Thanks Jim!
So, it appears to be a 'Lend Lease' version, being both USProperty stamped, and, a .38 S&W Ctg Barrel Stamp.
Seller says he test fired it and it functioned very well, but, now I am worried that it has been modified for .38 Special ( as I doubt seller knows the difference between the two Cartridges, or would have had .38 S&W Cartridges to test fire it with, or, he would have said so ).
Seller did not mention the GHD US Property Flaming Bomb Stamp till I asked, based on the images, what was stamped on the Top Strap, so, means nothing to him or her I guess.
Darn...if it was still in .38 S&W I'd spring for it!
But, if 'converted', I sort of feel "Blahhh" about it.
Yes, a L/L gun. Do not be suspect if it does not have a V prefix to the s/n on the butt, it may be an early version below c.700,000 because they were not stamped with a V before that and are referred to as Pre Victory guns.
If the cylinder is just reamed for 38 Special, once you shoot the 38 Spl cases in your gun, they will be properly re-sized for the chambers. Just discard any that split and if you reload, use 38 S&W dies. Simply use the larger .360 bullets in your 38 Spl cases to match the bore and for maximum accuracy. 38 S&W dies are available on e-bay for a song, or you can still buy them new; I use Lyman dies exclusively.
There's been much to do about the 38 spl case splitting in reamed 38/200 chambers, but truth be told, it doesn't happen that often. And if it does, so what? Cases of the proper caliber for their chambers have also been known to split on occasion. If a case splits and gases, unburnt powder or bits of brass escape from the rear of the cylinder, how is that any more dangerous than the gases, bits of lead, etc., escaping from the front of the cylinder at the barrel gap which is routine anyway? Normal safety precautions demand no one be to the immediate sides of anyone shooting a revolver and that safety glasses be worn, period.
Smith 1st heat treated it's 1917 cylinders at government request because they were chambered for the 45 ACP used in the 1911 Auto which required a 21,000 psi operating pressure to operate the slide reliably. That was 6,000 psi higher that any of the other N frame chambered cartridges of the time.
By the early 1920s S&W had implemented heat treating of cylinders on all of their models. The Victory models were chambered in both 38 Spl and 38 S&W (actually the English 38/200 cartridge, the American version know as the 38 S&W Super Police) with the same heat treating. The only cartridge specific heat treating of that period was on the Registered 357 Magnums in 1935.
So if you're considering a purchase as a collector piece/shooter, conversion to 38 Spl is a downside.
But if just as a shooter, a 38 Spl reamed gun is not such a bad thing.
