here's the heart breaker, the barrel is bulged just behind the front sight. Any history and value or lack there of would be appreciated. Thanks to all!

 

[Goony]

Your gun probably shipped in mid-1944. I'm presuming it's a typo and that the number on the cylinder face actually matches the one on the butt.

I take it there is no "U.S. Property" marking on the top strap? If not, it was other than military issue, which makes its history a bit more interesting (and perhaps worthy of a factory letter). Even so, there could still be an ordnance "flaming bomb" on the butt. The "W" marking is not uncommon, but its significance is not clear. The Bavarian police marking is not too unusual, as the Allies did supply sidearms for the reconstituted German polizei in the early postwar period, and Bavaria was in the U.S. Zone of Occupation.

The five digit number on the yoke and the inside of the frame was merely for reference during assembly and are of no importance, other than they should match as yours do. Your bulged barrel, if original, should also bear the serial number of the gun on the flat underneath the ejector rod (when the cylinder is closed).

How about posting a picture?

 

[digi-shots]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with Goony above... the s/n you mentioned on the back of the cylinder might be a typo and it does in fact match the number on the butt of the gun. There should also be a matching serial number on the underneath flat area of the barrel.

I take it that there is no stamping on the topstrap frame, just above the cylinder. On some Victory models, you'll find U.S. PROPERTY and on others... nothing.

Please post some pics if you can, we really like photos here!

Are you sure the barrel is bulged? The barrel is not a straight taper and sometimes has the "look" of a bulge on the outer surface, but it's usually back towards the cylinder.

Also, if you would, take a close look on the butt of the gun... is there a "flaming bomb" symbol near the letter "V" ? Some Victory models will have this ordnance stamp and some will not. Below are photos with and without this stamping. The first photo shows the "flaming bomb" but the letter "V" was stamped directly on top of it.

 

[GaryR.]

Yep, sorry guys the typo was mine sorry for the confusion. The cylinder,butt and barrel flat are all matching 5126xx. Unable to post pics right now I wish I could. It doesn't have a " US PROPERTY " or an ordnance stamp. As for the bulge it's definantely there directly below the rear of the front sight even took a bore light and checked the rifling it has a perfect ring located in that spot from what I assume was a squib. Do you guys think it's worth getting a letter and how do I go about getting it done? Is it worth anything at all with a bulged barrel?

 

[digi-shots]

I'm sure the bulged barrel will hurt the value a bit... I'm not sure how much. Sometimes the historical value might outweigh something like a little "squib" mark.

If it was mine, I'd definitely get it lettered.

There's a section here on the forum for requesting factory letters, I'll see if I can find it a post a link to it.

Hopefully, our resident Victory expert, "ordnance guy" will be along shortly and might be able to add a bit of info on this one.

 

[KingBee]

Barrels for these are pretty common. I bought one a while ago from a guy on Gunbroker. New, never mounted. Sarco has them too. It wouldn't be matching anymore, but it should be an easy fix for a gunsmith.

 

[digi-shots]

Here's a link to info on requesting a factory letter...

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/185369-factory-letter-request-form.html

 

[Dragon88]

Every time someone posts about a Bavarian Victory, I'm reminded of wanting one along with a Bavarian marked M1 Carbine. One day a good pair will come my way.

The gun is definitely still worth something even with the bulge. If you intended to shoot this gun, you could always flip it to a Victory collector and then buy a nice Pre 10, or another Victory. I'm sure someone here on the forum would pay you a fair price. If you want to keep the gun, a letter wouldn't hurt. Hopefully you can post a pic for us. The nice thing about these old guns is they are valued for their historical value, even if the pristine condition has been lost to years of service and carry.

 

[w10085]

I've never shot one with a bulged barrel but I think I've read that sometimes it does not hurt the accuracy. I would wait until somebody confirms that they also have read this. I would not change the barrel unless I really had to. It's only original once!

 

[GaryR.]

I won't lie I would like to shoot it, but keeping it matching and original means a little more to me than poking holes with it. The history that comes with them is what attracts me. Thanks to everybody for the input and I will post pics as soon as I can.

 

[JSR III]

Gary, welcome to the forum. As you have already heard, we need pictures. For folks like me that live in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts, there just aren't enough gun shows during the year to satisfy our lust, so we are forced to turn to gun porn.

Should you decide to shoot your revolver, be very careful and only shoot one round at a time to be certain that the area of rifling that was involved in the bulge is not a problem.

Someone on the forum would probably purchase the gun even with the bulge merely for its post war markings. Then as others have suggested, you could by a shooter model 10 or something similar that you would not be concerned about shooting. Or you could just keep it yourself which would show us that you have the early stages of the disease.